The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1908-09-03

Paper Read Before the Cha,tauQ,ta Circle.
I" HE subject of. my present pa
per is Jonas Lie, his author }
ship and his literary and So
cial ideals. As a boy of elev-
en- years learned to love and admire
him; and my love and admiration has
never diminished thru the long years,
but rather kept growing as his differ
emit books were published, and given !
to the reading public of the four north
ern countries-Norwsy. Sweden, Dem
mark and Finland. This is very sell
dom the happy lot of an author to
have reading public of tens of thou
sands snxiously awaiting the day of
publication and distribution of each |
and every one of his books, but that
has been the literary crown of happi- |
ness bestowed upon Jonas Lie by his
lowing and admlring readers for about
forty years.
said that / learned to love and ad-
mire him when was boy of eleven
years. Yes, and how well remember
that Christmas eve, 1870, when my
mother handed me book, new book
Hastily bound in cloth and gold, with
the title standing out in bold, grave,
big letters, title that sent the cold
shivers down my spinal column and
awakened a mixed kind of fear and
weird curiosity in my mind. 1t was
the very book that made Jonas Lie
famous author, considered the third
in rank of Norway's four great authors,
Henrik Ibsen, Bjornstjerne Bjornson,
Jonas Lie and Arne Garberg. AS far
as the rank is concerned, good many
of the leading literary men both in
the four northern countries men
toned above, as we'll as in Germany,
France and Russia, believe that Jonas
Lie is a far greater and more original
author than Bjornstjerne Bjornson
ever was. Great as Bjornson undoubt-
eddy is, both in style and character
building and very fertile imagination,
his authorship is void of original think
ing. Bjornson is a spiritual and mem
tai giant it is true, but he is greatest
as social political John the Baptist,
than as q literary genius. What he
has been for his people as a public
political reform leader can never be
appreciated enough. He stands in
that capacity eminently alone; there
fore he Is loved as few men were ever
loved in any nation by the whole PEG.
pie. But when it comes to literary
merits, he is not 80 very great as many
believe him to he. In pure literary
originality Jonas Lie ought to he giver
q crown of laurel because he has emf
nently deserved it. And 1 for one fee
sure that the time will come when th'
Norwegian people will feel both hap
ny and proud to grant to Jonas Lii
the second place in the ranks of emf
nent authors, and grant to Bjornstjern
Bjornson the first place lin her rank
of great and gifted patriots and publ
leaders. Sure it is in spite of man
things to the contrary at present, tina
the books that Jonas Lie has given t
the world will live and be read and r.
read from generation to generation
long as the Norwegian language sha
live on human lips, dong after Bjorr
suerne Bjornson's books are forgotte
aud extinct, except for the few copie
commonly found in the national m,
seums.
Well, the book my dear and no
sanity mother gave to her only so
that Christmas eve in 1870 was the no
famous known frstj book. of the me-
author, Jonas Lie, that..at once mac
him known as brilliant and vel
gifted writer. "The CiairvOyant," an
how it worked upon my mind as
devoured page after page, lying in n
bed that Christmas night, my light
second-class tall0w candle that splu
tered and went out now and agai
and / had to leave my bed every tin
1t had to be relighted, because there we
no matches close by. The book ava
ened so many uncanny and weird mel
cries about strange and mysterio
beings and things I had heard to
from early childhood, that every tir
my light went ont, was on the poi
Of sending o soul rending Shrek