The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-10-17
LITERARY LIGHTS
AND SHADOWS
BY S. MAYS BALL
martin Eden" by Jack London. Crhe
Macmillan Coz

@A~-NAtAAAA-NA-
Martin Eden was something of wharf
rat that had afterwards been promoted,
80 to speak, to a sea-going brute who
whenever he needed money to spend or
.blow'' in or around the Barbary Coast
the toughest portion of San Francisco
would simply sign up for another voyage
10 the South seas, save his sea-pay and
return to Frisco for good time. Mar
tin. when at home, boarded with his mar
tried sister, Mrs Bernard Higginbotham,
whose husband, an awful creature, was
1.-THE proprietor of the Higginbotham's
fCash Store. Martin had a number OF
Brothers scattered around the earth some
tplace and one unmarried sister in oak
iland. across the bay from Frisco, VINO
was engaged TO marry an enterprlslng
bicycle repairer, one Herman Won
Schmidt.
Martin Eden could read and write and
add, substraet and possibly divide few
figures ia his arithmetic, but that was
about all.
one night when on a forced vacation at
home Martin was returning from Frisco
on the ferryboat to Oakland. he was able
to rescue from rough and tumble night
lyoung Arthur Morse, the son of sue
hcessful cultivated attorney of that local
Aity To show his appreciation young
Morse invited Martin to his home. The
Invitation was accepted and at the first
lcal made by Martin at the Morse home,
1.-THE novel, Martin Eden," opens. Ar
thur Morse, a student of the University
tof California, Berkeley, Cal, had lovely
sister and a younger brother both OF
whom attended the university also. Mar
Etn was carried to the Morse home, to
house such as he had never before seen
kthe inside of and Instantly fell in love
desperately with Ruth Morse, the young
Rlady of the house, who was fairly nice,
la wee bit chilly, quite superior sort OF
kperson, don't you know, who was pull
Eng her own stocks all the time, While
ino one cared. But to Martin Eden Ruth
twas an angel. Accustomed as he was
kto his own environment he had not been
liable to realize that such women as Ruth
sAIorse lived in the world. The result was
THAT Martin went batty, simply crazy,
hover Ruth-that bull in a china shop
Egazing at Ruth at something he had
never seen before, had his wheels, which
fwere gritty and needed oiling awfully,
tput all out of order, simply because Ruth
Esmiled at him and shook his hand
Well, there was not anything for Mar
Tin to do but fit himself morally, hnan-
Eeially, and if possible, mentally, so that
Ehe might approach the angel, Ruth. He
had at that time already spent most of
shis money saved from his last voyage.
but what he had remaining he invested
IN books, the three RS" and after much
4ndecision approached Ruth, begging for
shelp to start him up the path to what,
bof course, Ruth didn't know was his
ambition-herself. Martin was, OF course,
sridiculed by his sisters and all of his set
iof boys and girls with whom he had pre-
Iviously been accustomed to go the pace
In Frisco and Oakland. But the little
god with the bow and arrow had done his
work with Martin and the arrow-pierced
young man struggled on with his work
at the public libraries. his talks and calls
lon Ruth, until he began to show some
improvement.
In the mean time Martins money gave
out and 1t was necessary for him to sign
for another voyage to refill the treasury
He did this, taking with him on this
voyage a large lot of books, all Of which
he read and studied. Through the kind
ness of the captain of the ship Martin
was permitted to read set of Shake
epeare. On the return voyage from the
South Seas it all came over Martin that
he must do something, no matter what,
20 raise himself to Ruth. Why not try
TO write, thought Martin. This desire to
write of his experiences came with a
rush to Martin and no sooner than 1t
came than Martin decided that was tho
ticket and the only one that offered any
chance for him to climb the heights to
Ruth Morse.
The novel, which is said to contain
number of personal experiences of Mr..
London in the writing graft before he
made his place among the literary lights
of this country-then goes ON to tell US of
the struggles of Martin to be successful
magazine writer. How Martin almost
starved to death waiting for the editors
TO discover that there was such a per-
son on Gods earth as Martin Eden.
How Ruth Morse, who now loved Mar
tin. insisted that he throw up such ride
iulous attempts to be an author and go
ito work" as she put it, in her fathers
toffice. Martins sisters and his in-laws
laughed at him while begging him to go
TO work. Martin did have to "go to
work for a short time in laundry up
In the mountains around the Sierras but
only long enough to secure money enough
with which to buy stamps, manuscript
paper and pay the rent on his typewriter,
For three years Martin struggled with
1.-The production of manuscripts, sending
them Off and getting them back in due
course. He had figured that If he could
only sell one article the receipts from
1t would carry him along for quite time.
He had heard had read in the press of
the big returns from magazine writing,
$3.50 to $3.50 per story so II he could only
place one or two articles he would be
fixed, living as he was, for a year at
beast. In the mean time Ruth had agreed
ito wait on him for three years. The first
Ietory that Martin sold, which he expect
ed at least $50 for, brought him some
thing less than $40.
Most of the novel Is devoted to Mar
tins attempts to climb the Heights of
Parnassus and much TO his great cha
lgrn, he could never get within sight of
fhe foothills Just when he had given up
Hll hope he began to sell a few things
1.-The money began to come to him with
ia rush. not until after Ruth, Disguised
with him. to her family's delight. had
Broken the engagement, matrimonial.
MARTIN sold stories now, like the prov
terbial hot cakes5 all of the old MSS. he