Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-15
ny Mu.RuR j. HAIL


ont of all that stream of flotsam and
jetsam flowing from the presses OIL ,sil5 sll5
| world without cessation and dtgnitied
NV the name of novels il is refresh
inc now and then to pluck one volume
that is a book In the total output
/ there are so many, many stories; some
| bv masters, some by SUCCESSFUL plot
weavers, some by persons merely lucky
! in having found a tale, some by begln-
rars Who venture forth on the sea of
literature in craft altogether insecure
and unseaworthy, some by mere scrlD-
blers who nay their own expenses ana
raan little hut the satisfaction of seeing
their name on the title page. Yet, IN
spite of the great mass OF TINS nuns
! criminate publication of long slofleS
/ one can count on the fingers OF mana
| the novels that, each year, leave theIt
! stamp in any measure on the thousil'
! of the day or on the life of the people.
| ono cannot prognoSticate concerning
! tbe fate of a novel at the hands OF the
! American reading public. Look at the
successes and failures of the past lew
years and try to arrive at an answer
to the publishers question:: 'What
makes books succeed?' Occaslonaliy
some house finds two books OF cersaIil TAN
stamD successful in close order. Inc
publisher tries a third of the same KIND
behold, his shelves are clogged VIII
It. and the book stores send II Daeh
with the dismal report, mo demand.
There seems to be no fixed standard OF
excellence, no gauge of the tastes OF lile
public, no definite test by Wnicn any
Derson may Judge what the tickle read
er is going to say of a new book. Ihe
dav we find out what the general read
er wants, writing and publishing books
will be too easy. one can deliver goods
ordered-the test lies in creating de-
mand
There seems to have come from the
publisher (The Book Supply company,
Chicago this week, however, a novel
that will create a furore. 1t is THE
Calling of Dan Matthews'-is written
bv a Southern California author and
presents a new phase of an old PROB
ien1-the problem of the fittest service
of man to man. Aside from It's SEN
sational attack on an old institution
the orthodox church, apart from lle
drawing power and fascination OF the
story. there are gathered together in
This hook a set of remarkable char
acters-vividly drawn, and pulstng with
+ha very blood of life. Perhaps in no
particular is "The Calling of Dan Mat
thews" more noteworthy than in its
people.
Concerns Cast-lron Monument
There are two distinct threads run
ming through the novel, one a dellb-
crate. scathing criticism Of the meth
ods of the modern church, and one
+he love story. The latter is woven
about the lives of young Dan Mat
thews. the preacher, and Hope Far-
we'll, a professional nurse-Ihe olle
the theoretical, the other the practi-
cal minister. But the part of the
story that will make it live If it does
is woven about two landmarks IN the
little town of Corinth, in a middle
western state where the scene OF the
story is laid. The first Of these IS d
little vegetable garden. minded by
slip of an Irish lad with merry HedII
and a twisted, crippled body-Denny
Mulhall and furnishing for himself
and his widowed mother meager Nv
ing. The second is a cast iron mon
ument, reared by the people Of Corinth'
tn the memory of a statesman porn
and raised in the little village, whose
labors in the halls of congress Ior
an issue. now long dead, made not
only himself, but the little town.
famous in it's time. on this monument
are cast the words of speech ne
once made on this long-dead ISSUE
living in his day. but now forgotten
tn gain the full effect Of the story
these two pictures must stand con
stantly in the mind and the marVelous
way in which Mr.. Wright keeps them
before the reader without intrudlng
them on his notice marks MN as
master of his art.
The story is of the present day anu
opens with the description Oh the Olu
Doctor, the authors speaking medium
throughout the story. The doctor Is
not a churchman, in the first place, but
is poet, philosopher, observer, ana
keen satirist. And always he is a fish
erman. on one of his fishing trips IN
the Ozarks he meets a mountain boy,
simple, sincere, interesting, the son or
physically perfect parents, nurtured IN
the woods, and with no knowledge OF
the world or it's people. He is not
dreamer, this little Dan Matthews, out
he is an idealist, with only the
oretical picture Of the big country Iy-
inc. somewhere beyond the mountains.
And in him the doctor finds a some
thing that he himself had desired al
wavs to be, but had never been-could
never be. They become fast friends.
Enter Hope FarweII
Years pass the boy grows to man
hood and is sent away to college WITH
his training and under the influence OF
the wonderful character his mother
has. it is natural that his dream should
be to minister to others, and in choos-
ing his profession he is Influenced by
this consideration. So he enters the
church. His first pastorate is at Cor
inth-in the Strong Memorial church,
built by the father of one of the eld-
ers-Judge Strong. The latter is
dealer in mortgages and money,
hypocrite, a liar and a sneak. The
villain of this story is almost a carica-
ture, and yet the contrast the author
gains is a dramatic triumph.
on the day the young preacher ar
rives in Corinth there comes on the
same train a young nurse whose whole
life has been given to service-actual,
practical service IN a world of whose