Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-04-02


George Mercdith's posthumous novel
"Celt and Saxon" appearing scrially
in the Forum. deals with young
Irish gentleman OF the numerous clan
O'Donnell and a Patrick. hardly dis
tinction of him until we know him,
as Meredith describes him i'm the
opening paragraph. This Celt is maxi
ing a journey 20 Squire Adister OF
North Wales on behalf of Patrick's
brother Philip and the Squirc's
daughter Adiante, Philips lost love
Love was his (PatricksJ visionary
temple. and his idea Of love was "a
solitary light in IT,. Faithlessncss
he conceived TO he obnoxious To- ma
ture. He conceived IL in the
feminine: for men are not those holy
creatures whose conduct strikes on
the soul with direct edge
Women. sacredly endowed with beauty
and the wonderful vibrating note
about tho very mention of them. are
criminal to hideousness when they be-
rag = -.
HamHn Garland has delivered the
manuscript Of a. new novel into tho
shands OF his publisher. Messrs Har-
per & Brothers. who viii bring IL out
probably within a month. 10 IS 10 be
tale Of the mountain West touching
n problem Of national Importance.
and Mr. Garland is said TO have drawn
upon his own experiences for its plot.
The position Of fiction in this coun-
try presents some points OF Interest
which are well worth consideration,
saws a writer who signs himself "A
Novelist" In the Athenaeum. Two
decades ago IL was calculated that
the output Of novels was some 500 "a
year. Since then the number has
steadily increased and probably the
quantity OF original fiction has more
than doubled in twenty years. This.
when looked at closely, is a sufficient
~ striking phenomenon. and must
have at once its causes and its sigui-
fcatauce. II must never be forgotten
that an arts suffer a gradual change
that. where there is no development
there must be degeneration. leading %
the dissolution of death All organic
things alter. modify adapt themselves
I'm accordance with the unknown laws
Of progress or development The
drama. epic poetry, prose essays, nc
tion-all are I'm a state or huN, ana
have been ever since they were start
ed i'm being They are subject 20 the
processes of evolution. In these ways
the rise OF the cheap magazine has
exercised n bad influence upon the
modern novel But there are other
reasons also for the medioCrity Of the
latter. IL would be ridiculous To- claim
that good judges and critics and men
OF taste are fewer today than they
were say, a generation ago. when
Victorian literature reached ITS fow-
er. on the contrary. there are certain
w more well-instructed tastes. and
probably even "a large percentage In
proportion To the rising population.
But the multitude Of books has af-
fected this CIT audience, though few
and in n subtle way. II was "a very
much easier matter TO sample and
appraise the fiction Of the day when
the annual output was 500 than IL is TO
do so now. when IL stands at so much
higher "a figure In fact, there is
probably no one living who prctends
to keep abreast of contemporary iic-
ton To do so would Dee "a supcrhumau
task. and would result In the obfus-
cation OF the human intellect As "a
consequence. 10 is easier for talent TO
escape notice now than 1t was, super
lative talent. one hopes and half be-
Neves. will always obtain recognition.
through historical facts are against
the comfortable thory But it rs GER
tain that novels of considerable worth
are overlooked daily in the whirl Of
publishing.
As spring comes on. garden books
are I'm demand and there are new ones
this year for young as well as old en-
thusiasts. Miss Myrta NJ. Higgins S
Little Gardens for Boys and Girls.
which Houghton Mifhin Co, publish
this week. gives Just the information
that IL needed by boys and girls and
older peoplc who are helping them To-
make gardens al home. II rs Intended
especially for the large number Of chill
dren i'm ordinary circumstances who's"
gardens must be limited as to posi-
tiou. extent. cost. etc. and 10 should
prove very helpful to teachers, social
workers and others who are making
school gardens and encouraging inn
provcment work II includes both
flowers and vegetables. and rs fully
Illustrated from photographs.
Resides tho handicaps of practically
no scenery poor lighting and only
BOYS TO take womon's parts, shake
speare had one more difficulty To- com
tend with. The modern dramatst can
devote the first 10 or 20 minutes or
even his whole first act 90 an cNplana-
ton Of the proplem or situation which
ne is 10 consider relying on the next
acts TO regain the interest of his au-
diencc In shakespeare day. however
as Prof Brandcr Matthews points ont
I'm his "The study OF the Drama
CHoughtou Mifhin Coz over half the
audience had no seats and wandered
around idly unless the very first
spoken lines attracted their attention.
The playwright had TO be explanatory
and highly interesting NJ the same
time. The book Is meant 10 hcighton
the playgoer's appreciation OF pro-
duction by giving him an accurate idea
OF how IL is written.
The fight TO crush out tuberculosis
Is OF much more widespread impor-
lance than most OF as realize. n the
germs We're kept out of the air, as they
would be by the use Of simple pre-
cautions. such as the airing out ut
churches and thoaters every week,
watering the streets. taking carpets
up and beating the internationally and
letting the sun into houses as much
as possible, something more would
happen than the mere disappearance
Of consumption. Consumption Is only
tho form of tuberculosis which affects
the lungs. a dozen other tragic disease
would get their death blow also. There
would be only OuO-third as many erin