The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-05-07

i tIdt ht4a G
characters. history. and rradi+io,e
ana merely has given the various
:ee'ions Of our unit the emporium
~ OF becoming better acquainted
Win each other. New England in
,hls period. has represented its life
'est through Sarah Orlne JeWett and
Mary F.. Wilkins: the Middle IVES,
through Mark Twain. HamIin car
iahd. and owen Wister. the Far West
,nrough Bret Harte: the South
.hrouSh q. ". Cable, Thomas Nelson
IaSe, Mary Johnston.l and John Fox.
Jr.; New York City through o..
henry. BY its arriving at nationality
through locality the short story has
prayed a great part in bringing about
IN U life. IN oar literature, and
IN our criticism-what Dr. Smith in
sists upon Throughout, the book-that
s~ectionafsn is dead. .Pu. SCI, 36S.)
AS an Illustration Of h e~xagcera-
ton of statement in the previous re-
view, This n example Will serve:
mere Will be found misleading en-
phaSiS placed upOn such writer's as
John Fox. Jr.. Mary Johnston. and
owen NIster. all OF whom happen 20
have been born in ne South. They
are not directly declared to have been
epoch-making. but this much is left
W liz u L no
reader is surprised t. find that to
FOX is assigned six lines, to Mary
Johnston four and one-half. and to
owen NlSter cas- a representative of
the Middle West) three and one-half
lines. with 10 intinoation whatever
that any one Of them is experimenting.
Ever a mention of these writer's is,
perhaps. in the face OF the ack Of
any detailed treatment of MIR. HoWells.
tn i've Shnn0 't,Jr3y W. ' n CT G - p1,i
the omission Of MT. Howells cannot
except Very unjustly, be charged C
sectional bias. one will find it diff
cult. no matter how greatly one ad-
mires the wonderful skill of the man
to place MIR. Howells in any one q
the selected categories; Eor does ht
represent anything 50 very distinctly
American or SO appealing TO German
8 students that a chapte1
could have been devoted to him.
Is the omission Of Mr.. Howells. o
nyo else. any greater than that o
! Sidney Lanier, who is represented onl,
as the contributor Of one Of eiGh
poems that illustrate our idealiSm
TimrOd and Simms and many other
born in the South might have bee
8 included ~ a prejudiced selectol
Il Eve Poe. who has been claimed a
entirely Southern by ov~erzealous sec
tionalists. has been tareed with
Quitclainl by DR.. Smith, and made int
{ a national representative = n
trough quotation from Gern1a
critics, but through the distinctly
Z Americanism Of his form. Wheths
:, the point is satisfactorily proved {
u not is a question. 1t illustrates
u critical pit-fall into which DR.. Smit
II ma sometimes MISUNDERSTANDING e.
IS fort to prove a fine point. But eve
the attempt contradicts q charge
provincialism.
= The choice OF the petty details
- which the reviewer SAYS Dr. S1nit
: proves himself ~lamentably incorre
: at times" is unfortunate. DR.. Sni1
is guilty Of an error in 81 wing tn:
IS "Gertrude Anterior t1S5T|( is no
Mrs. George c. Riggs tp. 29). b
~ the manner Of statement Of the Sc
:" ond error is peculiarly fortunate-f
the reviewer: lit is possible to posse
a pretty good understanding
~ American literature without KNOWN
- that The World and The Door is
ar short story; for after all It is not
= short story. but is a play, as it "
~ stated by DIR. Smith to be on pa
ne 363. The Times Of June 6, 1910.
% quite correct in stating that IT
= World and the Door" is a play.
further proof were needed. NJ
Sarah G. Porter has just write
"Mr. Porter came to Ashevllle in t
>. spring Of 1910 to write his pls
The World and the Door He Nrt
10 me that two acts Of the play We
lust about finished.
But enough Of petty details. !
!" Smiths Berlin lectures will arol
nS greater interest in American literat'
among German readers and VIII to
err NY s+,ao,+ 70 ,yaotioatinr I
MS, 1.1oa, ar orr own literature q
lot , f.on +ha o,tvo~n Drohlemc
I'd roraro Thic ; 1al,
bic service to have been perform
by an ambassador Of letters #
'ne America to Germany.
ate
wO GMDD1h
ARTISTIC SlN< IN4A>N