The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-05-07
IMPRESSIONS OF
VARIOUS o
Vle Biographcr of Mark Twain and
BERNARD Shaw Chats About
some Recent Publications.

-AcOut
some Recent Publications.
Nv ARCHIBALD HENDERSON.
Dne Of the most disappointing il
lusIons Of the man of letters, [ fancy,
* his youthful feeling-One no book
iclor Of the first water ever wholly
T,covers from-that nothing is quite
Sc delightful as reading, and then
writing about, the books he loves
lit how can we be sure tina we love
book before we have even read
IT" And does the magic Of a great
I.lue suffice TO atone for baEa!ity?
Whenever it falls to my lot to tell
whit think Of a lot Of unread books.
] Stcrnly forbid myself the possibility
Il III enjoyment. All. no, it shall De
difficult and ennobiing task-for
how can one be at once conscientious
ana happy? Fake it rather in the
spirit Of the gambler, ready for what
.ttr may come-prepared 20 be
caught up 10 the heights, or nerved 70
Ilumb the depths of despair. Let
every book be a prize. big or snail,
which ADDS something to our store, Il
~ If knowledge, at least Of d., er-
sion. And then, of course, we never
KNOW when we may open some vol
tflc at random. n discover. /. q
moment. in the twinkiing Of a paper
cutter, the Grand Prix-the book Of
"a lIfr-time.
have. / fear. been rather selfish.
and overly crafty, in my choice this
DAY For | have for once had the
Coinage To refuse-and to refuse
brutality. Really, there is something
admirably inspiring in the sight Of a
pile If new books by people you
know. 1t is not necessary to nEow
them persOnally-indeed, it is often
f"tter not, But it is Imperative, TO
assure ones peace of mind, that one
hEoW them inwardly, and, to replace
tn, ~asutely personal touch, conN ersa-
tiCually. am sure that the worst
book ever written by Georg Brandes,
William {. BrownelI, or James Hume
Fer would give me a certain acute
S,nS, If refined SatiSfactiOn-viO-
lcrtly and fundamentally, though l
might disagree with their
4 ilay Of Ibsen's, a novel of Mere
dlth's. 4 love passage written by
Robert W. Chambers, a philosophiC
essay by William James, a poIitical
hari-kari 10y Samuel G.. Blythe-these
things guarantee themselves for me
unopened. 1t is a question of mere
degree they will give me pleasure,
more, mavbe-maybe, less-but, the
real th.ng-genuine eSthetic satisfac-
tiou
Is There Anything New Under the
.nI glad to have read Il book a
LAST ~ one Of the most valiant anC
confident young writer's of our coun-
fN rs There Anything New Undel
lht Sun 1t matters not that Edwin
tJorkman was born in Sweden, ant
was grown when he came to thi:
country. For his Intellectual anC
cftlcal development have in them thu
freshness and the optimism Of a van
GtllSh1n2 America Uhi1cf hiC Wow
I0lnt harkS back to the germani.
generalization of Europe. / have reat
ana Observed Bjorkman for years
ana think hat this country ought t
hh"" Q much it needs such a men
'"HIN BJorknan is a modern o
WOdernS-can one be too O
sl't But his distinction is Of SUI
nclent worth and magnitude to max
6 u worth recording. Item one: he ha
rear. expressive, effective style
y" manner of a young athlete jus
"ut ~ his bath and just rubbed dow
ready for a long c~roSs-cOuntry ruE
ana sure OF arriving at his goal I'm
"'hacd. Item wO: he is a critic VIII
mas standards. He knows what h
wants, and he measures out with hi
"Wf NardStick. He has his own idea
aS I" what Art is, and he is prepare
: make his definitions hold gooG
lleil three: he has that complex typ
~ mentality so foreign to America :
We passion for formulating abstractly
ana With ~resounding generalization
MS own ideas about life, philosophy
science, art. Along with this mos
Naiuahle equipment, he possesses
0r''' winch gives meaning to theT
~. fJorkman has been in the Unit
:" states long enough to realize wha
~ hetd-and he has set himself tn
TASK OF contributing, with all the men
."' generosity Of which he is capable
~ nlnistering to our acknowledge
ueSlderata- Need / affirm my syn
p@'hN with, my support Of, a ma
~" would and stimulate
= American eader a passion fC
ne Great. the real, and the valid,
w literature OF our own day. 1t
n"' necessary to accept his CLOWN
1'(iure Of the blessed estate Of ma
'o""N, secured by phiIosoph,