Evening star., 1914-11-14

New York: George II. Doran COM
pany.
way of this little volume
Arnold Bennett gives one the
free run of his workshop. and
IL this, too. with himself at work
there setting out the tools OF
his craft and explaining their uses
Taken together, these essays sum this
writer's experience and embody his
general views of the relation of author
both to his work and to the public.
First in order and Importance here Is
the essay on Seeing Life This is
an exposition of the state of being
essential to authorship. 1t Is dis
cussion of the writer's approach to
life, of his possession by life, of his
preoccupation with it, of his satura-
tion in it, along such lines, or over
such areas, or within such corners of
it as his nature and sympathies and
bent lead him to follow and explore.
Take. for example, Mr.. Benefits own
absorption in the life of Five Towns
and kindred neighborhoods. In fresh
and robust amplitude of Illustration
and concrete case the intensity ana
fullness of vision essential to the
authors craft extend here to make the
foundations of any art or craft as Well
as that of the novel writer and the
play maker. In his essay on writing
novels Mr.. Bennett makes open avowal
in favor of those writer's that ooZe
life at every pore without much If any
effort to regulate or direct the over
flowing tide. With equal fervor ne
declares against the pure technlclah-
In other words, he sets the Tolstoys.
the Balzacs, the Dostoevskis over and
above the Flauberts, the Daudets, the
Maupassants. And of playwriting ne
SAYS too: There is an enormous
amount of vague, reverential nonsense
about the technique of the STAGE go
ing on from this point to elaborate and
expose this nonsense from the stand
point of the successful playwright.
Another heresy against our academic
teachings that he brings out with gusto
is that it is not easier to write novel
than it is to write a short story; not
easier to write novel than to write
play. Having written all of these to the
delight of discriminating readers, one is
inclined to yield textbook wisdom to
the rich fruit of experience. The key to
the handling of these tools of authorship
is common sense. The proving OF the
tools and their uses lies in Mr.. Benefits
own remarkable achievements. His spe-
cial personality and power as an essaylst
place this matter before readers in
manner that is calculated to make this
the most suggestive and useful of studies.
NOTES ON NOVELISTS: With Some
Other Notes. By Henry James. New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Washington: Woodward & Lothrop.
Speaking of Mr.. Bennett leads one
straight to Henry James Notes" on
'"The New Novel; whose general char
acteristics Mr.. James illustrates by the
novels of H. G. Wells and Arnold Ben
nett. with extended, notice of some
young and promising disciples of these
two. In critical observance and study
of microscopic quality Mr.. James finds
The new novel to be, in effect, re-
ceptacle, a vat, so to speak, set to con-
tain the drippingS of authors who have
saturated themselves, soaked and stew
ed themselves, with the multitudinous
and unasSorted facts of the particular
situation theme or problem of their
choice. He lkens these writer's to ro-
tund and juicy oranges. And the mat
ter of literary production with them is
merely to squeeze the orange till it is
dry. In other words. they possess an
enormous bulk of evidence an endless
amount of matter. but they are with
out intention or design, without dis
elimination or selection. Set off against
these writers are Joseph Conrad, Edith
Wharton. John Galsworthy, Maurice
Hewlett as those who possess a COM
plete and balanced equipment composed
of both material and an adequate
method of employing it for literary
ends. In addition to this essay are
Notes" on Zol;,, Balzac Flaubert Ca
brielle d'AnnunZio, Matilde Serao Du-
mas the younger and George Sand, the
last comprehensive and suggestive
study of contradictory and puzzling
personality. One does not read Henry
James. He studies him instead And
when he has cleared Mr. James line
OF thought from its curious entangle-
OF critical opinions of SURPRISING acu.
,'e3. lntuitive, sympathetic human.
bnttresSed with literary knowledge and
supported by standards of pure culture
EGYPT IN TRANSITION BY Sidney
Low. With an Introduction by the
Eari OF Cromer. New York The
Macmillan Company.
Egypt is, one judges, a very resI
place of relatively modern mieu to
winter visitants of that country. The
untraveled person finds it difficult
however. to separate Egypt from the
Bible or TO endow it with present
actuality or anything like modern
substance And this. too, despite Mr.
Informing press. Mr.. Sidney Low has
mere turned the trick. \ real inn,ne-
uiat". urgent and fascinating modern
Egypt stands out in this most readable,
account OF the various aspects of
Egyptian life. Mr.. Low is Il good ALI
round observer. practiced to some
thing like perfection in the art of
tracing what he sees to its logical
source of gathering his observations
INTO uplts of fact or implication and of
pushing these forward toward plausi-
bic eventualities. With this method he
examines into the STRINGS of Egypt,
III Its response to the mighty impulse
that is awakening the entire world In
clear and graphic manner he sketches
ITS relation TO England. He paints
scenes-k hartuIn, Omdurman the
desert. he pictures the motley of
races and describes in large lines their
independent relations in society, poll
tics, industry. Beginning with the
SUDAN, as the most inviting as well as
the least known part of the country,
Mr.. Low moves gradually out of it and
down the Nile to Cairo, recording i'm
pressions along the various stages of
his passage. This compre hensive ac-
count. discriminating and well-bal-
anced Is a timely study of the flux OF
change through hich the country of
Egypt IS now passing.
FAR JOURNEY. By Abraham Nitric
lsihbany. Boston: Houghton Milf
Hin Company.
"A Far Journey is this writer's story
Of his own life. About twenty years ago
Abraham Nitric Rihbany. Syrian youth.
landed in New York possessed of the
clothes upon his back and of 9 cents
within his pocket. Today Abraham Nit
rie Rihbany. American is the disttn-
suished pastor Of notably large and in
duential church. Beyond an introduc-
az he., f,,I nil.