The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-16

of an adorins circle: another who never
revises' arouses even more poignant de-
SPAR. The labOrious Baizac tearing his
proofs to pieces seems only a d!n:y and
pitiable figure. Nobody knows the d,f-
ference and what's a well turned SEN
tence more or less2 l saw recently a
newspaper editorial commenting de-
risivcly on a novellst's confession that
he was capable of only a thousand words
a day. the point being that the average
newspaper writer triples this output
without fatigue. Newcomers into the
field can hardly fail To be impressed by
these rumors of novels knocked of In a
month or three months. for which
astonishing sums have been paid by
generous ma editors. We shall
have better fiction as soon as ambitious
writer's realize that novel writing is a
high calling and that success is to be
won only by those who are willing to
serve seven and yet seven other years
In the hope of winning "the crown of
time"
In his happy characterization OF
rurgenieN and his relation to the
OUNCE French school OF realists, MIR.
James speaks of the great back garden
OF his Slav Imagination n his Ger
manic culture. into which the door con-
stantly stood open. and the ~ggandsons
/ OF Balzac were not, ! think. particularly
ll1t " accompany HlIF vi ulAh'
indebted to Mr.. James for certain words
uttered by NJ. Renan of the big Russian A:
His conscience was not that of al in
TO whom nature had been
more or less generous II was in some
sort the conscience of a people. Before
he was born he had lived for thousands
or years infinite SUGGESTIONS OF reverles
had amassed themselves in the depths
OF his heart. No man has been as much
as he the incarnation of a whole race;
generations Of ancestors. lost IN the
sleep of centuries, speeches., came
through him to life and u~tterance."
make no apology for thrust!nS m?
tin dipper again into Mr.. Janes's bub-
bling well for an anvcdote OF Flaubert,
derived from Edmond de G~oncourt.
Flaub-rt was missed one fine AFTERNOON
in a house where lie and DE Goncourt
were guests and was found To have
undressed and gone To bed to think.
shall not give comfort to the enemy
by any admission that our novelists
lack culture in the sense that Turgenieit
and the great French masters possessed
II. A matter OF which | may COM
plain with more propricty Is their lack
of 'information'' (and | hope this term
IL sufficiently delicate) touching the
tasks and aims of America. We have
been deluged with big" novels that
are big only in the publishers adver-
tiseInents. New York has lately been
the scene of many novels. but the New
York dumbrats IN most OF them Is
only the metropolis as exposed 10 inc
awed gaze OF provincial tourists IRON
the r~ubberneck Sex. lately DIS
covered for exploitation. has resulted
only in arrangements" Of garbage N
pink and yellow lightly sprinkled VIII
musk. -.
A. ,hg. -of-t I rnlQ hanIOan Inc MI
Iuck that has carried 80 many AmNri'
can Action writers TO foreign shores. II
Hawthorne had never seen Italy, ou
had chung to Salem, | am disposed u
think American literature would be th'
richer. II fate had not carried Mr.
Hnwells to Venice. but had held hin
close to the Ohio during the might.
!, struggles of the sos. and II MIR. Jane
, had been stationed at Chicago. close u
I the deep current or natlonal i'e'lns
what "A monumental library OF vital nc
: ton they would nave given us " Mrs
. Wharton's splendid gifts had been con
secrated to the service of PlttsDur'
rather than TO that of New York am
Paris, how much greater might he GU
debt to her,
Q An astonishing number of short storie
Il have shown "A grasp OF the moVeWeH'
energy and color OF American NE, pu
writer's who have succeeded IN this ne''
o have seemed incapable of longer Nights
: And the originality possessed by "A grea
number of short story writer's seems u
Q be shared only meagrely by those WIN
4, experiment with the novel. When Ma
1 aulay' New Zealander or some ven
4 tursCfne Marian avagcs the Librar
z OF Congress. 1t Is In the short story al
: vision that he will find the surest ke'