Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-10-16
lANDREW CARNEGLE,S LITERARY MASTERPIECE
HOWELLS STUDIES
RURAL SOCIOLOGY
And in Doing IL Produces a
Novel That Justifes the
Fame He Won

The old saying that there can be no
disputing about taste referred to mat.
ters of liking and not to matters of
conduct. If man likes a horid neck
tie, that concerns him alone. If al
woman wears large hat because she
likes large hats, no one need question
hcr. Rut " one is rude in manners IL
flections are suggested by the action
of the late William Dean Howells in
Withholding from publication till after
his death a novel he wrote twenty years
ago merely because he did not think 1t
good taste to print It earliers Some Of
the characters in IL are said to be
drawn from real people. He did not
wish to hurt their feelings by having
their amiable weaknesses exhibited at a
This is why "The Vacation Of the Kcl
wyns,'' written in 1900 and put in type
in 1910, has not seen the light till the
autumn of 1920.
The novel was produced when How
ellis was at the height Of his powers.
His art had developed and mellowed.
and his observation had broadened and
his tolerance had grown tender when
he wrote the book. All this is mani
Tested in 1t. 1t is work of art so
perfect that the reader forgets that
there is any art in it. The story is told
with simplicity and directness and
calmness that are refreshing. 1t is
refreshing, too, to read novel in which
there are no cabarets and no jazz bands
and no neurasthenic females experi
menting with life. There was none Of
this sort of thing in the period when
the action takes place. This was in the
summer Of 1876. The Kelwyns are col
lege people. The husband is lecturer
| oil In, ,u1n n,,I oil
He has a wife and two small boys. The
family leases farm from the Shakers
in southern New Hampshire and plan a
pleasant vacation, with farmer and
his wife looking after the crops and the
household arrangements.
The problem which Mr.. Howells con
siders is the adjustment of a professor
Of sociology more than forty years ago
to the sociological facts of rural New
just himself very we'll. This is done
more successfully by Elihu Emerance
young man with dreams of doing
various things. who happens into the
/ community. He understands the coun
try people much better than they are
, understood by Kclwyn, though he pro
fesses to no expert knowledge of sociol'
/, ogy. His understanding comes from
the fact that he regards them as human
beings, which Kelwyn cannot do. The
! professor, sprung from farm the sam,
! as Emerance. has so far forgotten hi
: early life that he regards the countr.
, folk as belonging to different ordel
Of beings. But Emerance, with a kind
, ly tact. helps him over many hare
. places and In gentle way preache
= what Is apparently the social philosoph.
3 of the author. He is most interesting
creation-or portrait. One cannot hell
wondering whether it was he or Kelwyl
or both who was modelled on rea
man. and who the man was.
The love story Of Emerance and
r cousin of the Kelwyns is told mos
= charmingly. 1t begins quickly, but
e slow in progressing. The girls feelin
e that Emerance is socially beneath he
n holds her back, and the modesty Q
y Emerancc prevents him from maxim
d any attempt to force himself upon hel
a The proposal and acceptance are s
It different from the usual fictional fori
C that they convince the reader Of thei
= historical accuracy. This phrase
r used advisedly because the book i'm
t presses the reader not as fiction. but a
e the telling of things that actually hap
d pened and in just the way they cam
= to pass.
= The book will confirm the verdic
It long since reached that Mr.. Howell
= was a novelist OF rare distinction an
t deserved the place he held in America
h letters.
II THE VACATION OF THE KELN YNS 4
n Idyl OF the Middle Eighteen Seventies Ne
York: Harper Bros.