The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-03-07
LETTERS TO EDITOR
REPLIES TO MIR. BENTLEY

To the Editor of The Age-Herald.
 1 read in The Age-Herald of March the letter from MT. Robert T. Bentley, wherein Dolly Dalrymple and others were accused of being unduly influenced in their appreciation of MT. Octavus Roy Cohen's stories on account of the fact that he is a native of Birmingham. Your critic thinks, he says, that your favor able comments on MT. Cohens fiction Twas offense" against the cause of good ltera- ture.
 Concerning the character of "Florian SlAp- pey," MT. Bentley states that Mir. Cohen's "chef mistake his attempt to put in the mind and mouth of his character ideas and words far above the latters capacity" "They lose sight," he says, speaking of modern writers of fiction, "of the mental capacity of their characters, and substitute for the same their own capacity of thought and expression"
 Further, says MT. Bentley: "If it were pos sible for the dead to take notice of what the living are doing, the spirits of Joseph Addison, Oliver Goldsmith and Washington Irving, would rebuke with indignation the slangish writers of the present day for daring to as- sault the dignity of pure literature with their literary popguns."
 think all of us will agree that Washing
 
 ican man of letters; since 100 years ago his name became household word in this coun- try. I think it is interesting, therefore, to compare some of his classics with modern writing
 Take, for instance, his satirical miscellany called Salmagundi, or the whim Whams and Opinions of Launcelot, Langstaff and Others, which appeared in 1807 Here is what Wash 4Iot IL. fashionable ladies morning dress for walk ing: "If the weather be cold, a thin muslin gown is most advisable; because it agrees with the season, being perfectly cool. The neck, arms and particularly the elbows bare, in or der that they may be agreeably painted and mottled by MT. John Frost, nose painter gen eral, of the color of Castle soap Shoes of kid, the thinnest that can possibly be pro- cured, as they tend to promote colds, and make a lady look interesting G e. grizzly) Picnic silk stockings, flesh coored are most fash ionable as they have the appearance of bare legs-nudity being all the rage" History at least in this respect in 1922 is repeating i.- self.) This Irving says, "Is being dressed la drabble."
 The foregoing excerpt shows that humor and little slang companions in 1So7
 Again Washington Irving puts into the mouth of of his characters (ideas and words far above the characters capacity), an Arabic Greek, whose name was Mustapha Rub-a-Dub Kei Khan, the following words: 'From this thou wilt learn, most illustrious disciple~of Mohamet, that have for some time resided in New York. -. The Christian husbands here lament most bitterly any short absence from home with but one wife behind to lament their departure; while thus I am lingering at immeasurably distance from three and twenty of the most obedient wives in Tripoli! as graceful Mohamets camel z. in the meantime do not beat my beloved wives unless you catch them with their noses out at the window"
 Further Mustapha says, "Oh, Abdallah, my friend, economy is the watch word of this nation; have been studying for month past to divine its meaning; it is kind of national starvation, an experiment how many comforts and necessaries the body polite be de- prived of before it perishes like the Arabian philosopher who proved that, he could live without food, but unfortunately died just before he had brougit his experir 1t to per lection"
 Certainly interess is not lesser d or de- tracted from Musta paa letters because Wash ington Irving gave an words sn6 ideas far above an Arabs ca paeity.
 One of America best writers cently said: "True stories are seldom artistic . and story telling is a hard traoe. It always was. The early minstre eonpairee oi it. When they had small audience thes would not have enough breaa When they lad large audience there alv gs happened to be someone who took offense nl some part oi the story"
 And so it goes a ciFiiizsticn is to be de- stroyed, it will not be on account of the de- cadence of the literature of our country. Had it been naturall, nossilse for win Cobb 70 have written "Bs ek Home, 1T 07 his name would now be al aag the mnle als, the place where posterity vll sssign it.
 f E. HUEY.
 Birmingham, March :. fa22.