New-York tribune., 1922-03-05

s&'e vsars suoolans,
t!ss north organ? Has any ors renrt t,,..a ss.@f
paper the cheerful spirit Of the work,ns ~ y
who once said TO me: owe have lots - tss
down at our house pretty near every r,.a ~
papa isn't working this winter, but ha,s ~" =.
ful funny?
At the present moment cannot rAc.u
single piece Of fiction sufficiently wvis s..|
truthful TO convey to future readers an III.
what New York life actually is, and ca, ,..S
only three authors whom I can credf. asss
pieces Of this life that might be includ.d :.
a mosaic intended to represent tha whnls
OF these "bit" writer's, the greatest Is ".
Edith Wharton, who deserves the bis..s'
praise for many qualities apart from tss IN,
with which she has portrayed one or two s,.@
corners Of the many strata Of which the to,rs.
social structure is composed. She has d.s.
her work with pen at once analytical cr,
scientious, panstaking and ironicd -,
'fThe House Of Mirth" is an example d nh.
an accomplished writer can do in aela H..
is small and by no means the most intsren..
one in our cosmopolitan town. The verisiraP
tude Of her story and its characters is an,l.
attessed by the number Of persons who shonys.
they knew from whom Lily Bart vas drau~
A slight change in the social scale pr,s
Us TO the class that might be described :,
"smalI-aat people" In the portrayal Of ss
class the late o. Henry was without usr
Although not a native Of New York, he s.ens
to have taken in its atmosphere and salis,.
features, the customs Of It's inhabitants .r,
their varied schemes for making living AZ
single glance, and what he saw he produced il
short sketches and stories, many Of which IN
deserving Of preservation.
Descending still further in the social s.sh
we come upon Miss Helen Green. whose w,I
though lacking in the exquisite literary auais
Of Mrs. Wharton's, is equally authorissdr
and marked By fine Satire humor She hu
confined herself to short stories and skstchs
and, so far as I know, has never attempted
novel. Her understanding Of life is as keen
that Of o. Henry, and the feds in which sts
.abored are those closed to 81 other fem.n:n
pens, though they appeal 70 those women d:
the higher class who are interested in I've
other than Eheir own The variety acton
boarding house, the opium joint, the racetraa
the criminal haunts Of the town, the gambi,s
house and the Great White Way have suppis
her with materials, and she has fashioned be-
little stories 50 truthfully that even the classs
she writes about never question their au.hg
ticity.
It will be observed that wit, humor CT bs.
may be found in the work Of each Of ths.
three writer's, and although not one Of then
is native to our city, they have al graspts
some Of its salient features instinctiyely a.:
have seen things invisible to those born h..s
Nor is one Of them Of the 'cataloguing" yps
meaning those who set down with reticulou
care everything not worth setting down nE
paper and still less worthy Of setting Up
type.
1t is absolutely essential that the novels
who endeavors to portray New York Lit
should be capable Of appreeiating what Is II
ciculous and giving fitting expression to u
which is another way OF saying that ne shontl
be wit himself. The mere fact thas gaaniri
wit has been thrown into eclipse, so far as OF
social life is concerned, by lippancy and but.
foonery is proof OF our need Of witty writer
Those who are merely serious will nsvs
understand the difference between such nz
as Clarence King, Joseph 4. Chosts, Williss
r. Travers, r. F. Marbury and q gentlsms
who was considered to rank as their peer b.
cause he was once so witty as 70 drag G.
through the streets Of Newport.