The New York herald., 1922-10-08
mental exclusiyeness popularity ascribed

mental exclusiveness popularity ascribed
to Boston:
Here is to jolly old Boston. the home of the
bean and the cod,
Where the Cabots speak only to Lowells and
Lowells speak only to God.
Now for an Englishman Mr.. Chesterton
did fairly WELL He caught something of
the flavor of the original lines. Yet be-
tween his version and the real version
there is a world of significant difference
IKE other English visitors before him
~ Mr.. Chesterton was much impressed
by what we call the elevator" and they
call the "lift." 1t moves him to senten-
tious utterance. He says: with all that
we hear of American hustle and hurry,
it is rather strange that Americans seem
to like more than we do to linger upon
long words. Anyhow they say elevator
when we say lift. just as they say auto
mobile when we say motor, and stenog-
rapher when we say typist, or sometimes
(by slight confusion) typewriter.
Which reminds me of another story that
never existed about man who was ac-
cused of having murdered and dismem-
bered his secretary when he had only
taken his typing machine to pieces. The
American may have another reason for
giving long and ceremonious titles to the
lift. When first 1 came among them /
had suspicion that they possessed and
practiced new and secret religion, which
was the cult of the elevator. I fancied
that they worshiped the lift, or at any
rate worshiped in the lift. The details
or data of this suspicion it were now vain
to collect, as I have regretfully aban-
doned it."
MIR. CHESTERTON himself sharply
A'A emphasizes that difference in Ian
guage to which reference has been made
in an earlier paragraph. Suppose" he
writes, IAN interviewer had said that
had the reputation of being a nut. I
should be f1attered but family surprised
at such tribute to my dress and dashing
exterior. I should afterward be sobered
and enlightened by discovering that in
America nut does not mean dandy
but defective or imbecile person :.
An interviewer once asked me who was
the greatest American writer. / have for
gotten exactly what I said, but after men,
tioning several names I said that the
greatest natural genius and artistic force
was probably Walt Whitman. The printed
interview is more precise, and students of
my literary and conversational style will
be interested to know that said: See
here, Walt Whitman was your one real
red blooded man."
A MOTHER book by transatlantic visi-
\ tor, Margot Asquith's my impress
sions of America" George H. Doran
Company. But there Is great differ
ence. Mr.. Chesterton is stylist and a
great literary force, whatever we may
think of his opinions of America. Mrs.
Asquith may be force, but she is not
literary force, and she certainly is not
stylist. The wrapper of the book informs
us that: "For frankness Margot Asquith
holds the palm. Her autobiography was
a storm center for months for this very
reason. Now she has set down what she
thinks of us after tumultuous tour of
the United States last fall The book is
brilliant and provocative and will be read
and discussed for its friendly, spicy esti-
nation Of a nation she admires very
greatly" Occasionally the writer's of
wrapper Endorsements are inclined to