Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-30
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

While book buyers, book sellers and
book publishers have gone of in full
cry after the glittering hound of sales,
Here is something new" many read
er, wearied with the attempt to keep
up with the procession. gives it over
and goes back to the good old things.
While so engaged he comes upon the
following magic words: Human life
may be painted according to two meth
DDS. There is the stage method. Ac-
cording to that, each character Is duly
marshalled at first and ticketed: we
know with an immutable certainty that
at the right crises each one will re-
appear and act his part, and, when
the curtain falls, all will stand before
it bowling. There is q sense of salts
faction in this, and of completeness.
But there is another method-the
method of the life we all lead. Here
nothing can be propheSied. There is a
strange coming and going Of feet. Men
appear, act and react upon each other
and pass away. When the crisis comes,
the man who would fit it does not re-
turn. When the curtain falls, no one
is ready. When the footlights are
brightest. they are blown out; and
what the name of the play Is no enc
knows. If there sits q spectator who
knows, he sits so high that the players
IN the gaslight cannot hear his breath
to either method; but the methods are
different. The canons Of criticism
that bear upon the one cut cruelty
upon the other"
We recommend the above, not only
to the tribe of novelists, but to those
scores of Would-be novelists who care
fully, tearfully hide manuscripts from
the prytng eyes OF the home folks. It
Is q terrible thing to be an embryo
novelist. A novel-any novel-demandS
the truth, and how few are fitted to
receive IT! The man or woman who has
achieved the dignity CT a published
work, by that very fact has taken on
with the home folks aspects of peculiar
ity. They are not as other men or
women. Much may be forgiven them.
But the unwary, ambitious person who
has no name on title page needs must
su1fer II he unguardedly exposes the first
fruits Of his genius to the ungentle eyes
OF the mob. Why, is this character sup
posed to be me? Do you have reference
to Uncle Ben In the picture here? Surely
you should never have dreamed such q
thing, etc., etc.
The lines quoted above were written
Dy young EngliShWoman, In the
preface to the second edition Of her
nrst published work, THE Story Of An
African Farm" It was in the year 1888
when Emile lola, in France. was In the
height Of his naturalistic career.
Probably Olive Schreiner had been
influenced by the French writer, or
at least his reputation. At any rate.
she had his same methods, with varia-
tons. The lines quoted were her reply
70 those critics who had disliked her
introduction OF q new character half
way through her book. She had no
sympathy with the demand that her
book had no right to be as she wrote
1t. but should have been otherwise, in
order to better suit the ideas of those
who had not written it. She belonged
TO the tnnumerable tribe of writer's who
resent the critics, and no doubt she was
right, as they all are.
Should one sit down to paint the
scenes among which he has grown, he
VIII md that the facts creep upon him.
Those brilliant phases and shapes which
the imagination sees in far-off lands are
not for him to portray. Sadly he must
squeeze the color from his brush and
dip 1t into the gray pigments around
him. He must paint what lies before
him"
Such was her stern message to the
world, as Of June, 1888. She had writ
ten two novels previously, but neither
was to see the light Of day until many