Evening star., 1947-07-31
This and That
By Charles T.. TracetDell.
Every reader has a blind spot.
Or maybe several!

Every reader has blind spot.
Or maybe several
One of these spots might .be Jane Austen
This was shown very neatly not long ago
by words used to advertise reissue of an
old in1n1tation of the immortal Jane.
The words were from the autobiography
of Theodore Roosevelt, muscle and bookman
of the old days
He praised the work. and said at the same
time that he knew of no one else who had
read it.
We wondered why he said nothing about
Jane Austen, from whose novels this one was
copied. so We looked up his book and found
out why.
II still read a number Of Scott's novels over
and over again. said the immortal Teddy,
whereas If 1 finish anything by Miss Austen
I have feeling that duty performed in rain
bow to the soul.
But other booklovers who are very close
kin to me, and whose taste I know to be
better than mine, read Miss Austen all the
time-and, moreover, they are very kind. and
never pity me in too offensive manner for
not reading her myself"
1t is difficult to explain why such an omni-
verous reader as Theodore Roosevelt did not
like Emma" and Sense and Sensibility," !"
and the rest of Jane Austen's short shelf.
1t simply must have been because he had
blind spot, in reading sense. With some 1t
any one speaks OF him.
Others fairly foam at the mouth over the
mention Of Longfellow.
One may suspect that 1t was bit of book
snobbery that made Roosevelt prefer the irni-
tation to the real thing.
Every reader likes to feel that he has found
something no other reader knows much about.
Or at least that not many readers know.
The lack of hambouyancy may have had
something to do with 1t. Jane did not go in
for scenery descriptions, or high-fown
imagery To her, the main thing one might
even say the only thing, was the character.
The readers of this quiet lady named Jane
are likely to be quiet people.
Not calm to the point of non adventure. In
many an explorers tent will be found her
books. But there is quietness of spirit that
makes her readers much alike the world over.
Theodore Roosevelt did not have that sort
of quietness.
He spoke true word when he said his rela-
tives who we're fond of Jane Austen never
pitied him in too offensive manner for not
reading her
That, indeed, is a mark of the cult of Jane
Austen.
another In that way, for it Is Universally recog
nized by her friends of today that her books
are taste, and taste into which one either
comes naturally or by growth.
There is no bullying another reader into
liking her.
The schools tried that for many years. and
made q complete failure of it. Thousands OF
persons today "hate" pride and Prejudice"
simply because they were forced to read it in
school.
It is significant that Roosevelt, who could
read page merely by looking at 1t, flip flip,
flip, spoke of the taste of his Austen reading
relatives as better than his own.
There is, indeed, certain superiority OF
heart mind And spirit possessed by those who
honestly love the stories of that quiet, unas-
suming and humorous lady of long ago. Not
so long ago, thank goodness, that she seems
strange to u.s. but she had superiority that
appeals to many today, who rightfully may
smile at the quirk Of so many modern readers
who search so feverishly for the very latest
''bestseller" The best book, after all, is the
beStkeepeF isn't ttf ..