Life — March 4, 1886 — page 7: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

- LIFE: The elder Corey in “ Silas Lapham.” was the intellectual forerunner of Co/vi//e. Along. this line the powers of Mr. Howells seem now to be developing. It is a precarious path for any but the most skilful artist. On one side lies flip- pancy, on the other hollow cynicism. The inherent truth of Mr. Howells’s nature will keep him out of the ditch. * * * GAIN, in this book, as in the love affair of the Laphams, he pleads for the application of common sense to the affections. In the portrait of. /mogene he has shown both the allurements and follies of romanticism. ‘The lesson would have lost all its force if Jmogene had been made weak or ludicrous. But you never doubt her sincerity and lov- ableness, even when fully aware of her mistake. This is the age of reason, and impulse, no matter how noble, is no longer the guide of life. Mr. Howells believes in comfortable matches. And why not? If man owes it to the race to double his responsibili- ties in life, why complicate that duty with the emotional terrors in which so nfany of our novelists revel? Let us love rationally, and if need be have a board of arbitration to settle affairs of the heart. . ee. A NOTHER of the old idols of romance is shattered by Mr. Howells in the interest of truth. For years we have been admiring noble actions as the result of simple motives. The mechanism of a kindly deed has been shown to us as something very easily understood. But in this novel the complexity of motives is laid bare. The subtle mental process by which a thoroughly honest man can de- ceive himself is exhibited with striking truth. Such a study should make man charitable toward his fel- lowman. . . . OMPLETE the picture with M/rs. Bowen waging a brave strife between love and duty, with Efe, a well-bred child who is not stupid,and with the Rev. Mr. Waters calmly tearing aside the veil of New England theology to look on the face of Truth—and you have one of the best examples of recent American fiction. Droch. * NEW BOOKS + FISHING WITH THE FLY. Sketches by Lovers of the Art, with Illustrations of Standard Flies. Collected by Charles F. Orvis and A. Nelson Cheney. Boston : Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Puddings and Dainty Desserts. By Thomas J. Murrey, New York: White, Stokes & Allen. Indian Summer. By W.D. Howells, Boston : Ticknor & Co. A Conventional Bohemian, By Edmund Pendleton. New York : D. Appleton & Co. CASHIER out west is named De Camp. Strange to say he has not yet bolted for Canada. A LOST OPPORTUNITY. ENERAL HANCOCK died on Tilden’s birthday, and Governor Seymour died on Lincoln's birthday; but Washington’s birthday has passed, and Mr. Garland is still in office. Some men never know when to go. ‘ HIS LITTLE LIST. IR JOHN LUBBOCK'S list of writers Has raised such a host of fighters To defend the hundred authors Whom they hold to be the best, That the little list 7 cherish In oblivion shall perish, For “de gustibus,” as Horace says, Non disputandum est. Still, one writer much respected, By myself, they 've all neglected, But I''m sure I have you with me When I solemnly aver, That a plain and simple letter Is unquestionably better Than the writings of the ages— When the letter is from her. R. H. Davis, SOME LITERAL TRANSLATIONS, XITUS acta probat—The exit proves the actor. Finem respice—Look out for a fine. Manu forte—A man of forty. Manu forte—An ex-soldier (man who fought). Post nubila Phatbus—Pheebus posts no bills. Assez consent qui ne mot dire—Asses consent without saying a word, DEMORALIZING EFFECT OF PANORAMIC ART. Yones (who has just been much absorbed in the Merrimac and Monitor panorama): 1 BEG PARDON, BUT I WANTED TO SEE WHETHER YOU WERE REAL OR PAINTED. comicbooks.com