Life — October 4, 1906 — page 34: what you’re looking at

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

“REE and best sense of that term. Now I want to know honestly just what you think about my work.” Merlin toyed with the contract, moving it restlessly up and down on the desk. It was ready for her to sign. She had come in for that purpose. “Miss Garth,” he said, “* you have put me to an embarrassment. You are not going to like it when I repeat that I consider you the cleverest woman I have ever met.” No, no. Lwant you to regard me as being dead. 1 want you to look upon my work in an impersonal, posthumous manner. How do you consider it will rank?” Merlin squirmed mentally, and almost phy ically, You are not going to let my opinion make any difference in our relationship?” he asked. “OF course not. Don’t you see that you will he doing me an immense service?” Merlin squared around. “All right,” he re- plied decisive “Tf you wish to know my real opinion, Miss Garth, your work will be practically unknown twenty years from now, and will only be barely mentioned in literary history of the future. “Why do you think that ? “Because it is too clever. You are a stylis No stylist ever lives beyond his own shado Henry James is doomed, George Meredith doomed, Maurice Hewlitt, man of mannerisms, is doomed, every author who has a clever style which ‘catches on’—excuse the slang—is is not for me to say what book will live, but I know that yours will not. You have asked me for the truth—there it irretrievably doomed. It Miss Garth’s face tightened. “Splendid,” she replied, “That is exactly what I want. Tell me more.” “To explain all the reasons for my feeling about your work would too much time. But the fact is that your very cleverness, your trick of phraseology, the smartness of your situations, are fatal to permanence. The great works are simple, The books that live have no style. They grow naturally out of the soil. They are not forced. They are crude, vulgar, if you will, homely, rank, hardy.” “But you urged me to cultivate myself.” I did it because I knew tha cleverness was your only asset. You are not capable, and it would be folly to expect of you to do a great work. The great artists do not come about inthat way. Youarc entitled to every possible deference for what you have done.” “Do you think the fact that I am a woman counts against. me? There are George Eliot, George Sand, Sappho—any number of others,”* “Tt might in spite of those examples. I do not . That is beyond me. T am judging your f it had no sex, and I tell you, Mi iarth, that the fatal facility which creates a style cpigrammatic and clever is doomed for a day.” Miss Garth got up, walked to the window, turned her face away from Merlin and looked out at the delivery wagon as it took away the five hundred copies of the fifth edition. When she turned, her voice was slightly altered. “Thank you, Mr. Merlin,” she said. “It is refreshing to get a genuine opinion.” She took out her watch, “Really, I did not realize it was so late. I must be going.” Merlin picked up the contract. ‘I have this paper ready for you, Miss Garth.” “Oh, yes, the contract.” “Here is the place for you to sign, I will call a witness.” She picked up the paper and looked it over. “You have read it?” said Merlin. “Yes, [think I should like to read it again.” “Tt is dated to-day.” She tapped it on the desk, hesitatingly. ‘Is it?” she said, ‘How unfortunate. It may be necessary to have it done over.” “Then you will not sign—now?” “T think not.” She moved toward the door. Merlin got up. ‘Miss Garth,” he said, ‘have I offended you?” “No, oh, no, But don’t let’s talk about that now,” she replied. “I must really be going. You will hear from me later about this paper. Good- afternoon, Mr, Merlin.” . Merlin hovered around her as she slipped out of the room. His embarrassment was almost painful. ‘The moment she was gone, however, he became another man, The first thing he did was to swear. He used every bad word that he could think of in a continuous succession. Then he rang the bell furiously. A clerk came. “Where is Mr. Carter? Is he in his office?” “No, sir. I heard him say he was going to Newport.” “‘Good God!” “You might be able to get him over the long distance telephone to-morrow, sir.” Merlin ignored his suggestion. “Get me a time-table,” he said. “I must take the first train. * * : Mr. Carter was a large, benevolent, cultivated, canny gentleman of about si: That is to say, he was in the prime of life. He had relegated a large part of his duties at the office to Mr. Merlin, in that calm fecling of confidence which one in a trusted associate, and he was spending as much of his leisure time as possible with a yacht and motor car and his friends. So that when Mr. Merlin, late in the evening, walked into his house at Newport, Mr. Carter experienced an almost unpleasant fecling of surprise. Merlin closed the door upon them abruptly. “Tve done it,” he said. ‘I always knew I would do it.” “Done what?” said Mr. Carter, more sur- prised than ever “Made an ass of myself.” Mr. Carter smiled. ‘That’s nothing,” he said. “It’s good for a man to make an ass of ‘himself occasionally.” “Tt’s about Miss Garth.” “Ha! Her book is great, isn’t it? I have had to answerall kinds of questions, knowing, as I do, almost nothing about it. What’s the trouble? T thought you had just made a contract with her.” “T did, and it was already to sign this after- noon—she came in for that purpose—when in a moment of insanity I told her what I really thought about her work.” “Hal” Merlin flushed, and continued. ‘For years I have been Miss Garth’s adviser, You know ! was the one who insisted from the beginning upon publishing her books, even when we were losing money, because I was convinced that some for telling the truth, and I couldn’t explain day she would make good. Now that she is on the high tide of prosperity I wanted to tie her up to us for the future, in view of our carrying her along in the past. Personally I haven’t any use for her work from a literary standard.” Mr. Carter raised his hand. ‘‘Stop,”’ he said, “T understand the whole thing. You two have been on confidential terms for a long time. She has looked to you more than to any one else for encouragement, suggestion, and so forth. S denly she asks you your real opinion and you are so cock-sure that everything is all right that vou give it. And your fish has got away. Merlin smiled feebly. ‘‘That is about the size of it,” he said. ‘The worst of it is that I couldn't seem to do hing to fix it up. I didn’t see that there was anything to be mad about, and she didn’t act as if she were mad, which made it the more embarrassing for me. I couldn’t apologize She had the whip hand, because she hadn't signed the contract.” “Has she refused absolutel “Oh, no, She simply smiled a sweet smile, said that she would like to read it over again, and took it away with her, But you know, Mr. Carter, what this means. She has been ap- proached by almost every publisher in the country. They are hanging around her front door waiting for a chance to get at her, like a lot of hungry wolves. Now, a thing like this gets out in ways that we cannot understand. It won't take twenty-four hours before some fellow will get.hold of her and offer her a big bonus and she is lost forever.” Mr. Carter thought. He had a yachting trip planned for the next day, and there was a dinner party on for the next evening. “By Jove,” he said, “you have niade a mess of it, haven’t you? What'a chump you were “Wasn't I! I could kick myseli all over the Mr. Carter got up. His face took on a look of resolution. He realized that he was the only one who could act. “Tt means a lot for us,” he said, “and so I suppose I shall have to put on my overalls and go to work, Now, Merlin, you stay here and enjoy yourself for a couple of Go out in the boat, and play golf, and flirt with the women, and forget Miss Garth and the whole publishing business.” * * * The next morning at eleven o'clock Miss Garth, seated in her study, where she was dic- tating a letter toa certain publisher whose name it is not necessary to mention, was interrupted by Mr. Carter’s card, That gentleman followed immediately. : “Miss Garth, pardon me for coming at such an unseemly hour, but I have been so troubled about you that I could not wait to see you. I happened to mect Merlin last night, and in- cidentally mentioned your great book, ‘The Devil’s Throne.’ He told me what he had said to you yesterday afternoon, Now, of course, Miss Garth, Merlin is entitled to his opinion, but it irritated me to feel that“he was so far wrong.” The most prominent author of the day looked at Mr. Carter questioningly, ‘I was inclined to believe,” she said, “that Mr. Merlin.was right.” Carter smiled. ‘ Merlin,” he said, “is a young This story continued on page 388 comicbooks.com