Life — September 26, 1907 — page 19: what you’re looking at

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

Literature and Life HERE,” asked Balzac, in “ Le Peau de Chagrin,” “will you find in the whole ocean of literature a book whose renius can equal this brief notice in the corner of some newspaper: “Yesterday, at four o'clock, a young woman Jung herself into the Seine from the pont des Arts. “Before this laconic Parisian item dramas and romances pale.” ‘The author of “The Human Comedy” voiced the cry that ever goes up from his literary brethren oppressed with the in- adequacy of literature to express life, This sense of futility bears hard upon the —nor is it perceived by the mind alone. There are times when the merely receptive reader realizes the in- sufliciency of genius—its impotence to body forth his own imaginings and to clothe with form and substance the in- corporeal phantoms of his waking dreams. The illusion of the Tale has lost its spell. In vain the novelist manipulates his man ikins; the face of the showman peers forth from behind the printed pages; reality yrips harder than romance. * 8 * [F THIS be true of literature, how im measurably less is the power of ephem- eral fiction to compel the alert and fastid- ious attention—to distract with obvious artifice the observing and sympathetic mind of the man who beholds life? We have a deep-rooted suspicion, founded on occasional conversations with persons to whom fiction is not the sum and substance of contemporary thought, that novel- reading is not the universal habit it seems to be. We even number among our ac- quaintance certain average men and women who insist that the novel bores them. * * * HESE. persons—and there are many such—are not of those who entertain the popular fallacy that a thing is “‘litera- ture” simply because it gets itself printed between book covers, and that the work of the reporter on the daily newspaper is beneath their respectful notice. With Balzac behind us, we ourselves are not ashamed to avow that the shabby drama of Broadway and the sorry romance of the “best seiler” not infrequently pale before the unpretentious narrative of the -police reporter. Similarly, if we except the pro- ductions of a few recognized masters, we venture the opinion that the year’s tale of humor in book form would make a melancholy showing compared with a Continued on page 373 See that your children do not have the delicate bloom and beauty of their young skins impaired by using impure soaps. Such soaps are often responsible for blemishes and defects that are ineradicable. It is for you therefore to safeguard them against these unhealthful influences by insisting on their always being washed with PEARS’ Soap which will permanently preserve the natural freshness, colour, and beauty of the skin from youth to age. PEARS! ts the quintessence of purity and a perfect balm. CHOCOLATES and CONFECTIONS Sixty-four years reputation behind every piece in every box. For sale where the best is sold. STEPHEN F. WHITMAN & SON 1316 Chestnut St., Phila. hak Civen Where will you Sreapas |i Hunt this Fall? Webbing Inimitable in Canada of course Buttonholes Indestructible Write to Wm. Phillips, Eastern G. P.A.Can- Look for the name adian Northern Railway Systems, Toronto, CuGuror on 3 ; Bey pair Canada, for information regarding the famous To be had in eve ts shop hunting grounds of Ontario and Quebec. OO£ per pair Sy OF Se 8 5 OS e || COUNTRY AND SUBURBAN ESTATES STEEL PENS Povment er bose guna we oe «i fase. ‘over the paper without a hitch, services and invite correspondence. :: backs ori haggle. | for Geena P aot 12, N VINAL & NEGUS, Landscape and Garden Architects NCERIAN PEN CO., 349 Broadway, New York Copley Square, - - Boston, Mass. comicbooks.com