Life — April 2, 1908 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

» that the n of those from per. equenters > wam— libraries couraging y, widely > subway, cars, ie- ay to the hat “the “oligarch erson in- 1 if it be ng in his he won't not been hand to : inclina- st to the . As for able to assured NOW asa s a dod- spect for kiss the has the ves the y file by ot Ade, category scribble 0 press, forbids. tas it e objec: ary, the ral may and the setually ¢ have , Golly w there nature milder such a Ss, Literary, Zo9 F saa ourselves never apply it to any person or thing. It may be a false sense of delicacy, but, indeed, we never do—never since we heard the little girl’s account of Achilles “His mother dipped him in the stinks, and he became intolerable.” The Brutality of Critics BRtise literary criticism is not so brutally blunt as in the old days when the Quarterly killed Keats, and Byron belabored Bob Southey; but there are it when it would scem that its studied iteness is a strain, and that it longs for the vigorous exercise of the cudgel. It not long ago that the essayist, Arthur C. Benson, resented Randal Charlton’s su; gestion that Mr. Benson wrote his essa) “with a yard measure”—a remark which (as Mr. Benson pointed out) would never have been made orally, face to face, at the club. The genial Mr. Birrell has subse- quently been moved to deplore the bile and spleen mingled with wit, and, if possible, garnished with brains, which are “popular ingredients” in a review, and are “certain to give pain to somebody.” ~ 8 # T IS an aye of kind-heartedness and sensitiveness to suffering, when men are so intent on ameliorating the condition of their fellows that they will amass great fortunes at any cost, in order to redistribute the moncy in charity. The principle is open to some objections; but the impulse of kindness is apparent. Tolerance, charity, good-will are in the air, and are not without their effect on literary criti cism, Yet one cannot help thinking, with Mr. Benson and Mr. Birrell in mind, that the British have not wholly outgrown the “rough touch, peculiarly English,” which Taine discovered in Macaulay, who “when 's, knocks down.” ~ * * 2 in the United States, where book iewers are amiable to the point of simply ignoring books which they cannot conscientiously praise, literary criticism inclined to over-toleration. ‘Always write like a gentleman,” counseled Prof. Brander Matthews, a good many years ago; and who shall say that the counsel has made mollycodd les of our critics? But Mr. Benson has found it otherwise in England, and the suggestion he is reported to have put forward as an aid to the amenities— namely, that critics and authors should become acquainted with one another per- sonally—is entitled to respectful con- sideration. ‘Don’t you hate that man?” some one asked Walt Whitman. “Hate him?” echoed Walt. “Why, I fnow him!” * 8 * SUCH is the moral influence of personal intercourse. What might not happen if Miss Marie Corelli would abstain from scolding at her critics, and give them an N the same sense that you rightly re- gard your apparel as more than cloth- ing, and your rugs as more than coverings—you may well floor regard your vehicles as more than mere objects of utility. In no way can an owner so clearly show his discrimination and stamp his personality upon his stable as by the choice of Studebaker vehicles, harness, and stable accessories. Studebaker pres consecutive Studebaker the Studeba tion and _finis knowledge. STUDEBAKER Largest Vehicle Manujacturers in the World SOUTH BEND, IND. EW YORK CITY “Studebaker, Bros New York, Broadway and 48th Give 98 Warren ue. CHICAGO, ILL.—Studebaker Bros. Mfg. Co., 378 and 388 Wabash Avenue. KANSAS CITY, MO.—Studebaker Bros. ‘Mig. Co., 13th and Hickory Streets. years of appre style is ker matchless construc- tion. authoritati — a matter of common BROS. MFG. CO. REPOSITORIES: 4 Utab, 157 and 150 ORE.—Studebaker Bros st, 330 and 336 Fast DALLAS, Mogrison Street Co. wire tery Che alas od MORRIS COUNTY COUNTRY CLUB CONVENT Nod ige is due to no caprice of fashion, but to fifty 0, CAL Studebaker SEATTLE, WASH .—Studehaker Hins, Co. Market and Northwest ITY, UTAH — Stude- eX VER, COLO.—Studebaker Bros. Mfg. Co., rsth and lake Str EXAS—Studebaker Bros. Mfg and 319 Elm Street CLIC «Sg ~? ZERO COLD TEST Keep Your Spark Plugs Clean carbonizing oil, ends all the troubles of carbon, ‘I friction in gasoline engine lubrication. Gives perfect lub: fication in any gasoline engine, reganiless of type or temperature. OIL ZEROLENE, the ‘This oil is produced in only one place parenting en tn ZY ROLENE (abo pubup ta barrels tor the garage trade. ‘Sold by dealers every were STANDARD OIL COMPANY (incorporated) comicbooks.com