V
VOL. XVI., NO. XXIIL
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LINCOLN. NEBR., SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 1901.
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r
OBSERVATIONS.
9 OBSERVAT
1
A Non-intime.
The serial story most talked about
in these parts is Gilbert Parker's
"Right of Way,'' now appearing in
Harper's Magazine. Unquestionably
it is the most interesting serial that
has appeared since Du Maurier's Tril
by. Charley Steele, the hero, is a
"non-intime " He is one of those per
sons who do right without the in
spiration of a passion for righteous
ness. The refuge of the helpless,
tolerant in spite of scoffing, an aes
thete in the word's best sense, the
protector of the weak, and a fascinat
ing philosopher, he bears his own
misfortunes as equably as though
they were his neighbor's troubles.
There are non-intimes with philos
ophical tendencies in Lincoln who
bear their neighbor's troubles with
admirable calmness. Charley Steele
accepted undeserved disgrace, the
world's contumely, the humble call
ing of a tailor and exile from his
dwelling-town, with cheerfulness.
Nevertheless, in the little town a
mong simple poor folk he is a non
intime as he was among his rich
acquaintances in the city he is exiled
from. In some mysterious, world
universal way the villagers feel that
a man has come to live among them
who yet is separated from them by
an aristocratic barrier. They think
they suspect him because he is a
stranger and an unbeliever. The7
are Canadian-French, a simple, un
sophisticated people, good "catholics
all, with a horror of heresy and its
post-mortem consequences. When
they discover that Charley Steele
does not worship God as they do they
suspect him of robbing the church,
r burglary of private houses, even of
murder. The soul of isolation never
explains. Charley was aware that
the village distrusted him and why.
Although he had begun to feel the
ubiquitous presence of Providence,
that even he was led and that he had
never had his head, he was too proud,
or rather too absolutely a non-intime
to seek to change their impression of
him.
The first chapters of the story are
devoted to Charley's very brilliant
conduct of a murder case, for he was
a lawyer in his first period, known as
Beauty Steele," and for his keen
intellect. He is a drunkard and while
drinking, is struck on the head by a
logger who resents Charley's aloof
ness though he does not name it aloof
ness, but pride and heresy. The blow
stuns Charley and he is thrown into
the rier, from which the murderer,
whom he has saved from the gallows,
rescues him. carries him home to his
hut in the woods and nurses him back
to health. Charley gets well, all but
the memory part of his mind. FOr
six months or a year he is tormented
with a thirst that he does not know
how to satisfy. He drinks water from
a spring near the hut, quantities of
water, for he is always thirsty. Then
a great physician removes the pres
sure on his brain by trepaning and
Charley recovers his memory of what
will momentarily satisfy his thirst,
of his heartless wife, and of his pro
fession. The surgeon has left pow
ders in case his patient wishes to
conquer a drunkard's temptation,
which, he percieves will assail him
as soon as memory is released from
the numbing pressure of a broken
skull. Charley remembers everything
when the anaesthetic ceases to af
fect him, and an old newspaper in
forms him of the remarriage of his
wife to an army officer she had long
hopelessly admired. Thereupon lie
determines (and the author does not
say "he determines" but shows it by
action) to lead a different life. He
finds a tailor in the nearest village
who needs help. Charlie learns the
business and when the tailor dies,
succeeds to the business and makes
the trousers, coats and vests for a
village full of peasants. Imagine the
lawyer with the largest practice in
this city giving it up and voluntarily
consenting to make clothes for a liv
ing. To nurse the sick of nights, to
screen the guilty at the cost of his
own reputation, to deny love, to take
the humblest place in a city' where
all are lowly, this was what the gifted
serial love stories to let thee lovers
marry and live happily ever after
wards. They must suffer and die
like Juliet and Romeo. The chorus
sings a death song and the girl and
the man will die.
Charlie's struggle with his appetite
is manful. It is like the gladiatorial
tight in the Roman arena where an
unarmed man fought a hungry lion.
The man was always conquered, but
the old Romans said it was a fine
sight to see the straining muscles of
a Christian athlete throw the lion
and almost strangle him. The Ro
mans loved athletics. And still we
love a struggle where the issue is
death.
The New Assessment Plan.
The men sent out by Mr. Aitkin to
make county assessments are instruct
ed to appraise a stock of goods or any
taxable property at the full valuation.
This is all very well, but the men arc
instructed not to take the owner's
appraisal, but to inspect the property
and appraise it themselves. The new
assessor evidently believes that the
taxpayers of Lincoln are thieves and
cannot be trusted to return a true
list of their holdings. Tiie imposi
tion of such a belief on the citizens,
good and bad of Lincoln is contrary
to the spirit of thecommon law, which
even holds a man arrested for mur
der, innocent, until his guilt has been
proven without a reasonable doubt,
to twelve of his peers. How can Mr.
Aitkin's emissaries who are not ex
pert financiers, but ordinary toilers of
the land, appraise goods of whose
value they have no knowledge? One
of the least of these assessors recently
arrived at The Courier otlice, and en
quired about the value of the type,
etc. He was invited to inspect the
type treasures belonging to this pa
per. He replied that he knew noth
ing about the printer's business. Not
being allowed to take the owner's
word for the value of the type and
knowing nothing about it himself, it
is difficult to surmise the basis of his
appraisement. This incident would
not be adverted to here were the
complaints of arbitrary and ignorant
assessments, under the new dispensa
tion, not numerous.
J
Technique.
There is a comparatively large num
ber of people who have, what is call
ed, a "catural ear" for music. They
"Beauty Steele" did. To be spat up- can piay any simple tune they hear
on by clowns and still to bless them! without being able to read notes.
Only one Man ever really succeeded Tney are seldom musicians of fas
in fulfilling his own sermon. But tidious taste or of much knowledge,
outwardly "Beauty Steele" obeyed the Occasionally a natural-eared musi
Sermon on the Mount. He crucified cjan conquers his predisposition to
love and his appetite. Slapped, he take music easily, and strenuously
turned his cheek, spat upon he did exerts himself to learn to play by
not revile, and he gave more than his note, but lie has to overcome his
cloak to the needy. Such is the in- original talent first. Other profes
evitable tragedy of life that so good a sj0ns contain examples of natural tal
draughtsman as Gilbert Parker will ent which interferes with the ac
not answer the prayers of all the spin--quirement of a good technique. A
sters and sentimental people who read large number of people possessing
ideas and the imagination of a ro
mancist begin to write books and
short stories without acquiring any
knowledge whatever of the language
they must use to convey their con
cealed thoughts to an audience. The
use of could, would and should is an
infallible indication of culture or
illiteracy. Sentences lik3 "If lie
would have done so" a constant em
ployment of would, should and could
where the past or present indicative
is indicated, are characteristic of
the talent which lias depended upon
its own leading and has Ignored
the patient study of the master
of English and of the analysis of their
medium of expression. No musician
who neglects the scientific study of
music Is listened to with respect by
musicians. It is quite as preposter
ous to expect that a reviewer who lias
any technical knowledge of the lan
guage, who has studied faithfully
what the author has chosen to ignore,
will lay aside his standards of measure
ment thus acquired. A book review,,
if it have any value whatever, must
be the sincere judgment of a person
with a certain amount of discrimina
tion and with technical knowledge
of the art he discusses. Not that
criticism is of much value anyway,
but people are fond of reading criti
cisms of plays they have seen, book
they have read, and music they have
heard. Criticism should advert to
merit and excellences more than t
faults. But sometimes the technical
faults are so glaring that the critic's
predisposition to approve the work,,
it may be of a friend, is obliterated
at tlie beginning. The faults of com
position obscure the real sweep of the
imagination and of original thought.
The carping critic is a nuisance but
the smug, insincere, cowardly critic
is unsanitary, and of no use to the
community he attempts to serve.
My friend Mr. Mason, of Beatrice,
avers that the book reviewer of The
Courier often underestimates what he
says is "hot stuff" for the reason that,
it contains a few unimportant gram
matical errors. But the reviewer iro
question thinks that a man who ex
pects to speak to a large audience
owes it to the precious time of liis
audience to prepare himself to speak
intelligibly. Life is short and if a
man speak to a thousand for only art
hour it means a thousand hours or
about a month and a half of one per
son's time. It is therefore selfishly
conceited not to learn the most con
cise methods of expression. And the
"natural ear" thumper whose reper
toire is composed of street-band tunes
and of the latest soubrette fancie
might as reasonably expect to charni
good musicians who chance to be in
his neighborhoods for the author who
has neglected to learn the movement,
the mechanism of his medium of ex
pression, to expect to receive the
approval of honest critics.
Considering the amount of creative
talent in this city it is a pity that the
school children are not taught to