and repentant pair its visage of grand benignity. There is a singular effect oftentimes when, out of the midst of engrossing thought and deep absorption, we suddenly look up, and catch a glimpse of external objects. We seem at such moments to look farther and deeper into them, than by any premeditated observation; it is as if they met our eyes alive, and with all their hidden meaning on the surface, but grew again inanimate and inscrutable the instant that they became aware of our glances. So now at that unexpected glimpse, Miriam. Donatello, and the sculptor, all three imagined that they beheld the bronze pontiff endowed with spiritual life. A blessing was felt descending upon them from his outstretched hand; he approved by look and gesture the pledge of a deep union that had passed under his auspices. Setting of Sympathetic Creatures. In this same wonderful novel of Hawthorne's the figure of Hilda at the window of her "high chamber" is given a sympathetic setting of animate objects by the "flock of white doves, skimming, fluttering, and wheeling about the topmost height of the tower, their silver wings flashing in the pure transparency of the air." And the author tells us that when Hilda's soul had grown sick with the burden of its terrible secret these doves "often flew in through the windows of the tower, winged messengers, bringing her what sympathy they could, and uttering soft, tender, and complain. ing sounds, deep in their bosoms, which soothed the girl more than a distincter utterance might." Hilda has sought relief at the confessional, and is returning from Saint Peter's with Kenyon. When they reached the Via Portoghese, and approached Hilda's tower, the doves, who were waiting aloft, flung themselves upon the air, and came floating down about her head. The girl caressed them, and responded to their cooings with similar sounds from her own lips, and with words of endearment; and their joyful flutterings and airy little flights, evidently impelled by pure exuberance of spirits, seemed to show that the doves had a real sympathy with their mistress's state of mind. For peace had descended upon her like a dove. Treatment of Nature as Antagonistic to Characters. Frank Norris has depicted the hostility of nature with consummate skill in McTeague." The big dentist after murdering his wife reverts swiftly to the primal brute. Driven relentlessly from one point to another by a sort of animal instinct that warns him of impending danger, he reaches at last the mountain fastnesses near Death Valley. Here he begins to prospect for gold, and has just struck a rich vein of ore when the mystic warning comes again. Again he flees; but go whither he will, he cannot rid himself of that awful sense of approaching peril. At last, in wild desperation, he determines to put the arid wastes of Death Valley between himself and all possible pursuit. He enters the lurid desert, and his hours of agony there, his efforts to escape the scorching sun and the blistering earth, are described with all the vividness and intensity that characterizes Norris's finest work. And when in the end McTeague has killed the one pursuer whom hate had emboldened to follow him, a last refinement of torture is added to the picture by revealing the murderer shackled to the dead body of his victim, and thus irretrievably anchored to the purgatory he has sought. This novel, which Howells has termed "the Odyssey of a simple, semi-savage nature," is unquestionably entitled to high rank in American letters. The Hostile Aspect of Inanimate Objects. last chapter of Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities" has a material setting that reflects the violence and ferocity of the French Revolution. Along the Paris streets, the death-carts rumble, hollow and harsh. Six tumbrils carry the day's wine to La Guillotine. All the devouring and insatiate Monsters imagined since imagination could record itself, are fused in the one realization, Guillotine. And yet there is not in France, with its rich variety of soil and climate, a blade, a leaf, a root, a sprig, a peppercorn, which will grow to maturity under conditions more certain than those that have produced this horror. Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seed of rapacious license and oppression over again, and it will surely "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." The gradual materialization of a hostile human foreground is described with wonderful vividness by Victor Hugo in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Quasimodo is standing on the northern tower of the great cathedral surveying Paris at night. All at once, while he was scrutinizing the great city with the eye which Nature, by way of compensation, had made so piercing that it almost supplied the deficiency of the other organs, it seemed to him that the outline of the quay of La Vielle Pelleterie had an extraordinary appearance; that there was a motion at that point; that the black line of the parapet, defined upon the white surface of the water, was not straight and steady like that of the other quays, but that it undulated to the eye, like the waves of a river, or like the heads of a moving multitude. This struck him as strange. He redoubled his attention. The movement appeared to be toward the city. It lasted some time on the quay, then subsided by degrees, as if that which caused it were entering the interior of the isle; it afterward ceased entirely, and the outline of the quay again became straight and motionless. forming all While Quasimodo was sorts of conjectures, the movement seemed to reappear in the Rue du Parvis, which runs into the city, perpendicularly to the façade of Notre Dame. At last, notwithstanding the intense darkness, he perceived the head of a column approaching through this street, and the next moment a crowd spread itself over the Place du Parvis, where nothing could be distinguished but that it was a crowd. The sight was alarming. It is probable that this singular procession, which seemed to make a point of avoiding observation, was equally careful to maintain profound silence; yet it could not help making some noise, were it only by the trampling of the feet. But even this sound reached not the ear of Quasimodo; and this vast multitude, of which he could scarcely see anything, and of which he heard absolutely nothing, though all was bustle and motion so near to him, must have had the effect of an army of the dead, mute, impalpable, and shrouded in vapor. It appeared to him as if a mist full of human beings was approaching, and that what he saw moving were shadows of the shades a The crowd seemed to increase every moment in the Parvis. He presumed, however, that the noise they made must be very slight, because the windows in the streets and the place remained closed. All at once a light appeared, and in an instant seven or eight lighted torches rose above the heads of the multitude, shaking their tufts of flame amid the darkness. Then did Quasimodo distinctly perceive frightful rabble of men and women in rags, armed with scythes, pikes, pickaxes, and halberds, with their thousand glistening heads. Here and there black forks projected like horns over hideous faces. He had some vague recollection of this mob, and fancied that he had seen those faces some months before, when he was elected Pope of Fools. A man, who held a torch in one hand and a cudgel in the other, got upon a post, and appeared to be haranguing them. At the same time this strange army made some evolutions, as if certain divisions were taking their respective stations about the church. Quasimodo picked up his lantern and went down to the platform between the towers, to obtain a nearer view and to arrange his means of defense. GORHAM, N. H. Thomas L. Marble. (To be continued.) THE WRITER is published the first of every 'month. It will be sent, postpaid, for $1.50 a year. The price of Canadian and foreign subscriptions is $1.62, including postage. All drafts and money orders should be made payable to the Writer Publishing Co. If local checks are sent, ten cents should be added for collection charges. 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THE WRITER PUBLISHING CO., Sapient Don Marquis truly says in the New York Evening Sun: "When a man tells you what he has planned to write, instead of what he has just written, he will never write it." So many are obliged to economize now, as a result of war conditions, that publishers of periodicals naturally receive many orders to stop subscriptions. It is gratifying to the publisher of THE WRITER to note that in spite of this necessity for economy the subscription list of the magazine is growing all the time, and that nearly all of those who order their subscriptions discontinued speak of the pleasure and profit they have got from THE WRITER, and express an intention to subscribe again as soon as possible. The publisher's first object is to make THE WRITER useful to its readers, and it is especially gratifying to him to receive a letter like the following: and find So many valuable, practical suggestions and helps that I enclose for you the price of a yearly subscription, trusting the magazine Especially may continue to be valuable for me. in marketing articles and in giving new courage to the discouraged have I found it helpful. could not do without THE WRITER, I think. What reader of THE WRITER has made the largest profit in the last year out of a suggestion or information given in the magazine? The editor of THE WRITER will be glad to receive letters not necessarily for publication from readers, telling what the magazine has done for them in a practical way, giving facts that can be verified and making suggestions of ways in which THE WRITER can be made more useful to its readers, and he will send a check for five dollars to the writer of the letter, received before May 1, that seems to him the best. Short Stories (Garden City, N. Y.) says that since the signing of the armistice the old, old question of "what kind of material do the magazines want," has become far more urgent than it ever was before. The editors confess that they are unable to clear up very much of that confusion, because they do not know absolutely where they are going themselves, but they do know that magazine sales have been better than ever for the past few months, and they want to buy ideas. They are eager for good material and can use a lot of it. Short Stories is one of the adventure type of magazines, and is made up of one complete novel and about twelve short stories each month. The ideal length for the complete novel is 55,000 words, but the magazine has printed two novelettes of 25,000 or 30,000 words. The short stories should run anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 words. Serials also are considered. Short Stories is read more by men than by women, and the editors want stories of business, adventure, and humor, including stories with a love interest, provided they have sufficient plot and action. The editors like stories of distant lands, and they lay primary emphasis upon those twin qualities of adventure fiction PLOT and ACTION. If a choice lay between two stories equally good in plot, one written with a distinctive style and the other without, the choice every time would be for the one with the style. Mr. Maule says that the Saturday Evening Post style of story is the Short Stories style of story. He does not mean to suggest that any one should consciously imitate the authors who write for the Saturday Evening Post, but says that the all-fiction magazines developed a certain style of short story at the same time that the Saturday Evening Post did, and that while they are the outstanding example they would hardly claim to be the originators of this school of fiction. He makes one exception to the Saturday Evening Post kind of story, and that is the story limited to feminine appeal. Short Stories has had good mystery, crime, and detective stories, and wants more. The magazine pays promptly upon acceptance, and endeavors to give decision on all manuscripts in ten days. Short Stories does not want psychological problem stories, sex stories, mere sketches (no matter how "literary" they may be ), or introspective soul dissections. The Juvenile Court Record (Chicago) needs some articles giving accounts of real happenings of juvenile court cases, accompanied by photographs if possible. The Industrial-Arts Magazine (Milwaukee) needs articles on the development of vocational education, and on the teaching of specific trades machine shop, plumbing, sheet metal, etc. The Trade Press Service, a syndicate conducted by Ralph H. Butz, 1239 Walnut street, Allentown, Penn., can always use articles that describe the methods which have made business men successful; articles on legal subjects, written in a plain manner for business men; articles on accounting methods and systems; and descriptions of merchandising methods in all lines. Payment is made shortly after acceptance. The Improvement Era (Salt Lake City) would like some good moral short stories. Harper's Bazar (New York) especially needs some short stories of sophistication, with plenty of plot and action. The Indiana Farmers' Guide (Huntington) wants illustrated articles suitable for the Household Department. The editors of the Atlanta Semi-Weekly Journal (Atlanta, Ga.) are always eager to examine timely articles of interest to Southern readers. Articles dealing with interesting personalities, accompanied by good, clear photographs of the subjects of the articles, are in demand at all times. Every effort will be made to return such photographs whea they are properly identified and marked for return, and accompanied by sufficient postage. Just now the editors of the SemiWeekly Journal want to publish a picture of the best known woman in any Southern community, and will pay a dollar for each sketch of 200 words published, telling who she is, why she is best known, and what she has achieved that is out of the ordinary. Articles should be accompanied by photographs. American Young People (Milwaukee) is not in the market for manuscripts at present. The Ocean Engineer (New York) is fully supplied with manuscripts at present. The Railroad Man's Magazine is merged with the Argosy (New York) beginning with the issue for January 25. The War Weekly, which George Harvey has been writing and editing for just one year, is now named simply the Weekly. The system of the Black Cat Club, connected with the Black Cat (Salem, Mass.), has been changed. Under the present system any subscriber for the magazine may select any story in it and write a criticism of it in the form of a finished essay, not exceeding 500 words, to be mailed to the Black Cat not later than the tenth of the month following the month of issue. The best criticisms will be paid for, at the rate of a cent a word, and will be published, with the names of the authors, in the third issue of the Black Cat following. The American Sunday-School Union, 1816 Chestnut street, Philadelphia, is offering prizes for its B. B. S. S. (Bigger and Better Sunday-Schools) contest. The Union will pay $15, $10, and $5 for the best, the secondbest, and the third-best article, stimulating smaller Sunday schools to become bigger and better. Articles must be received by June 1, 1919, and may be from 1,000 to 1,500 words in length. For shorter articles of from 200 to 500 words, describing one or more good plans to promote bigger and better Sunday schools, payment will be made at the rate of one dollar or more each. The Union issues a leaflet, giving ten questions on the subject, "How About Your Own School?" and ten more on 'What Forward Steps Shall We Take Now that the War Has Been Won?" The helpfulness of articles will be considered more than the literary style. 66 The Iowa Press and Authors' Club announces its second annual short story and poetry contest. The Club offers a prize of $25 for the best short story and a prize of $25 for the best poem submitted by any undergraduate student in an accredited Iowa college; any bona fide resident of Iowa who is an undergraduate student in an accredited college outside the state of Iowa; or any person who, otherwise included in one of the preceding classifications, has left college to enter the military or naval service of the United States. All manuscripts must be typewritten, and no short story shall contain less than 1,200 words, or more than 3,600 words. Any contestant may compete for both prizes and may submit more than one manuscript for either prize, but prizes will not be awarded to the same person for two consecutive years. Each manuscript must have a pen-name of the contestant in the upper left-hand corner of the first page, and must bear no other mark of identification. Each manuscript |