828 1855 17 Cap. 2 COPYRIGHT, 1928 BY DOUBLEDAY, DORAN & COMPANY, INC. BY CHARLES CALDWELL DOBIE The Responsibilities of the Novelist BY THE CRITIC PUBLISHING COMPANY The Joyous Miracle BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY BY S. S. MCCLURE CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS GARDEN CITY, N. Y. 589304-013 INTRODUCTION FRANK NORRIS, OR UP FROM CULTURE On a certain Sunday morning, in the late 'eighties, the vestibule of the First Presbyterian Church in San Francisco was filled with bonneted ladies mildly atwitter. A new name had been placed upon one of the pews. It was printed upon a shiningly white piece of cardboard in bold black type, so that even the nearsighted MacGregor girls sitting across the aisle could not fail to make out the letters. It spelled Norris. Now the beguiling of the B. F. Norrises was no mean achievement. For one thing, they were reputed to have money; for another thing, they were impressive-looking people; and third and lastly, they had been won away from the Episcopalian fold. This victory, however, was not so complete as an ardent Presbyterian could have wished. It was not the result of dogma so much as of the eloquence of Dr. Robert Mackenzie, and it was by no means final, since the Norris family had not made the irretrievable gesture of "joining the church." But hope springs eternal in the proselyting breast, and there was a strong feeling that faith allied to the suave and intensely tactful oratory of Dr. Mackenzie could remove, not only mountains, but the Norrises, from the vitiating influence of the Anglican communion. There were rumours that Mrs. Norris was lukewarm, to say the least, about the change. Certainly, the ardour with which she knelt during prayerful moments gave every indication of ritualistic inclinations strangely out of suits with the stiff-kneed approach to God affected by |