Two Strong Men of the Race

Two Strong Men of the Race

Charles W. Chesnutt, the leading and most successful novelist produced by the Negro in America, now in his forty-fourth year, would not be called a Negro anywhere else in the world, being perfectly fair, with Caucasian features. He has a rather high forehead, unusually broad between the temples, with eyes rather small but searching and reflective. The jaw is inclined to squareness, owing to a short horizontal chin and rectangular hinging. The mouth is small, surmounted by a well brushed mustache. A nose straight in outline completes the friendly face that turns to greet you. Like many of the brightest men of the race, he was a teacher. On leaving North Carolina, where he taught, after a short while spent in New York, he finally returned to Cleveland, Ohio, where he now resides. Mr. Chesnutt is a lawyer and expert stenographer, but of late years his vogue as a writer has enabled him to give his whole time to literature. His latest novel, "The Marrow of Tradition," is his best, and his place seems secure, since his powers are hardly beyond, that, their prime....