LITERAL COLUMN.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 142, 16 June 1906, Page 11

LITERAL COLUMN.

NEW BOOKS AND NEW EDITIONS

I "'The Rainbow-chasers: A Story of tho 1 Plains." By John H. Whitson. With \ illustrations from drawings by Arthur E. Becher. London ; Ward, Lock and Co. ' ' Mr. Whitson's story is one that stands out conspicuously from the general run of novels. It tails of the broad plains and deep ;woodl of Arkansas, of tho wild rush^for land of twenty years ago, of the "boom" with its monstrously inflated values, and of the collapse when flood, blizzard, and drought successively brought ruin to the land-selectors. Wo can well believe tho author when he says that "dovetailed facts" constitute a Urge part of tho work, and ttkt somo of the experiences have been hjs own. Tho power, tho truth, and the vividness of the pictures of the region and tho men <md women tell of close personal observation, and could never have been worked up at second-hand. Ono Dick Brewster, under unjust suspicion of murder, escapes to Arkansas, and under an assumed name takes a conspicuous and an honourable part in the development of tho resources of tho new district. Love comes his way, a'cd his position is a difficult one, for he is under a life-seatence, and knows that any day; he may be recognised and deprived tjf his liberty. It is not only that tha, author, has good materials and tho requisite, knowledge. Ho has the* seeing <e/e and rare powers of descrip-' tion. He has unfolded a powerful^ story, ,in which humour and tragedy mingle, and his tale is told with eloquencet and power. The characters are finely discriminated and realised, ?nd the s(a£e is not overcrowded. "Old Shake" (so called from his characteristic habit of quoting his favourite Shak'espearo) and his wife aro a delightful old couple, and Elinor Spencer, the daughter of the judge, is a fine tybe of noblo womanhood. "Fighting tho White Death/ the chapter narrating tho thrilling 1 oxperieiice of the hero and Elinor overtaken by a bli2zard, is ope that will "grip" tho most indifferent reader'; but tho narrative is well constructed throughout and the interest) is never allowed to flag. The author Has unusual 'skill in litting 'tho veil apd revealing the deeper nature of his rough and soraotimes taciturn characters — all, good and bad, are intensely human There is no fantastic rhetoric or poor sentituentalism, but there is", especially towards the close, more than ono passage- of unaffected patho3.- The artist has ably seconded the author, and the book is ono to be in every respect' recommended. ,"A/Hum»n Face." By Silas K. Hocking. With sixteen illustrations by C H. Taffs. London: Cassell and Co. j ' The mysterious disappearance of a clergyman after an accident to the train in which he was a passenger is the opening incident of this story, which, though a clever piece of work, is neither profound nor "convincing," and is a little careless in its diction. The Roy. Stephen Winslow is a young and ascetic enrate of the straitest sect of the High Church. He has no toleration for the idea of a married "priest," and is on the point of talcing a vow of celibacy when his sndden meeting with one Marcella Dacrc, a young lady of extraordinary beauty,' causes him .to alter his views _ It is, however, only" her external qualities that have fascinated nim, and be goes so far as to make her a proposal pf. marriage without so much as .whether 'she is -Anglican or 'Dissenter," or indeed of any creed at all. Before he receives her answer she is attacked by a, disfiguring complaint contracted in district-visiting, and he, believing that her, beauty has gone for ever, repents of his action Then the railway colli''->n occurs, and, dazed by the shock, he seeks only to hide himself. He has a long sojourn in a hospital and, is supposed to be dead, while his next-of-kin endeavours by every

moans to secure possession of his considerable wealth. Marcella lias long been sought by a rising surgeon, whose affection is of a higher type than that of the durato, who in turn, unknown to himself, has gained tho affections of tho excellent daughter of the vicar. The inevitable result may bo inferred ; two couples are made happy after much tribulation, and incidentally the ; author's pronounced views on sacerdotalism find expression. The illustrations aue an attractivo feature. Messrs. G. Bell and Sons announce for early publication "Sir Nigel," "the longest and most ambitious work which Sir A. Conan DoyJo has attempted." It js described as a novel written on broad national lines, in the style of the "White Company," but more in the main current of the English )ifo of those days. It pictures the lives of the people, of tho clergy, and of the Court. It follows the English armies to Franco, deals with stirring historic episodes by sea and land, including tho surprise of Calais Castle and tho Battle of Poictiers. Sir Richard Garnett, whose death at the age of seventy-one was announced on 14th Apri' (says the Spectator) was an admirable specimen of the unselfish scholar who amasses learning only to impart it as widely aud freely as possible to his fellows. He had spent upwards of fifty years in the service of the British Museum, and few men have done more to render that great storehouse of culture accessible to the public. His vast erudition was untainted by pedantry, as the graceful quality of his original work shows, while his nature was of that benevolent type which at once converts acquaintances into friends. "V.A." wrote to the British Weekly lately : — "May I trouble you to name the author of the line, 'God's finger touched her, and she slept' ? If you can do so, please give it in next week's 'Answers to Correspondents.' This is of paramount iniportanca to an ojd gentleman here, who wishes to put the lino on his wife's | tombstone, and will not be allowed to j do so by the Burial Board unless ho can give the anthor's name." The line is from Tennyson's "In Memoriam." Considerable interest (says the Daily Chronicle) attachea to Father Tyrrell's new book, which Messrs. Longman ard about to publish. It is a ecquel to his "Lex Orandi," which was criticised from the' Roman Catholic standpoint as not being orthodox. Nqw comes his reply, that of a Roman Catholic priest who is no longer a Jesuit. Father Tyrrell is regarded as one of the ablest writers in the English Roman Catholic Church. He is' at present in Italy. Mr. Lawrence Gilman has just; ground of complaint. Id a recent review of his book on MacDowell he is mads to say that MacDowell in his music has conveyed the "toxic charm" of the sea, when what he really wrote was the "tonic" charm. This was almost as bad as when Philip Hale's Musical Record, some years ago, made him refer to MacDowcll's Norse sonata as the "Horse" sonata. English papers record the death, on 23rd March, of tho Rev. Thomas Child, in his sixty-sovonth year. A preacher of unusual eloquence and power, he was better known as a lecturer and writer on philosophical and theological problems. One of his recent works, entitled "Root Principles," largely devoted to an analysis of Haeckel's "Riddle of tho Universe," has had an extensive circulation in a sixpenny edition. It is reputed the most effective reply to the German philosopher, inasmuch as his propositions aro shown to confute themselves. The work is, however, even more important on the positive or affirmative side. The veteran philosopher, Dr. Alfred Russell Wallace, wrbte of it in the following appreciative terms I—"InI — "In the form of a criticism of Hafckel it expounds a new and a. very remarkable view of all the great idero and principles which underlie the universe and man. So far as I know it is the most complete and satisfactory theory of the nature of matter and mmd — of force and life — of spirit, immortality, and free will, that has yet been given to the world." "Root Principles" alone, is a work sufficient to establish a great repu-

tation, but.it was only one of many. His latest essay was an analysis of theosophy, the final instalment of which appeared" in a London theological magazine about three weeks before Tiis death. Dean Bradley was physically very frail It was said of him in hio latter days that he always looked in tho Abbey as if he had emerged from one of the tombs, and was about! to creep back again. A good story is told of an unpleasant experience which befell Dr. Bradley on the day of Queen Victoria's first Jubilee, in 18S7. There had been talk 'of anarchists, and the day previous to the ceremony the Abbey was handed over to the Chief Commissioner of Police — then Sir Charles Warren — as Uhe Lord Chamberlain found his staff insufficient for the purpose. Early next morning Sir Charles Warren entered the Abbey to see that all was well. Walking down the nave he came upon two stout constables, dragging between them a small fragile old gentleman in a skull cap. "This little old man, sir," said' one of them, "popped out of a little door, and he can't give no account of where he come from." Then Sir Charles recognised tlhe indignant dean, and explanations ensued. The "blue ribbon" of HaTvard professorships is the Chair of Belles Lettres, which was held in connection with the Smith Professorship of French and Spanish by George Ticknor from 1811 to 1835, by Henry Wadswoith Longfellow from 1836 to 1854, and by James Russell Lowell from 1855 to 1886. The exceptional distinction of this series of occupants led the Harvard authorities to think that it would be well not to continue tlhe succession in a hurry, and the chair has consequently remained empty for twenty years. In theso circumstances the appointment of Mr. Bliss Peiry, which is just announced, is a rare compliment. The new professor will enter upon his duties in March of next year, and will not) be connected With the teaching of Romance languages but with that of English literature. At present he is editor of the Atlantit Monthly, a position he has held wiltti much success since 1899. Wo have no intention (says the New York Nation) of denying to the hteraUure of the Middle Age a certain place in humane letters. Yet, if one excepts Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and Chaucer, there is scarcely a mediaeval text between tho FiTst Crusade and tho fall of Constantinople a knowledge of which is in any sense indispensable to culture. The sinking of tho rest would lose us much interesting reading, and would efface in the period prior to the true Middle Ages a fascinating legendary world ; it would, however, leave no veiy important! tract of the human spirit uniftterpreted. WhateveT criticism of life there is in mediaeval literature as a whole is vague and casual. Its form is relatively monotonous and inexpressive. The great emotions ill professes to invoke, it seldom realises with any poignancy. Except in a few lyrics, the structural senso of tho Middle Ages is weak and faulty, in singular contradistinction to the architectonic character of its social order and its actual achievement in monumental building."