, 1872-10-29
DR.. Hollands Reception to George MacDon.
ald...The Literary Guild in
Social Convention.
The Demons Of Ink in Full Trains
and SwalIow-Tai|s.

telities. But the other Brltons have been un-
dergoing such a rigorous round OF formal cour-
tesies that they are wel-nigh exhausted.
OVERRIDING COURTESY.
As an instance, Messieurs Froude and Mac
Donald and Miss Faithful sccepted al invita-
ton, last Tuesday, to visit the various
penal and charitable institutions on Black
wells and other islands in the East
River They went, and so rapidly and
thoroughly were they shown around that
they exhausted their strength before they had
half finished their Investigations. They we're
not permitted to return until nearly dark, and
then they we're completely tired out.
We certainly have an odd idea in this country
WHAT CONSTITUTES ENTERTAINMENT.
We are constantly taking those We wish to
honor to prisons to jailB, to houses Of correc-
ton, to insane asy1ums, to hospitals, to all man-
ner of places TINT are painful to see and diaa-
greeable to think of. When. g. stranger wishes
to be conducted to one Of our pleasantest and
cheerfu1est resorts, ne immediately es-
cort him to Greenwood and Woodlawn;
end, If he be of rather gloomy disposition nat
rrally, with special fondness for viewing the
bright side Of things We carry him off to the
Morgue, and delight him with narrative con-
corning mysterious murders and desperate sui
cdes, intermingled with copions annotations and
references to the bodies exposed on the marble
slabs.
This proclivity Of ours to what is horrible and
ghastly is sinexpicable to Europeans, especially
TO Latin nations, who often suppose it to be
peculiar quality Of the very peculiar American
humor, Of which they have le heard 50
IL tSe poorest @ Of entertainers. We are il no
sense mercuzial, sanguine, locund, or sprightly
We are cynically merry, recklessly gay, desper-
ately dron at times, though the genuine element
OF cheerfulness or buoyancy is lacking in us
almost altogether. We quite outdo even the
English in -moodiness and taciturnity when IN
undsr any other circumstances. Shall:we ever
learn to play, wonder7 Shall We ever learn
the art OF triaing gracefully, or of uttering
nothings with attractivene5s2 Possibly We We
have ceased : to think that we all
haye obligations and duties to. perform, and
when the development Of the land, having left
us 1ess excuse for work, shall yield q larger sup
ply OF leisure.
10 return to
Two OF them found, on getting back to town,
that they we're not physically able to atte9d the
J. E. Holland to George Macdonald; NJ.
F1oude declared his supreme regret, and Miss
Faithful was ine1pressib]y sor1y. at their bat
tered condition; and even Mr. MacDonalo was
SO o1atigued that he was compelled to retire IS
earlv as II o'clock. When the next reception is
rendered him, he will not tempt to do the
East River Islands on the same day.
DE- HOLLAND S RECEPTION,
given on the second anniversary Of The birth of
Sc,ibner's Aonthly, y,-of which he is the editor
and proprietor,-was very pleasant and inter
esting. The invited guests-mainly the contrib
utors to the emagazine-included q large number
of the prominent literary men and women of the
e':Ei There wss
..;a - e 1aa1 oa sa7s1a stories that viii
Sa siVal Z The 20 % 6afeast Of Poker Flat dis best
work SO far), The Luck of Roaring Camp, I"
and sMiggles."- Mr. Harte is an attractive
and picturesque talker, though not
bearing Beam n''A' no evidence aapf Of the inner
fire of genius. Much is expected from the play
upon which he is reported to be engaged, and
which Augustin DAILY, Of the Fifth Avenue ~
friends is, When will the drama be finished a
for Mr Harte, with all his ability and reputation
is not fanatical in his attachment to labor.
CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER,
who, while hard-working editor Of the Hart
ford Courant, blossomed into reputation sudden
" by the publication of ' Ny Summer IN Gar
den,' and whose unique essays in scr1o7aer,s are
highly praised. Mr. Warner seems % extremely 1nsel
fhe world and whatever it contains.
His hair, thickly strewn with gray, makes him IN
seem older than he is but no one can talk TX, T1th
him fifteen minutes without aseins no" 1u1 Als
heart is Of freshness and youth.
EDMUND CLARENCE sEEADMAN.
the stock-broker poet who Won his 1lr5t lame y
s:The Diamond Wedding" and who, ama al
the excitements Of Wall street, cleayes to Atera.
steadman's @ @ g. countenance suggests Broad street
more than Parnassus, s,-haS1ne q 6naip, eaBer
ferret-1ike look, as if he we're determlned TO e3,
plore the hidden mysteries OF the present
corrar in psrific Na11 This is only the outward
semblance, however, eince he never thinks ol
= the Stock Exchange in society, and relnshes Liter
ary themes above everything else. He threatens
to devote himself exclusively to his hrst love
and to Let the Bulls and Bears take care OF them
selves. He is an untiring student, and many .
midnight finds him porlng over tie Greek anc
Latin classics.
COLONEL JoHT Hay, ur:..7,