New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-11-26
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

The completion of the Mississippi lethes Is
worrhily signazcd by the appearance Oh 'his eN-
cellcnt book, descriptive OF one OF tue pl'aVcsV
trumphs of courage, patience. and engineering SIKH
tb world has ever witnessed. In the 3s3 PAGES con-
tanned In the volume full and wel-wntten ac-
count is given OF the origin and purposes OF the en-
terprisc the difficulties which beset IT, the het'oa
OF constructing the great sea-wails oi willow mat
tresses and stone tho action of the accelerated cur
rent of the river III securing out its bed ana cutting
channel across the bar the results obtained anu
tner influence on Tie commerce Of the West. Nj
merous diagrams maps. and engravings illustrate
the text and good steel portrait of Captain Eads
appears as a fIontispieoe. The book possesses d"
evident value for public libraries and Tor scloh'!c
men, and it cannot fail TO attrac, the genera reao,
ing community as a complete record oil the greatest
single undertaking for the benefit OIL coller'o over
carried ont Inv the Government of the United States
To appreciate the Importance OF the MISSISSIPPI
,etries we must look back five years to the time
when Captan Eads began his work. Then all the
sea.going commerce of the great river went cut
through the Southwest Pass. where the Govern
rpent dredge- boats by constant activity managed to
keep open an uncertain channel OF depth varying
from sixteen to eighteen feet Large steamers,
such as are un all the European lines terminal
ing in New-York could not get IN at ALL and cotton
ships of heavy tonnage frequently stuck ON the
bar and had to be lighteIed OIL 1t was no unccm-
mon sight to see half dozen vessels last IN the
mud The risk of getting cargoes safely ont oi the
river made freights high as TO discourage ship
nent by the natural highway from the Mississippi
Valley TO the sea Congress gave Captain Eads the
South Pass 10 oqerate on. for fear he would spoil
the Indifferent entrance already existing II he were
allowed to "tinker" the Southwest Pass.
sluggish current flowed ont of South Pass over
bar that absolutely closed the entrance TO every
thing except fishing smacks. Most of the Amy Ell
gineers were openly hostile to Captain Eadss
plans and the general public regarded rs visionary
his theory that the river could be harnessed Will
willow twigs and forced to pick up and carry out
into the Gulf the distractions 1t had deposited al
its mouth in the course of ages.
The work began in June, 1875, and is now COM
pleted Captain Eadss theories have been deyel-
opcd INTO magnificent facts. The iettes stretch
their long arms far out into the blue waters OF the
Cult and between them is a channel thirty feet
deep, through which the largest vessels enter the
river without delay or danger. New orleans Is
now as accessible port as New-iork. The bene-
fits to commerce are gleat and immediate: 81
Louis sent 17G.53l tons of freight 10 Europe dlrect
BY way OF the Mississippi last year, against ts57
tons in 1910. The saving effected by the lettleS IN
the freight of articles exported from New,Oreans
during the year ending August 81 was i,oooooo
From year to year the value of the work VIII IN
crease with the development of the agricultural
and commercial interests accompanying the densfr
settlement of the Mississippi Valley.
It Is source ct satisfaction TO us that !
TIE TRIBUNE has been throughout hrm ana con |
sistent friend of the ietty enterprise. While news
papers in the veIy region which had most 10 expect
from the success OF Captain Eadss scheme persist
emily threw cold water upon 1t, we never doubted
that if sustained 10y Congress he would do last |
what he set out 10 10. Twice during the progress
of the work we sent stan correspondent 10 report
its condition and prospects, and on many occasions
Captain Eads has made The Tribune npdum OF
communication with the public concerning the IN |
dertaking We never had the least sympathy with |
the narrow view that the East ought TO oppose the
ettes because their success would divert gram and
cotton shipL tents from Eastern ports We believed
that whatever benefited any part OF the Nation |
would benefit Nc@-York the metropolis of the |
whole Nation. Besides, we recognized the right |
of the West 10 demaGd of the Government that the
mouth of its great river should be opened TO the
commerce of the world, no matter what the effect
might be the trade of the Atlantic seaboId cities
THE BIBLE GALLERY. Illustrated by GusTAvE DonE
C,sselL PETER. Galpiu & Co.
If IT only an exhibition OF astonishngskill
in grouping mastery in drawing the figure. and
facile inventivencSS, any one of Gustave Dores IL
Illustrated books would be worth owning. Balzac |
Ceryantes Dante, the Bible, Tennyson, have all |
given him themes on which 10 string his endless |
variations and the public has long since been sati
ated with wonder over the achievements of de- |
sgner who for tccundty il for nothing else has |
had no equal in modern times. OF course it was |
not to be looked Tor that any one mau could deal |
successfully with such tremendous themes as Dante
and the Old Testament, and there was certain |
rashness in the attempt which was not made less |
nv the artists real success with =" Les ConteS DrO-
Iatiques~ Of Balzac and the Don Qui2ote." But |
although the men and women who hold in rover |
ence the greater works could not find their ideal |
in DoIes drawings, it was plain that man OF |
unquestoned power of hand and ingenuity of in |
vention had been doing his best to satisfy them, |
and in spite OF criticism the Dante" ana the |
Bible" both gave Dore an immense popularity.
-.
the brisk little mau who spun pictures by the yard
fIom his fingers ends and stoTning the fortress Of
genius after genius. sighed still for new worlds to
conquer OF the two great books, however, the
Dante seemed less successful than tho Bible =
achievement and proved less interesting to the
public, to whom, OF course the grand Italian must
always stand the shadow of name, while the
Bible is to all Englishspeaking people at least,
reality. Besides in the Bible" Dore had far
greater variety OF incidents to make pictures Of and
the result was far less monotonouS than the
Dante" though 1t must be confessed the artist is
very unequal. Dore's obligations to the engraycrs
have been much exaggerated; he was fortunate in
theu il is true but, Turner's case. their work
was only Interpretation, and all that can be allowed
is that they served D0re admirably as a medium be-
tween him and the public. Also il is % be said
that such rich and powerful wood-engravng and
on AS grand 2 scale had not been seen in Europe
since the sixteenth century. These large and brill
liant cuts executed in many different manners,
yet with certain unity OF style running through
all were great delight and Icfreshment t. pub
lie that had never seen wood-cngravIng employed
on such a scale. IL we are not mistaken our
dates ii must have been somewhat later that The
London Graphic began TO show Us what wonderful
things could be done in another and more familiar
field by the harmonious working together Of the
artist with the brush and the artist with the
era yer. and if. we. remember, DOre was really
the pioneer he has suffered the usual fate Of pio-