The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-06-22
Gone 70 Texas.

Tho name OF the volume Ia g. r. T. Gone
to Teras: 1t Is edited by THOMAS HUGHES. and
published by Macmillan. About five years ago
an English lad OF eighteen the nephew OF Tom
Hughes OF Rugby came to America to seek his
fortune. Born. bred. and educated as gentle-
man, he WAS determined to rely upon his own
energies to make his way and face the hard
ships OF pioneer life. He hired himself to
sheep man in Texas. made a prospecting tour
across the Rio Grande. and at the end OF six
months had learned enough OF plouRhing. har-
rowing. and ranch life to start for himself as
a shepherd. The following year he was joined
by his youngest brother. who threw up a
scholarship at Westminster to share in the
vlcissitudes OF the Texan sheep range; and In
1881 still another young brother. who had
been studying art. with excellent pros
poets Of success. In the studio Of Mr.. G.
F. Watts. r. A.. left London for America. where
he was admitted into the iraternal partner
ship. In the volume before US. Mr.. Hughes has
collected and edited tho letters written by these
young men to their relatives at homo. With
out trace OF self.consciousness. the boy
emigrants involuntarily paint their own char
acters for us As they write. telling their story
Of cheerful courage. indomitable patience. en-
durance. and accomplishing toll Mr.. Hughes
has rightly Judged that such precise and prac-
teal details as are afforded by these unstudied
records. caught In the quick. as tho French
say. would DO Of real value to other
young fellows crowded out Of employ
ment by the fearful pressure Of life
In the old centres OF civilization and eager to
mako fair and clear start upon virgin soil.
While the facts speak for themselves. yet SO
bravo and cheerful is the tone Of the letters
that 1t 10 necessary to read between the lines In
order to realize the excessive privatlons and
physical hardships endured by the writer's.
Indeed. the clearest insight into the actual sit
uation is obtained from chapter written by
the boys sister, Madge. describing visit to
her brothers whom the ranch Was supposed to
have attained sufficient degree OF comfort to
receive q young lady. But the girl is not to be
outdone In Rood-humored patience. and makes
light Of such triHing Inconvenience a. that OF
living under Q leaking tent. where after
heavy rain she Is obliged to step out Of her cot
before daybreak into half an inch Of mud.
While the book will DO very useful In giving
desired information upon points which no CO.
lonial agency or emigration prospectus ever
touches upon. yet we should say that 1t Is pre-
eminently book for boys Devoid. as 1t Is. Of
all pretensions to literary style. yet there is
something so attractive In Its straightforward
manliness. Its frank and modest record OF DIM
cultes overcome. Its open-air atmosphere Of
vigor and health. that 1t cannot but appeal to
the best instincts Of boys nature Tho rude
pastoral takes ON all the air Of romance
whom narrated with such zest and spirit. Here
We como In contact with the genuine Anglo
Saxon grit, the dominant quality OF the race
that Is making elbow room for itself over three
fourths OF the habitable globe.