Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-08-26
VERY LIGHT LITERATURE.
THREE NEW BOoks lam ON OUk
LIrERARY rABLE.
Love and Luck" by Robert n. Roosevelt,
"Jo. Opportunity" by Mrs Lucy L,iue aud
The Uhild,sn Of Ola Parks Tavern"
by Frances a. Humphrey.

=
cate operation. 1t takes a tirst-class literary
artist to do 1t successfully, like George Ebers
in his Egyptian novels, Lew Wallace In his
Ben Hrr, or Mrs jackson in her Ramona
When man like Robert b. Roosevelt tries
1t ~ he has done in his "Love and Luck"
just sent us by Harpers, the sugar seating isa
good deal worse TO take than the pill itself
Instead of trying TO hide hts design under
meath the slender device OF more slender
piece OF fictitious love-mskiuc and Irritation
on board a 'sharpie" or fishing yacht, during
a cruise on the Great South Bay of
Long Island, why didn't MIR. Roosevelt
just give us an honest guide-book
to the multitude of resorts aud fishing
grounds ON the South Bay, which he eNt
IDENTIFY is peciectly familiar or book on the
game and other fish of the bay, ON which he
could write as an authority tie could have
made valuable and interesting book of II
which he failed TO do when he tried to con-
biue with it description of such a dude as
Cyril Montague and his worthy companion
Miss Dolly, or such perteruaturslly suo-
mssive and henpecked lover as Jack
Travers, and the altogether unlovely, petu-
liant, and really unladylike Kate Osborn, TO
say nothing of her disagreeable mother and
be-shrewed father. The bay and the fish
are the real ohjec of interest,,-to the writer
and the reader. The people, with their
iucessant senseless chatter, their Irritation. in
fact their whole purposeless and characterless
presence in the book, serve only to divert
the reader attention from what in itself IL
interesting to what is silly from what the
author knows how to write about to what he
doesn't For his own sake and for the sake
OF good literature we advise Mr.. Roosevelt
to stick to his proper sphere. We can see
much use for such excellent works as his
''Game Fish of North America" "Superior
Fishing" "Game Birds OF the Nortb,n and
other similar manuals; but We can see
neither use nor excuse for such sJutf as this
"Love ana Luck The sugsrCuatiug has
spoiled the pill.
Mrs. Lucy c. Lille has become quite a IA
vorite among young folks through her "Rolf
House" and "Nan." And on the whole she
deserves II. She writes with graceful pen,
aud has q refined touch, while her stories are
always pervaded with q pure and eleysting
atmosphere, genuinely Christian tone free
| from that repellent goody. goodness that
| scarce generation ago was 50 common in
| books of this class. "Jo's Opportunity
| tastefully issued by Harpers, has Mrs. Lii
| lies usual eXcellenCes. The story is health
| ful one. wild, rude, ignorant neglected
| girl is won away from her vices, lifted out Of
| her degrading associations, and brought to a
| useful, virtuous life of Christian womanli-
| ness, by the personal influence of a sweet
| and beautiful girl, Faith Emerson--uot by
| her preaching, but by her love. 1t is an un-
| exaggerated narrative of what any really
Christian woman, or man, can do anywhere
| for the neglected and degraded; and can do
| il without remuneration of the comforts and
| enjoyment of life pleasures and society. 1t
| shows how much better, more practicable and
| effective Is individual, personal effort in
| Christian work, than all the more popu-
| lar charitable machine-wOrk, the conversion
| of the world by wholesale-but by proxy.
| This lesson of the book is altogether COM
mendable. But we do protest against the
common heresy. which We thought had been
| exploded even in Sunday school books, that
the wages of virtue is DEATH Why teach the
| young that religion il fatally unhealthy
| The unealled Tor invalidism and death OF
| Faith Emerson goes far to cOunteract the
| otherwise good influence of the book. 1t
leaves the dscouraging impression on the
| young reader that good people, selfdeuyiDg
and deyout people, are also or soon become
| sickly people; that robust health and long
| life are in some way foreign to pity and that
well-doing and early dying have some mys-
terious connection. Mrs. Lille has spoiled
| the effect OF her charming little story by fall
| ing into this false and unnatural convention
| alism in disposing OF her heroine.
Frances A. Humphrey in " the Children
| OF Old Parks Tavern" displays less literary
skill and less distinctly religious tone than
| Mrs. Lille. Yet her book is fully as inter-
esting and probably just as relgiously
| wholesome in its influence. In the charm OF
| old-tme childlife which it depicts one over
| looks the authors occasional grammatical
slipsand inelegancies; one could perhaps even
/ forgive the frequent slang phrases put into
| the mouths OF Dolly and Ned, il they were
| not so altogether fresh and modern. No
| doubt the boys and girls of the times of
| Daniel Webster were not innocent of this
naughtiness but to make them talk the
"lstest revised and improved slang OF the
| summer OF 1856 is hardly fair. With the
| exception OF these drawba the story is a
| pleasing one. 1t has an old. time air about
| 1t; gives us glimpse, as 1t were, into old at
| tics, whit of the delicious fragrance OF
| old gafrets, and general feeling of quaint
ness OF oid-fashionedness as we look at the
old tavern, attend the Whig " "c'nvention !"
| in the meeting house, are made to meet the
" great Daniel Webster " who wore black
| trousers, blue coat with brass buttons, and
| buff waistcoat," peep into the school house,
witness the festivities of Thanksgiving Day,
| attend a military ball, and have all manner
OF antquated diversions with the bright little
heroine and her manly young playfellow. 1t
is good book to keep up the acquaintance
| OF our young folks with the quaint sim
plicity of manners and character which be-
longed to their grandparents and great
grandparents when they were the "young
folks' of their time. Harpers issue the
book in neat and tasteful style.