Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-05-01
AMONG THE NEW BOOKS.

Andrew Carnegie calls his last book ara.
lmphant Democracy, or Finy Years March
Vt the Republic" lie might moro ntly have
,,ylcd h. Rampant Democracy" for surely
ho eagle screams through every page he- |
tween these lids. Tho blood red cover the |
broken sCeptre which docorates II tho EN- |
blum oi a pyramid on its base to- represent
- Republic" " and ON itS apex iO symbolic
- Monarchy and the quotations from CLAD |
stone In appreciation ot the American cOnsti-
tuition, and oi Salisbury in praise ot our Sem
ate, are some of the devices by which its au-
thor appeals To- our patriotic pride. This |
Scotch American boasts in his Introductory |
page that he has an intensity of gratitude |
and admiration " for the land which makes |
him peer-while his own denies him po- |
lltical oquality--that the native born citi- |
zen can neither feel nor understand" And |
he proceeds through IN pages To repay his
debt 10y unstintel praise Of his adopted cOun-
try, its material resources, moral prosperity
and political institutions lie marShals the
statistics Oi its wpudIOWS grow l. 20 ~ t I,N
the young republic has uulStiIpp-d pu the
nations oi tho earth, and he sets no bounds
tO his Enthusiasm. As might he expected,
the literary style ot the work il not taultless.
In fact there Is not much of a style about II
neither new discovery nor original sugges.
tinn. In this country, used tn good deal cl
Dragging about ITSELF the work will he aupre-
CIated, coming from Ioreh,n born citizen
hut the chiet purpose OF the book seems To
have been To astouish the English reader
and in this ii Will bo success Published
br ChaS. ScTibner's Sous.
\ Poetess OF uiudustan
one OF the little books of tho past year
which has met with a very largo sale IL Ed
muUd GOsse's London publication of the
Ancient Ballads aud Legends OF Hindu
stan by Toru putt, the young Indian girl,
r touching memoir Ot whom Introduces her
songs to the English reader. She was the
daughter of a high.caste Hindu couple in
Bengal, aud had the typical qualities of her
race and blood. She came To Europe when
uudor fourteen years OF age, went back 10
Bengal when less than eighteen aud died at
tweuty-one. la her short lite she acquired u
store Of knowledge that seems miraculous,
and tins, Joined with fine poetic fancy, en-
ahled her To create poems which will no
doubt have permanent place in English
literature, alpet So little a. vet seems to he
known oI her. Wide the air X yet heavy with
the perfume OF the rose aud Easter lilies this
specimen may titly he transferred from the
collection made ny Mr. Gosse
soSyEr-rHE torUs.
Love came to Flora asking for a dover
That would OF flowers be uudiSput,d queen,
The liy and the rose, long long had been
Rivals for that high honor BarO- OF power
Had sung their claims. The rose can never
Like tho pale lny with hor Iuno mlcn -
'' But l. the Ily iUvu.fCT-" lhU, trtWp"n
lIo"rrrtacuons ! rang the sirifr IN f-yUhe.S
Give me a nowor delicious As the rose
And stately as the lily IN her pride -
But of what color -" Eose,red," Love first
chose,
Then prayed, NO. iny-whttc,-or. both pro
And Flora gave the lotus. "ro-e-rcd" dyed.
| blows
\ Commonplace Book
Heavens cate, \ story OF the Forest of
! Dean. by Lawrence Severn, Boston, u. 10th
rop 4 Co., i a novel which attempts toincul-
| cate drastic moral lessons through the me-
dium Of story, and the success attending
the effort is very indifferent 1t deals Wit
certain phases Of religious lite in England
| forty Years ago, representing that the Estab.
| lished Church Of Eugland in those days was
| an engine OF social tyranny. The characters
| OF the book are pssenters, who find much to
| attract them in the emotional exhortatiOus oi
! the MethpdiSts and BlptistS \ rector OF the
| Established church figures largely in the
| book, and he always turns up at the proper
| time Ia draw moral inlerences from every.
| thing that occurs. The book can scarcely be
CiasSOd as strictly religious, and vet is far re.
moved from the worldly. 1t Will ba attrac.
| tive In neither Of these two grand divisions
| Of humanity, because Of the wilderness Oi
| commonplace with which it abounds.
| The Moral Tone of some Recent stories.
In the December number of RaryeT'S
! Magazine appeared a short story from the
| pen Of one Of New Eugland's gifted daugh.
| ters entitled "The Madonna of the Tubs. -
| 1t is a story Of a somewhat rarer beauty than
| has distinguished most OF the productions OF
| the recent American writer's. 1t is seemingly
| an unpret0ntiouS story and does not aspire
| to special prominence. 1t does not seek Ia
| portray any particular phase of our congom.
| crate life, as do the charming stories OF Bret
| IIarte and Miss Murfree. 1t does not aim
| either tn picture the wrongs of an oppressed
| race, of which Mrs. stoves " Uncle Toms
| Cabin and Mrs. Jackson's ROmona " are
| notable examples. Likewise il has little to
| do with descriptions Of natural beauty where
that is the principal purpose OF the story. As
| the title Implies, its sphere OF action Is mod
| est and simple, but IL is broad aud cOInpre-
| hensive and deep, too for II deals with the
! love and agony of a human heart Indeed,
| at first glance We are apt to think the title
| misplaced or, To say the least, somewhat pre-
| sumptuOus. And we wonder how the pen
| even of a genius could portray the divine face
| oil Madonna from the Careworn, tired tea
| lures of simple wash woman. But the
| authoreSs has succeeded wonderfully in this
| sketch, for it IL rather to be considered ~ a
| work ot almost ~ true an art a. that which
| looks out from the canvas OF Raphael. The
| story iS a mouolOgue, and the ard-wOrking
| wife OF a fisherman on the rough New Eng
| land coast is the heroine. There is little al
| elnpt III II 10 give us "a view CI that plCtUr-
| esque ocean scenery. But what there IL is
| sketched in such a bold, real manner that, as
| We listen TO the wild beating of the poor
| woman's heart and then catch the reverbera.
| uons of the waves as they beat against the
| rocky coast, the one seems but the natural
| outward expression OF the other.
| 1t is not Intended here to enter upon an
| analysis of the story. Such cOd-blOoded
dissection belongs rather to the scientist, not
| TO the lover OF pure beauty for its own sake,
| whether 1t be a flower, painting or a story
such aS this. We have no desire either to
| engage in a psychological investigation and
| search out the uain.springs of action. 1t
| would bs a desecration. We can only tear
| fully listen to the wild wall of that heart
| broken woman and her crippled boy as they
run down to the coast and cry out for the
| husband and father to return. For it is a
wall that one hears often after the facts OF the
| story arc forgotten. And the heart will
thrOb, too, with the keenest JOY when after
long months OF widowed loneliness that
same poor womans heart il made glad again
by the return oil the husband she had mar
red.
The main purpose now ~ to make this
story the basis OF some observation and 10
use it as a comparison to point out the evil
tendencies Of some OF our American stories.
The short story is a comparatively recent de-
yelopmeDt of our literature, and it is de-
yelopment that should be encouraged. lt is
we'll in accord, too, with the spirit of the age.
which demands "A conciseness and breyity In
literary productions a. in other departments
OF our national life. The long novel will be
compelled 10 give way to The short story
which can be read iTOm our monthly maga-
zines. Where there il one person who will