Wichita eagle., 1888-12-16
ghe aalih Daily eagle: Sunday n1oino nesnbe IT, 1885
BOOKS.

i BOOKS.
All the books mentioned in this column may b.
purchased of Hyde & Humble.
AsMAN STORY,
by E. w. Howe, published by Ticknor
& Co. Ever since that time, or shortly
after, when the willy Ulysses fooled old
Poiythemus with pin, there has been
great controversy about wit, and there
appears to be difficulty in striking upon
a proper definition of wit and humor
and especially the latter. The most ap.
proved in recent lines is the idea Of an
Engiishman, that humor is the electrical
atmosphere and wit the spark. As for
humor this may be correct, but is it
| becoming any Briton to mention wit:
Would it not be better TO say that humor
| lies mostly in the laugh? For instance,
imagine Boccacio relating some of his
| loose novels to a crowd of Quakers.
Think of one of Cotton Mathers jokes
read before an audience of Congreves.
Would there be smile? Even on this
| ground, cosmopolitan wit, at which the
whole world laughs, and holds its sides,
may be disposed of, by the fact, that the
whole world has been taught to laugh
and had not the appreciation of wit
apriori.
So with Mr.. Howe, the author of the
work mentioned above; his humor
| lies mostly in the people west
! of the Mississippi. In his former works.
The story of a country town, Mystery
of the locks and Moonlight Boy his
charm is in western life. not portrayed
with tomahawks. desperadoes and horse
| thieves, but with domestic scenes; his
peace is the broad expanse of horizon
found prairie: his fury the unimpeded
storm: his scenes are placed in booming
and bOomless towns: his characters, too,
are for the most part truly western. But
in the ''man story" Mr.. Howe has slight
ed this shibboleth of western hearts; in
this book it is obscured or almost totally
absent, unfortunately to the detriment
of the story, vet Mr.. Howe's charming
simplicity is here with all its former
grace. and his study of "Old Barnaby"
is highly amusing; yet it must be con-
fessed that the story toward the close
grows rather monotonous, and the reader
rather halls the end with pleasure.
On the whole, the imam story does
not stand with the earlier works of the
author, but has strayed away from its
native place and sought food in strange
barren pastures.
AMERICAN LITERATURE.
BY Chas. T. Richardson, G. P. Put
mans Sons, Publishers.
We have received the second volume
of the above work and find it very inter
esting and the analytical study of
American letters instructive. Mr.. Richard
son is an able writer and his criticisms are
|, l. I Il.
chapter to Longfellow, one to Emerson
as poet, to Edgar a. Poe. Nathaniel
Hawthorne, James Kenmore Cooper,
and deals justly with the lesser lights
He also follows the progress of Ameri-
can literature in highly Ineligible and
entertaining manner, and has some we'll
founded remarks on the tendency and
drift of American letters For students
in general and especially to American
literary enthusiasts scarcely is it posi-
bic to cite better book of its kind.
GLIMPSES OE THE FUTURE,
By d. G. Croly, published by G. P.
Putnam's Sons. This is book that is
founded on the past and presageS ac-
cordingly of the future.
Late, late yestreen saw the old moon
With the new moon in her arms"
1t is written in logical way, and its
statements are probable yet novel
enough to be entertaining. The plan of
prophesy, here, is the prospect as viewed
from the present drift of things in gen
eral.
The auther talks of the political
future; religious changes: future archi-
lecture; journalism; on New York as it
will be, and numerous other topics. The
chapter on the Civilization of Dreams"
will be found especially entertaining.
The book on the whole is carefully writ
ten, and is not nonsensical as its title
might imply, and its novelty should not
diminish its number of readers.
\ HISTORY OF GREECE.
By Evelyn Aboott-G. r. Putnam's Sons Pub
fishers.
To quote from the authors preface,
THE present work is intended for read
ers who are acquainted with the outlines
of the subject and have some knowledge
of the Greek language
What rich treasure this book for the
youthful Greek scholar. 1t is noticeable
IN the study of Greek and Latin, that is
for those who have read the common
college course, that in the latter the in
terest centers early at Rome, and at
Rome.it dwells. 1t grows enthusiastic |
over the Forum and boots Cataline and |
feels for Marce1lus and chooses Cicero, |
perhaps, for its boon companion in the I
second year Of its Latinity. 1t grows
uneasy when it journeys with Horace |
down to Brundisifnum or where he |
makes a slight reference to Cyprus or /
even to Soracte close by.
Not so with Greek, The student has |
first to trudge along those weary para
sangs with Zenophon, and even the sub
lime Homer's speaking, he said gets |
to some. 1t is some time !
before he gets to Athens. and long be-
fore he becomes discouraged in waiting
for a counterpoint of his beloved Rome.
He needs book that will give him some
idea of Greece, as a whole, and !
the work in hand neatly supplies
that want. as is implied in
tie authors preface. The authors
sentences are fluent and artistically
turned and at lines in reading you fancy
YOU discern the delightful old Greek
and think yourself again
within that magical atmosphere Of an
tiquity.
BEHIND CLOI.ED DOORS.
By Anna X. Green.
This is one of those books commonly
styled Detective Stories Now, while
these aforesaid stories are not the most
food IN point of letters. vet
they do serve most excellently for q lit
erarv dissection. The detective is before