New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-06-11
AMERICAN LITERATURE.
rHE srEpMAN.HuTcHNsoN LIBRARY.

stsdmao and Ellen Mscksy Hutchinson. In ten
x volumes. Vol VII. Royal $40. PIP XVI o9-'
Charles L. Webster a. Co.
The seventh volume Of this compilation covers
The period from 1875 to 1860. 1t may almost De
said to comprise the memories of three wars, 1or
&c begins with Oliver Wendell Holiness ola
Ironsidesn and closes with GRANTS ACCOUNT OIL tne
surrender AZ Aupomattox Dr. Holmes opens the
,oIume by right of seniority and the editors have
been as hospitable their limited space would
allow 90 the products OF bis nimble muse as well
rs 20 bis prose writings, grave and gay. Ihere Is
liberal citation, OF course. from the PROFESSOR
as the Breakfast Table" with its touching story
of the old Latin tutor. the father Of Iris. What
"a styie that is of the Professor. by the way-as
ouiek and terse as talk between man and man,
vst full of charm. and with that how much vigorl
Some of our younger writers. with their cloying
nieeties and entertainments CT speech, might well
icuItiyate . more intimate friendship with the
sProfessor.
4 The chief figure among the authors represented
! In this volume is James Russell Lowell, and here
| again the editors must have had task we cannot
envy them in deciding what they must put
aside, lest one genius should overrun the whole
territory. The poems selected illustrate the full
range of his powers from the Commemoration
iodeS on the one hand and the Bglow Papers"
ON the other, to the song to "The Dandelion'
land After the Burial" The prose writings in
lclude, of course, q passage from the essay On a
Certain Condescension in Foreigners. and favorite
ieitations from Among My Books The editors
tprove their journalistic training by including
portion Of the address on The Place OF the In
tpendent in Politics delivered in this city not
tmany months ago. Walt Whitman is represented
by n score or more of his briefer poems. Among
the many writers of poetry are DR.. Holland W.
w. Story. Julia Ward Howe. Alice Cary, John g.
O n N lfHn6
Street Samuel Ward. Robert Trail. Spence
Lowell. Bishop Coke Thomas Dunn English Mrs.
lBota and Mrs Lowell Among the poets COM
.paratively little known. whose memory the edi-
ftors have undertaken to preserve. are Henry
Howard Browne1l the Hartford poet. and Theo-
idore O'Hara. who wrote the BivOnac Of the
! Dead
Fiction is not largely represented, unless we
feel that the appearance OF the most popular novel
ever written, /" Uncle Toms Cabin" is enough to
mark period by itself The editors have chosen
the thrilling episode of ELIAS flight to stand for
1.-THE book and have spared us Evas death. There
Us also OF the stories of Sam Lawson of blessed
memory. Ann s. Stephens, Sylvester Judd, r. B.
Kimball Cornelius Matthews. Susan Warner, Her
nan Melville and II. A. Wise, whose stirring ro-
nance Of Captain Brand" is still remembered
by the boys OF the last generation other novel
I'VE
longs in this list Of course as he does in several
pthers. In this volume we begin to see the rise
Of that school of American humorists who have
since created distinct literature. Among them
ere Frances Miriam Whitcber, whose Offering was
widow Bedott'; William T. Thompson, who
wrote Major Jones's Courtshfp" ; B. Z. ShiIaber,
whose Mrs. Darlington" is a morganatie grand
daughter Of :" Mrs. Malaprop"; Henry w. Shaw
r. Josh Billings7), and Frederick S. Cozzens, who
wrote The Sparrowgrass Papers With these
should be classed, perhaps l.. w Mansfield. The
description of Singing China" from UpiCountry
Lstters' deserves niche in this cathedral as the
late John Brougham used to say of his place in
the history Of burlesque. The theatre rs better de-
picted by discussion than by Illustration. The
only example Of the acted drama is the death of
Jack Cade, from hobart Taylor Conrad's play of
Aymere," but there are excerpts from the writ
ings OF the Rev. DR.. Henry W. Bellows and Parlxe
Goodwin upon the stage DR.. BelowB's paper
was brave one, considering that it was written
more TIM thirty years ago. 1t frankly places
large responsibility for the evil manners of the
stage upon the religious Glasses Of society," because
they withdraw from contact with II.
On the political side this volume is rch like all
that have preceded it. Mr. Stedman and Miss
Hutchinson have here impartsIly presented, as
everywhere throughout the series, both sides OF the
great political questions. James II. Hammond of
South Carolina, who first dung at us Of the North
from his seat in the Senate the epithet of mud
.sdllA" and coined the phrase Cotton is king" is
allowed 10 defend slavery from the point OF view
Of political science. and Albert T. BledsOe, one of
the doctrinaires which slavery produced in plenty.
draws fearful picture OF the certain consequences
Of abolition. These extracts read strangely to
day, and to none more strangely, no doubt than
10 the people Of the South, but they are essential
to correct portrayal of the successive stages Of
tho Intellectual development Of this country, and.
as such, have decided historical value The OBJ
servant reader will place in dramatic contrast to
these, though the editors did not do SO, the pas
sionate wall of Frederick Douglass when he de-
scribes his hour Of bttterst trial as slave Among
the statesmen are Henry Wilson, Alexander II.
Stephens and Stephen A Douglas. Sumner, who
must be classed both among the statesmen and tho
orators is seen at considerable length, mainly in
ent-slavery speeches, are also Wendell Phil
lips, William NJ. Evarts and Richard S. Storrs
The journalists appear for the first time as a
Instinct and powerful element IN the National
life. Chief Of them, Of course, is Mr.. Greeley.
whose well-xnown chapter on The Tribune" in
his Recollections" is in itself an essay on jour
naIsm. There are added to these the letters 10
President Lancoln, urging emancipation, the letter
% some narrow-mnded bloc kheads' in the. Union
League Club, who found fault with his partlcips-
ton in the battling Of Jefferson Davis-a most pun
gent letter thati-an various other writings
among them an extract on Literature as Voca-
Eion," which contains more cOmmon-sense advice
70 youthful aspirants than was probably ever
compressed before into a few paragraphs. Mr..
Charles A. Danas summing up of the career of Mr..
Greeley as a Journalist Immediately upon his
death, Is one Of the examples given OF the news
paper style OF the younger journalist With that
Is coupled Mr. Dana's editorial on Roscoe Conkiing.
witch. judged as an example Of picturesque, brill
sant and compact writing for q newspaper, might
be studied TO advantage by every youth who hopes
10 earn his bread by making copy for printers.