Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-10-13
Copyright by Edgar W. Nye.l


II is about time, il seems TO me, that
should daily little with the literati
and speak few words pro and con re-
garding authors and their works. I'm
fortunately am great bOokworm and
an omnivorous reader. Lately l have
been able, through the influence of MIR.
Champion, of Stamford, n. Y. who is
the veteran editor of the state, having
run the same paper. think, for over
forty years. TO obtain a copy of "The
History of Delaware County" by my
friend and fellow htterateur Mr.. Jay
Gould.
The book is said TO be quoted now at
$40 per volume. owing % its great scare
ity and the fact that Mr.. Gould is on the
watch for all the copies he can get, and
that he is said to destroy them as soon
as they are secured. No money could
purchase my own volume l assure you,
for it is thoroughly pure in tone, and no
one can read it understandingly without
becoming better man.
After reading "A chapter of Count Leo
Tolstoi and then burning rag | love TO
take down Mr.. Goulds The History Of
Delaware County" and read it till far
into the silent night
The book contains 42G pages and two
steel plate engravings of men who had
agreed to subscribe for it. IL is bound
in slate colored cloth, and shows in every
page the lofty purity and noble i'm
pulses of the struggling young author.
cannot help while reading The His
tory of Delaware County" contrasting
its beautiful purity with the ferocious
and savage cussedness of Tolstoi. We
could hardly imagine two more widely
and Numerically different toilers in the
great field of literature than Jay Gould
and Tolstoi One is gentle, refined and
pure; the other gifted crank. | have
spoken heretofore To some extent of Mr..
GOuld's methods in business, criticising
them in an honest yet unsparing way,
hoping thereby to call his attention to
the fact that at his time of life, with all
his means, he might do so much good
and die so much happier if he would
pause in his mad race with mammon to
enjoy and invite others to enjoy the in
terest on his accommodating millions.
But as a fellow author have nothing
but admiration for him and praise for
his work His language is highly gram
NAUTICAL in some places and his spelling
is above the average. OF course | could
criticise some of his methods: for in
stance, such as abiding to himself as
az and then again as I'VE" "a little far
Their down the page, but this might hap
pen of course, for he no doubt wrote at
times when he regarded himself as ex-
tremely singular, whilst at others he felt
more plural
Mr.. Gould has a clear cut Western
Union style of expressing himself by
cutting out needless words. which can
not fail to meet with the Endorsement
of all good writers Of good English.
think we should have Mr. Gould up at
the Authors club, and ask him to come
and read from his works Selections
from the ticker and other little skits of
his would be received with unbounded
delight
For the past summer by accident l
have been located in Delaware county,
which is nowadays a great summer re-
sort for tine elite. 1t was for many
years the home of the Goulds, and every
hill and valley was familiar to Jay, the
bright young author. 1t was there that
he got together the material and pub
hshed his map of Delaware county. 1t
was bright and extremely attractive
map, with pleasant, fragrant varnish on
It. Although Mr. Gould does not think
it begins to rank with some of his other
and later literary work he does not in any
way feel that it was unworthy of him.
Tolstoi, on the other hand, is man of
genius, but he declines 10 make himself
at all submissive TO the constitution of
the United States or the ordinances of
the town. Tolstoi tells the truth, but so
does the coarse member of congress, per-
haps; yet the editor of The Congression-
al Record wisely removes some of the
chOicer idioms of speech with a pair of
tongs before he prints it.
Tolstoi tells some disagreeable truths.
but he ought not TO refer to them as
literature. Descriptions of the treatment
of bolts and hog cholera are not I'M
truthful, and yet they should be so la