Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-01-04
BOOKS AND AUTHORS.


by Mark Twain. Charles l.. Webster &
Co., New York.
Mark Twains books are either Intensely
funny TO their readers or tiresomc; IL de-
pends upon the reader the author varies
little and his last book Is no exception 10
the rule.
The reader must have very keen APP
probation Of his gems of humor to wade
through the dreary expanses OF thin litera-
ture In which he manages to hide them. One
ofthe advertisements of"A Yankee In King
Arthur's Court" speaks Of 1t as "a keen
and powerful satire on English nobility
and royalty" but 1t can hardly be called
that, ,as IL deals only with the Britons Of the
9Th century, or rather with the legends Of
that century, and 1t might AZ well be called
n satire on the French nobility as the
Knights of the Round Table were the ideal
Of that splendid chivalry which had reached
its height at the French court early in the
18th century.
Mark Twain cannot DO said TO have
made happy choice in his subject. The
legends of King Arthurs court are the
dearest of all our childhood literature. and
as older children we ponder over "The
Idyls of the King and enjoy the
music of the poets verse: and his art In the
choice of words In which ho repeats to us
the old tales, makes them doubiy dear to
us; and one doubts IL any one likes to
have recollections of this kind touched by
course hand, much less made merely
subject of ridicule. But, putting
all sentiments to one side, 1t Is
always questionable taste that satirises
sacred subjects even If they are considered
simply legendary. Mark Twain's humor
Is often coarse and his language inelegant,
and his last book is not free from those
faults, while 1t is open to the criticism of
being made up of old material The humof
in II was all given several years ago i'm a
lecture delivered by the author before the
Military Service institution and fully re-
ported in the New York papers Of that date
The idea of the visit of a Connecticut
Yankee to court of the days of chivairy
was humorous enough to serve for lee
ture or short story, but the effort to make
book of it is an imposition Oh the reading
public. So much for censure, and for praise
il may be said that there are several very
funny things in the book.
The Yankee has been capable foreman
| in large Hartford factory and Is fair
| specimen of the shrewd mechanical un-
| polished genius so aggressive and success
| ful In this age of invention and land of
| progress. In quarrel this man is laid out
| with a crowbar, and on coming to his
| senses finds knight in armor standing
\ over him. The surprise of the Yankee, and
his feelings as he gradually realizes that
he has gone back many centuries, are well
| described. There is good deal of strong
| philosophy and bracing democratic spirit
| in the character of the Yankee.
| In the following extract Mark gives a
hint of the mseries of a professional hu-
morist The Yankee sat in the kings "pri-
vate box" at a tournament when Sir Din
adam, who was waiting his turn to enter
the lists, came In and began TO talk" / had
always responded 10 his efforts rs well as
could, and felt a very deep and real kind
ness for him, too for the reason that If by
malice of fate he knew tho one particular
anecdote which i had heard oftenest and
had most hated and most loath cd all my
life, he had at least spared 1t me. 1t was
one which had heard attributed to every
humorous person who had over stood on
American soil. 1t was about humorous
lecturer who flooded an ignorant audience
with the killingest jokes for an hour and
never got laugh and then when he was
leaving, some gray simpletons wrung him
by the hand and said it had been the
funniest thing they had ever heard
and 1t was all they could do to
keep from laughin' right out in meetin
That anecdote never saw the day that il
was worth the telling; aud yet had sa
under the telling of il hundreds and thou
sands and millions and billions of times
and cried and cursed all the way through
Then who can hope to know what my
4.
start in on it again, in the murky twilight
of tradition, before the dawn of history
while even Lactantius might be referred L
ms ''the late LactGntius," and the Crusade
wouldn't be born for five hundred year
YETI Just as he finished, the call-bo,
came; so, haw having like demon, h.
/, | went rattling and clanking out like crat
,, of loose castings, and | knew nothing
more. II was some minutes before cam
to, and then / opened my eyes Just in tim
: To see Sir Gareth fetch him an awful wei
and unconscously ont with the prayer
~ hope to gracious he's killed." But by il
luck, before had got half through wit
the words, Sir Garcth crashed into 81
Sagramor le Desirous and sent him thun
dcring over his horses crupper, and Si
Sagramor caught my remark and though
|
, | challenge TO mortal combat when 81
: Sagramor should return from three year
; of Holy Grailing.
OCEAN, in a sea blue cover, with dashin
waves, shellfsh and floating seaweed is
very attractive periodical of illustrate
sea travel,
Captain Charles Kings forthcoming boo
is called starlight Ranch and Otht
! Stories of Army Life"
: THE Forum for January has a stron
i, article by John O.. Carlisle on "the tari
' and the farmer" lie so etiectually ~
: swers the recent article by Senator Culloi
on the same topic that the reasoning
|, that gentleman is reduced to hopeless al
. surdity. Major Powell discusses prehi,
toric man IN America, in which he reachs
{ the conclusion that there are no evidence
of races of people occupying the countr
Z anterior To the Indian tribes. The stor
, implements found in the Trenton grav
r beds he insists are Of Indian origin, but di
coveries made since the writing of his art
3 Gle seem to refute this. Another notable art
: Gle is on air navigation. Prof. Goodwin Smil
, writes of woman's place in the state an
[, Henry Labouchere discusses democracy
n England.