Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-01-13
THE CRITICS REVIEW.

The Curse of Marriage, White Marie
and Other Current Works.
A little too late for our last weeks commen
on the magazines comes the North Anlericd1
ReviesU, with its much-heralded duel" be
tween MIR. Gladstone and Mr.. Blaine on thl
merits Of protection and free trade. The battle
is well-contested one. with smart blows OF
either side; but neither Of the contestants viii
convince the other. There is no casting up of 6
sponge at the end of this fight To all free
traders Mr.. Gladstone's paper will appear the
very essence Of right reason and commercial
common sense. To all protectionists Mr.
Blaine's argument will seem to establish be
yond dispute that the good of the country de
pends upon the preservation OF protection and
the power Of the Republican party. The
articles are exceedingly valuable as being q
compact statement of the main points on each
side.
Of the three un-English names which
appear in the table of contents, RodolphC
Lanciani, author of Ancient Rome in the
Light of Recent Discovery" writes on "a
Romance of Old Rome" telling about the
pretty dolls which the Roman girls used to be
fond of when the world was good many
hundreds of years younger than it is now;
Camille Flamarion takes us into his confidence
in his bright and chatty recounting of how he
became an astronomer; there is French
plea for international copyright from the
PEN of Comte Emile de Keratry. The
title of the article on the "Border
Land Of Science" suggests a dis
QUESTION on spiritualism or esoteric Buddhism,
at the least, but anybody who skips it under
the leading of such supposition will make a
mistake, for it Is a straightforward, wholly
sane and sensible look into the scien-
tific future. The author IS Prof.
Thurston, of Cornell University. There is
a paper by the late Jefferson Davis
on Robert E. Lee, and bundle Of reminis-
cences, with some delightful anecdote in it, by
Charles K. Tuckerman, whose subject is "By'
Gone Days in Boston," The Divorce Question
is still under discussion in the ReviesO the con-
tributors this month being women.
&.#
Another question which is waiting for the
right answer, and the right answering of which
is matter of universal consequence to our
national future, is the Negro Question. This
is discussed at considerable length in Justice
and JurfsprWdence q. B. Lippincott & Co.; ].
r. Weldin & Coz. This dignified and hand
some book is an inquiry concerning the consti
tutional limitations of the Thirteenth, -Four.
teenth and Fifteenth Amendments. There is
no authors name on the title page, but the
brotherhood Of Liberty" stands sponsor for
it. This is the statement of the freedman's
case, as the Brotherhood of Liberty, men of
African descent having for their purpose the
uplifting of their native race. desire to have it
presented to the American people. 1t purports
to be the argument Of their counsel in the
great case wherein the authoritative judicial
Interpretation of the Constitution is called in
question, with the whole nation in the Jury
box. Briefly, the scheme of the book is this:
The meaning of certain constitutional amend
ments is first laid down, and it is shown that
their evident intention is to secure equal civil
rights to every American citizen; then cases
are cited in which the rights of colored men
are involved, IN which the courts it is claimed,
have decided in such a way as to nullify these
constitutional provisions. The case on which
most emphasis is laid is that of Hall versus
DeCuir, which is described as the first in a
series of blows against equality of civil rights.
Mrs DeCuir, an American citizen of African
descent, was refused accommodation in the
cabin of Mississippi steamboat.
-
Five books In paper covers ask attention this
week. The first bears remarkable title which
an advertisement informs us, does not by any
means indicate the real character of the book.
The Curse of Marriage we are told, is not half
so bad book as THAT name might imply"
This work is described in a subtitle as being
"a true story of domestic life," and the pub
fishers. the American News Company, assure
US in preface that it mot only possesses the
power to please. but to also hold the undivided
attention of the reader to the end" The Critic
opens the book at random and reads: Sarah
Watson's bright, black eyes seemed both
ablaze, as jumping from her chair, she clutched
bis arm, and whispered, Heaven and Earthl 1
know the murderer Anybody who will ven
ture further, may.
The dashing signature of Sam B. Harrison
adorns the title page of Front, or ten years with
The travelling men (American News Company
Mr.. Harrison says that an examination of sew
sral pages of hotel register, at which he was
one of the judges, resulted in giving the reward
If merit for good penmanship to Pittsburg.
The hotel which furnished this excellent regis
;er was the Mcclure House in Wheeling, where
he author began his service as clerk in 1878
Mr. Harrison has written pleasant unpreten-
;ious, sketchy little railroad book. He touches
lpon all manner of topics, from trunks to kick
ITS. The little book is readable, and the writer
s evidently good, genial and companionable
ellow.
The Lost inca (Cassell & Co.; ]. R. Weldin &
Jo.) is journey into Eldorado. The last of
he line of the ancient IDcas of Peru was
nca-Manco. He fed into the fortresses of
lis native mountains, and resisted all the
4ttacks of Pizarro and his Spaniards. It was
reported that the brave Inca was
,illed. AS to the fact, however, the historian, |
Prescott tells us, sit is impossible to deter |
nine, since no one present has recorded it,"
n the year 1883, two men in balloon discover
his ancient imperial hiding place. 1t is |
leep valley with wall of cliffs about it, and it
5 inhabited by a population having all the /
modern discoveries in a full state of develop. |
nent, and more added. What follows is like |
he old stories in which the magic door opens |
n the hillside, and we go through into the land |
# the fairies This is the way in which justice |
5 administered to the false witness in that in |
eresting country.
my lord, it is all lies" the prisoner cried.
The Inca continued: "When life is the for |
cit under human law, it is right to have a last |
ppeal to the mighty Tulip, our Divine an
estor. Approach, therefore" he said to the |
risoner, 'and touch your tongue upon the sa-
red disk if that member is. vile. We shall |
oon know it, If you are unjustly accused, /
an touch you come forward.
"The woman hesitated. She e'became paler
han ivory, and trembled but tried to stagger
onward. The matron who had been her
uard, now approached and whispered some
Yords that seemed to strengthen her, for she
ook the one step necessary to reach the altar
nd seizing it with both hands, bending for
lard touched her tongue upon the FURNISHED
teel Instantly, in the midst of explosions and
be savage fash of lightnings she fell shape
,ss, smoking heap upon the mat, which parted
4 the midst, and her body tumbled into an
byss from which came up to us the hiss and
oar of rushing torrent of waters" When
70 get to the time when we can try, as well as
xecute, criminals by electricity, we will have
aimed good deal
While Marie (Cassell & Co.; ]. r. Weldin &
%. }, is a story of Georgian plantation life by
Will N. Harden. 1t is one of those tragic
,ories which. are made possible by such con-
ition of things as caste. White Marie has a
rop of black blood in her veins at least it
GEMS so, until a 'Lady-Clara-V Vere-de-Vere
,ene toward the end. When the truth comes
ut at the last it only makes black picture
lacker than ever. 1t is a true story, the author
.ys It is assuredly desperately pathetic
5ory.
Two little volumes, with the name Of Lee &
hepard on the covers. and each of them bear