Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1892-06-23


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One Of the prettiest books OF the last
few months is the volume entitled
--latest Literary Essays" Of J.. R. Lowell,
published by Houghton, Mifflin Of Boston.
The little volume is bound in myrtle
green india silk, with delicate border Of
gold stamped around the edge, and the
title, also stamped in gold, is circled by
slender laurel wreath. The volumne is
gotten out by Lowell's authorized literary
executor, Charles Eliot Norton, and the
essays are collected from various sources.
Several times in this slender volume
Lowell refers to the pressure of years that
became such burden to him before his
death. In the essay upon Walter Savage
Lander he says, in trying to recall what
passed in an interview which he had
with Lander, II have little to tell of our
few hours converse, for. the stream of
memory, when it has been flowing 80
long as mine, gathers an ooze in it's bed
like that Of Lethe, and in this the weight
Ter things embed themselves past re-
covery, while the lighter, lying nearer
the surface, may be fished up again." In
the essay upon Gray he speaks Of a GER
tain mood of the mind "tha. grows upon
us the longer we have stood upon our
lees" Not only in this direct way butin
a subtler way we are made to feel that
this is not the bouyant Lowell of the
"Bigelow Papers," or Of "My Study Win
dows." In the paper on Lander he harks
back to his boyish enthusiasm tor the
Imaginary Conversations" and pic
lures wildly how great man that
strange, contradictory Lander seemed to
his boyish eyes; but this praise is 80
modified by his maturer judgment, that
the resultant is only cold shadow of the
once warm reality. 1t is not that Lowell's
mind seemed to lose grasp, for we find
evidences Of his ripened scholarship in
each essay, but that his strong likes and
dislikes, which lent reality to the
men Of whom he wrote, gave place in
his lister years to more judicial and
impartial attitude Of mind. What is
gained in fairness, though Lowell was
never bitter in craftsmanship, like
Macauley, is lost in certain fresh vivacl-
ty. If the old essay on Wordsworth, for
instance, is compared with the equally
finished essay on Gray in this volumne,
this change of manner will be quite ap-
parent. tHoughton, Mifflin & Co., Bos-
ton: price $1.25.)
The June and "Western Number" of
Lippincott's Magazine has for it's COM
plete story novelette,, "John Gray" by
James Lane Allen. Although the scene
Of the story is laid in Kentucky, it has no
other point in common with the subject
matter of "Sister Dolorosa." There is
much beauty in this, as in all of Mr..
Aliens work but the subject is not we'll
adapted to his treatment. Mr.. Allen
seems to have made careful study Of the
pioneer life in Kentucky, of which he
writes; but he does not quite succeed in
making it real, or in catching the spirit
of rough and tumble hardihood Of which
he tells. There is throughouta little lack
OF that manly vigor which should be the
keynote of the whole. In "Sister Dolo-
rosa' there was the same fault of over
sentiment; but'in the history Of a beauti.
full young nun, wrought up to the highest.
emotional pitch of her life, it was easier
to forgive a sentiment that was at times
cloying than in the story of man and
pioneer. The real charm Of the story
consists in it's beauty Of English and two
or three very lovely bits Of description.
The marriage procession on horseback,
streaming gaily through the exquisite
June forest, has classic beauty that re-
calls that other procession, in the code
On Grecian Urn"
It is little surprising to come upon
such a very time-worn and antique quo
tation as Westward the Course of EN-
pire Takes its way" figuring as the cap
ton Of an article by senator j. J. ingalls,.
That quotation, by the way, when it was
serving it's term OF years in this part of
the world, suffered sea-change into
westward the Star etc." With this
article of Senator ingalls, we hope that
the star and the quotation have finally
set in the East. The title of the article,
heweyer, does it injustice, as the rest Of
it is fresh, lively and delightfully."- OPP
timistic. 1t is pleasing to hear a man
descant so enthusiastically upon any
land he is not trying to part with-for
Senator Ingalls, upon
The land Of the great and glorious West.
He dips into the future even further
than the eye Of our trained real estate
boomer can see; and the wonders he
lortells are all, he holds, to come to pass
in our day and generation.
"A portrait Of Ella Wheeler Wilcox, with
poem across her skirts, is a novel
feature OF the magazine.
The July Overland Monthly"
The July Overland Monthly with a
lew Midsummer cover will contain:
The Mosquito Fleet, Canoeing in Cali
ornia, by w. G. Morrow. A profusely
Illustrated article showing the crack Ca
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