New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-01-17
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

Thsrs "a a proycrb extan touching the risk Involved
In the acquisition OF only small amount OF kho"I'
edge. OF course 1t is a dead le;tcr-oVciy P'''.'o
that ntcrfcrcs with the development OF paiurai oe'
pravity is dead letter. We're we not cohVihccu VI
mis- ". might cndeavor TO formulate In the language
q, ptovcrb a reflection the acquisition oil hhow'cuec
done up In small parcels. u" matter now many vi
those parcels the reader NAV provide h'Hse" Will
In ancient days they used to drive niah in'u Nv
letting water fall In drops on his head Nowadays
we attempt L, clarity and strengthen man "'e'
iect by dropping booklets into his brain lha' '"e
booklet Is Intended purely an engine OF educaho"
we nre fully persuaded. for we cannot bcieVc ''"'
any reader with love Of itciatur" Tor 'tS own s"
will consent TO have II served up to HIN Oh pages
averaging three by -four inches In snr. ~ must oe
therefore for the persons who, az Matthew Mhoiu
p,ts IT, are beginning = take an interest In the thhes
q, the mind and must make their investigation be
tween STATIONS that the publishers make their ''hy
rcprtnts. Looked at closely there i nOuIihg "o'c
opposed TO spirit OF reading OF reading io pleasure
than the pocket edition Vet the pocket euI"o"
nutiplies apaoe and Milton himself I" say no'Eihe
Of Shakespeare. Is crammcd into such FORM tn't he
NAV M into tho busy mans waistcoat pocke anu Of
rrammed into the busy mans Consciousness al s'o'n
tntervas 1t Is perhaps useless 10 protest against
IT, And besides. the retort OF the unh'aiiah "ho'"
may the gods reward according TO his deserts is natc
fully Obvious. But at least suggestion may w
offered the advocates and propagt,rs OF these pretty
little books. Let tho literature be chosen Wild os
rr.tion. A PLAY OF Shakespeare printed IN IAN
scdec,mo Il o mistake. We say II full IN the face OF
tho SIX volumes OF the s. Ariel Shakespeare sent u
bv q. P. Putnsms The print OF these Is COCO
the paper Is good the Illustrations are eood ano
enally the binding Is rood. But In the library, OF
under a tfee-and where else can Shakespeare
be readi-ae not these booklets ao In
,srfnenceY Nobody 10 hear blank verse
chanted through a penny trumpet. and why should
ANYBODY want TO read Shakespeare In pocket edition
Unless Il l. the man on the train ana " Is IN h>
hands rather than In those OF any other reader mat
Shakespeare should never lie put Let him walt unui
he reaches his home. In the cars. unless he has su
mailman powers Of abstraction. he Is whole para
sape, removed from the only mood In which the
beauty ana march OF shakcspcarc's dramatic ver'.
can b. apprehended. lie will get the paywright's
facts but not the singers poetry. roetr, Is
not alien TO crowded place Let sIaA''
spcare MARBLE his native woodnote. wild In one OF Ills
lyric outbursts and his voice Will reach
xon In all It's melodlous polgnancy through the crash
and din Of railways But that is because tie unit
of modest dimensions be Comprehended III an IN
stant. A unit such as "Thc Merchant OF Venice
needs repose and the closest attention Oh Il" 'nV
faculties for It's proper comprehension song READ
In the elevated train Is cry. "A Hash OF hght.
s.nce-,t is recognized and asimiatcd with rap'dity
The sustained argument In vcrse-the play. the epic
and with some exceptions. the ode-per's'd under
the same circumstances Is an afcctail0n ana vain
thing ~
Among the six last issues In their series Of "Li''
erary Gems" also sent by the Putnams We MI"
aThanatopsis. and Other Poems" by Eryant' "raV
uFlerv with selection from his odes and sonne's
and "LEnegro ard II Perscroso" together WIN
other Of Millions poems. These are only hahra"o''i
reprints. Miiton's sonncts can he read Win pro"'
while travelling. no groan OF weary wh''H %
Shrek of sunocating locomotive could drown '"e
clancor OF the lines the massacre IN PIEDMONT
4" Pom
ideal reader once said that TO read Milton IL IKE
sitting at n solemn music. Similarly Bryant Nc''.
ITO a Waterfowl are welcome In this lorh' o"' =,
the charm Of ThanatopSis" or "The tloou OF i'"'
IN hurried moment do not feel as certain INV ~
auisiteiy simple and humane philosophy OF Gray ~
egy" may be appreciated In the heat OF daly NE '
Tho Progress OF Poesy." "The Bad. these "e'"
seclusion among books or among the calm oeau''oN "
nature for their full effect TO be ieit. Anu W '
seclusion, We repeat an edition IKE 'he p'csv"'
never likely to be carried. As FOR sherman 'N"'
ve would have believed It an impos'io'l'y IN ""e"
form had II not actually been put into 'hat very o
No NAV whether 1t be and majestic IKE one
NJ shakespearc's or sparkling like one OF sheridan =
will 90 naturally into such suisc We can easily
,madne Dante and Homer boohletted Ihey hay
h. some day. Perhaps they have been already VINO
Knows, OF poetry short poetry alone will serve the
publislers purposc-the songs OF tho Eaabethahs Vi
the eighteenth century. OF later men Ike scott ana
Purns and even later mon than these. ike Iehhysoh
Versilers like Dobson and Gossc would be eood 100
When We approach prose the field OF choice Is "ioPr'
Fssay. are excellent " compression must be submitted
IN and short pieces such the Rip Van Winkie
and the Charity and IIumor" by Tlmckeray whlch
fine Putnams publish fulfil the important condition OF
offering an impression that can be received IN one
sitting and that brief But alas for history anu
biography for any form Of literature in which per
spectye and the laws OF relation TO be Observed
N fragments Of II are be published In little" From
the Brentanos we have life OF Chopin puoiishea
IN what they call their "Petit Library" Couid II
seriously occur to any 10 read life OF Chopin
Owen IN this forml The material for prose booklets
n fiction The short story can be quickly read ana
its content taken In as quickly. II the prose Gem
IA inevitable let II be drawn from the treasure houses
n, dead masters like Poe living masters like Bret
Harto and Rudyard Kiplng. Yet after all would The
living master submit to the ndgnityf The dead ones
alas are defenceless. and they more than any Others
supply the booklet presses. We wonder they DO not
turn In their graves.