The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-11-26
In THELITERARY WORLD
WEEKLY CHAT REGARDING Writ
ERs AND BOOKS.
PARALLELS from Nature-Triump hant De-
steeliEeri-Astrophel and
stella-Otber Publications.

CONSULTING w eDsleT iOF lne llleTdl nedn-
Ing Of that word parable. we find him de-
filming 1t well, as fable or aHegorical
relation Of something real in life or ma
ture from which a moral Is drawn for
| instruction, and Mrs. Gattys two vol
umes, tastefully bound and admirably
illustrated, may, after a careful reading,
be truly pronounced parallels In the pur-
est and highest sense. Quintillian assures
US Of what impressiOnable humanity feels
and has felt since its creation-that elo-
| quence is from the heart, not the mind,
and the reader Of these special parallels
will be struck by the authors true poetic
instinct; her ability 10 interpret what
she reads in the face OF the great sweet
mother nature, with the keeness and SYM
patty that have their strong root In love.
The usefulness Of the parable in sim
plifying and impressing moral and spirit
ual truth was deeply appreciated by the
| greatest preacher, purest soul, and truest
! poet of all time, who illustrated his appre-
citation by the use OF word pictures which
! have FOR nineteen centuries been the daily
| bread of spiritual children and spiritual
| giants alike, the incentive to endeavor
in the absence Of tangible prizes 10 the
obscure and the solitary. We never quite
outgrow our childlikeness, and it is to the
child in man that parallels appeal, and
| upon it that the parable makers count.
Mrs. Gatty's two volumes illustrate the
| truth both Of scriptural texts and Of ex-
| tracts from the writings Of famous au-
thors. Milton. Goethe, Tennyson, and
| Quarles among them. We heartily COM
mend them 10 the public attention as
/ pervaded by an exquisite purity Of tone
| and aim and calculated 10 do nothing but
/ elevate mind and heart alike
| TRIUMPHANT DEMOCRACY: BY An
drew Carnegie. $500. Charles Serb
ner's Sons. New York. For sale by
West Johnston & Co.
This is the revised edition Of Mr.. Car
negie's book, and Is based upon the census
OF 1890.
The word Democracy upon its title page
/ signifies the people, the great masses,
| and read with the light Of our knowledge
of Mr. Carnegie's nationality and person
! ality upon II, the book has a meaning
| deeper than would appear to those who
cannot read between the lines.
THE scope of this book" says the
writer. lis to show what we have to be
thankful for and not what we have to
lament as compared with other aggrega-
| tons Of the human race elsewhere in
| this work-a-day world"
| Mr.. Carnegie, as is well known, is a VI
| rile ScOtchman, who, born under the
| monarchy, and adopted d citizen Of the
| Republic brought into IL the mental and
moral stamina, the superb qualities Of
| foresight and endurance, which, charac-
| teristic in greater or less degree of all
Scotchmen, are his in an exceptional
degree. and were the telling factors in the
| life which has been n real acquisition TO
/ our land. both from a financial and a
moral standpoint.
The literary style Of the book is alive
with the personality Of the man who wrote
| It; il is clear, strong incisiye; not a dull
sentence appearing between the covers
The first of the twenty-three chapters
is a general commentary upon the Re
public from the standpoint Of the present
The remaining twenty-five deal with the
American masses and all that concerns
them as masses-their conditions Of life,
occupations, wages, cost of living, facili-
ties for education, pauperism. and crime;
the arts, mechanical and liberal, railways
and waterways, foreign affairs the
Federal constellation the governments
nOn-pOlitical work, the national budget
(of debit, record Of the decade from 1850
to 1890, and look forward
The book will prove valuable to all
Americans who are sufficiently thought
ful and intelligent as 10 be interested IN
Alitll OWN country anu II IS particularly
enjoyable as coming from a practical man,
not a visionary dreamer. who, with a life
full Of splendid and substantial results,
lays more stress upon the value of pres
ent deeds than musty pedigrees, and
while according the latter true value,
realizes that we are responsible 10 So
ciety for our actions, not our ancestors
and that society, as meaning aristocracy,
Is growing more appreciative each day
Of this fact.
ASTROPHEL AND STELLA: BY Sir
Phillip Sidney With introduction by
A. W. Pollard. A. G. McClury * Co.
Chicago. For sale by West. Johnston
& Co.
That absorbing passion for the person
ality Of one woman which has been ex-
perienced by every man and by which the
one woman, idealized becomes the pearl
richer than all her tribe, was the inspira-
ton Of the dainty poem, to which Mr..
Pollard, with very evident and warm ad-
miratiOn for the Noble Sidney, I'm
WHICH all students Of English history
share has written a most pleasing intro
duction-a sketch of the life of the gal
liant knight.
Mr.. Pollard truly says that Of no man
was 1t ever more true that his death was
traits in his character were a gallant
generosity, a deep sense or religion. a
thorough refinement of nature, and
modesty which almost lost the public
Arcadla, whose author, in accordance
with his lifelong abstinence from publ
cation, had commanded it To be burnt in
manuscript setting little value upon it,
10 read these songs and sonnets
arlsht says Mr.. Pollard" it is essential
10 remember they were written by the |
same sidney who. In his hatred of Spain |
ana catholicism, his deep religious feel |
lhs' ana the sweet gravity of his demean-
Or is typical in so many ways of the |
carrier and yet unnarrowed spirit Of Puri-
tanlsm. II this be forgotten the epithets |
vain AID amatorious," which Milton |
applied TO the Arcadia" may well be |
transferred TO the poems. II |
this be remembered. these sonnets have |
a psychological interest, only surpassed |
by mat sull greater series written by the /
author Of Hamlet and King Lear"
The stella" Of the sonnets was the |
Lady Penelope, eldest daughter of Lord /
Essex, and subsequently the wife OF Lord |
hich. AT the time OF her first introduc-
ton she was mere child Of twelve. and |
profound passion for her seems
10 nave been Of gradual but sure growth.
The precise nature Of their relations
AFTER "Stella's" marriage TO Lord Rich
neither history nor biography has told |
US; II is shadow upon the otherwise
pure memory OF the chivalrous Sidney
mat he remained her lover after her mar
rage and addressed poetry 20 her, and
Il IS, as Mr. Pollard remarks. small
wonder that his biographers pass hastily
faft In. 4