The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-12-09
THE CRITICS COLUMN.
DEVOTED TO COMMENT UPON RE
CENT PUBLICATIONS.
New Rocks Hece'vef-"Dcoatu and
somsrs"-"Lnd,I iiNo"-Mr poJre's
Last Work Notes.
DECATUR AND soMERs: Young He

zen NSttAldllN lNl the RlNNN anu thJs9.
ment Of the former. but possessing quar-
ties which have made them popular Win
the latter. Acquaintance win chaTdC-
t,Ts like Decatur, SOmers. Paul Jones'
etC.-men who united 20 moral great
ness. brilliant mental and personal AT
tTibutes-can only result benehciaHy ~
the young .,
When. In the work OF some sympathetic
and able writer, they are enaDled "
make that acquaintance throubh tnt ny
dlum OF literary style az VhI9 ~
and felcitous. We are indebted 10 tnd1
writer for what must prove IN the hdluio
OF real moral impetus 10 our boys, az
ways easily won by dashing quai''ieS VI
character. -. 49,.
Miss Seawcn comes distinctly under the
head OF such writer's. She deIshts 70
place before youth the heroic personally
OF a pure and daunuess patriot IN tne
easiest Of literary styles ana she mas
been rewarded by appreciation Wherever
her books are known 49, 49,.
The present volume, one OF the ouhs
Heroes Of our Navy series, is quite
up 10 the standard OF its predecessors,
and is most interesting reading ior men
and women as well az boys and girls.
1t rs finely and fully illustrated and
e1ceuently bound.
UNDER FIRE: by Captain Chas King,
L. =. a. J. Is. Lipptncott company
Philadelphia. For sale by West. john
stOu a. Co.
Capt. King needs no word OF introduc-
ticn here Each Of the volumes he has
written has served 10 give him hTlnrI
hold on the popular taste, hold "hich
shows that your pure, fresh; Viiie nc
ton sustains its own much longer IMAM
the mushroom growth OF popularity az
tained by your writer VINO Delights ID
ablOrmalities III morals or prurlency. -
Captain King is especially well quar-
fed to write OF army life. being soI-
der, and brave one, himself The pres
Ont volume carries it's hero. Percy Dawes,
n gallant West Pointer, through many
adventures before wedding him 10 a Ger
tain Miss Agatha Loomfs on the hst
page. the adventures being cQunterparts
Of the experience OF many brave men
during the days when "LO' was fghune
for his own rights and those OF others on
the far western frontier. There is; OF
course. q rascal to give variety and in
tercst and 20 create keen anticipation as
70 what he may do next his name being
Capt. DcverS Numerous other charac-
tiers move entertaningiy through the
book making most interesting ana
wholesome story. one OF the best that
even Capt. King has written.
FIVE THOUSAND WORDS OFTEN
MISSPELLED. by W. H.. =. Phyffe
G.. T. lutnam's Sons. New York.
London. For sale by West, Johnston
& co.
Mr.. Phyffe is already known 20 us as
the author Of that very useful and well
arranged book-"Seven Thousand Words
often Mispronounced."
OF the two, both valuable, the volume
just published rs, perhaps, the most var
liable Among its contents are: Rules
49, s'tt1t Nt"Ato ~ s'fNA'AAt 80
Use OF Capitals; Rules and Suggestions
for the Division of Words into Syllables;
an appendix containing the rules ana
amended speiiings recommended by the
Pathological Society of London, and the
American Pathological Association; the
Ten Rules for the Amended Spellings;
and the list of Amended Spellings.
while the ability 20 spell WELL says
Mr.. Phyffe. may confer no honor, Inc
habit of spelling poorly Is Justly deem
ed a disgrace, often has a letter, writ
ten I'm a worthy cause, failed or us ms
sion on account of its mSspelled words.
II is claimed that many persons have
had the avenues of success closed 10
them and their prospects bhghted, owing
10 their poor spelling. Moreover pubhc
opinion demands that people shall be
able 10 spell correctly. our orthography
may be inconsistent but this cannot be
allowed az an excuse for bad spelling.
While good spelling may not marx the
scholar, bad spelling marks the ignorant
Mr. Phyffe's effort to make matters
less difficult for the stumbling speller Is
the effort OF "A man thoroughly IN earn
est, and one who has made the Subject
matter of patient thought and careful
observation. The result IS that he has
given us. as before stated, an exceed
ingly helpful book, Of the "multum in
farVo" variety.
AMERICAN SONG: with Introductions
and Notes. BY Arthur q; Slmonds:
a NJ G. p. Putnams Sons. New
York. London. For sale by West,
Johnston q co.
While Mr. Simonds has given us a very
pleasant compilation of American poems,
1t seems TO us that ne has done good
deal Of entirely unnecessary work. OF
course that is simply our opinion, ana the
1dct remains tnat the classification OF the
poems and Mr. SimOnd'S notes and com
ments display flne critical ana analyu-
cal talent and thorough acquaintance
with the authors whom his book repre-
SCENTS.
In his preface, he states that in publish
Ing his book he had two dlStnct aims.
1T includes" says he, first, IA compiia-
ton Of American poems Drawn
from the era beginning about the com
mencement OF the century ana reaching
therefore. IL may be OF interest TO the
general reader, as we'll as OF special ser
vice to a student Of literature wishing 20
aCquaint himself readily with types OF
secondly the book may. 1t is hoped, be
useful for making an inductive study
both of the chief American poets, ana,
less completely OF the other poets from
whose writings extracts are taken ac-
cording 20 the plan OF the Noiune. ne
order i'm critical study should be, first, the
single poem: then the poems OF one au-
thor, later the poetry of this authors
period, nnaly, the consideration Of Am
erican poetry as a whole"
The arrangement OF the contents OF the
book is IN accordance with these aims,
and whether of value or not 10 the stu
dent II Is attractive TO the general read
Hope. ID. Appleton Il 60. New York.
90 cents. For sale by West, Johnston
a co.
MIR. VIM. Ruston. the silent and force
ful gentleman who makes all the mis-
chief in Mr.. Hopes book. is one of that
type OF men who, as an exchange re-
marks, are more like "incarnate forces
than human souls. The woman whom
he loves and who loves him is the wife
OF a gentle and true If occasionally tire
some man. She also the mother Of
charming cNildreL She is saved from
disgTace by no virtue OF her own and
virtue OF the ubiquitous MIR. Ruston, but
is still saved and ends her days in her
faithful husbands home. Her lover con
soles himself by the concentration OF
all his powers upon the attainment OF
worldly success and Is as thoroughly
contemplate throughout as a combination
Of mental and personal force. cool head
edness, and utter selishness can make
him.
Literary Notes.
In the current Century MIR. Glider
has a little editorial saying this age suf-
fgf-g ~ mol