The herald., 1894-11-04


price, in cloth rs cents, in paper %.
Tho Magazines.
There ia very little that 10 striking In
the November magazines received at
date of this writing.
Earliest OF the heavier ones is The
Atlantic, whose familiar pages bring up
memories of the great writer's who
made it iamoua--now all gone, literally
all gone ia "a years. Not the smallest
change has every been made in this
magazine in general appearance. 1t has
had terrible fxedness of purpose, to
bring out the beet attainable talent and
keep its record clean. No blot is on it,
no mistake, no cheap thing has ever
disfgured or marred it. 1t has not AL
ways been great, but 10 has done the
best it could to keep high the stardard
OF it's founders. 1t has encouraged and
brought out scores OF young writer's, who
found their first chance with it. 1t has
not paid very literally because it could
not, but il has been the friend OF
every worthy worker in the Literary field,
and made q welcome, II not a luxurious,
home for him. Will it keep to its simple
ways and to Che end resist the clamor
for illustrations and the other fashions
OF the hour? They are not few who
feel sure that magazines will 90 back to
the solder basis and the severer style Of
the old DAYS; aud that the blanket.
sheet newspaper, too, has about had it's
day. But no one can tell when or how
snch changes come about. Like the
mighter things OF life. they have their
currents and their cycles.
The Atlantic is purely eastern--purely
New England in ils favor-but it is
catholic and cosmopolitan in literary
form. Hence it iea pattern that many
western publications may we'll heed.
The attempt to build up local litera-
ture is an abomination as we'll as q fail.
ure. 1t has no real place outside OF the
field held by the ephemeral newspaper.
1t is q "lead' that is soon worked out.
1t is rabbit track and not trail. Local
spice and dialect have their place and
value; but they must always be mere
incidents to what we call literature.
There is no such thing aH local liter
ary atmosphere.
If one were to compare the Overland
Monthly-which has just reached us
with the Atlantic. the point at which
we have limited were better understood.
But there ia no space here and now to
do this. The latter 10 working it's way,
doing excellent service in the attempt to
to worthily represent the furthest
west. 1t is the sole survivor upon O
hard fought field. One cannot help
sorrowing over some little lapses dis
cernable on the quarterback.
Literary Notes.
Professor Maccunn has written q
meaty little volume on The Ethics OF
Citizenship, which has happily blended
philosophy with plain truths OF expert
ence. 1t is hopeful and cheerful view
of the mission and end of Democracy, as
a short extract will show: at has
given ear TO the tales of the travellers,
and to the researches OF the ethnologist,
who have made even the popular mind
familiar with customs. morals, laws,
which are not its own. 1t has listened
to the etudeut of other countries and
other civilizations, to which perhaps
Democracy has never come. The his
torian has told his story of men greater
even than modern reformers, and of
events more momentous even than re.
form bills. The magic OF historical ro-
nance has ehown how lives, heroic, gen.
tie, eaintly could be lived under old
feudalism IS we'll as under new radical.
ism. And the political philosopher,
even the political reformer, has ceased to
wish to fashion men and things anew.
For he has come to see that not only for
the sake OF the boarded wisdom OF past
experience, but in obedience to evolution
and the very lave of life, the radical
who would look forward to posterity
must also, in a deeper sense than
Burke imagined when he used the words.
look backwards to his ancestors"
Alter eloquently setting forth the evils
that flow from the ignorance, the haste,
and the self-interest OF the politician,
ne goes on as follows: "There ia no di-
rect remedy. For it is not by wishes
or resolves, not by warnings or exhorta.
tions. that men rare ever likely to be
kept consistent. They must learn to
take that longer way around which is
the shortest way home. They must
first do their part to secure the conditi.
ons of the thing they covet. To knowl-
edge they must add deliberation. and to
del beration, disinterestedness in well.
grounded confidence that. though these
great elements of character can only
blend into effective union through time
and experience, tho man who has them
has at least the stuff out of which con-
sistency is made. Most OF all must
they learn from earliest years to love
their country with that deep and settled
affection which, above all other infu.
ences, can redeem mems pablo lives
from the most fatal forms OF inconsist-
ency. If one were asked waat
was the secret of the consistency
OF Mazzini. it would not be enough
10 answer he had an ideal. 1t would be
neediul to add that 1t was an ideal on
which he had set not only mind but
heart, and to point out that, through
all defects. ESTABLISHMENTS, and dis.
gusts, his affections never swerved from
that vision that upheld him OF an Italy
free. united, and republican"
Mr.. f. b. Sanborn. one of the best
known New England all.round writers,
had just added to his works, Familiar
Letters of Henry David Thoreau, of
whom Emerson wrote:
Through the green tents by eldest nature
He roamed content alike with man or beast
Where darkness found him, he lay glad at
There tie red morning tou ched him W: tn its
light.
Go where he will, the wise man is at home,
His hearth the earth-his hall the azure
DOME"
This extract from the authors preface
is truthful:
"The fortune of Henry Thoreau as an
author of books has been peculiar, and
such as to indicate more permsnance Of
his name and fame than could he DYa.