The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-05-04
AMONG THE MAGAZINES.

Chapter of Municipal Folly which
makes interesting reading in these days
Of attempted municipal regeneration.
1t deals with the wanton squandering
of New YorR's public franchises. but
with slight notifications the article
could very pertinently apply to Scran-
ton. The Sloane life of Napoleon In
this number reaches the conclusion of
the first great campaign in Italy, in
Guiding the capture of Mantua. and the
fall of Venice. Secretary william Il,
Smyth, of the National Irrigation asso-
citation, contributes an exceedingly in
structive paper on 1.-THE Conquest of
Arid America" and there are several
other articles of timely interest.
Hon. Theodore Roosevelt in the May
st. Nicholas begins a series OF papers
called "Hero-Tales from American His
tory" The subject of his first one Is
"Daniel Boone and the Founding OF
Kentucky" Mr.. Roosevelt draws a
graphic picture of the great Kentucky
backwoodsman and of his stirring
frontier adventures. Professor William
T. Hornaday continues his series on the
familiar discussion of the habits and
habitats of The Squirrel, Marmots and
Sewellel." The fiction of the number is
well diversified. George Wharton Ed
wards writes and illustrates quaint
story of child-life in Holland. What
Befell Melaatlj:" James Otis begins a
serial called TEDDY and Carrots. Two
Merchants of Newspaper Row." Teddy
being q plucky country boy who goes
to New York to earn living, and en-
ters into a partnership with Carrots. q
wide-awake city boy; Miss Jessie NJ.
Anderson's jolly colleg- story, 1Three
Freshmen: Ruth. Fran and Nathalie"
Is brought TO Il conclusion in the num-
Der. and Howard Pyle's hero. Jack
Ballister." succeeds in restoring the
heroine TO her family after her capture
by the pirates under Captain Black
beard. Eldridge 5. Brooks serial. "a
Boy of the First Empire" is nearing it's
conclusion. This instalment has to do
with Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.
If we were asked to designate that
American writer who has recently con-
tributed the brightest and most original
fiction to the magazines, we should be
disposed TO yield our preference to 7. c.
Crawford. thereby challenging the
theory that journalism is an unfit pre-
parltion for success in pure literature.
At least four of Mr.. Crawford's stories
have been peerless, in their way, and
50 clever in their treatment of current
fads that the wonder is that nobody
else ever thought of writing them. We
refer TO his Disappearance Syndicate"
in which the theory was set forth that
merchants and professional men who
suddenly subtract themselves from their
usual haunts are induced to do So by
means of a thoroughly systematized or
ganization of advanced theosoph!sts; 70
his Autobiography of President" to
his story of senatorial life in which an
cxcha nga Of souls transformed a con-
ventional corporation senator into an
energetic and altruistic servant Of
the people. much to the surprise
of his senatorial associates; and
lastly, to his droll story in the May Cos
mopolitan, entitled "A Charmer Of
Men" i'm which an attempt to explain
love scientifically ends in deserved dis
aster Another article in this months
Cosmopolitan which will be read with
extreme interest is James Brisben
Walkers description of sixteen Hun
dred Miles of Mountain Railway"
which treats of one of the most pictur-
esque stretches OF territory in the
world.
Germanla for April that popular
magazine for students Of the Ger
man language and literature, contains,
among other things, a poetic transla-
tion of Wilhelm Muller's beautiful little
poem, "Vineta," by Colonel Thomas e.
Zimmerman, the scholarly editor Of the
Reading Times. This is Colonel Zim-
merman's rendering of the German
original:
Out of oceans depths profound resound-
ing,
Evening bells are ringing dull and faint,
Telling, In their wondrous revelations,
OF the wonderfully, old and quaint.
Meath the oceans glittering bosom
sunken,
Ruins of that city still remain
Sparks Of gold emitted from It's turrets
Shine enmirrored on the CLASSY main.
And the sailor who, at evening twilight,
J1SL DenOllS TINS iilHBlc SleHL dpDedI,
Ever after steers his vessel thither,
Though the rocks around are threates-
ing here.
From the human hearts profoundest
soundngs
Hear tones. like bells, so sad and low:
All they seem to tell a wondrous story
OF the one 1t loved 80 long ago.
What beauteous world beneath Is
sunken,
Ruins of 1t all make up the scene:
Oftimes golden CLEANS from heaven
On the mirror Of my dreams are seen.
Then Into the oceans depths descending,
Would sink into those mirrored deeps,
And seem to hear the angels calling
Down to where the wonderfully sleeps.
OF the making Of magazines there Is
no end. Last of all, here comes Chips,
with twelve calendared pages Of read
ing matter, each page about FIVE inches
square, and comprising sonnets, Spen-
serian stanZas, rondels, and prose pas
tells. Chips. of course, Is an outgrowth
Of the Chap-Book successes. 1t is
valiant little champion of the qualita-
tive reaction against mere quantity;
and we wish that It's raison d'etre
would some Of these days put an end to
the blanket sheet newspapers. But we
have our doubts of the final issue.
The element of timelness, which has
contributed so largely to the success of
McClure's magazine. Is again evidenced
in the considerable attention given. in
the May number, to Prince Bismarck,
upon the heels Of his eightieth annlver-
sary In all, a dozen excellent"human
documents" Of this remarkable diplo-