The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-01-30
CURRENT LITERATURE.
The February Magazines.

| NEVER before has Scribner's Maga-
zine bad 80 many features running at
the same lime of the widest interest to
everybody who is thoroughly awake to
contemporary affairs and wants to be
posted in regard to American topics.
The February issue, just published,
demonstrates this admirably.
WHEN the late DR.. Holmes read Mrs.
Annie Fields "reminiscences of Whit
tier he expressed hope that this LADY,
might perform similar task for him.
This Mrs. Fields has done in a paper of
personal recollections for the February
Century. 1t is accompanied by dozen
letters written by DR.. Holmes to Mr..
Fields, his publisher and devoted
friend. These letters are of the most
intimate nature, and are full OF the
genial humor of the Autocrat.
Mrs. WARDS novel, ga Singular
Life" occupies the first place in the
February Atlantic, after the manner of
serials in that magazine, but the lead
ing separate article is the one that fol-
lows, Mrs. Alexander Graham Bells
narrative of her own experience in
learning to read the lips after she had
lost her hearing. AS a sort of COM
panion paper, A Voyage in the Dark"
is the account which Mr.. Rowland Z.
Robinson gives of an experience of his
own after losing his sight. Among the
the reviews is one which criticises the
three prominent English novelists,
George Meredith, Hall Game, and Du
Maurier. The poetry includes one
piece which is likely to be remembered.
Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston.
THE February number of Godey's
Magazine is perhaps the best magazine
ever published for ten cents, and is
another striking example of the ad-
vance of the times. This number con-
tains continuation of the Private Pic
ture Gallery articles, the Fair Women
series, " Nihilism up to Date" very
clever one-act comedy entitled " Bent
ley's Beat" a graphic article descriptive
of a woman's life at Vassar College, a
further installment of Miss Child's Sc
rial story, A Natural Inference" and
more than usually interesting compile
ment of short stories, sketches, poems,
book reviews, etc. The whole is set
off with seventy-ive superb illustra-
lions, large proportion Of which are
from original drawings.
WHATEVER the anthor of -" Colonel
Carter of Cartersville" writes is sure of
a respectful reading, and his John
Sanders, Laborer," a short story in
Harper'S Magazine for February, shows
him in new and more serious vein.
A dagman at railway crossing, his
humpback daughter, and yellow dog,
are the characters in this little drama,
and the reader who begins it is pretty
sure to continue to the end. Three of
he four short stories in this number
we're written by Southeruers. They
are " The Merry Maid of Already" by
Mrs. Burton Harrison; J ohm Sanders,
Laborer," by F. Hopkinson Smith; and
" A Domestic INTERIOR" by Grace King.
Two of these Southerners are now we'll
known residents of New York. Miss
King resides in New Orleans.
DIR. PARKHURsT starts out as a
writer for women in the February La
dies Home Journal in way which
promises TO be most interesting. His
vigorous style is in his work, and his
direct way of putting truths leaves no
room for misinterpreting his ideas about
women. For his first article he coins
new word, " andre naniacs," by which
he deslgnates the type or woman who
wants to be mannish and apes the ways
of men. That he is not in sympathy
with them is evident, and his promise
of discussing the women who want to
vote, who want to preach, and who de-
sire to be in business, in his future
Journal articles gives further evidence
II hi deep interest in humanity. John
Kendrick Bangs is very funny in his
Paradise Club, while another humor-
ist, Robert J. Burdette, departs from
the humorous and tells the tender love
story of his wife and himself in =" The
Woman Who Most Influenced Me-"
Mr. Howells takes up lola and the
French school in his literary autobog-
raphy, and Thomas a'Becket it exceed
ingly practical and helpful in his arti-
Gle on 1.-THE Correct Way to Play
Piano." The famou and funny
Brownies are on lark on a raft
this time. A beautiful page of Empire
embroidery is given aud will be timely
in this wave of Napoeonic interest.