The morning times., 1896-07-05

Who are the scribes In the new crusade?
They are we'll enough known to those who
keep in step with this line. Coin has had
his day. F. W. Taussig has written three
Important works, Wages aud Capital
Tariff History of the United States aud
The Silver Situation Besides Brooks
Adams historical study on The Gold Stand
ard he has written The Laws OF Civiza-
tion and Decay Horace White is best
known Tor his Money and Banking, George
Jamieson Tor his Essay on the Silver
Question, Henry Eucks Gibbs for A Col
loquy on Currency Give CulbertsOn for
The Currency Question from the Mono
metallic Standpoint and j. K. Upton for
his Money In Politics. Prof. Charles F.
Dunbar of Harvard has epitomized his
studies In Chapters on the Theory and His
tory OF Ranking and John Bach McMaster
Is In the van with "A Century's Struggle
for Silver, a book which will surely have
lts erfecton the campaign. Another import
ant work is j. l.. Laug hliu s History OF 81.
metalnsin. And prospectus OF new works
on these topics come every mail An i'm.
portant aud significant feature in the eyes
or the trade Is the Wide circulation of these
DOCKS, although they are in nearly every
instance special publications not affiIi.
ated with any of the big publishing houses"
HE honors of the springtime seem to
DE about evenly divided between Felix
Gras and Stephen Crane. Crane for
tale OF Yankee youth encounter.
ing for the first time the actnaltIes
hr war; Gras, for an idealiZed narrative.
told IN the lanGua ge OF a provcncal peasant
OF how tic Marseilles battalion came to
Paris IN the midst of the revolution. Crane
is young man at the threshold of 4 career
Gras Is man of seasoned middle age who
nas made the conquest of the highest liter.
airy bonors of his own country. In COM
pairing The Red Badge of Courage with
The Reds of the Midi which Catha rine
A. Janver has translated for the Apple
tons, there is at once discovered signifi-
cant contrast. Both men start with their
faddIsh colored titles, each has a raw un-
sophisticated hero. Then the ways di-
verge. Crane is bold, rugged, n,asterfui
OF the objective. keenly analytical OF the
subjective, brilliant AS u rocket, possibly
as sunsustained, for he seems TO measure the
power OF his suStainmcnt accurately and
avoids lengths. Gras has more placidity,
less coloratire, commands patient interest
and tells story instead OF lineing out a
picture. He encroaches on Cranes ground
in describing the farandole, and the sketch
is not vivid; but Crane has not demon
strated that he can carry his reader to the
heart of his hero, as Gras has in reciting
liancy creates n suspicion of inspired acci-
dent; Gras complacent, effortless continu-
itr denotes maturity and an unfatigued
reserve. There is a compelling force in
Cranes strongest lOcutions that rushes one
along in the whirl of all he describes. Gras
feels the coneeniality OF a corner in the vii
lage cobbler's shop, surrounded by the gap
ing pumpkins, dim-vsible in the clouds of
tobacco smoke wreathing the solitary
lamp. He nafrates in a facile, graceful,
congcniai fashion. that confirms you in de-
light, and when the late hour breaks up the
cobbler's company or constrains you to put
aside the book. all come back again ca gerly
to the story. Tom Cranes cyclonic pres
sure there is no relief. 1t is tremendous, |
irresistible, n thing that must be gotten |
over, and the end brings sigh of relief and |
admiration. He brooks no interruption, or
the charm is broken: it is hard to put his
book down; put down, 1t is hard to pick up /
again.
the leading motive of Felix Gras' bold |
romance is to do justice to body OF men |
that history has not treated fairly. Says |
Thomas Janvier: For more than CEN |
tury the battalion that marched from Mar |
seilles to Paris, and there took so large |
part in precipitating the French Revolu- |
tion, has been very generally slandered. |
French and English historians have united,
almost without exception, in describing |
L as a band OF cut-throats and thieves, IN
part made OF runaway galley slaves from
Toulon, and in part from international
scrapings from the slums of Marseilles. But
the men of Marseilies with whom Pascalet
chanting the Republican anthem,
which has ever since been known by their
name because they first gave il currency |
in France, were precisely the simple and |
honest patriots whom Mr.. Gras has de-
scribed." Not more for this tardy justice
than for the admirable investiture of his I
is Felix Gras welcome acqui-
'itiun.
I UDSON LIBRARY is assuming ex-