The morning times., 1896-12-06
BOOKS AND THEIR MAKERS
Beautiful Christmas Numbers Of
Some American Magazines.
AS TOLD, BY THE PARROT
Original Idea of a New Writer
Who Makes Pol the Narrator
of an Interesting Story.
AS TOLD BY THE PARROT

- he Christmas magazines have all made
their appearance, full and colorIui,
CHEEKY with the holiday spirit, and
exquisite as examples of the modern
art OF making periodicals. Ameri-
cans have good cause to be proud or Their
magazines. No foreign publications. unite
In such happy and dignificd fashion
the sprightliness OF interest with the cfaste
literary quality and the endurable season
ing of educational values. IN the present.
season they seem TO have attained maxi
mum of all the virtues assOciable with TINS
class of literature. Their pages are It.
fined with the text of the finest ami .nost
expensive writer's, and the illustrations of
the finest and most expensive artists.
One OF the conspicuous features of the
year is the security with which McCiire's $
is now associated with the other three lead
ers-Harper's, Scribner's, and the Cen.Ury
McClure's has forged its way TO pre-efni-
nence by a steadfast adherence to policy
OF litelary tone and daring business enter-
prise. The table of contents reveals list
OF writers which are the ripest PICK oI the
living English school.
In the Christmas number there is Rudyard
Kipline's American serial, Captain Cour-
ageous,'' ''Of This Generation, "A storJ
by Henry Seton Merrifnan, whose Inc
Sow ers'' duplicated ''Trilby's" popular,
Ity in England: a short story by Rudyard
hlDllIE. ara stories anu ptptiiiS 's itp .h.-
laren, Harriet Prescott Spofford, Hatnlln
GarlaEd. Frank r. Stockton, and $. S. Nc
Clure.
Scribner's hrcathes the spirit OF the
holidays in festival attractiyeness ken-
meth Grahame, Richard Harding DAVIS,
James Barnes, II c. Bunncr, and Mrs
SCHUYLER Van Rensselaer,. For ali the best
article in the current number is Agnes
Repplier's essay on Little Pharisces in
Fiction" IL truthful and humorous expo
stion OF the impossible goodness of sonie
OF the religious prodigic of Juvenile liter
ature. Miss Repplicr is singuiarly facile
in her style, and an absurdlty like the one
In question appeals to her most amusing
exposition. Pictorially the Christmas Serb
Bers leads all the magazines.
In the entury we find Il continuation of
three most interesting serials: Horace
Porter's account of Grants campaigns,
Marion Crawford's "A Rose of Yestcr-
day" and. DR. Wier Mitchell's Hugh
Wynne. Free Quaker" Thomas A Jam
yier makes an original contribution to hol-
hay literature in his article on the
"ChriStmas kalends of Provence" Slowed
away i'll remote corner there is song
uf considerable value. by the colored poet,
Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and in a more con-
spicuous position, is found IL character
istic Eoem by James Whitcomb Riley.
''Them Old, Cheer y Words"
An excellence is maintained b by-Harpers s
Magazine throughout the year. which re-
ceives little impulse from an effort at
holiday time. Greatest interest con-
tinues to center in George Du Maurier' s
serial, THE Marian - There has been
ecrne Questioning as to whether the author
Guished this story before he died, and
any readers who are holding aloof because
of fear Of being trapped ntoa unfinished
story may plunge in with the ASSURANCE
that ii is Mr. Du MaurieF' to the last word