The herald., 1896-03-01


The velvet air, stirred by some elfln wings.
Comes swinging up the waters and then
stills
Its voice so low that floating by it sings
Like distant harps among the distant NILS.
And here is something excellent from
the pen of Mr.. Philip Henry Savage:
az have learned
More from the hush Of forests than from speech
OF many teachers. more OF JOY at least,
And that quick sympathy where joy has birth I;
thousand times called outward from myself
BY life ut every point ten thousand things
Speaking at once in tones SO sharp and sweet
Their voice was pain but ain as life is pain
Beneath the over-chorus OF the sky;
1u silence finding JOY to know myself
Deep III the heart of nature and the world"
Mr.. Nathaniel Hsstsll Dole gives
this fine sonnet on b ethoven:
"I love the oceans glorious SYMPHONIES
III nRture's severlasting soitudes;
The deep adagio OF its peaceful moods;
Its light al egro wheu tho white-caps rise;
Its minor when the sun CT zephyr dies
Its mighty majo, when the storm'cloud
broods
And sweeps the straining harp-string of the
woods
And far ON high the foaming water flies!
$50 when Beethoven's magic musi" swells
Like voices OF the angels heard in sleep,
My spirit to its utn ost depths is stirred
As though more majestic sea heard,
As though some sunken city's silver lis
Swung palpitating in the purple deep"
Probably the funniest thing in all re-
cent poetry is the bit of fooling, by
Mr.. Roche, in "Ballads of Blue Water"
these lines being the prelude to "a
Sailors Yarn:
"'Twai the good ship Gayascutus,
All i'll the China seas
With the wind a-lee and he capstan free
To catch the sun mcr breeze.
"'Twas the Captain Porgie on the deck,
To mis- mate in the mizzen hatcl,
While the ,boatswain bold, in the forward
Was winding his larboard watch"
Here, too, is fine quatrain by Mr..
Duncan Campbell Scott, from Lines to
Winte.:
"Then heap this somber shoulder of the world
With shifting bastions; let thy storm winds
Drift wide thy pallid eonfalon unfurled;
And arm with daggers eli the desperate
air
A new edition of Thoreau's poems,
some fifty in number. is out. We have
not seen the volume, and have no in
terest in II, from the fact that his prose
was good and anything else from his
pen we know has been commonplace.
Still, speaking Of poetry, there is a
new volume which will surprise every
general reader of new books. 1t is a
volume of alleged poems by the late
Rev. Samuel f. Smith, author of Amer
lea. Think of it A volume of nearly
400 pages The Dial, in commenting
on this mass of harmless rhy yming. after
paying due compliment to the one OF
two good things connected with the
authors name, says: "These pieces are
too modest to challenge technical crit
icism; they accomplish all that
their author expected them to
accomplish, and we are less sem
sible, in reading them, of their
defects as poetry, than of tha
transparent simplicity, kindliness Of
heart, and genuine religious feeling
that they embody. DR.. Smith is secure
of place in our national affections,
and Thu volume affords the hest possi
ble memorial Of his long, active and
helpful career
This is very neat "getting over" say
ing something.
THE SECOND MADAME. MEMOIR OF ELIz.
ABETH CHARLOTTE DUCHEssE DORLEANs. By
NJ. Louise Mclaughlin. G. p. Putnam's
Sons, New York.
Here we have handsome volume in
the most approved style of bookmak-
ing and rich in romance, having, also, q
sound historical basis.
Elizabeth Charlotte, daughter of the
Elector Palatine, WAS taken to France
in 1871 to become the second wife of
the Monsieur" of this volume, that is,
Philippe, Duo d'Orleans, brother of
Louis XIV. "Madame," who was de-
scended from James the First of Eng
land, found an unhappy life in France,
and the recital of the events that hap
pened is q most interesting one. A
chapter of the greatest interest to
American readers is The Mississippi
Bubble. It is vastly entertaining
volume and will find welcome.
THE WoODLANDERS BY THOMAS HARDY.
Rand, McNallv d. Co., Chicago.
The publishers of the very popular
Globe Library series have issued this
fine story of Hsrdy's as No. 235, and it
ought to have large and ready sale.
Though in paper covers it is very at
tractive book.
It is with genuine Joy that we COM
mend this fine story to the reader, hav-
ing had occasion to express unfavor-
able opinions upon some of Hardy's
other productions.
4 4 4
TALES FROM TOWN TOPICS and THE
WnON0 NAV. lOWu TOPICS PuDllSl1ng
Company, New York.
This neat paper-covered volume is
just what its title tells. The Wrong
Man is very fair story and takes up
the major portion Of the volume, and
the rest is made up of short sketches,
bits of poetry and the newest quips
and pleasantries culled from the pub
lication which gives main title to the
work. 1t is readable throughout.
4 y q
Fifteen books in as many years, each
one crimson with the heart-blood of it's
writer, each one passionate protest
against the cruelty of life, each one
voicing solemn problem of the
hour"
These are the words of critic who
has told us more of George GissinR.
the new English novelist, than we have
otherwise known. Born in Yorkshire
in 1857 and educated in Owens college,
he wrote his first story when % years
old. And though busy worker, no
general fame came to him until the
publication of 4 Year of Jubilee, last
year. This is, Z indeed, remarkable