The San Francisco call., 1896-02-02


to be any battle to-day. It's been put
weather. You will have due notice OF the
renewal OF .hostilities. And now you'd
better step IN and I'll drive Won home
iou've been running fine rig! Whv
you might have both been taken and shot
as spies y TO this the author grayelv
auaS: Ihere are higher things than
truth; and we were almost reconciIed Inv
the time we were dropped at our pate to the
TACT that the battle had been postponed. u
One OF the most charming sketches in
the book is entitled ''Sawdust and Sin u
1t seems evident here that the author has
invested his childish recollection of that
scandalous occurrence with the profounder
observation OF rich adult imagination.
but that matters nothing, so exquisite is
the art OF its telling and SO fine the hnmor
OF the conceit. For that matter who can
place limitation on the imagination of a
chlld, especially ii he be of the order with
which some of US have become familiar?
In this sketch little Charlotte, a sister.
has two dolls one a buxom English
maiden, with stout calves, fiaxen hair and
remarkably lnnocent-looking blue ewes.
and the other is slant-eyed japanese
male doll. Charlotte is trying to tell them
wonderful story as she props them up
against stump, but an evil design which
the Jap evidently has on the English
maiden entails all sorts of comical and
embarrassing happenings, to the great dis
comhtnre OF Chariotte's purpose. l have
lntimated that there is broad dash OF in.
sincerity in this delicious tale, but | know
] OF nothing finer in its way in the whole
range of English literature.
! Ihese hints must suffice to give an in
| sight into the character of the book. II
may have been surmised that the extracts
W hlch l have presented were given more
/ fnrt ha IS
No doubt lt.has been already discovered bv
every one of culture who may read this
| that the English in which the story is told
| is OF rare and fine sort. Since Steven
! sons death there are precious few who can
handle the language with the skill here
displayed. Stevenson covered the whole
range OF the possibilities residing in the
| language, from the elegance in his ESSAYS
| to the "homespun" in "The Master OF
Ballantrae.' Grahame discovers much oi
this facility, but he is usually more direct,
/ with here and there strong ruggedness
OF which Klpling, above all other living
/ writers, IS the master. English is so rich
IN ldlom, and its idioms in themselves are
| so strong, that it is good to find a writer
who can handle them so well as Grahanie.
The tendency of American literature>is is
TO ignore these rich resources of the lam
guage. Ii our sentences be but smooth
and our periods round and resonant-if,
indeed, we but show that we know some
thing OF Latin and Greek-we are emf
nently content with ourselves, forgetting
that the very soul of our language is Of
Anglo-Saxon birth. English writers still
rest under the old spell, and a blessed
thing 1t is; and Kenneth Grahame (if that
is his nancy deserves the thanks of every
lover of good English for putting forth
this happy little book of his. genera
tion. of Americans may yet arise who will
be able to appreciate its beauties and draw
benefit from its graces. W. Q. Morrow.