Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-03


father and son, the one cool, calculating,
proud and conventional, the other, in
the words of the author, appeared COM
monplace. The animal was prominent
in him. 1t glowed in his cheeks, thicken-
ed his lips, lowered his forehead-he was
afflicted with bashfulness, which was
forever reddening his face and ears and
laundering into his hands and feet The
primitive impulse within was so alien to
the sage outward admonition that it
obeyed with difficulty, and the constant
sense OF failure rushed in dismally tu-
multuous. Murgatroyd had moments of
despair contrasting what he was with
what he ought to be-
1t is question If anything can be
found in literature more felicitous in ex-
preston, in delineatiOn of character in
the perfect observance of the canonS of
art than the presentment of this dinner
party. 1t is the consummate skill of an
artist and genius. The extraordinary
names of the guests, ridiculous patron
nymics, followed by the portrayal of the
vivid individualsm of the owner of the
name, is perfect work, but Bohemia nism
is evidently Mr.. HaWthorne's bent, and
it appears in the characters he wishes
to make shine. These gatherings of mer-
rymakers may be nearer the natural in
clinations, but they are of a coarse tex
ture and the fun is fast and loose.
In the mechanism of the story, the
technique of its construction, there Is
one vitality weak point, which no doubt
the author intended for the great de-
nouement of the book. This is the plot,
which was intended to undermine our
whole republic, yet carried on by one
man, Whiterduce, a man of no extraor-
binary attainments and whose sudden
death ended the entire colossal scheme
without the necessary information of a
single detail. This conception is child
ish, but it need not hazard the value of
the work q q piapa of for In
many places it is brilliant. Interspersed
there is goodly amount of singing crit
ieism of the worlds ways, much satire
of poets, musicians and journalists and
of our social conventionalities.
Word comes that Mrs. Burnett in re-
tirement on the continent, is drama tizing
her latest novel, "A Lady of Quality"
and as she is a quick worker it is thought
the dramatlzation will soon be ready. AS
a concident it is mentioned that Mr..
Zangwill, the London critic and essayist,
remarked some time since that the part
of Clorinda Wildaire was made to the
hand of Miss Ada Rehan, and now it is
possible she may play the part
Apropos Of this story it seems that the
Montreal Daily Star reads Mr.. Box a
severe little lecture on his rather good
criticism of Mrs. Burnetts new book,
and gives him this advice: Don't re-
view a book with which you are out of
sympathy. That is to say, put yourself
in the authors place and try to see his
work from his point of view, which is
sure to be coign of vantage" A felici-
tous reviewer in criticising this said:
ALTERED to suit dramatic criticism one
might say, Never criticise play unless
you know the state of mind of the prin-
cipal actor at the time. Put yourself in
his place; perhaps his shoes are tight or
Ii. -
the play His point of view would give
you a coign of vantage from which to
criticise his comic parts, with which he
is entirely out of sympathy"
A difficult task, indeed, to criticise from
the authors point of view, and yet it
might very often be an open question
whether he could himself clear and ex-
plain some points.
"Gyp," that sprightly French writer.
has just published a new work called
"rhose Good Normans." 1t appears in
excellent form, dull blue cover, bright
ened by silver peacocks As to the inte-
teristic of Gyp's usual style for holiness
and French audacity.
A valuable and instructive book, a
scientific manual for popular reading,
reference and information, is "Discove-
Century" by Robert Rutledge, B. Sc. F.
C. S. Topics with which Mr.. Rutledge
deals have wide range and he treats
in an entertaining way OF the various ap-
plications of steam power, electricity and
the many inventions and adaptations of
the period, together with the scientific
progress made along the line of naval
armament and monster weapons of at
tack and defense.
The Rutledge Sons announce a new
work, ''Dr. JameSonS Raid, Its Cause and
Consequences" by the Rev. James King,
vicar of st. Marys, Berwick-on-Tweed.
This work purports to beupon the politi-
cal situation in South Africa between
the Beers of the Transvaal and the Eng
fish colonists, of whom we have read so
much in the newspapers of these later
days. This timely work, however tells
of the era of the first Dutch colonization
in the country, with an account of the
great "rrel," and comes on down to the
period of the raid, the defeat at Krugers-
dorp and the arrest and trial of the raid
ers. 1t also deals with serious thought
of the future of South Africa.
La Bruyere has said: "All the wit in
the world is. lost on him that has none"
SO if you do not possess this quality in
your make up, which allows you to take
so keen pleasure in bon mots. you need
not read Richard Harding Davis latest
work, cinderella and Other Stories.'
The pieces in this volume have APP
peared in Scribner's, Harpers' and other
periodicals, and are now for the first
time issued in book form. Mr.. Davis is
a writer of unquestioned genius, and
New Workers have not stinted in the
abundance of their praise and apprecia-
ton for this handsome young literary
devotee. Readers still speak with pleas
ure of his Gallagher stories. but Mr..
and Impotence. declares them unmcrthy