The herald., 1896-12-13

the most striking bringing out of fact
concerning 1t, relates to the failure of
communism in its conduct. 1t was col
ony based on community of property and
effort, and was owned in shares, mostly
in England, of course. But after three
years of effort the people were literally
starving. So, in 1923, Governor Brad
ford divided up the old Indian fields on
which they were living in common, and
allotted it in severalty to the families,
as possible means of saving their lives.
And this was the beginning of their sal
walton. From that time the real individ-
ual struggle began, and ease and COM
fort became possible. This is something
that has generally been overlooked or
treated too lightly by historians.
The purpose of the author Is very
plainly limited in his preface, from which
we make this extract: Il have disre
garded that convention which makes 1t
obligatory for a writer of American his
tory to explain that the intolerance in
the first settlers was not just like other
intolerance, and that their cruelty and
injustice were justifiable under the cir
cumstances. This walking backward
to throw mantle over the nakedness Of
ancestors may be admirable as an
example Of deluvian piety, but 1t Is none
the less reprehensible in the writing of
history"
OF course there were many settlements
besides the one at Plymouth to which we
have made allusion. but there is not
space to treat Of them all. The earlier
ones at jamestown, and the landings on
the coast of Maine. are given place, as
Is the remarkable expedition UP the
mouth of the Hudson by the explorer
who gave his name to that noble river.
But the refrain Of the volume. after ALL
Is the Puritan migration" and what
came Of 1t in New England. And as a
contribution to this tremendous theme
this volume of DR.. Eggleston's Is one of
surprising interest and Importance. The
style Of treatment is earnest, fair and
sensible, and deserves to be cordially
praised.
SISTER JANE AND HER FRIENDS
AND ACQUAINTANCES. By Joel
Chandler Harris, auothor of the I'm
Gle Remus books" etc. Crown, Svo.,
$1.50. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Bos-
ton.
Sister Jane Is life-size, and moves IN
her orbit with as fine sense and thor
ough purpose as any character that
ever came into our fiction. What hap
pened in her quiet neighborhood is what
might happen in any small country town
in the south. The speech of the colored
pGOplc Is PcTl6Cl, dLu 81 VI luc W HllcS
from Colonel Billiard down to Mandy
Satterlee and Juicy Meadows. One goes
through the volume with a calm sense of
comfort at its naturalness and whole
someness, feeling no strain and, indeed,
no great depth of emotion anywhere.
the narrator Is so quiet and sure. But
after he is through he realizes that he
has read book very far above the aver
age and he turns back and reads para
graphs and chapters over again. This
is the test Of what takes a real hold on
an experienced reader. Especially is
one tempted to turn back and study the
picture of the village on circus day.
"In the big vacant lot behind the tavern
1 could see the top of the center-pole,
suggesting the illusion that big ship
had sailed up in the night and cast an
chor there" What country boy or girl
has not seem this same thing, and had
a fancy something like 1t?
There is small plot to the story. 1t
just grows-makes itself as it goes on.
Several years-generations- towns
history one traces in this volume, and
the reader looks upon the actors almost
as naturally as If he had been of its peo-
pie. All the play and all the tragedy is
set out so vividly that we at once feel
it to be true literary art.
OF course Jane is the central figure,
not so much for what she does as for
what she says and stands for. When
asked about high society she pumped