The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-03-04

fifty years by those who stood very
near Napoleon might be read with in
terest. and will be found as efficient
aids in grasping the wondrous man.
Merimee, Canstant and some Others
may not be overlooked in a careful
study of Napoleon. The critic quoted
from Is not much taken with Sloane's
style. 1t is not surely a great style
not comparable to the great historians.
1t Is something dry, something cum
brous. lacking in imaginative illumi-
nation, out it is generally clever, and
at times rises into a higher plane of
vigor and intensity. The critic says it
suggests the we'll nov grabbed and
ultra German style" That Is the trou-
BILE with nine-tenths of the latter day
writer's of history. They gather facts
freely and carefully. but the presenta-
ton is bald and cold and dull, with no
glow of passion, no vivid power, no inn
%aginative inspiration. Read Gibbon,
M~acaulay, Green and other historic
masters, and then try latter-day histo-
rians and you will see the declension in
historic grouping, in pictorial effects, in
a mastery of details, in a splendor and
~eloquence of discussion. The critic
notes the dryness and says that it is
not likely to hold ones attention con.
tinuously without an effort of WILL"
but he appreciates the real merits, SO
considerable, Of the work. He says with
due insight:
He does not go far enough into
these to satisfy the historical student,
and at the same time he goes too far
to retain the interest of the general
reader. In these parts Of his work his
treatment Of results in neither a biOg-
raphy nor a history. Worse than this,
these passages are not clear. He lacks
the faculty Of portraying wildly the
character Of a period by a few brief
touches. These are the main defects OF
the book In spite of them 1t must be
admitted by all that it is the best work
on Napoleon that has yet appeared in
English. That it will be permanently
popular is very doubtful, but passages
in it will always be read with interest,
and it Is safe to say that it is the most
valuabl contribution to NapOleOnic
literature Of recent years."
We have referred to it again because
it is the most important historic COM
position of our country that has come
oIloCA ooA SyC LII SoA " VI
the highest rank it is a genuine contri-
button to the best American historic
and biographical literature.
We are really gratified to see that
Mr.. Joel Chandler Harris Uncle Re-
mus" and his other eight or more
books are so we'll thought of in the
north. The northern publishers and
critics have dealt kindly with a.
southern writers-better than our own
people have dealt. They have read the
productions, while in the south they
nave been much neglected. Sister
Jane has been rather damned with
faint praise by some two or three
northern critics, but others have said
pleasant things of it. 1t is thought to
be a good literary companion for
Uncle Remus." 1t is even said hat it
will increase his literary reputation.
The Outlook says of it that it is lone Of
the notable books Of the season, with
the likelihood of being a notable book
for many seasons to come" His THE
Story of Aaron is also popular anG
has passed into several editions.