The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-26

maturity, yet whose years are but AZ o span
compared with those Of the oak or lowly liohen-
man, leaden.footed among beasts. wingless
among fowls, q poor climber, a bad swimmer,
hns shown his discomfort with nature by devils
ing a scheme of civilization TO make him indie
pendent OF her infinite changefulnoss. Artificial
nluminants have rendered him Indifferent to
the radiance Of rising and setting suns;
neither storm nor shine Ii allowed to
interrupt tho monotony Of counting house,
factory, or mine; while, s~trangost Of all, fashion
has decreed that the fairest half Of the year can
only be spent in an ovorRrown. smoky town.
built chiefly on swampy ground, lying along q
muddy estuary" To those Of US who have not
the power TO choose our own surroundings such
a book as this 10 o boon indeed, In that, with
the trifinR aids of q pipe and q comfortable arm.
chair, q man may clip away betimes to the great
playground and learn some OF tho secrets that
the mother guards for those who are her ia
vored children. The volume. which Is In
the form Of q diary. 10 made up Of jot-
tings set down in tho different months, Of odds
and onds Of rustic lore, charming In their very
naturalnoss and lack of prim and precise ar
rangement, and, whether tho author writes
OF some abstruso point Of PATHOLOGY, Of the
mysteries of plant life, tho delicate art of dry ny
fishing, or the habits OF the SALINE Jeror he draws
on an unfailinR supply Of remedies for ennui.
He has an interesting note with reference to
the Sea bluebird Of March, of Tennyson's
"In Memoriam." Many readers have puzzled
over the line and some have identified the bird
as tho wheatear. A correspondent of the Pail
Mall Gazette solved the problem and showed
the origin Of the line in this stanza from the
Greek Of Alcman
Iwould. l would I were . cook kingnsher. which
hies over the wave-crest with the hen kingnshers with
careless heart, the sea bluebird Of spring"
| IL honor tt,,,ul of Nfa,,rv IIornnra 20
bring out a new edition of Judge Longstreet's
famous Georgia Scenes" originally published
in 1910. and the book In it's present form should
be welcome to many readers. Tho edition Is
printed from new plates, and the quaint, original
illustrations are retained. Those readers who
are Interested in curious literary condolences
may compare tho chapter on Tho Militia
Company Drill with the description Of q SINH
lar scene in Mr.. Hardy's Trumpet Major"
Judge Longstreet states In a ~footnoto that
his account was written by a friend-that
it was taken from life and published
about twenty years ago Il. G.. about
1920. Mr.. Hardy. against whom q charge Of
plagiarism In connection with the matter was
brought by the Critic some years ago, has ex-
planned that certain details In his account were
taken from "Gifford's History Of the War with
Napoleon" published In London in 1917. So.
apparently. both he and the Judges friend got
| tD0lr material ITOm tue bamo bOuECe, anu, uh
the two versions contain several parallel pms
sages that coincide, word for word, the charge
Of plagiarism was q not unnatural one. Judge
Longstreet's description of a Georgia gander
pulling, a shooting match, tho great wax.work
exhibition, &C., and his delineation OF "the
blossom" who was, perhaps, a leetle, just a
leetie, tho best man at q horse swap that ever
trod shoe leather the charming Evelina, and
all the rest, are as fresh and interesting to-day
as when they were written. fifty odd years ago.
A slim volume entitled "Bobbo-and Other
Fancies," by Thomas Wharton Warpersl, con-
tains the best work of a man who died last year.
at the age Of 81, just as ne had begun to fulHlthe
promise of his earlier years. In a brief intro
duction Mr.. Owen Wister gives a sympathetic
sketch of his friends career, from which we
learn that Mr.. Wharton. after practising for
some years as a member Of the Philadelphia
bar, Joined the editorial stat Of the Tiates
of that city. and. after writing several
novels that failed to gain success. produced
"Bobbo." the principal tale in the present
volume and the work which first showed his
true scope and value. 1t Is q chsrming little bit
Of pure fantasy, dainty and delicate as q conte
by Francois CoppGe or Theodore dc Banville,
parts Of it being stepped in the poetic spirit
Of the latter writer's work. 1t shows tho
author to havo been one Of the rare tribe
Of writers Of Jabliaur, a tribe whose members.
In these days of rampant realism. are all too
few. The Last Sonnet Of Prinzivalle" is Q
quaint little essay in imitation of the conte
OF the Italian Quattrocento. which my readers
will recoliect in Hdrper's Mnadrine of
last year. The volume also contains some
shorter pieces and some specimens of Mr..
wharton's lyrics and his lighter verse. The
TRANSACTIONS from Villon, though they naturally
suffer by comparison with the almost fiawless
: rcnderings of the same pieces by Swinburno and
Rossetti, yet show delicacy and sympathetic ap-
probation Of the original; but the one thing OF
real value Is the story that gives its title to the
> volume. There Is a peculiar sadness In the fact
, that death came to the author Just as he had
! accomplished 80 notable an achievement.
. There must be some mighty queer folk among
] the mountains OF West Virginia, II Mr.. John
, Fox, Jr., in Hell fer sartain. and Other
d Stories" Harpers), has done them no injustice
Abe Shivers. who spent his spare tim,
8 In carrying tales among his n~eighbori
and "a-stirrin' up He'll ginerally." GER
. tainly deserved the fate that overlook him
. while in accounting for tho habit of whispering
r that prevails among the inhabitants. ono OF Mr.
Fox's characters says: 81 reckon thar's jes' Ok
Q much devilment a.goin' on in these mountains
9 folks Is naturally afeared to talk out loud" Hell
Q Ter Sartain is alongside Kingdom-Come, and
o with family feuds and the excitement inciden
TO the "moonshining' industry. the inhabitantI
seem to have a pretty lively time of 1t. "Stran
ger. an ole ledge como up hero once from thu
settlemints to hold count" says q communica
o tive gentleman from Kingdom Como.
d ".Jedge.' / says. that's what no Jedgo hav'
o ever did without soldiers since this war
been a-goin' on All right no says, 'theI
n I'll have to do what no other Jedge have evel
o did An. Brother, tho ledge done it shore
a He les laid under the COUNT House fer two day
d whilst tho boys fit over him. An whom I see
z the Jedge a-makin' tracks fer the settlemlnts
@ says: 'Jedgc,' I says. you spoke a parabl
Shore" Mr.. Fox tells his stories with som
d humor, and leaves the roader with the impret
h sion that Hell fer Sartain 10 a good place to sta,
II away from.
Mr.. Thomas Nelson Pages stories Of the oil
South are always pleasant, and his latest. 18th
It Old Gentleman of the Black Stock" (Scribners
D: has much of the quiet charm his readers Low,