The times., 1897-08-22

word. They are by A. I. Kellar and they
have the trinitr of virtues that they re-
pIoduce admirably the spirit OF the peo-
PIE they depict, they are exquisite eN-
amples OF illustrative art, and they are
pleuteous. New York; Harpers & Brother.
Washington: Brontano)
The name of Edward ames Dunning is
one hitherto unknown to literature, but
from th" present publication OF MS Genesis
of Shakespeare it requires little Of the
prophetic spirit IN the reader to say tnat
| he Will stand hen ceforth high among
| ShaBcspearian scholars and commentators
Until Thirteen years ago Mr.. Dunning
was practlcing dentist in New York
| city. Owing TO excessive devotion to
his business mis- general health was in.-
| paired and severe inflammation of the
eyes set in, and finally the light went out
| But he Was brave and courageous The
| word in which he had been so active
and successful faded from him into dark
ness writes his editor, but he straight
way discovered new world OF bliudiess
| thought and Imagination, wherein for him
| self lie made a permanent habitation and
! tome. In addition 70 retaining all his social
tiiJpH iiicHbs' III HiiItt IIt DdQ ever Il
| keen zest. he began TO commit to memory
| the masterpieces of his fayorte authors
snon having IN mis- fun possession rare ana
| rich store of the best literature, which
lay before him ike d pleasing land
scape, in whose green pastures and beside
whose still waters he could wander at his
own sweet viii. he hadaIfeady memorized
large portions OF many OF the plays uf
hale
to the sonnets In these he soon became
deeply interested, memorizing the most
striking ones here and there. Speedily
Ibis gt perdl interest in the sonnets settled
into specific lead, for he began TO discern
unity Of thought, stringing every sonnet
on one unbroken thread of wonderful sig
nificance."
The result OF these thirteen years Of
study is the proposition Of his Genesis Of
Shakespeare" 1t is in all respects a re-
lnarkab'e book. The originality of his con
ception the integrity of his philosophy, the
sequence OF his logic and the lucdity of the
testimony w1ich he wrings from Shakes
peare'slines stamp veraeity upon his claim
and scholarship upon his method which
viii astonish the too-often invaded fold of
Shakespearian scholars and establish him
oiiioh6 bhCi-E as "a iltH anu DTIg III llgnJ-
This muLh only has been patent and ac-
cepted of all rea ders of the l54 sonnets OF
the bard of Avon, tha they were addressed
to a namcless youth whose identity has
heretofore remainedan enigma unanswered.
Who was he? Why were the sonnets writ
ten? Were they autobiogra phical? Were
the desCltory literary gems linked in no |
chain?
For gav,s, 7
ming now comes with an answer The |
import OF his effort is in proportion To
the immcnse significance OF the questions. |
His readers viii be astonished at the |
eloquent and adequate answer which he |
makes !tinvoves a long theory, too long |
for reproduction here, condensed only within !
larger volurne, but he evolves it with |
scholarly Iucidty aud an emphasis and |
directness which carry half the argument |
of his correctness.
His answer to the question of the iden-
tity of the youth of the sonnets is that |
he is a purely imaginative character,
standing in the same relation to Shakes
peare as did Beatrice to Dante s'the in.
spiration of his genius and the soul of his
poetic life" His answer to the question
OF why they were. written is that in them
a
the center, he desired to give a portrait
and history of this ideal youth, by VIII ON
and through whom he had entered into
his own new and beautiful life. The
answer which his theory brings to the
question of autobiography is that they are
truly autobiographioal,b but not in the ordin-
ary sense-being record OF the inward
rather than the outward experience of the
poet.
The author of this theory believes that he
has in his explanation wholly relieved the
chara cter of these wonderful poems or
the revclting suggestion that they re tie
story of Shakespeare's folly and shame
for he affords very strong proof that they
are, instead. tie life of the poet with his
ideal-''an attenLpt to express his as
piratiou to become the worlds great poet,
not for fame alone, but more for service
There have been two other Shake
spearean scholars. as pointed out by Mr.
Dunning, who have advanced theories
akin to his own Both of them published
theil theories iii 1861 D. Barnstorf, in
his Key to the Sonnets,' holds that the
person addressed is Shakespeare's ..gen.
us He repEdiates the claim that the
Youth was Or might have been a living
pSlScu L. a. illbCHCOCh, III MS REMARKS on
the Sonnets,'' maintains that the sonnets
belong to what he calls hermetic writings j
he says: I've expect to show that love,
as used IN Shakespeare's sonnets, had not
! Iiiorta; being for its object, but ali ire ;
oresentable spirit Of beauty, the true
'ource of artistic Births, Boston. Lee 4
Shepard. Washington Brentano.) II
A gorgeous bookto look ats sWolfville,
which comes to US from the pen of Alfred
Henry Lewis. The ecoveris is brilliant or ange, :
he illustrations are Remington's, the dedi- {
cation is to William K. Hearst, and the Ian (
suage is forceful and epigrammatic. 1t is t
4 book Of Arizona tales in dialect 5
Mr.. Lewis is familiar with Arizona life. !
having spent years in the widest and /
Toolliest part Of the Southwest: and his | ,