Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-11-22
ON our BOOK TABLE.
SOME OF THE LATEST OFFERINGS
TO THE READING WORLD.
Literary Notes and Comments on tn
Authors of the Day and Their
PrOductions-New Books
Received.

Ihrough Field and Fallow.' BY Jean
Hooper Page. CNew York: +. Tennyson
Neely). This is a delightful little volume
OF verse-all the more so TO Kansas City
readers because its author, now a resident
OF Denver, was a Kansas City girl. the
daughter of S. X. Hooper. general passen-
ger agent of the Denver * Rio Grande
railroad. well known to many citizens OF
this city. Miss Hooper, now Mrs. Page,
early evinced poetic talent of Il decided
character, and wrote many charming SON.
nets, some of which have been grouped
with later and maturcr efforts and pre-
scented to the public in book form under
the title given above. The subjects treated
cover a wide range, including sentiment,
passion. friendship, maternal love, devo-
iion. philosophy, patriotism and hurnor. The
obscureness which mars many Otherwise
meritorious poems is not found here; the
meaning of every line and stanZa is clear
and its pleasing effect instantaneous. What,
for instance, could be so simple and yet
70 delightful as the following extract from
q page poem entitled 'Compensation".
mo road so long without an end,
No heart SO sore but has a friend,
No grief SO deep but time will mend.
No hour so dark but there's a ray
OF light TO smooth life's turbid way"
Readers of the volume who have not
known the author will be surprised that
eucH Il CHAR EulfIS SINGER mas not DrelI lSaTu
more widely before. The book is hand
somely printed and bound and will make
an attractive as well as valuable addition
TO any library in which it may be placed.
t h Teacup Club" BY Eliza Armstrong.
Chicago: Way & Williams) This volume
Will scarcely be a favorite with club wom-
en-" 1t is a pretty hard take-of on the
entire class to be a favorite. The head
ings Of the chapters are: The Teacup Club
Is Organized" Discusses Women in Poll
tics" Mans Attitude Toward the Prog.
ress of Woman" 1.-The Heroine of To-day
Discusses the Currency Question" The
lation." Political Power" Woman as a
Parliamentarian,' THE Club Studies The
osophy." "A Discussion and a Surprise"
printed Elisa Armstrong; upon the title
page Eliza Armstrong. Those who read the
chapters will be willing to affirm that the
Ben. who has been Tilted by a half a dozen
modern women" and has grown sour. 1t
doesn't read like a woman's book. 1t unmer-
cifully scores the sisters of the Teacup
Club.
a second volume from Messrs. Way &
Williams is entitled "Pippins and Cheese
by Ella w. Peattie. 1t gives the strange
histories of nine different dinners and the
persons who there met and the strange
after results. The first of these is q story
related of Charles Henri Samson. the cele-
brated executioner of France, in the days
when that official was very busy in his Of
lice. He was at the time a young man of
pleasing address. and, having done a kind
ess for Nine. la Marquise de Lamerliere at
a wayside hotel. she invited him to dine
with her. and she enjoyed her dinner in his
society, and parted from him with regret.
Upon learning his occupation she was
shocked. and demanded that he should
make an humble and public apology for
dining with her upon an equality. Samson
appeared and made a speech wonderful in
his office rightly claimed for him to be re.
garded as among the nobility of France.
1t SO impressed his Judges that the plea
OF the fair lady was ignored and Samson
chapter. When the Marquise de Lamer-
Here during the revolution. is ordered be-
task. the celebrated dinner comes again to
the front. The stories abound in dramatic
situations. and are well told. The volumes
are In handsome. clear print. and taste
THE self-Made. Man in America" By
United States, New York: T. Y. Croweil
& Coz This little volume contains the ad-
dress delivered by ex-President. Cleveland
Of the founding of Princeton university.
Mr.. Cleveland points out the danger that
In our admiration Of so-cailed self-made
lofty ideal. 1t is often said approvingly
that any lack OF culture or moral standard
energy or fortunate accident risen from
humble circumstances to wealth and pow
er. But Mr.. Cleveland believes that the
self-made man should not he satisfied with
any mediocre attachments. He should
strive for the highest possible education
and not scorn, the university training. He
should be glad to put all his requirements
made by travel or books, at the service of
lis fellow men, and II he wins fortune he
should see to II that his wealth does not
erect a barrier between him and his less
favored companions. Especially should he
take a lofty view of politics and not allow
blind partisanship to lead him into actions
injurious to the whole body of his fellow
citizens.
Message OF the Mystics." BY Mary Han
ford Ford. Alice B. Stockham e Co. Chi
cago. In three handsomely printed volumes
We rave. The HOLY Grail. "Goethe's Faust
and Balzac's "Seraphita." The author
traces THE Holy Grail from the cruel
fixion down to Wagner's opera of the Par
sifal." The beginning of the story is that
of Joseph Of Arimathea. to whom
was granted permission to remove
The legend goes to show that he
secured the silver cup used in the last
communion Christ drank with His disci-
pies. and as the wound was made in his
side, caught the blood that flowed from
the wound and forever after cherished il
as his great treasure. That afterward
when he was imprisoned and left to starve.
with the cup he wrought miracles. 1t
reveals also the story of His life and work.
story is traced through the centuries after
by the wandering Ministries. and after the
eighth century by French and English lit.
erature down to the ''Idyls of the King"
by Tennyson. and the "Parsifal' of Wag-
ner. In this story. legendary and other