The times., 1897-07-18

whispered imnioringly 10 tie captain, and
We thought lie Was gong TO give way, Way
blamed him. He should have been aU
home with his mother, curied up IN Her
lap. But then the captain answered. iouu
and sharp, and we Knew lie had not Teen
waverine. The captain said: What you
ask is impossible cannot nave your arms
mtound- / must obey orders, and you
must be shot just as you are, ana IKE an aii
the other prisoners sentenced 10 death Tor
rebellion Then tie little chap, VINO was
not year older than his brother' blew
out his chest, like the little game Geek
he was, and said: j only asked because
Carilto is so Young; because wanted TO
put my arms around him when you llreu,
TO save him all / could when the bullets
came. But Carlito is Cuban, he VIII
be brave Then the sergeant made them
kneei down three feet apart on the ground,
with their backs TO the firing platoon.
1t was hardly a second the iii. rs drawn
up and the lieutenant cried, 'Apunten!
taiml. But, you know, those little fel-
lows had edged toward each other, work
ing Oh their knees hard, and were kneellng
shuuluer Touching shoulder, and with cheek
TO check. Then the voiley came ana tne
bullets lifted The Ioor little featherweiehts
that they were off the ground and blew
them against the WALL New York: Har-
per & Br0s-)
Mrs. John Sherwood has written An
EIistie to Pcsterity." 1T is rather a long
epistle, transcending the conventional
lengths embraced under the mailing rossi
tinties OF our 2-cent stamp, extending as
ii Goes through fair sized octave vol
umc. Though she addresses her .epistie TO
postcrity, the author affects Indifference as
TO whether Eosterity ever receives it, Tor
II shall not be there to watch for an
answer" which suggests that other good
joke on Uosterity Which Paul Potter in
corporated intohis play, Sheridan" Some
one urges Sheridan to do something. You
owe 1T to Tosterity." Sheridan replied,
What has Iosterity ever done for me-"
Apparently Mrs. Sherwood took up with
posterity for its name value pure ant
simple. Her eye had heen fascinated by
that title o IN the back OF one Of her
Petrarch volumes, and it gave her chance
10 recite yoltaire's reply to Rousseau
when lie received an ode addressed toEos-
tcrity. Here's letter which VIII never
reach its address, said voltaire.
We might be cynical and flippant under
the banner OF the same reply in response
To Mis-. Sherwoud'S challenge Will her
bitious title, but she has disarmed this cIiti-
cisIn in her disavowal Of an interest which
the addressee may take in her epistle
Plainly, the enistle is for us If her present
readers are pleased, -hey cannot ask more,
neither viii Mrs Sherv ood. Then let
cry quits and TO our muitons.
The ''Epistle to PcsteIity" shows many
things as plainly as type face may, without
necessity for covert reading between the
lines. 1t shows that the author is a woman
Of vast experiences, embracing all the yea rs
the matTonly proportions OF Stephen Park
er's froEtiSpiece portrait suggests, ex-
periences among the intellectual, artistic,
political and foyal anstocIacy Of the earth.
1t shows site is q woman who Ia made the
best OF these experiences, even in present
ing them in the epistie, and IL demonstrates
in nearly every one of its pages that her
wit and personal CleverRess justified her
position there. The book is simply an auto
biography.
The personal vanity Of an autobiography
from Mrs. John Sherw ood is happily
eclipsed by the real cnjoyment to be found
in it's perusal II was a dangerous under
taking, bat she passes through the pages
in unclaimed splendor and scampers back
to the frontispage to pose her voluptuous
beauty in The Parker portrait, anyreference
in the text to her personal charms being
manifestly out of place That difficulty
was circu,nvented nicely. We read and
say How clevcri" Then we turn to The
portrait and say, How beautiful!" And
her conquest is complete. No woman de-
sires more
With proper filial consideration she begins
her book witt canonization OF her father
and mother Then we begin our ac-
quaintauce with an aUtobiographer who as
girl knew Daniel Webster, Martin Van
Ruren, j. X Paulding, James Russell
Lowell, Maria White, and Margaret
Fuller. She began her travels early.
travels herein reconnted, which first en-
braced coming from her New England
home to young Washing gton in the rorties,
then about all the country east OF the
Mississippi, and in later life to England
where she met all the notabIes, frotu court
down; TO tic land Of William Tell. TO
fair Italy, where she had delightful asso-
Citations with royalty, the Storys, the
Astors, and the others of the famous
American colony in Rome; to Spain. TO
France, and to nearly everywhere tn It
there was a cOngeniaI magnet for wit
and beauty. Hers is an exceptional life in
its associations, or at least she has the
cleverness TO make it appear so in her
charming volume, though she never did anv-
thlng to denote other than a social am
bit!on or the remutest possibility OF dis
tinctive achievement The book is n
series OF pages Of wellthreaded beads Of
anecdote and experience 1t has correct.
ness as It's highest literary value, and the
ease Of chat for its plcaSantest charrn
The accounts OF Washington society halfa
century ago have present interest. The
Southern Glrls appear not to have changed
IN the slightest. why, Miss wilson,"
said one Of these dear sirens, ia Just as
lief be gaged to five men at once, and
then ! d pick out the best man at last, and
just marry him" Her brother was one of
the writer's beaus. Now, Miss Wilson"
said the same girl, you needn't marry
Preston, because you're a wicked abo-
iitionist, but you just get engaged to him
and comes down to Georgia and pay US
visit;
Mrs. Ashley and her plumes was one of
the striking figures at Mrs. Polk's White
House dinners, TO which the author was
one evening smuggled in. She was an ami.
able woman, and evidently diplomat.
for she used to say: Always give men
brevet rank. If they are colonels call them
general If they are captains call them
colonels. They will forgive YOU" But
MIS-. Ashley could say sharp thing when
occasion required. A certain lady, who
had always been very jealous of her, had
bought of her French invoice, a toilette
which she, going into mourning, could not
wear. This other woman sent back the
slippers, after having Worn them, saying:
They are too big. l could swim in them. ~
Mrs. Ashley replied: my dear 1 am a
larger woman than you in every respect
"Mr. Corcoran gave fine dinners,'' says
Mrs Sherwood, giving her sixteen year