The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-05-20

hill climbing. There are many very
beautiful pictures
printed and bound i'm harmony with
others of the series and the price of each
Is sl.JO Preston q Rounds have them.
At the first blush the idea of 'condens-
ing" Dickens for home and school reading
may give one as peculiar sensation as
did the first announcement of the
"woman's Bible that was gotten up for
the Chicago schools and yet why noty
We don't know why not Young people
have their religion and their history writ
ten for them with no suggestion Of the
offense Of writing down" To their intel
ligence Why not literature? Indeed IL is
the announced purpose OF ADpleton's
Home Reading Books. several volumes
OF which we have already had the pleasure
of reading and have performed the agree
able duty of reviewing them, To furnish
literature, as well as science, physics, his
tory and SO forth in manner and form
adapted to the use of the school and the
young folks at home. The first volume I'm
the third division of the series Is now be-
fore Us. 1t Is the STORY of Oliver
Twist" Its editor, Ella BOyce Kirk, has
endeavored to furnish IL rs, TO the best of
her Judgment, Dickens would have done
had he undertaken TO prepare il for young
readers as for instance, he did SO prepare
history Of England. The editor makes
no alterations in the text She simply
leaves out the parts that the average boy
or girl would probably skip If set to- read
ing Oliver Twist, or because of which the
reading would be abandoned altogether.
She also wisely leaves out at least one
part that tho child would probably not
skip but which il would be rather better
for its peace of mind If IL did. That Is.
the details OF the murder of Nancy, horri-
IL.
adult admirers of Dickens have felt might
better have been omitted from the volume
as it stands because " seems chiefly
piece OF work that smackS more of the
sensational, III talented. newspaper re-
porters, than anything else. The story Of
Oliver Twist Is of the kind To appeal To- "a
child and for young readers it gains rather
than loses In interest in the form of this
book. The volume IL illustrated from the
Cruikshank plates is bound in harmony
with others of the series and sells at the
low price of 80 cents Published by ID.
Appleton a. Co., and for sale by Gregory.
The spirit of stephen Crane wrestling
with "sassiety' novel suggests a. lively
rooster trying 90 crow in whispers. Mr..
Crane has a STYLE 1t is "A characteristic. Ii
made him famous at jump On the
WHOLE IL is not elastic nor we should say
could IL bo applied successfully tn all
themes You can't shoot sandpiDers
with siege battery and do IL artisticaly.
Pile drivers are not altogether available
for driving tacks. The bull in the bull
ring makes n fine show. But tho bull in
the china shop IL proverb.ally horror.
IL is bound 20 be difficult for the bull to
adapt himself TO the china shop, while If
no does succeed he is likely to lose the pres
tige that comes from being u bull Mr..
Crane wrote OF war There Is aconsiderablo
controversy as Co the measure OF his success
at it from literary point of view but
there Is not any question that the grand
army of book buyers and book readers de-
voured the war story without waiting for
the critics To arrive ut an understanding
in the matter and the latter have perforco
been compelled 10 concede that II the kind
Of war that Mr. Crane wrote was the kind
the book readers like WHY, OF course, they
would like chat kind.
Since then Mr.. Crane has continued 10
write and book that antcdated the fame
maker has hcen produced. What he has
written has. we believe, met with popular
favor but that duesn { necessarily moan
that he has not been able 60 travel "a wide
field on his reputation. IL doesn't mean
that no has of course. Greater novelists
than Mr. Crane have sold books of no
carrying merit because tncv have at one
time and another written books that sus-
taincd themselves and good deal that
followed. And. also, many worthy book
has been accused OF thriving on reflected
strength whore continued test has demon.
stratcd that IL was big enough to stand
alone.
On the whole, however, we suspect that
" MIR. Crane drops his style he would be
taking chances while ut the same time
his newest work makes u feel that he Is
taxing chances by adapting his style to
another theme than that which originally
made 10 50 amazingly acceptable Just
what he Is TO 90, however we arc at
loss 60 suggest. He cant lc writing i'm
ctssantly about battles or heroics uf one
lind mud nnnf hnr fnr his rnnnnra ,rnitlh