The Portland daily press., 1897-07-20
York: Harper & Brothers; Portland:
Loring, Short & Harmon. Price 1907

Loring, Short % Harmon. Price co.
Georgia Scenes. Character, Incidents,
etc., in the First Half Century of the Re
public by A Native Georgian. New Edi-
ton from New Plates, with the Original
Illustrations. If Mr.. Fox's stories are at
times SO condensed as to be almost pain
full, in effect, the author of Georgia
Scenes goes to the other extreme and
is both rambling and diffuse, with an
old-fashioned, stilted tone of positive as
sertion which has definite flavor of it's
own and does not lack snap and spirit.
People who "want to know about the
Georgians of early days in their social,
political, and sporting life will find no
end of entertainment here but to others
the text will sometimes flag and again
will prove non gratia by virtue of a
coarseness of language which the author
explains as accommodated to the capae-
ity of the person to whom he represents
himself as speaking" To horse swapping
talk and the scolding of dark%s in terms
far from agreeable, ones ears are perhaps
more sensitive than were those of the first
half-century of the Republic. With some
genuine fun and something of the spur
ious article, Georgia Scenes give us fights
and balls, fox hunts and shooting matches
together with various chapters or parts
of chapters on morals and manners. Here
is droll word, '4That's sufficient, as
Tom Haynes said when he saw the ele
phant.' The phrase certainly brings up
an Immediate picture of the unreportable
qualities of that most gigantic of animals.
(New York: Harper & Brothers; PORT
land: Loring, Short g. Harmony
The Land of The Dollar by G. w.
Stevens author of tNaval Policy" From
the daily Mai" and at the time copied
occasionally by our own journals. We
have here very readable record of an
Englishman's observations on America.
1t is pleasant to chronicle the fact that
the running narrative of these papers
shows shrewd common sense, for that
quality has not been conspicuous in what
Is said of us by those of other countries or
races. Very little is done in a society
way and we note the absence of long
dissertations upon the American woman.
What there is is in the final chapter of
the book is brief and pointed. The
voyage over, New York and Boston and
Portland we should particularly mention
Bryan, silver, the South. and West in
lpolitices; Chicago, the Dairy Farmers
the Pacific slope and the Chinese, compose
the bulk of material. Now and then an
English expression or opinion is attribute
ed to typical American. And we should
have thought it savored neither of Eng
lishman or American when we are told
that at the wharf, upon arrival in New
York, bearded men caught and kissed
each other" Commenting upon he ever
present "ad. - in poster form, the author
says, There is also product called Cas-
toria-children cry for it, it appears;
which seems poor enough recommends
Istion to the harassed parent" by which
token and many more, 1t will be seen
that this Englishman at least has a dry
sense of humorous. Our little city of
elms fPortland he calls " sEvangeline'
up to Date" A very good six or eight
pages is that given to talk with one of
our officials at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Speaking of a sitting hot day in New
York, Mr.. Stevens says ''the blare of
the band was sirocco in ITSELF" Our
reporter is never wasteful of words
Anent the Boston Public Library he
writes, Inside it contains an aderably
simple fresco by M. Purvis de Chavanne 8
and an appallingly complex Biblical allie
CORY by Mr.. Sargent. When the good
Bostonian dies it will be granted her to
sit for ever and ever before this work
with diagram and a numbered key. -
But space forbids our lingering over
these very quote-worthy pages. (New
York: Dodd, Mead & Company; Port
land: Loring, Short 8 Harmony