The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-19
NEW DOORS.
nrisf RsViews Of rrsportant ana Interestins
New Rublicntions.

hIrtoN heNhoNn OF NrnH0ftnmt nno IntHre0tInH |
View Publications. ,
The volume Mountain Climbing. - published
by the scribners, will interest those who never ,
climb mountains quito a. much as those who do.
Perhaps no greater thrill, and no more reason
able sense Of danger, come to the man who. with
three or four other men tied at intervals TO q
ropo, ascends a mountain In Switzerland, than
to the adventurer who runs into q thunder
storm, on a crowded steamboat, on his 25-
cent way to the wonders and delectations OF
Coney Island. Danger Is q universal ole
ment and 1t presents itself at home as
well as abroad; but It is to be said
of the remote danger that It 10 rather moro i'm
p~ressivo than the danger which Is immediate,
and that tho ell-calved youth ollnging to tho
apex Of tho Matterhorn excites moro apprehen-
sion than the old gentleman of 90 reading q
newspaper in his comfortable armchair In this
community. though there Ia no good reason why
he should. OF the seven articles included in
this attractive book, we consider that the one
by Mr.. Edward l.. Wilson. describing the diff
culties Of the ascent Of Mount Washington In
winter, Is quite az full OF the quality of lively
human interest az any OF the others, and 1t 10 our
opinion that the weather observer who went
for o considerable distance up Mount Washing
ton feet foremost, in the toeth Of o gale that
blow 100 miles an hour, found his pulses az
muCn btTreu ana MS lubL TOT mountain Cump
ing a. noarly satisfied as though no had been
attempting Mount Ararat or the Mountains Of
tho Moon. Especially attractive is Mr.. A. #.
Jaooaci's account OF the ascent Of Mount Etna,
It 10 sensitively written, poetical. and charm
ing. as 10 all Of Mr.. J~accaci's work
that has come under our observation. It
is good to read Mountain Climbing"
after long application to the problem novels and
the opinions upon reasonableness In fiction OF
Mr.. George Moore and others. This We venture
to say upon the theory that 1t 10 desirable occa-
sionally to get somewhere. While bison writes,
and Mr.. Moore proclsims that he writes better
than the Deity, Mr.. Jaccaci and others sur
mount actual mountains and leave their testi-
mony. Ibsen, of course, Is unaffected by the
other circumstance, and 80 there is no reason
why everybody should not be happy. The
mountains of earth exist az we'll as the noun
tains Of mind. When the brain 10 tired We may
we'll permit our legs to get into operation.
1t Is q pleasure to record tho appearance OF an
authoritative reprint from tho fourteenth odi-
ton OF Sir Edwin Arnold's essay on Death and
Afterwards" Now Amsterdam Book Company.
When Goethe said OF death that at was COM
NOR" he did no more than to reiterate and some-
what curtan shakespeare's observation involv-
ing the further idea that it was . passing
through nature to eternity. The truth is probably
that not Shakespeare and not Goethe and not
Sir Edwin Arnold 10 competent to instruct rs OK
haustively upon tho sequel of death. Sir Edwin
regards the matter with that turn Of optimism
| which 10 natural and becoming to Q person in
health who is fairly we'll satished with himself.
1t is safe to say that Sir Edwin could never have
written "Th City of Dreadful Night" and that
II there 10 no miscarriage In his particular case
of evolution. he will be no schopenhauer In q
future plane Of existence. Whether. In q future
,-l a,hltpoatad rlana ha vtn ha narTntftad IN
write verso and editorial stun IL as one may
think. Perhaps, for one reason or another. he
will be pensioned and retired. Meanwhile tho
curtain OF an earlier poet remains down, and,
for pessimists at least, "a universal darkness
covers all"
The sixth volume OF the novels of Bjornstjerne
Bj0rnson, translated into English, edited by Ed
mund Gosse. and published by the Macmillans.
contains "MaRnhild" and Dust" The last
named story is full OF the sad Norwegian style
which the late Prof. Boyesen so eagerly COM
mended. 1t has a moral, and Is probably recon-
mended in realism, though 1t cannot positively
be said that sadness Is more realistic than joy.
At all events, it 10 very different from any
thing that was ever written by Hans
Andersen, who, according to Prof. Boyesen. was
q hopeless romanticist. and. into the bargain. an
| overgrown child. The dust in this tale means
tho dust of religious tradition. There is pointed
out here the danger Of believing in angels. Two
children. threatened with chastisement by their
father. run away from home and nearly perish
In o snowstorm. 1t 10 shocking to the nero lit
erary sense to come across this pas
sage: ".The fsh pond I found my
self saying before I had time TO think.
and the effect on myself and on them all was as
though there had been an explosion In our
midst" Fortunately the children had not per.
ished IN the hsh pond. but the phrase, IAN ex-
plosion In our midst" remains terrible and
disastrous. Tho effect Of 1t il not to be over.
como by the general solemnity Of the story. The
translator should be stood in q corner, kept in at
recess, and made TO read Scandinavian or Rus
sian stories for an hour after the close OF school
He should get 1t good.
Olive Schreiner is probably quite as clever az
Herbert D. Ward. but not she, any more than he
should experiment in fiction with the most ex
allied characters Of sacred history.
trooper Peter Halket" fRoberts Brothers
Boston, may be a deserved rebuke of the ways Of
the English in Mashonaland, but it ls not pleas
ant reading for the sensitive, and 1t Is probable
that 1t might have been equally effective while
being less Objectionable. Whatever the wronsi
and violences In Newfoundland, they can hardly
excuse +" Peter Halket." In addition TO Its bad
taste the story drones and 10 embarrassing. Tht
set attempt to be startling at any cost IL not al
ways successful.
THE Private Life Of the Queen; BY Q Member
Of tho Royal Household" tAppletons) Ia q vol
ume that. appearing. as IL does. upon the eve o.
the great tuL!iee celebration, has an exceptional
and timely interest. The author, who 10 evi
IDENTIFY well acquainted with all the details o
tho life Of tho royal household, writes
pleasantly. and. while the book has nj
special literary merit. 1t Is interesting In
that 1t gives the reader a real acquaintance
with the personality and private life Of a Singu
larly interesting public figure. and, when w
contrast the English Court as 1t is to-day with
what 1t was. even in the rollicking times o
George the Fourth OF festive memory, this pic
ture of a little old woman. quietly transactinG
the business OF State. and seeking her simple
amusements with her grandchildren. her pets
and her game of patience, fingers in the memoir!
as q singularly pleasant one.
Here Is q curious story, that, II We arc no
mistaken, Is In this volume for the FIRST tim
,,a1a pYblic.