The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-23
NrK nooKS
Brief Reviews OF Important and Interesting
New Publications.

graceful, and humorous essays, free
from any purpose merely educational or edify-
ing. and written for children ola larger growth.
Light. airy nothings to be enjoyed, In odd half
hours. by the reader not too serious TO appreci-
ate trines tina have something Of the old
fashioned charm Of the work Of Hazlitt or the
gentle Ella.
It Is good to linger for awhile with q writer
who occupies himself entertainingly and never
didacticnlly with subjects ranging from mar
gins and minor poets to the delights OF loafing
and the soothing influence OF tobacco and good
beer. for nowadays your gentle and accom-
pllshed ~essayist ia one Of the rarest of all
literary birds.
Perhaps, IL We were oil as solemn and as
sober-minded as we should be. those writer's
who refuse to give US mental nourishment OF q
sufficiently depressing brand would be extermi-
mated. or. at least. set to the picking Of oakum
in some retreat for literary wastrels: leaving
us FREQ to give our whole attention to those
conscientious undertakers who assure us
that life Is q lingering disease and death
the only doctor. But. as things are. and
while we are still In the unreganerate
stage, We may as well be grateful to
the writer who can make US forget these I'M
pleasant things. and can lead US into bypaths
like those roads in the magic island of Panta-
Cruel. roads that did literally go" to what
0NOE plhCo INC ITdVeloE OlOSo. JHtHbtJtS Qub
cherninsnt CONNIE dninaulp" and upon which.
having hoisted himself up. he was carried to
his destination withoutthe unnecessary pain Of
locomotion.
To loaf discreetly and to acquire q thirst that
shall be slaked wisely yet not too well are twin
accomplishments that merit o fair II not too
assiduous attention. and Mr.. Grahame treats
the loafer in an uncynical and friendly spirit
Prone on his back on the springy turf. as he
pictures him. his 1eshy integument seems to
drop away. and the spirit ranges at will
among the tranquil clouds. This way Nirvana
nearest lies. Earth no longer obtrudes her
self; possibly somewhere q thousand miles
or so below him the thing still spins
like a fretful midge.' The Loafer knows
not nor cares. He is now an astral body.
and through golden spaces OF Imagination his
soul is winginR her u~ntrammelled flight. And
there he really might remain forever but that
his vagrom spirit Is called back to earth by o
gentle but resistless, very human NOM
a gradual, consuming, P~antagruellan, godlike
thirst: a thirst to thank heaven on. So. with q
sigh half Of regret. half OF anticipation. he bends
his solitary steps toward the nearest inn. To-
bacco for one is good: to m with ones
self and be still is truest wisdom; but beer Is a
thing Of ~deity-beer Is divine"
This surely is true summer philosophy. and
though the torpid liver or the tendency to govt
may lead some middle-aged. but otherwise
willing. epicuresn to forego the beer and COM
promise with claret and water. the general
principles are easy ones to follow.
Later the Loafer may decently make some
concessions to popular taste by ~strolling down
TO the river and getting out his boat. With one
paddle out he will drift down the stream. just
brushing the Towering rush and the meadow
sweet and taking In as peculiar gifts the varied
sweets OF even. The loosestrife is his and the
arrowhead; his the distant moan of the weir:
his are the glories. amber and scarlet and sill
yer. OF the sunset-haunted surface"
His. too. as Mr.. Grahame. had no been q
cynic. would nave pointed out. are the delicate
attentions Of the nudge and the merry mosquito
and the twtnges Of rheumatism. induced by o
too-late lingering upon the sunset-hnunted
surface OF the stream But Mr.. Grahame 10.
happily. no oynic. Nor Ii his Loafer. who pad
dies his own boat and Ii master OF his own I'M
limited leisure. to DO COMPOUNDED with that
professional and moro prosaie loafer who pads
the weary hoof and has G. habit of taking
In as peculiar gifts the varied sweets Of tho
clothesline and the henroost. For him arc no
loosestr1fe or arrowhead-but perchance the
charge of buckshot or the not too distant moan
OF the unclaimed doe-and sometimes the oven
moro deadly Offering OF the slab Of home
baked pie. Many generations Of writer's for
the comic papers have made these things clear.
Very e~ntertainingly, too. does Mr.. Grahame
write OF the pleasures Of smoking in bed-a
habit limited. we trust. to the unmarried-and
of @ certain South Sea Island intoxicant that
combines. for the fortunate mortal who par
takes Of it, the blisstul effect Of getting drunk
and remaining sober to enjoy It. At times he
discusses other matters, such as art and letters
the borrowing Of books. and the nice question
~ thu i1aa1 N~oHNrftNn, ~ ka-kn ~I una--,. Ak.k
should be fixed In the making up Of volumes Of
minor verse:
1T is by no means insisted upon that the chief
end and use of margins ia for pictorial ~illustra-
tons. nor yet for furtive games Of oughts and
crosses, north the case of hymn bookslfor amor
GUS missives scrawled against the canticle for
the day. to be passed over into an adjacent pew,
as used. alas! to happen In the days when We
were young and goddess and went to church.
Nor. again. are the margins OF certain poets in
trusted to man for the purpose OF compos-
ing thereon Of infinitely superior rhymes
on the subjects themselves have maltreated q
depraved habit, akin to s~calping. What has
never been properly recognized Is the absolute
value Of the margin itself-a value frequently
superior to Its inclosure. " " " An author
ity on practical bookmaking has stated that
margin is q matter to be studied: also that
to place the print In the centre Of tho paper IL
wrong in principle. and to be deprecated
Now. II 1t be wrong in principle let us push
the principle to its Legitimate conclusion. and
'deprecate' the placing Of print on any part Of
the paper at all. Without actually suggesting
this course to any Of our living bards. when. l
may ask-when shall that true poet arise who,
disdainlHG the tnvlalIties of text. shall give the
world a book of verse consisting entirely OF
margin2 How We shall shove and jostle for
large paper copiesi"
A work exeellently printed on good paper.
and satisfactory In all tho details OF Its make
up. is THE Encyclopadic Dictionary OF Pho
Biography" by Mr.. Walter E.. Woodbury.. editor
OF the photographic Times. 1t contains over
1000 references and 800 illustrations, and IL a
whole Photographic library In one volume. 1t
Ia published by the Soovill q Adams Company.
We have also received:
Tho Rainbow Of Gold" Joseph A. Altsheler.
continental Publishing Company
The Chase of an Heiress." Christian Reid.