The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-10-02

NahOcuVrebJ ny LuuOV1C Ha1eVy
The Biographical Edition of
Thackeray AGain-''The Golfers
Alphabet"
The anonymous volume Of traditions
and anecdotes which the writer has
collected from people and books, and
OF Incidents which he personally recol-
Iects. published under the comprehen-
siVe title Of Collections and Recollec-
tions." is one of the seasons most
charming books and is doubtless des-
tined to a popularity equal to It's mer-
It's. 1t reminds the reader Of nothing
so much as the after dinner conversa-
ton OF one Of those rare and genial
elderly gentlemen whom all delight to
honor. The author knows his ENGLAND.
not only In the present, but in the
past, and imparts his knowledge with
generosity and tact. He gives not a
hash Of incoherent anecdote and Incl
dent, but a connected and convincing
picture Of the upper class England
during the first half of this century
and some account Of the social changes
which have overtaken 1t, and of their
causes. He has known the most bril-
liant people of this generation and has
prOf1ted by his knowledge, although
perhaps he Is more interesting when
generalizing upon the past than when
recounting the present. His style is
easy and makes most agreeable read
Ing, even Of the slightest story.
The book is one which inviteS~ep end
less quotation. To American readers
at least most Of the good things 1t con-
tains will be entirely new, although
In the chapter upon "Repartee" there
Is nothing so good as the paragraph
n to
who showed an English friend the
place where Washington was said to
have thrown dollar across the Po-
tomac. The Englishs friend expressed
surprise. But said Mr.. Evarts,
you must remember that a dollar
went farther in those days A SEN
ator met Mr.. Evarts next day and said
that he had been amused by his Jest.
But said Mr.. Evarts, met mere
Journalist just afterwards who said
that 1T was a small matter to throw
dollar across the Potomac for a man
who had chucked a sovereign across
the Atlantic Mr.. EVarts, weary Of
making many jokes, would invent a
Journalist or other man and tell story
as his. 1t was he who, on q kindly
busybody expressing surprise at his
daring to drink so many different wines
at dinner, said that it was only the
indifferent wines Of which he was
afraid"
As a convincing example Of Teutonic
thrift comes the story of the small
Prince Alexander Of Battenberg, who,
like many other small boys, ran short
OF pocket money while at school, He
wrote to his royal grandmother, re-
questing pecuniary assistance, and the
queen responded by telling him that
little boys should keep within their
allowances, and that he must wait I'M
til the next installment was due
Shortly afterwards the prince resumed
the correspondence, as follows:
My Dear Grandma: I am sure you
will be glad to know that I need not
trouble you for any money just now,
for l sold your last letter to a boy here
for thirty shillings."
Better than any Of the stories cur
rent in our own humorous Journals to
illustrate the abuse Of the word LADY
Is the account Of a poor London wom-
an, whose arm had been severely bit
ten. AS the house surgeon Of one Of
the hospitals was dressing the wound,
he said: II cannot make out what sort
Of creature bit you. This is too small
for a horses bite and too large for a
dogs" 20 sir" replied the patient, sit
wasn't an animal. It was another
lydy."
AS an Illustration of the perfection
to which the art Of putting things has
attained in the Orient comes the story
Of Lord Dufferin's Indian "shikarry,''
sporting servant whose special duty
was to attend the visitors of the vice
regal court on their shooting eXcur-
sions. Returning one day from one of
these expeditions, the snikarry en-
countered the viceroy, who, full of
courteous solicitude for his guests en-
joyment. asked: well, what sort of
sport has Lord - had?" "Oh," re-
piled the scrupulously polite Indian.
''the young Sahib shot divinely, but
God was very merciful to the BIRDS
But it must. not be inferred that
"Collections and RecollectiOns" Is any
thing so cloying as a mere assemblage
of anecdotes, however good. The au-
thor understands perfectly that, when
a man falls into his aneCdOtage, is a
sign for him to retire from. the world"
and the better as well as the larger por-
ton of the book is given over to remi-
niscence more solid in form, though no
less interesting in substance.
Collections and Recollections." Harper &
Bros. $3.50. For sale by the st. Paul Book
and Stationery comHany.
"The r1iIIionaires."
Mr.. Frank Frankfort Moore can be
immensely entertaining when he
chooses. He does not always choose,
being too prolific writer to be always
an interesting one, but in THE Mil
lionaires" he has taken the better part,
and the book froths and sparkles from
one end to the other with Mr.. MOOre's
peculiar dry and cynical hunlOr The
plot is wooden and incredible. It is
all about the love affairs of a South
African and am American millionaire
with two we'll placed English maidens,
and nobody is expected to believe that
the characters or their actions are
probable or even possible, but you can
have very amusing novels without
either probability or possibility, and
from the first line, IN which Lord
Ballyseedy announces that the affection
of a certain Englishman for his wife
never degenerated into respect, to the
last line, which records that when
Angela Brown married an American
her fancy balls were denounced by the
most eminent divines in the state, but
'fshe bore even this distinction with
charming humility" the book is never
tedious. 1t abounds i'm such valuable
suggestions as that New York is .
concordance to the universe" but, al
though Mr.. Moore's studies in Amer
icana are apparently less superficial
than those Of some Of his cOmpatrlots,
there are many points he has not YET
mastered. For instance, Mr.. Isaac P.
Newton comes from Peachapolis, Ma.
Where is Ma? Has Mr.. Moore allow
ed himself to suppose that because
Pennsylvania may be written Pa, that
Minnesota would be abbreviated to Ma,
or that Nebraska can be foreshortened
on the same principle2 When you come
to think of 1t, there is as much orig
OH 1Nynr ton 0R Aha