The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-27


known Ones in Success-Rfche-
bourg's -Death-Moses Colt Ty-
Icr's American HistOries--zo-
las "Paris''-WaIton's "AngIer.o
Correspondence The ST. Paul Globe.
NEW YORK, Feb. 24.-Librarians
from many cities and towns in New
York state have recently been in con-
vention, and an interesting feature of
their deliberations was a vote on the
past years best books. Each of the
$50 persons present was handed list
Of all books deemed worthy of giving
shelf room to in a library, and from
these they were asked to select the
best three in each Of nineteen depart
ments of literature, including biogra-
ply, American history, travel, fiction
and childrens books. The result Of the
voting will not surprise nor will it dis
appoints those most capable of judging
in these matters.
Under biography, we have returned
as the three best works Mahan's Mel
SON" the Memoirs of Tennyson" and
"The Life and Letters of Mrs. Stowe
In American history the result presents
us with John Fishes "Old Virginia and
Her Neighbors," Horace Porter's Cam
paigning with Grant and Justis Win
scr's westward Movement" In travel
the winning books are James Bryce's
South Africa" Mark Twain's Fol
lowing the Equator" and Nansen's
"Farthest North" Fiction has for its
best works James Lane Aliens "The
Choir Invisible" R. H. Davis Sol
diers of Fortune" and Kiplings Cap
tains Courageous" Among the juvenile
books the chosen three are these;
Brooks Book of the American ReVO-
luton" Brooks "True Story of the
American Revolution,' and Lang's
"Pink Fairy Book" OF course, these
results are librarians results, derived
from the votes Of men and women who
are not critics, but who form their
opinions as a sort of consensus of the
critical opinions read and heard by
them. But their verdict goes not far
wrong with any of the books they
have named.
The coming of Richard LIE Caffeine
to this country, as a reader from his
ton to his works. Born in 1865 Mr.. lie
Caffeine is only thirty-two years of
age. Several of his volumes have been
both prose and pOetical writings, III
which praise of books has been prOmi-
nent: but his most recent title to at
tention has been his translation of
Omar Khayyam-a daring undertake
Ing, in view of the widely-admired YER
sion Of Omar made more than a gen
grafton ago by Edward Fitzgerald, the
lifelong friend of Tennyson. Fitzger-
aids work might be called Fftzgerald's
sOle literary achievement, although
after his death a notable collection
Of his letters proved him an accom-
plished, original and charming man of
letters.
Strange has been the fate of his
"Omar" 1t had long been in print, ere
real form came to it. Wiser minds
saw its excellence as soon as they had
read it; but the wiser minds are few in
any and every community and in any
age. In TIE rarer upper circles of the
broadly educated, FitzgeraId's book
was regarded as one of the great
achievements in translation of this CEN
fury; but to the crowd it passed IN
needed. El'hu Vedder's magnificent
illustrations for a superb quarto edi-
ton some twenty years ago, was
warmly welcomed by the few; but
even this failed to bring the transla-
ton into what could be called general
Circulation
But in the past year or two Omar's
lines have met with wider attention.
Several new transIatfons have been
made, and an Omar club has been
founded. lie Ctallienne's version seems
to me to have merited a more cordial
reception than it has yet received.
Had Fitzgerald never made transIa-
ton, lie G3llienne would easily have
made sensation. Some of his lines
are eXquisitely beautiful and I cannot
doubt that, in their clearness and
smoothness, will be found Qualities
from which Omar will derive q read
ms that Fitzgerald never could have
won for him. LIE GalIienne not only
gives what Fitzgerald g.v5s. but con-
siderable more. Neither gives all thar
the Persian poet wrote, for there are
some 800 duthentic quatrains with 500
Supreme among LIE GaIIenne's lines
must count those on the potter's wheel
which run as follows:
! ct mark yon potter! See the rascal tv,fr1
Va c yng DaSe wheel the dust OF prince and
y, PieDeian potter, tits a kings hand:
anu INlS was once viOlet-breathing girl.
lis the be. fair stuff of which the flowers are
IT'S is, beauty's very substance sore decaved.
ne pFoWs OF ivory, the breasts of myrrb -
f---- ~ 'H1S Ielio" turns it to trade.
And as I spako I heard whisper steal
- say low laughter. from the potter's wheel
behoId! 1t was my fathers sacred nusT
for which unwittngly l made appeal,
Nalety of varieties is the text old
as solomon himself, from which 0ma~
preached. Nothing in LIE GaIIienna'c
version sufpasses the above lines nm
less i be those that follow, with their
VIC haunting and even terrible
lne-0oy-a melody to which Oriental
t&taiIsm adds an awful charm.
lis great FUSS all this, of Thee and Ho
Important felix are veto Thee and W. ne
ct what If we mean nothing after all
-1u TIi%i u heaven cares nought for-Thee
al AZ those who in their graves UNDECIDED lie
We're just as pompoUs as vou and 0
ColnpIacent spake their little, arrogant
And waagged their heads, and never Thought
to die. Thought
beauty sleeps beneath yon quiet grass
"ho dreamed her face the world might not
Strength is her neighbor, but he boasts no
And over them the winds cry out, "Alas."
Would you seek beauty. seek # under
ground; uiuer
",