New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-10-21

Mr. Ford Is that a man OF Franklin's snre"u
humor might easily have put 'hese INV
looking notices I'm print with the dehpe'"'' '
tect Of stirring up recalcitrant doom o"''
with whom he thought his possessions """ w
living quite long enough, and whose name
we'll recollected How dearly he loNeu J'N'
disclosed by the chapter when DIS
bioerapher Is willing to devote e"'"''
The Humourist" The famous Dai'e"
.,,oor Erorll,, and the Gout." one of the best
examples Of his genial foohns' Is TOO ''"N
ho ottod bore Int we may borrow one or two
Of the hriefcr illustrations given by vi,
7rboro &c the incident Of the turkey KLINE
which was to be accomplished by eec" a.
shock Franklin Inadvertently received the
vbolo shock himself and was severely dazed
h,,, instantly on regaining consciousness ne
said. well meant to kill Turkey ana
instead nearly killed a Goose Another m
e,,.o ~ his readiness TO laugh at his Own
ovnenso relates 10 an accident which he thus
1 ccnoroor,orated n the "Gazotte' with huge
relish. ION Thursday last a certain Pr Gus
not customary TO give names at ienSth OIL"
these OCCASIONS walking carefully IN 'l'a"
Clothes over some BARRELS Of Tai on Car
ponters Wharf the head Of one OF them uh-
luckily gave way. and let Leg or nm j"
above the Knee. Whether he was upon the
Catch al that time. We cannot say hut us
certain he caught a Tartar Twas observed
he sprang out again right brslSly. verifying
the common saving. As nmhlc as Bee In
Tarbarrel You must know there are several
sorts of Bees. It's true he no Honey Bee
nor vet Il Humble Bee: but a Bodice he may
hc allowed to De- namely p. f" 1t Is pointed
out by Mr. Ford that Franklin carried his
POPULARITY So far as to allow il 20 bring him
into conflict with his advertisers and others
To the announcement Of the sailing Of ship
he affixed this postscript. 40 Sea Hens, nor
Black Gowns viii be admitted on any terms To-
Some of the clerical subscribers to his paper
Immediately Withdrew their support.
These are trivial matters. but ii is the great
merit Of the volume before US that it portrays
Franklin by an accumulation Of little personal
details and shows us the man behind the ia
nous name Mr.. Ford deals with Franklin in
his family relations. in his attitude toward edu-
cation and religion. as a jack Of all trades as
scientist. humorist politician. dpomatist. print
or and publisher in social life, in his relations
with women. and in his physical aspect. lie
has 10 chronicle many experiments and more
solid achievements. scores Of whims and count
less fruitful ideas but he chiefly reyives for US
making Franklin real in all the superabundant
vitality Of his wit and wisdom, his strength and
originality The conception Of him elaborated in
the text is fortified and enriched by wealth Of
Illustrations Mr. Ford has written worthiy
Of his theme and the publishers have seconded
his efforts by bringing together in perfect re
productions a remarkable body OF pictorial
Frankliniana.
In turning from Nj Ford the historian to Mr.
Ford the novelist. suffer keen disappoint-
ment There IS indeed. in Janice Meredith
far more Of the painstaking historian than OF
the really gifted imaginative writer. So long
as ne confines himself to marking the drift of
revolutionary politics and military operations
Mr. Ford is secure Of his ground and fairly
readable: but he has signally failed to strike
q lust balance between recorded facts and ro-
mantle inventions Washington appears upon
the scene in recognizable guise but Janice Is n
girl Of straw blown hither and yon by the
chances Of the epoch and lost in the tangle Of
events which the author has attempted 20 un-
ravel He has fallen into the same trap that
has brought other novelists 10 grief when deal
ing with some historical period distinguished for
one long war He has insisted upon bringing In
the whole campaign. duplicating the figures of
his love story with the progress Of the R"volu-
ton almost from beginning 10 end. The result
is that poor Rrereton and his Janice are over
weighted and pushed into the background. Their
courtship is interrupted 600 frequently Just
as we become interested I'm IT We are switched
off upon the consideration Of matters that are
scarcely relevant. The numerous asrirants FOR
the hand Of the heroine are too numerous by
| half and her slowness in making up her mind
! on the subject passes the endurance ~ even the
! most patient reader. The mystery IN which the
hero is envelopod fails Of its effect because il is
| not sufficiently romantic IN its origin and be-
| cause II IS clumsly managed from the start
| down 10 the explanation Of IT, In short. this
novel is badly composed as q whole and Is even
| less creditaby executed in those points Of de
tail which mean the creation OF character, the
| exploration Of human motives il IS a consci-
entious piece OF work revealing no imaginative
power and therefore remaining lifeless and
wearisome Mr. Ford is far better employed
upon the preparation Of books Ike The True
George Washington" and The Many-Sded
Franklin"