Middletown transcript., 1899-07-29
LITERARY NOTES
ST. NICHOLAS,

ST. NICHOLAS.
The famous lighthouse on Minot's Ledge,
off Cohasset, Mass, is the subject of the
frontispiece of the August st. Nicholas,
and a brief description and historical
sketch by Gustave Kobbe. In "Colored
Suns" Dorothy Leonard tells Of other suns
than ours-blue suns and red ones and green
ones, that bathe their planets in lights that
would make visiting stranger from this
world feel very strange indeed. "Phil's
Second Bubble Show" by Meredith Nugent,
gives the reader new conception of the
possibilities of soapy water and clay pipe;
for it tells of bubble poised on spinning
top, bubbles cut in two, or run together,
and of bubble that lived happily for
fifteen minutes in bath of steam. La
crosse is described by an ardent admirer of
this fine American game; and ''The Dozen
from Lakerim" continue their deeds of
derring.do. "a Fairy Story About Phil
osopher's Stone" appeals strongly to one
class of readers, while another will prefer
to hear the surgeon of the Rough Riders
tell how he raised the first American flag
on captured fortifcation in Cuba. The
serials jog along interestingly-Mrs.B Barr's
Trinity Bells" Miss Wells's STORY of
Betty" and Mrs. Richards's Quicksilver
Sue" and there is "full line" of pretty or
amusing verses, and graceful or comical
pictures, including Gelett Burgess's
"Goops."
CENTURY.
The Century for August is a midsummer
and travel number "The Present Situa-
ton in Cuba" is graphically stated in a
brief article by MajorGen. Leonard Wood.
Jacob Riis writes of "Feast-Days in Little
Italy" The first feast described is in honor
of some Italian village aint-"-just-a-lik-'a "a
your st. Patrick here" as one of the cele,
brants explained to President Roosevelt Of
the Police Board, who accompanied Mr.
Riis to Elizabeth Street, and took five
chances in rattle for sheep. John Bur
roughs gives fascinating glimpse of the
wild life about his slabsided cabin near the
Hudson River at West Park. In "The
River of Tea," Miss E. r. Scidmore writes
of the Yangtsze-kiange, and especially o.
the city Of Hankow, where Russian and
Siberian merchants have supplanted the
English, though the tea-tasters, for reason:
not fattering to Russian character" con
tinue to be English only. In a learned
paper on "The Churches of Auyergne" Mrs
van Rensselaer, introduces effectively, in hel
illustrated paper describing "The Churches
of Auvergne," the picturesque episode O.
Peter the Hermit's preaching of the frs
crusade; and the story of the second con-
tinues its course in Mr.. Crawford's s romance
"Via Crucis." "Old, unhappy. far-off days
and battles long ago" are the theme o.
Prof. Wheelers Alexander in India,
with its graphic account of the great anG
decisive victory that marked the con-
queor's crossing of the river Hydaspes
Milder matter is furnished in Jonas Stad
ling's picturesque People of the Reindeer,
though even here there is adventure
enough, on snowshoes and reindeer-sleds
1 SiAO AAAOAS thoh h4ClO oOf0ubulS
is to be heard of in John r. Musick's de
scription at first hand of town "In tht
Whirl of a Tornado" and the accompany.
ing learned article on "Tornadoes, by
Cleveland Able. Paul L. Fords "Many-
Sided franklin" treats this month Of
Franklin as Jack of all Trades; and
Frank r. Stockton's ''Vizier" of that i'm
mortal's relations with Moses and Joshua
| Petrarch and Laura. Short stories by
Chester Bailey Fernald, Mary Tracy Earle
and Seumas McManus tend to round .out
the number. And the twin arts of poetry
and picture-making are exemplifed on
many page, one of the striking features oi
the magazine being "The Night Walk" a
poem by George Meredith.