New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-12-16
FICTION.
,,o,,nAY EDITIONS OF OLD AND MODERN
WRITERS.

Limited. ,r, nrAry1 OF MR.. BADMAN. Pre-
tn ss5 TED 10 the World in san nntye Nv JoSn
MI wisema,.ph T THg Compositions by George
Ru nyyan Rhead and Louis Rhesd Designed
e Portray the Journey Drey'f from This World to Hell
NJ baorh 9aIntToduction Reprinted from the Life
of Bunyan. by ). a rioUO''
=. h - TtIpTF MUsKETEERs BY Alexandra
Thbb rr1qs illustrated Holiday Eoiuo on IN Two
Volumes octave. pp. Xxx 4Zs' W. 4lS' Hos'on'
r,,r NOVELS AND STORIES OF FRANK SS, r;
ThsT6TKTON. Shenandoah b1Iuo m IN Elsh Ss
yogmsss s %Sq%fs1 Inn and and the Merry cSanter
00.tsvo DID vii 4ol; vii, $50. Charles Scrioner's
The Story Of Our Mocking Bird. BY Sidney
BOY i with sixteen Illustrations in Color. oc-
,syo %. Il. Charles scribners Sons
,..oocio would seem to most of us to be
,'.,,r:a name to conjure with at this time OF
-, &c the introduction by Mr.. Jacobs to
-! .-o,slation Of four Of the tales clearly
IS -.,,,ss there is no reason why many
lowe Of the narratives in the Ocean
q" should not be made acceptable to the
-o1 reader They are masterpieces in the
education Of human nature and they are en-
~, works Of literary art. "Griselda," "Saladn
- rorello" "Sir Federgo's Hawk" and lisa
r.iis " the selections given by Mr.. Jacobs are
.,,r NJ the best short tales in literature. The
.,,nslator's method has been 10 preserve the
..,r,ic. favor where il is essential but to give,
~ the, whole as colloquial an equivalent pos
,f,1a for the original text. He has not quite
,hA naturalness Of his master. but he is smooth.
vjvscious and sufficiently picturesque. For
.rsrv mage Mr. Shaw has devised an effective
ho,5er in black and white. and he has also
drawn A number Of full page ilustrs tons, strik-
,re IN invention and we'll executed. At first
h,,,sb as we have limited before, It would seem
,nnossible TO make a holiday book out Of the
racv Italian novelist, but Mr.. Jacobs has proved
that It can be done without violence to
Boccaccio. and in a way 10 please not only young
readers. but their watchful elders.
When the original drawings by the brothers
Rbea1. in illustration OF The Life and Death
% Mr. Badman," were exhibited in this city
they left favorable impression. which is deep
sred by the reproductions published in
hook form. The task for the artists was Diff
scult one. Every theme they took up was
necessarily forbdding, and working in line
thew had 10 make their designs even more eX-
,ljcit than might have been the case II the sub
,acts had been treated with the brush, which
would have permitted broader lights and
shadows and more mystery. Yet Bunyan is ex-
Illicit and literal in the last degree. despite his
suegorical meaning, and these Illustrations are
wonderfully effective in the bold pictorial ac-
compartment which they provide for his text
Both the brothers Rhead have imagination, and
II plays it's part well in their work Take, for
example the picture Of Stealing" in which is
shown a quaint old English room, lighted partly
by the crescent moon that shows through the
latticed window, and still more effectively by
sinister luminosity emanating from a gigantic
figure OF the Evil One. who stands over table
displaying money just distracted from the cup
board behind him. The tempter grimly watches
his victim, a man OF weak countenance who
comes stealthily into the room, with one hand
outstretched toward the gold, but with his head
turned watchfully toward the door through
which he has just entered the room The Whole
spirit Of this design is quietly impressive. The
blending Of terror and cupidity in the man is
subtly expressed, and the tension Of the little
drama Is heightened by the stiffness which We
tel in the room The Stealing Is far and
way the best design in the book for simplicity
dignity and strength. but all OF the designs dis
lose thought and invention. All. moreover. IL
usrate good technique. The book has been
most luxuriously printed by the Constables OF
Edinburgh, and puts indeed, this minor pro-
suctlon Of Bunyan's into quite unexceptionable
form How far Il will be appreciated by the
general public remains to be seen. AS Froude
observes, the life Of Mr.. Badman is didactic
tale describing the career Of vulgar, middle
class. unprincipled scoundrel." Such a work Is
hardly source of pleasure to the reader. par
;icularly when, despite its realistic power. II
lacks the TRANSPORTING touch Of genius which
we get in the Pilgrims Progress" However.
the student Of Bunyan must make acquaintance
with this work, and for this purpose there is no
edition so desirable as this one.
The translation Of The Three Musketeers,"
Of which Little. Brown & Co. publish an illus
,rated holiday edition. was first copyrighted by
them in 1855 We suppose they have been print
Ing the book again and again ever since that
date, and we hope they will go on reprinting
Il for years to come. The translation is a good
one, and the Illustrations are artistic; they are
chiefly portraits but there are some compo-
titons illustrating significant episodes. The
press work is good and the books are very
attractive in their red binding. with bold deco
satons in gold An Introductory note dwells
Upon the perennial fascination Of Dumass great
book. II strikes a sympathetic note, but the
reader will scarcely dwell upon 1t, for once The
Three Musketeers" is taken up there is nothing
70 DO but plunge into the text and stay there
Until the end is reached.
Mr.. Stockton was born IN 1884 He has been
writing for many years. "Rudder Grange" was
published twenty years ago. 1t is therefore
Tine for his works 10 be included in that series
o. uniform editions in which the Scrioners
have already included Stevenson, Barrie and
Aplng. The Shenandoah edition OF Mr.. Stock
tons novels and stories is to run to eighteen
Volumes, which shows how prolific he has been.
Inc preface by Mr.. Stockton himself. which
appears in the first volume. contains some in
pIesting passages. He says:
have always been very much at home with
my books: l have lived in most Of the scenes
usy represent. and in a general way / know
,n1l my characters look Ike. The reason OF
VIZ VIZ 3 that when ! make my people say things
go go % things, like 10 see them as they SPEAK
ana act Their images must be before me. and |
(. "e more real they are the better Tneretore,
., ., olten happens that after have planned