The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1899-01-29

cray "reminiscences has less of his home
| life in il than any Of those preceding. 1t
has an interest all its own. New York:
Harper d Bros: S1.75.)
Two Books of HumOr.
Peeps at People is the latest work of
John Kendrick Bangs. otherwise known
as the Cheerful idiot. Mr.. Bangs has been
considerably unfortunate in the choice of
& title for his new book, in the first place.
1t reminds one of person gazing through
! the crack of door, in imminent peril OF
| nose pinching. In a word, the book is a
| burlesque on the Nelly Bly, style of wo-
man reporter The notion is q good one
though little worn from use in the daily
papers; but as usual, Mr.. Bangs spreads
his notion out so thin that one feels like
saying, as it was said of the boarding
house squash pie, Why not give the crust
another coat of paint?
These sketches purport to be interviews
with notable people, literary and other
wise, and one or two of them are as good
as anything the author has ever done.
Others are good in spots; and in more
than half the book 1t would be impossible
to find any humor even by the use of
compound microscope. Mr.. Bangs outdoes
Gratiano in the proportion of his chaff to
his grain.
To save the reader the trouble OF picking
| out the two or three grains of wheat from
| this mass. ii may be well TO quote little
| The central fancy of the interview with
Andrew Lang is that Mr.. Lang is not
| person, but syndicate-which idea is Lot
exactly novel The alleged idea of the
chapter on Alfred Austin is that that poet
| can grind out verse by the mile when paid
10 do so. In the chapter on Emperor Will
| liam the author seeks TO convey the i'm
preston that the War Lord is-conceited
All these notions could easily be condensed
| into three newspaper paragraphs of three
lines each-and it may be added that they
often have been. There are CLEANS of lu-
cidity. however. in Mr.. Bangs handling
of Rudyard Kipling. That writer possesses
an individuality printed in large type, SO
TO speak, and the infantile comprehension
of Mr. Bangs has been equal to the task
of grasping some salient points in his
character. He touches on Kiplings I'M
| conventional style of talk, his ready ac-
ceptance OF bits of slang from every coun-
try in which he travels, and his horror of
the autograph hunter. The reasons here
evolved for the Briton's departure from
| Vermont are rather good:
One day observed gang OF carpenters at work
on the other side of the street, putting IN a
l-Tious looking structure, which resemblcd nothing
] had ever seen before When had made enquiries
! learned that an entcrprising circus manager had
|
erecting grand stand for people who came
10 catch glimpse OF me 10 sit on.
THAT last sentence is not exactly like
kipling, but never mind)
1t was then that the thread Of my patience
snapped. don't mind writing autographs for
eight hours every day; ! don't mind being ko-
baked If il makes others happy; and If ans Bos-
ton relic hunter finds comfort in possessing the
tails Of my dress coat he is welcome 10 them;
but can't go being turned into side show for
the delectation Of circus-loying people, So l
got ont. Some time somebody will dis
cover some new kind uf a freak TO interest you
people, and when that happens ] will venture
back for day or two, but until then | think
will stay over here, where an ilustTOus person
age can haze fit in the street il he wants 10
without attracting any notice whatever
The rest OF the book is like this, only
not so good. (New York: Harper & Bros.
SL25.J
Fantastic Fables" by Ambrose Bierce,
Is a small book, in large, clear print,
filed with chunks of sententious wisdom.
Some Of the wisdom is not as wise as
other some, and a part of it is rather mys-
FERROUS and incomprehensible. but there is
much amusement in the little volume. il
taken in homeopathic doses. The author
has evidently been observing men ind
things, in and out of political life, with
more or less acuteness and thoughtfulness;
and he has embodied his reflections in
sundry terse fables from one TO two hun
dred words long. The only fault which
can be found with it is that some of the
fables seem to have been evolved TO fill
space, and are not as effective as they
should be- In some cases there is an in
tlmation that human nature runs con-
trary to the teaching Of the Old-fashioned
moral tale and that the story should he
reformed to suit the facts Here and there
: a bad pun occurs, but Mr.. Bierce does not
often make this mistake. On the whole
the book is entertaining, If not instructive
Some of the fables-quOted at random-are
as follows;
j Moral Principle met a Material Interest OF
s q bridge wide enough for but one.
Down. you base thing!" thundercd the Mora
~, Principle. 'and let me pass over you.
y The Material Interest merely looked in the 9th
! er's eyes without saving anything.
u An said the Moral Principle, hcsitatinGly
=. 'lct US draw lots to sec which shall retire til
= the other has crossed
= The Material Interest maintained an unbrokel
> silence and an unwayeriug stare
- In order 10 avoid conflict the Moral prin
V c;rle resumed. somewhat uneasily, Il shall my
I. self lie down and let YOU walk over me.
" Then the Material Interest found a tongue "
-, don't think You are very good walking 1t said
h u am little particular about what have uhde
r. II occurred that way.
p That fable is nicely illustrated daily IL
" current politics.
I A Mind Rcad4T made a wager that he would b
a hurried alive and remain ior SIX months, the
10 be dug up alive In order to secure tic grav
% against secret disturbance, 1t was sown wIh TN,
ties u tho end OF three months the Mind Read
or lost his money. lie had come up TO eat tn
thistlcs.
nc Here is revision of an old story:
: One day in winter a hungry Grasshopper ~
ii, piled 10 an Ant for some OF the food which the
m WIN said the Ant. "did You not store II
or some food Tor yourself instead Of singing all til
"So I did" said the Grasshoppcr, "but 20
fellows broke in and carried it all away"
u The other fables are but little longe
6 than these and OF much the same charac
~ ter (New York: q. p. Putnam's Son:
+ $1,000
Minor Fiction.
h. ~ Golden Sorrow" by Maria Louis
ye Pool, is book with somewhat mike
w plot. and characters still more confused i
m their ideas. The heroine, We've Leet
ng weighted with an incubus of a name
,.o the beginning, is q somewhat contradiC
SO tory and capricious young woman, fond {
no the world and of amusement, but unab
lie 10 indulge her taste for the same on az
th count of the poverty of Leete paterfamilia
y, In the course OF the first few chapters II
oil. | Young lady appears and meets Faxon Shey
Ter | ard with whom she Immediately falls
an love and to whom she becomes engage
" oa with the consent of her family. In II