The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-05-19
LITERARY Cos SIP.

We read but few latter day novels
greatly preferring the standard novels
of the great writer's in the past. We note
with pleasure that North Carolina's
one successful novelist, Christian
Reid" has a new novel just from the
press. 1t is called Princess Nadine"
and the scene is laid in Europe. It is
pleasantly written about.
Daniel O'Connell, the great Irish
leader in the past, is at last to have a
biographer in Mr.. Michael MacDonagh.
Thomas Hughes is to have a statue
at Rugby in England Who will for
get 'Tom Brown at Rugby?" Tom
richly merits a monument.
When we do read a good book of fic-
ton of recent date we are much in
clined to praise it, and more han once.
Already two or three times we have
had ap~preciative words of cold Chester
Tales, giving them high praise and say
ing they are the best among American
short stories we have read, outside of
Hawthorne's "Twice-Told Tales" Mrs.
Margaret Deland surpassed herself in
her pure, sweet, refreshing, stories that
are so full of local color and charm
and so rich in saving common-sense
and n~aturalness. She writes with de-
lightful freshness, simplicity and re-
finement. The reading of them must
be enlivening and interesting to an in
generous mind and pure nature. We
were glad to see so evere a critic as the
New York Evening Post has only kind
and sympathetic words for the "Old
Chester Tales" located in P~ennsylvan-
ia, and says that Mrs Deland is at her
best in village stories; in the tales of
Old Chester, at the best of her best"
We read Gilbert Parker's Battle of
the Strong about two-thirds through,
we guess, when it was appearing Sc
rally, but failed to have access to the
remainder. It impressed us as vigor-
GUS, animated, interesting production,
and Of better sustained power and gen
uine life than any recent novel we have
read. It has had a large sale and the
author has a secure footing among
the very best of the novelists, who have
come to the front within a decade.
That truly great writer, John Ruskin,
is now eighty years old. His health
has been precarious for years. Mr.. J.
H. Whitehouse, an English writer, has
recently described his appearance and
says he is Every weak and frail, but
mentally he is quite clear and, though
unable to do any work whatever, he
still takes a lively interest in the pro-
gress of the world"
There is a book out by J L. Williams
that is said to be interesting to Jews
paper men, as it is all about the max
ing of a great newspaper. He tells it
all in a series of stories. The N. Y.
Saturday Review has much praise for
it and says that ''one Incidental charm
of these stories lies in the Photographic
realism Of them. To have written them
the author must have lived and loved
the life that they portray"
Did you know that "Rare Ben Ton
SON" nee killed a man in a duel, who
was probably Gabriel Spencer, an actor.
Mrs. Amelia E. Barr, an English nov-
elist living in this country, is a virile
writer. Her last novel, which is "a
love story and called Il, Thou and the
Other One" is said to be very pleasant
and of sweet home life.
There have been all sorts of novels
written within a few years with all
sorts of motives and all sorts of talents,
and all sorts Of schemes, but at last a
novel is written with an insane woman
for the heroine, and written with real
skill, power and effectiveness. We for
bear to mention its name.