The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-07-18
rEkMS or SCBSCkif'iis,a.
WILMINGTON. N. c.
TUESDAY, JULY 1s, 1899.
POT POURRI.

As stated before, we read but FEW new
novels. believing that the best way Is
10 wait a year or two years, Derore you
undertake to spend hours over a new
hook of fiction. Where are the novels
of last July that mad such great sales
and were so pulled by h newspapers
and 80 eagerly devoured by the a
Sars who are ignorant of all history, all
philosophy, all biography. all great
poetry, dramatic, lyric. elegiac, etc.!
Now and then reading some of the
more critical magazines we are impress
ed with the harmony Of view OF the
most trustworthy. We are inclined to
believe that a really noteworthy mover
by a young American writer has beer
given to the public. Richard Carver
fs unusually praised and by publications
that ought to be equal ito sound cr1t1-
.cism as we'll as candor. Mr.. Winston
Churchill is the author. 1t is conced-
ed that he writes we'll, exhibits good
talents, shows no little skill and imag1-
native force and 50 on. We would sup
pose 1T to be from what we have read
concerning it, a more artistic n i'm
,portant work that MitchelPs Hugh
wynne'' that was 80 vastly lauded. Mr..
Hamilton Mabie is an elegant essayist,
but we dc not think him always a safe
critic. He greatly over-praised n OF
Mrs. Wards novels, and, we believe,
another fctive product was also
1nuch exaggerated as to it's excellence.
He is captured by Richard Carver
and in his refined gives it an en-
fhusiastic 'send-off' in New York Sat
zlrday Review. He prophesies perma-
nency for it, and gives it the Endorsement
of uncommon interest. He says that
1T is 1.-The most extensive piece of semi
historical fiction which has yet come
from an American hand: it is on a lar
ger scale than any of it's predecessors,
and thesskill with which the materials
have been handled j~ustifes the large
ness of the PLAN" In Outlook" of
which he is one of the editors, he writes
that it is lone of the most delightful
and fascinating studies of name and
stories of adventure that has yet ap-
peared in our (American) literature"
1t is an historical romance and is cast
in the time of George Ill, we think, for
we have not seen it. and the scenes
ARE aid in Maryland and England as
rthe great Thackeray constructed his
admirable and mastery The Virgin
lians." Many critics praise it. Northern
newspaper not distinguished for their
literature praise it. The widely circu-
lated Boston Herald gives it praise in
two notices. The more eminent dailies
with excellent critics are not quoted
an the publishers advertisements. The
New York Tribune nor The Evening
Post is drawn upon. We see nothing
given by Macmillan in the seven or
eight opinions, copied in it's praise,
from The New York Bookman or The
Critic or The Atlantic Monthly. And
yet we have read enough about this
new candidate for popularity and fame
80 lead us to conclude that it is a book
quite worthy to be read, n that it is
worthy to rank high among American
historic Vigorous and fas-
cinating and spirited and strong and
charming are some of the descriptive
words employed to emphasize the ap-
probation of writer's. It has gone into
h fifth edition in five weeks, making
the twentieth thousand. That other
popular recent American novel, David
Harum,'' has reached the 19Oth thou
sand and sells 1880 copies daily. But
is it anything superlative at all ? Is it
rarely sold so much as the more COM
mon-place? We quote the following
concerning it from that best of all
American literary ~exponents, The New
York Saturday Review:
'You nave heard, of course, continu-
ed the bookseller, that David Harum'
was rejected By several publishers be-
fore the Appletons, with great fore
sight, took hold Of it. But have you
eve heard that originally David Ha-
ter in the book. which was a conven-
tional love story? The Appletons saw
the possibilities in the story, n took
It upon the consideration that David
should be made thep principal figure and
the boo named after him. You know
what the result has been. Such a book
is better than a gold mine to the pub
fisher and author both"
If we live to see this novel a year
old We purpose reading it, if it contin-
ues to receive the Endorsement OF the
foremost critics of taste and judgment.
1t lis announced that M. Cola, the able
Frenchman who has WRITTEN such dis
tressing and nauseous realistic books
he calls novels, is to write. or is writ
ing, a novel on the Dreyfus monstrosi-
ty, so ~disgraceful to France. His pub
tished defence Of the greatly wronged
and prosecuted Jewish Captain in the
French army, is a mastery production
He showed great skill and ability as ar
advocate for the bounded Israelite. and