Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-06-14

4
morning, tyou see have closed the old
study, and have gone out of doors
where instead of my fireplace | have a
fine old vine. covered corner OF
piazza. and found me gazing at my
wicker table in considerations, for its
load of so-called summer fiction
"Books for Summer Reading aprals
me.
There is no abatement in that great
Order of Literature, the Order OF Sum
mer Fiction-in fact there are some
folks who profess to see distinct rela-
ton between summer fiction and the
summer girl. Each is sui generis yet
they are linked one with the other by
sequence of cause and effect too subtle
for analysis, too real to be ignored. We
may disarprove of both, we may depre.
cate the existence of other, With a
shake of the head We follow the delight
and grace of one as she moves before us
and with a sign for our weakness We
slip place keeping finger among the
leaves OF the other. The zeal with
which the frivolous and sober minded
alike deprecate the existnce Of summer |
fiction" suggests some nice questions |
Is our disaEproval mere useless sur
vival of the old puritan reign that
frowned upon all things pleasant dis
| approved all enjoyment save OF the
''enjoying poor health2' Or has II
| deep root in the truths Of life? Is it
| what we call our better selves? The
question calls for long idle summer
day, one when with plenty of the sus-
pected matter at hand we may devote
our undistracted minds to investiga.
ton. This would be the scientific way
but Beth has just told me of another,
of Clergyman she met sometime ago
who assured her he had never read any
kind of novel; OF fiction in general
he only expressed condemnation, but of
summer novels he raised his hands in
holy horror and hoped he would never
"stain his soul with them" But how
Beth asked him, "Are you able to
make up your mind which are the I'M
woit thy ones among go many?" His
answer was my wife reads and L form
NV opinion from what she tells me-"
and thus you see there are many kinds
of people to be met with twixt the
equator and either pole.
Beth and not having any particular
prejudice against summer fiction in
general or particular, promise ourselves
to wade into its depths with unthink-
ing delight next week. just now we
have been sorting out lot of books
suitable to be read py those who antici-
gate "going over" this year, on visit
to the Paris Exposition. All good
Americans either want to or are going
to see the "only city in the world worth
seeing,'' this summer. And am cure
this vast army of travellers need the
latest information about this beautiful
city. Nearly every publisher has o
good guide book of Paris and all the
, magazines and periodicals have covered
! the many interesting features of the
Exposition. But of Paris itself, the
city of romance, art and mystery the
traveller who would make his summer
thing Of delight must needs read.
Grant A liens book, paris. tells of
the Mediavial and Renaissance Paris
The work will really supplement ones
trusty Baedeker. And any one 10
terested in the architecture, painting
! and sculpture as displayed lie the
churches and public places of Paris
will find the book invaluable as a
travelling companion. But think most
people who like to know Paris in its
: home life and its people will enjoy
q reading Miss katharine DeForest's
, book, Paris as it is. :" That she loves
Paris is CLEANED from the first few
: pages. She tells of its theatres, cafes
and the great shops, of French home
:. life and French men of Letters, the
: museums and the studios and all places
a that make for the Americans the Paris
they dream Of II it be student who
1 is contemplating trip to this city of
! delights this summer / would advise
4 as companion W. @. Morrow g
q bohemian Paris Of Today" which
= offers picturesque study Of that III
: teresting student life of the Latin
quarter, with its tragedies and comedies
and picturesque immoralities made
!, familiar to us through long line of
a French novels. Tigle Hopkins An
:. Idler in Old France includes many
il pictures Of old Paris. Richard Hard
a ing Davis wrote about Paris, for
is which Charles Dana Gibson made the
). illustrations and any one who cares fer
n Mr.. Davis style will love to read his
y impressions of the streets of Paris,
d written in his usual breezy style. Then
= there is Phillip Gilbert Hanmerton g
n paris in old and pleasant times''
II which the booksellers leli me is selling
7. in large numbers to the outgoing
y steamers. Leaning strongly toward the
useful and practical is 'Woman's
Paris - written by an American woman
which is on the style Of guide book
g fol- women. Ihackerny' Paris Sketch
Book one might take along for amuse-
q ment, while Balzac s-but which one
70 of Balzacs shall | suggest, for the
!. lovers of this genius would find it diff
is cult to select one gem morebrilliant than
,, the rest and to those who have never
u read him-.well, have only pity. Any
, ono of his books would prove perfect
l. gold mine relative to the Pnris OF the
,. early years of the century.
For shipboard am going to suggest
very interesting novel which is adyer-
20 tised in the summer fiction. No it is
y, =, not sea story. | don't believe in the
~ people who pack in their steamer trunk
:, volumes of Clark Russell and Other
a a gruesome sea tales. After all ones own
II sea dreams are the best apd | think
~ one novel of interest will carry one tC
70 Queenstown at least on one Of the fast
~ i ocean greyhounds, for the hours will be
SO filled with dolce far Diente reveries
and half awake dreams or perchanct
other sorts of dreams brought about by
4 the hoItcrs Of Maldemer that much
1e reading is impractical but for de
NJ licious love story with Just enough wi
and humcr to make it entertaining
IL / suggest THE Bath Comedy, ''byAgnes
n and Egerton Castle. Beth has just reae
n me the following extract from one Of
n. the chapters. L am sure when you
'. have read this you will pack the bool
in your grip whether you he going sea
ward or mountainward. +.
4 n,tl (tnknA slNi