Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-04-13
Books and Authors.

turbid Hood of psyche physiological Gc.
'io',' movers OF morbid aaaivsis sociaI
problem novels. novels that Maurice
'Fho""Soc ""c.n''v aas"~ib., - : =, =
of "debauching innuendo and ill-favored
."fc "a n,tuL. anu unsUund uuines,,,
ZION.
From the least TO the greatest the real
ISIS seems To nave assumed that the truth
.! mere hakedncss. however intolerable
or inconse1uential 1t may be. is the only
available material for successful fiction
From the vast fields of literary material
they select as DIR. Holmes said, '.thos,
swampy. malarious. ill-smelling patches
of soil which had pre- viously been left Il
reptiles an. vermin," shrewdly perceivin
that i; is perfectly easy to be origina
can"ns of good taste" 1t is not necessary
TO go Tor examples 10 the mediocre writ.
ers. whose chieI aim is 10 bid for the in
terest OF intellectual pruriency. Tn,
greatest ana best are infected. Kipiina
an author of admirable genious and ex.
tcraDie taste. can from a splendid SWEEP
W al Inc inlaslnation. as in The Day
" ork, drop Ike Il Vultire INFO hid gu.
uenthS OF gross. .oEtiSh vU.Sar!ty. as in
Stalky x Co.
The present high priest of realism is
Ioistol. whose magnificent self sacrificing
devotion TO the cause OF humanity We
must admire. BAT from The unchaStencl
license Of whose pen We must recol al
most with revuision. The realism of this
ID
as the Russian bear. our own Howeils
loves to proclaim himself an acolyte in
the service OF It's high priest, ana with
Il sturdy devotion swings his censor be-
fore the alter of his master, aithous IN
the smoke of the bitter gums seem a lit
tie choking to HIM now and then And
the readers if fiowells books. so delicate
in their wit and humor. and so graceful
in style. are generally impressed with a
sense of regret that he should SO victim
Zc his genius with a theory. fortified BY
nv,
it within the limits of a soss.ping hotel
piazza or the back-kitchen of Il \c~ Eng
land farmhouse.
The recent death of Miss Charlotte
Mary fon2e brings out various apprc-
Citations in the English papers. The
cess OF the ',icir of Redciyffe. which APP
peared in lSt;. and. as MIR. Mackail. in
his biography of " illiam Morriss. insists.
exercised AN extraordinary fascination
over the whole Pre- Rapbaciitc group az
oxford.
In this book more than any other Che
writes,. may be traced the religious ideals
and social enthuSiaSmS which were stir
ring in the years between the decline OF
Tractarianism and the Crimean war. The
young hero OF the novel. with his over
strained conscientiousness, his chivalrous
courtesy, his intense earnestness. his Gag
erness TOR all slch social reforms as
might be effected from above downwards.
mis- hiShstrunG notions OF love, friendship,
and honor his premature gravity, his al
most delinqueScent piety, was adopted by
them pattern for actual life. and
more strongly perhaps by Morris than by
the rest. from his own greater wealth
and more arstocratic temper. Yet Canon
Dixon. in mentioning this book as the
first which seemed to him greatly TO in
iuence Morris. pronounces il. after nearly
half century's reflection and experience.
as .'unquestionably one of the finest
books in the world.
On Miss Ionge as historian and novel
;-t thn
The late Lord Derby used to say that
he was born in the pre-scientific epoch
Miss Yonge may be said TO have been
born in the prehistoric epoch. so far as
the modern school Of history is con-
cerned and to have floiirished in a book
making epoch. II cannot be said that her
often exceedingly slipshed and she seems
10 have thought that the more or less
pious objects with which she wrote JUS
titled good deal of carelessness IN wrs-
ing whatsoever consulted her as an au-
thorty on matters of fact trusted in a
blind guide and leaned upon bruised
reed The real end which Miss fonGe
served was to provide certain order of
minds with food as strong as they were
capable of digesting. Her books imposed
no strain upon the intellect, ana yet II
was an intellectual process. Her own
mind was sober and methodical, absorbed
in her profession and in the ordinary de-
tails of life. She once wrote four pages
had paid her visit. the express and sole
purpose of. the letter being TO inquire
whether ttf visitor had dropped button
from her glove.
DIR. S. Weir Mitchell has gone to Japan
for a three months vacation unless un-
,oreseen events In the far East hasten or
retard his return.
Siberia Is one OF the last regions to yield
. 10 the scrutiny of the traveller and OBJ
serving geographer. and in his book, In
Siberia the Swedish investi gator, j.
Stading. is said to traverse regions par ~ :.
~ or quite unknown, particularly the far
northern "tundras" of the Taimyr. winch
have never before been observed by civil
| nzed man. Mr.. Stadlinss journey was
undertaken in search of Andree. before
| hope of his escape from death on ms pa i
loon VOYAGE to the North Pole was given
up He is said to be an accomplish 1,'
resentatiye of various philanthropists III
the United States and Sweden during tne
great Russian famine, when he co-opeiat-
| ed with the rolstoi family in rendering
| assistance to the needy.