The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-03

Professor Saintsbury has undertaken
a most colossal task in 1.-THE History
of Criticism" now being brought out in
both England and America, the first
volume having already appeared. Per-
haps we should not say that he has
undertaken this task, for doubtless his
work has already been completed,
moreover he began his labor of writing
on this great critical work almost thir-
ty years ago. 1t is unfortunate that
such an authority as Professor Saints
bury should not be able to present his
message to the world in style more
easily read. Those who are naturally
inclined towards matters scholarly will
doubtless persist in reading this work
as fast as the volumes appear; and
such persistence will be amply reward
ed, for no one will doubt that this is
the greatest complete history of criti-
cism which has ever been published.
The first volume covers Greek, Latin
and Medieval criticism. The second
continues up to the end of eighteenth
Classicism, and the third will cover the
general subject of Modern criticism.
The learned professor takes occasion
in his first preface to call attention to
his classical fitness for his self-im-
posed task. He informs us that he
learned Latin and Greek for twelve or
fifteen years, taught them for eight
more and read them for nearly another
five and twenty, a sufficient excuse, as
he explains, for his making his own
TRANSACTIONS instead of using cribs"
The tearing down the other day of the
old fashioned residence of a Brooklyn
man who recently died revealed a Gu
rious fact. Among his friends and ac-
ouaintances this man was regarded as
90 ctr culture
and as a great lover of books. He was
very wealthy, and had, SO his friends
thought, gathered together very fine
library. Conspicuous among his books
were many complete editions, resplen-
dent in leather and morocco pindlngs,
ranged in long rows behind glass COW
ers along the walls of the library I'M
agine the surprise which followed the
dismantling of the place when whole
rows and cases of these complete edi-
lions were found to be made up of
wooden dummies so skillfully painted
and labeled that the deception could
not be detected behind the glass. or
course. the owner had always been very
careful of his books and kept these
dummies tightly locked in their cases:
VIII n. Harden has not succeeded
in producing convincing story IN
'rThe Woman Who Trusted" though
he has written a book which carries
the reader along easily and which
gives him a certain melodramatic
pleasure in reading. There is some
thing out of the ordinary about the
book. It concerns itself chiefly with
New York publishers and the strug-
gle for successful authorship in the
metropolis 1t is just this large part
of the story, however, that fails to
convince those who are at all familiar
with New York publishing or writ
ing interests Mr.. Harden is more at
home in his Georgia sketches than he
is in his presentation Of the semi-ht-
erary-artistic Bohemia OF New York,
which he has attempted to weave into
an otherwise fairly attractive love
story.
An Englishman is responsible for the
following sentiment:
ITO write a book r. an easy task;
Il requires only pen and ink and sonae
patient paper. TO print book Is
slightly more difficult, because genius
often expresses Itself IN illcgible man
uscript. TO read a book 10 still more
diacult. Az one must struggle against
sleep. But the most difficult task tnat
any one NAV attempt ls 20 sell book
Herbert Brewster