The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-12-07
The Magazines ~ -
- " for Christmas.

gether on the index page Of the Christmas
Harper's. The opening article, by Mr.. Swim
burne is brilliant estimate of Shakespeares
tragedy of King Lear" in which he ventures
the statement that had Shakespeare written no
other plays in addition to Lear" he would still
be the greatest man that ever lived. Mr. Swim
burne's paper is accompanied by four full-page
pictures by Edwin A. Abbey, R. A.
| Next comes a short story by Mark Twain, and
the motif of this story is the question of the
| justihabty OF ever telling lie Here is
little excerpt from Il:
why will you humbug yourselves with that
foolish notion that no lie is lie except a spoken
onei What is the difference between lying with
your eyes and lying with your mouth, There
| is none; and il YOU would reflect a moment you
would see that it is so. There isn't human be-
ing that doesn't tell gross of lies every day
Of his life"
Among the manye good things in the first APP
pearance outside of fiction of the Indiana move
! list, Booth Harrington, in article called The
! Middle West"
! particularly interesting feature Of this num-
Der is the temperance in Il of Amelie Rives as
a story writer. The first part of her story, The
Mocking of the Gods" gives evidence that her
writing has lost none of its charm This is the
FIRST story which the author (now the Princess
Troubetzskoy) has written for a number Of
years.
! Mr. Howells Is represented in the Christmas
number by a poetic dialogue, "The Mother" 1t
| is a conversation between young father and
mother at the birth of their first born Mr.
! Howells has handled his subject with delicacy
and charm.
Mention has been made of the pictures by Mr.
Abbey which open the number.
OF almost equal importance are the four
paintings in color by Howard Pyle, illustrating
an interesting paper in defence of Captain Kidd
These pictures in their brilliant colors, are adj
Iniraby representative of the best printing in
color that has been done. The danter color
paintings by f. NJ. Ashe, which accompany Mark
Twains story and THE Mission of Jane" Mr.
/ Chrsty's painting, and the two full-page pictures
in color by Elizabeth Shipper Green which close
| the number, give variety TO the artwork compar-
able only to that shown in the letter-press.
The Christmas number of Scribner's contains
eight short stories, most of them beautifully
illustrated. The Scrbner's colorprinting enjoys
a deservcdly high reputation
A very simple and striking scheme of color Is
shown in Edward Penfeld's christmas at Cafe
Spaander," the artists own account Of how good
cheer was produced by lonely English artist
in a little Dutch village.
Richard Harding Davis describes the Gentle
Art Of Bull Fighting"
In this number also appears series OF letters
written by r. D. Blackmore the author of
These letters are edited ny the one to whom
they were written, Mrs. Lucy Derby Fuller.
The Bookman for December is a very attrae-
tive number both outside and in. Particularly
interesting are the last two articles under the
combined heading, The Two Great Victorian
Poets The one on Tennyson is by 6. K. Chcs-
terton and the one on Browning is by Edward
Douglas.
Even DR.. Henry Van Dyke who rightly ranks
as the warmest adherent and truest disciple Of
Tennyson, might find new impetus to his adj
miration in some of Mr. Chesterton's suggcs-
tons concerning the Victorian poet-laufcate,
The following passage is quoted not that it
IS by any means considered the strongest para
graph of the paper but because of the cxactness
of its defining certain terms of everyday use:
"Tennyson had not special talent for being
philosophic poet, but he had a special vocation
for being philosophic poet. This may seem a
contradiction, but is only because of the Latin
or Greek words we use tend cndlCssly to lose
their meaning, A vocation is supposed to mean
merely a taste or faculty, just as economy is
held 10 merely the act of saving. Econo-
my means the management of house com
munity. If a man starves his best horse, or
causes his best workman TO strike for pay.
he is not merely unwise, he is uncconomical. So
it Is with a vocation. II this country were sud
denly invaded by some huge alien and conquering
population, we should all be called to become
soldiers. We should not think in that time that
we sacrificing unfinished work Cat
tle-Feeding hobby of fretwork, brill
liant career at the bar, taste for painting
in water colors. We should all have a call to
arms. We should, however, by no agree
that we all had a vocation for arms. Yet a voca-
ton is only the Latin for call"
The Bookman has also a pleasing little article
about the late Frank Norris, whose picture
makes the frontispece of the magazine this
month the article on the "Poecult" holds a spe-
cial charm and the book-reviews, which are, Of
course, the raison detre of this particular pub
LEGATION, specially interesting this month.
4 4
The Christmas Century is extra fine, of course.
The deep rich tones of Howard Pye's illus
trations of his text, "The Travels of the Soul,
have a charm that strengthens with continued
thought and contemplation; though the first Of
them is far and away the best.
The article on Warnham Court is interesting
in the facts set forth in the style Of their nara
ton and the accompanying eoored pictures are
highly illuminative.
Musicians, especially those who have studied
abroad, will find Elinor Comstock's story, "a
Deceptive Cadence" quite attractive
One takes the liberty of copying bodily the
poem in the Christmas Century by Joel Chandler
Harris called "Dc Apple Tree"
OATS mighty quare tale bout de Appile-tree
In de Padise gyarden whar Adam run free,
Whar de butterflies drunk honey wild Of Nanny
Bee.
Talk bout good times bet you had en-
| Adam
or Adam un' de Appile-tree.
He woke one mornin' wild pullin' at his sleeve
He open one eye, an dar wuz Eve;
He shuck her ham wild Honey don't you
grieve"