New-York tribune., 1902-12-22

BOSTON DAYS. The City or Beauurul 1deals
Concord and Its Famous Authors The Golden
Age Of Genius & bItIn RaTn OF fne nn T as
Little, Brown & Co
FICTIONAL RAMBLES IN AND ABOUT Bos-
TON By Frances weston weston, Carr9oh- a. E octaVo' PIP
Miss Writings book might be entitled "Bos-
ton People" quite as properly as Boston Days -
She passes in review almost every figure that be-
came notable for writing, speaking or conver-
satfon in the spot that has been called more a
condition Of mind than a locality from Cotton
Mather down to the citizens Of the present day.
The book is a compilation Of anecdotes and short
biographies letters and remarks. and it is so
populous with Bostonians. If we may say So.
that it occasionally runs into sheer lists OF
names like the mention of those also present"
in accounts of social entertainments. The ma
terial at hand for such book is as attractive
as it is voluminous. For the present one has
merely to be in Boston. or rather Of Boston,
and to cast ones eye about. recording. II one
thinks the proceeding IN good taste what one
sees and hears. For the times gone by there is
all the record in journals often absurdly minute
that even the undoubted quality of the life and
thought would justify.
A city where one may still be stopped on the
street to listen to epigram is difficult city
not to write about; and the treasures of literary
anecdote and table talk are too considerable TO
leave a record of Boston folk dull. Abundant
detail. however, carries its inevitable penalty.
The procession files by, but the march of the
column escapes. Now and then there is a brief
paragraph Of comment and summary, but at
haphazard. Even the occasional enthusiasm of
reflected transcendentalism will not save the
reader from sense of having met a host of in
teresting individuals. without having gained any
satisfactory aid TO a general estimate of what
5gSfip of
other literary centres. The pages repete
with quotation, and, besides the portraits and
photographs. the book has facsimile reproduc-
tons of several autogra phic manuscripts.
The book Of "Fictional Rambles'' does a sim
ilar service for the creatures of imagination who
have walked in Boston streets. The author takes
the reader through the city, to Beacon Hill and
Back Bay, to the West End and the South End
to Charles-st. and the Common, through the old
town that used to be. to Cambridge and Lex
ington back into the country hills and eastward
to the beaches. Here she writes the Autocrat
asked the schoolmistress to walk the long path
with him; here Agnes Surriage gazed wistfully
out Of the windows: here Colonel Laphan used
to speed his sleigh. The charm Of the book is
for those who know the town and the charac-
tiers. The account does not pretend to much in
terest without these backgrounds. being rather a
pleasant group of memoranda of novel reading
categorical but catholic. Occasionally there are
digressions which bespeak acquaintance with the
later authors. glancing at the development of
story or the unexpected and involuntary change
Of emphasis among the characters The photo
graphs Of streets, shaded paths and venerable
landmarks. and even glrnpses of outlying
meadows and surf, make a faithful and delight
full picture of the scene themselves. The half
tones show up well on a glazed paper Of light
tint which is used throughout the hook and the
type Is OF good size and clear.