davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
Old Journalism Like the New.

Mr. George W. E. Russell. In his new
volume Of remiriscerce and anccdote.
AN onlooker's Note Book" recalls the
following parody in the Examiner" In
the time of the Duke CT Wellington:
THE duke generally rises at about ..
Before he gets out Of bed he commonly
pulls off his nightcap. and while he Is
dressing he sometimes whistles tune
and occasionally darans his valet. The
duke uses warm water in shaving. and
lays on greater quantity OF lather than
ordinary men. While shaving he chiefly
brea;hcs through his nose. with a view.
as is conceived. of keeping the suds out
Of his mouth. The duke drinks tea for
his breakfast. which ne swcetens with
white sugar and corrects with cream.
lie eats toast and butter cold ham. beef,
Of eggs; the eggs are generally those Of
the common domestic fowl"
The Washington times., 1902-06-01

fer Americans TO take any interest in the
proceedings of an e.fete monarchy. For
the benefit. therefore. Of bewildered and
innocent people who feel a natural in
terest in the contents of this book. and
are not quite sure whether they ought
TO be ashamed Of it or not, it may be
well to assure them that il is quite as
reasonable to feel an interest in the ccr-
onation of King Edward VII as in that
of King Edward III or Charlemagre. both
Of which events are perfectly legitimate
objects of study and research. In fact,
If there is any difference between the
two, ii would seem that an event of his
torical significance which takes place in
our own day. all of whose picturesque
details can be studied with the greatest
ease through the press and magazine
reports, is even more profitable TO the
student than a similar event which hap
pened so long ago that nobody knows
exactly what the circumstances were.
Good Americans, therefore, may read
this book with clear conscience, and
when they get through, if they are thrift
ty and sensible. they viii be very glad
that we have no traditions which oblise
us to have so expensive and troublesome
a pageant as that which England is un-
dertaking for the benefit of her audience,
the world.
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
A WASHINGTON NOVEL.

of cousin Of the Villain. evidently in
tended for a typical Kew England spin
stcr. Miss EIecta Manning is the kind
OF perscn occasionally seen on the
stage. hut never In real life. She is not
even real enough to be caricature.
An example of the false touches that
abound in the novel is the expression.
which is constantly introduced into the
speech Of the sFinstcr. The Lord
knows" Now, that sort OF thing Is not
In the least characteristic Of tie typi-
cal Sew England rcIirouse. She would
consider that IT savorcd Of blasphcmy to
use the LORDS name carelessly in ordi-
raTy conversation. and. whatever other
sins of speech she might commit. that
c1e she woulG sedulously avoid An
other ricoe Il bad taste and unrealism
is the sguabblC between Marion and her
husbands mistress, in the room where
her husbands dead body lies. That
sort OF thing is pretty bad. even in a
novel tNew York: Harper & BrosJ
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
go 80 go

The amount Of business a King dis
poses of in the course Of working day
must be out Of all proportion greater
than the average entsiled upon very
many OF his subjects. From the stand
point Of merely personal coryenience.
there is probably no measure to which
his majesty of England would moro
thankfully say lie Roi le veult.' after
the manner of tie royal assent In old
Norman French given to measures
passed by ParlianeEt-that one for re-
stricting the labors of all Britors, in
GLIDING himself. to eight hours day.
When all the machinery Of an historic
public ceremony is finally set in motion.
+. works so smoothly that these who
only watch its frictiCnless movement
tail to realize that this very ease is the
outcome of months CT patient consider
aticn and forethousht. But the busiest
man has always the IHost leisure at his
disposal. and the King has never allowed
these supplementary taxes upon his time
tc interfere with the first pledge he gave
to the nation to devote his life, as his
ever-to- -!amen;ed mother did before
him. to the interests and welfare Of the
empire ever which he rules. Ministers
alonc could give a detailed account OF
the care and attention which his majesty
be5tows On concerns of state. and their
lips are scaled. But the general public
has formed an adequate idea OF the In
tense devotion OF Queen Victoria to pub
lie affairs. and it is in her footsteps
that King Edward IS travelling" New
York: d. Appleton & Col
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
Omar, the Hoodlum.

THE Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Junior is a piece of verse by Wallace
Irwin. author OF The Love Sonnets ot
Hoodlum." and when that has been
said the reader will know about what
to expect. Some of it is most irreverent-
ly funny. and some OF 1t is irreverent
but not so funny. The best liea OF the
character of the thing may be gained
from quotation. Here are two stances
taken at random:
'Nursly ! muse on that trlnsccndcnt State
Where all my Pasts within the Future wait
II ! fpr ilc1vtaiy Marriages am marked,
oh. what Turk I'll he beyond the Gate!
- mcrnbc linge's in a Kiss, you say7
Ncs but he nitbcs in pleasant WAY.
Rather than in the Cup and Telephone
Better to catch hun kissing and be gay
To paraphrase Mr.. Lincoln. IL people
want this sort OF thing. it is just the sort
of thing they will want. ana If IT isn't
we'll never miad. (San Francisco:
Elder 6 Shcpard.)
The Washington times., 1902-06-01

new novel by George W Cable has
Just appeared. under the title "Bylow
HILL" and tho best thing in it is the
work of F C. Yohn, the illustrator,
which is really beautiful The book it.
self is remarkable for one thing in par
tcular 1t seems hardly credible that
the author OF Madame Delphine" could
have written it,
Cases Of literary degeheracy have been
known before now: in fact. 1T is one Of
the commoncst things liz the world for
an author to be accused of falling be-
low the standard set by his first success
ful work; but the case of Mr. Cable is
net only exaggerated, but peculiar in
some respects. To see Just how odd 1t
is one must recall The impression made
by his first work. some twenty five years
ago. II was in 1875 that the brief. WV
| i'd, marvellous sketches OF Creole life
which revealed New Orleans to the
reading world began to appear in
'Scrbncr's Magazine" Nothing more
weird and blood chilling than "Jean-ah
Poquelin," mere delicicusly humorous
than "fcsson Jone'." more exquisitely
pathetic than Madame DelphIne." can
be found in American literature. Then
came The Grandissimes." whose only
weakness was in a somewhat fragmen-
tary plot. Chapters here and there were
delightful, but the book wes uneven and
badly put together. The story Of Bras
Coupe, the description of the laasque-
rade ball. and the sweet. superstitious
folly of Aurore's invocation Of voodoo
scrcery, are perfect; but here and there
are weak places. "Bonaventure" invites
the same criticism. though in this case
the last half Of the book is weaker than
the first. The chapter entitled "Au
Large is certainly far inferior to the
earlier chapters
But these books and one or two 9TH
ers, taken together. make gallery
of New Orleans pictures comparable TO
nothing else save the work of Lafcadio
Hearn. who shares with Cable the field
of Creole literature. The style OF Hcarr
as well as his subject bears a striking
similarity to the earlier style of Gable.
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
A NEW YORK NOVEL.

plicated feelings naturally ensue. which
interfere with the love affair between
the painter and 4 girl as yet unattached,
and threaten to cause catastrophe But
the plot is so managed as never to in
voivc anything not wholly respectable.
and. as has tecn said, it all comes out
right. 1t cannot even be called risque.
df course. this is nc, q sac!.. but to be
Interesting. u book has to have some
sort Of ilayor. and Nr. Sullivan has been
brave enough not to adopt the dubious
cXpediout OF EavSring his with i'm
morality 20 avoid duliness. This was
wise on his part. for the book which Is
Doth immoral and dull Is not an impos-
sibility, aud II is 4 contamination de-
voutly to be avoided. CarGor ccmpels
one to confess. however, that there 10
very little SAVIOR Of any kind in this.
New York: Charles scribners Sons.)
The Washington times., 1902-06-01

Marion Manning" ty Edith Eustis,
purports to be q story OF Washington
life. but really. for all the distinctive
favor Ct Washington there is in it, it
might as well have been written OF
some other city. The heroine is a vir-
ginia girl-Nirginia girls are getting so
common In our literature lately that one
wonders Il the soil ID not being over
taxed fer the production Of heroines-
and she marrios a Congressman from
New Hampshire. who is quite inpossi-
BILE villain. II is not SO much that be Is
90 very bad but that he is incongruous
and unlikely. and altogether fails to
convince. TIE Objectionable husband
being removed hy death, the heroine
after a proper interval. marrios a pure
souJed. high-minded California Con
rressman. who has been in love with
ber for some time. This is all there is
OF the story, except the details.
One Of these details is the character
The Washington times., 1902-06-01

The author begins his work by few
comments on the coronation atmosphere
in London. lie says:
This present being the year of grace
1902. second of the reign of his most
gracious majesty King Edward the Sew
enth (whom God preserveD some of us
are not prepared to be suddenly trans
ported back 20 the times of the Plantag-
enets, to the times diets say) of that
high and mighty prince, Edward the
Third. OF glorious memory. Like little
children on being awakened out of a
sleep. we smile. But It's a pleasant.
good naturod smile. not the smile OF the
cynical. Perchance. we have been dream
ing kind OF nightmare. We suppose
ourselves to be living in the year 1902.
Motor cars are rushing everywhere
about. Telephones are buzzing in our
ears. An aerial ship is speeding through
the air. Another ship is being navigated
beneath the surface of the sea. An ex-
press train is seen in the distance.
driven by electricity on a single rail. at
the rate Of sixty miles an hour. A pas
toral people named Beers have forsaken
their plows. and threaten to keep on
fighting till the crack of doom. Some
one touches us lightly on the shoulder,
and we are wide awake. our own proper
selves again. The whole surely Is q
dream. We are, in reality. citizens OF
7
kings coronation. Here are the Kings
crimson standards. blazoned with gold.
and here King Edward the Thirds own
The Washington times., 1902-06-01

There is the same uncrring choice Of the
| perfect phrase. the same wealth OF
imagery, tropical warmth of color. deli
cacy Of thought, purity of atmosphere.
warmth OF spirit in "Old Creole Days"
as in "Chta," In the story OF Bras
| Coupe" as in "Youma," and in the
weirdest OF the New Orleans Creole
stories one finds the same vague and
indefnable thrill of horror as in Hearn's
West Indian tales. 1t Is inevitable that
the two writer's should be compared,
especially since the Martinique calamity,
which has brought Hearn's Two Years
In the French West Indies" prominently
before the American public, and newly
demonstrated the fact that this son of
an Irish father and Greek mother,
reared in the tropics and educated in
Paris, has by temperament and training
the power to picture the semi-tropical
Gulf Islands as no one ever did II before,
and as, very possibly, none will ever do
neain. But Hearn has transferred him
self and his genius TO Japan, and is now
writing OF the land OF the dragon-fy
with all his old charm OF diction and ac
curacy OF insight. 1t is possible that
only succeeding generations will fully
appreciate his work. but they will see
that. as one would expect from the au-
thor Of "Chita" and "Youma," the work
OF his mature years is his best.
Now. to draw an unwelcome parallel.
how is IT with Gable? The far South
has not been exhausted as a literary
field; Kate Chopin and Grace King have
done worthy work therein. and so has
Ruth McEnery Stuart. The author Of
"The Grandissimcs" has spent twenty
years In work. travel. and study. He
should be giving US novel which would
combine the strange barbaric beauty OF
that book with the strength OF concep
tion belonging to mature years. Instead
We find him writing "Bylow Hill.
which might possibly have been the vu (
of Howolls in one of his uninspired
moods. save that it has nothing OF How
ellis realism about it. Moreover. for the
last ten or fifteen years nothing has come
from Cables pen which is worthy to be
mentioned in the same six months with
The Washington times., 1902-06-01

THE Courage of Conviction" by T. r.
Sullivan. is a novel of New York life
by an author who has done some very
clever work in the line Of short stories.
The promise o; these stories is not. it
must he confessed. fulfilled in the novel.
It deals with one CT these situations in
which m;sm2ted couples strive to solve
the probler: OF reconciling their feelings
to their rI.Gcipics: and in this case the
problem is solved satisfactorily to both
the author and the characters. The
hero is painter. who. at the beginning
determines to have the courage os his
convictions and devote himself to art.
thereby disrcrarting the affection OF a
Ei:l whom he might have married. and
who. afte. the manner OF girls. finding
him unattainable, marries somebody
else. When the painter reappears on
the scene some years aftevward COM
The Washington times., 1902-06-01

decessor. Edward the ConfesGor. Where
now are their armor. their helmets and
gay-colored plumcs. their huge two
handed swords. fiuttcrilg pennons and
ponderous lanccs, their attendant es-
quires and pages, their gaily caparisoncd
armor-decked horses? Robes. ribbons
and coronets are all that now remain
OF these old time paraphernalia. With a
sight of them we must perforce remain
content. For the rest. and as regards
lords. barons, bishops. v!scounts, earls,
marquses. dukes, the lord-archbishops
of Canterbury and York, yea, even the
prince of the royal blood and his most
gracious majesty the very King himself;
all these great mobiles. lords spiritual
and temporal. and their royal and i'm
perial master, in place OF armor and
helmet now array themselves in black
silk hat and ordinary frock coat. We
are actually and indeed awake. and
living in the twentieth century"
Then follows a brief account Of the
ceremonies attending the accession of
the present King 10 the throne. and Of
the opening of Parliament by him in
person. After this comes a detailed ac
count of the ceremonies OF the corona
tion, with colored pictures Of the most
important of the crown jewels. and 9TH
ers showing the various devices which
arc proper to different ranks of the no
bility. The author then explains the
significance OF many Of these ccremo-
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
The Study Of Botany.

An interesting number in the series
OF Twentieth Century Text Books" is
- Laboratory Manual of Botany" by
Prof. Otis Caldwell, OF the Eastern MI
nois State Normal School. II is intended
as n guide to laboratory and field work
in advanced botany, and a. such viii
be useful both to teachers and stud
cnts who are pursuing ,heir invcst!ga-
t!ons OF plant lie at home. The author
gives directions rs to the apparatus to
be used, and treats of plant HE in gen
eral. and OF seawecds. fgnsi. ferns.
rsosses, angiosperms and gymnosperms
aurccssircly. Thc book IS small enough
to be easily carried in the pocket. but
It is packed with useful Information. and
just the thing to accompany ones micro
scope into the country. New York: d.
Appleton & Coz
The Washington times., 1902-06-01

chosen motto, 'Dieu ct mon droit.' and
here the ostrich plumes and the Tch
dien OF his son. Here, too. are King
Henry the Seventies tall and portly
Yeomen OF the Guard and here their
captains, lieutenants. and exons. Gar
ter King at Arms, in his magnificent
tabard. is in his proper place. as are hi.
historic supporters. Clarencieux and
Noroy in theirs. Here. too, stand the
six heralds of old Englaud-Chester.
Lancaster, York, Somerset, Richmond and
Windsor, with their pursuivants, Rouge
Croix. Bluemantle, Rouge Dragon and
Portcullis. And here is his grace the
hereditary earl marshal Of England him
self, knight of the most Noble Order of
the Garter-Duke OF Norfolk and Earl
of Arundel. Save your grace.
How strange in truth it all seems.
Surely we may be forgiven the passing
smile when we think of this present
blending of the fourteenth and fifteenth
with the twentieth century. Here are
a number Of. apparently, ordinary, quiet
looking. ease-loving. housekeeping.
middle-aged English gentlemen-distin-
guished enough in their respective sta
tions, If you please. and as we for one
most willingly admit; here are these
gentlemen-(great men all by the roll) i,
presently TO he engaged in the acting
parts OF a most solemn and interesting
ceremony, which takes us back eight
hundred years to. at least, the days OF
William the Norman. II not of his pre-
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
REVIEWS OF THE WEEK.

color in the pooThouse the result would
be an intrigue of court life in the time
OF Charless II. when our surroundings
are the shabbiost. your characters are
always The most refined"
Two little ragged children. son and
daughter OF the swineherl. arc squaIid-
ly pathetic clements in tho develop
ment Of the plot; the two sultofs. one a
dish traveller, are ski!fully drawn, and
the denouement is almost weird in its
impressive picturcsquenes5. Mr. Niclc
has written a clever book. and one OF
these days h may do a masterpiece
New York: Mcclure. Phillips X Coz
The Washington times., 1902-06-01

MES and emb,ems-a Significance deriv-
ed from events which we're landmarks
In the progress OF England. A cart cf
this explanation is as follows:
"The old rcgalia were strictly Anglo
Saxon by their traditional names; The
crown of Alfred. or OF st. Edward. for
the king: the crown of Edith, wife of
the Confessor. for the queen. The scep-
ter with the dove is said TO have been
typical Of King Edwards peaceful days
after the expulsion OF the Danes. The
gloves we're a reminder Of his abolition
of the DaHcrelt-a token that the King s
hands should be moderate in taking
taxes. The ring with which. as the
Doge to the Adriatic. so the King to his
people was welded, was the ring Of the
pilgrim. The great stone chalice'
which was bcrne b. the chancellor to
the altar. and out of which the Abbot
of Westminster administered the sacra-
mental wine. was believed to have been
priced at a high sum IN 81. Edwards
days The form OF oath retained till
the time Of James II was to observe the
laws of the glorious Confessor. A copy
of the Gospels. purportins to have be-
longed to AthelstaDe. was the book on
which. as early as the fifteenth century
II was believed that TIE coronation cath
was taken
The author is evidently of the cp;rion
that the business CT the KirE is far
from being n sinccure. This is what he
has TO say en- the subject:
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
A PECULIAR LITERARY PHENOMENON.

| his Creole stories What is the reason
OF this phenomenon?
The story of "Bylow HILL is Of the
simplest, and purely unoriginal. 1t is a
little like the most unpleasant of How
ellis novel, "The Shadow Of a Dream. y
In its general idea. The scene is laid in
New England. and the central character
is a clergyman who marries a pretty girl
and becomes insanely jealous of one OF
her former lovers. The Jealousy becomes
a mania and leads him to melodra-
matte attempt to murder his wife by hit
ting her over the head with a lantern.
The whole thing is about on the line of
dime novel. There is little individu-
ality in the characters. and nothing in
teresting in the dialogue. Comparisons
pably invites comparison with his former
self as Mr. Cable does In this book and
some OF his others. there seems to be
nothing else 10 do. When one consid-
ers the airy and mischievous daintineaS
Of the persifage OF his Creole lovers, and
some who are not Creole, the utter fiat
ness of this love-making seems unac-
countable.
Worse even than the love- making is the
tragedy. The Distinguishing mark or the
tragic scenes Of THE Grandissimes"
was their suggestive quality. their re-
serve. The author stirred the imagina-
tion rs well as the emotions. "By!ow
Hill' does neither. 1t is not melsdra-
matte enough for staginess. 1t is sim
ply monotonous and unlifelike.
In short. there is but one OF Mr.. Ca
ble's earlier productions 10 which this
bears any resemblance. and that Is 4
little piece OF banal and slightly vulgar
verse which he wrote many years ago,
on the occasion Of the birth Of a daUgh-
ter. 1t was somewhat foolish attempt
to he witty, and this and others OF Mr..
Cables later novels are foolish attempts
to be artistic. One can believe that the
same hand which wrote the silly verses
wrote the undeniably common love
scenes in "3ylow HILL but IL the same
man who wrote "Grande Pointe" wrote
these it would seem as II the author
must have changed his brain. New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons.)
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
Stories From History.

Edward Robins. author of Echoes CT
the Playhouse" and other studies CT the
stage. has been working this winter en-
two books which Messrs. George W.
Jacobs G Co. have accepted for publica-
tion in the autumn. One of these is en-
titled "Romances OF Early America"
and will describe some of the love affairs
10 he found in the by-paths of American
history Philadelphia. Boston, New
York. New Orleans. Williamsburg, Va,
and Wilmington, Del. are among the
places which form the background fer
these episodes The other. story Of
the civil war. is for the younger readers,
and is entitled Chasing an Iron Hcrse.
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
Eypnotisn.

The Law Of SuEgcsticl. by San
tanclIi. is book intended TO br an cx-
p.arat!on of the methods Of hypnotism
by a professor of the business. San
tarelli is professor. one can see /: on
the fronti3pioce. There Is. Of course
nothing scientific in this book. and there
is good deal OF egotisn ami rhetoric
and some not very nice language. 1t is
not . work to be taken seriously, any
moro than a patent medicine advertise
mcnt. Iansing, Michigan: The Santa
ncili Publishing Company.)
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
A NOndeSc-ipt,

There is a gap between literature and
literature, occupied by certain miss
ing links in the way Of books. work
of this kind is "Rhoda Roland" by II.
6. Sutton. which Is defined. as to its
literary quality. by the remarks of the
heroine:
- girl always knows when a follcr
is in love with her
The bool, is not a novel. and it is hard
to know what to call 1t except just a
book. washington: The Henry L.
Will,ens Printing Company
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
Unconscious Humor.

In the current number Of The Critic"
there is an article by Mr.. Burgess John
son, entitled The New Humor." 1t is
fairly good piece OF work; but why. oh,
why. does Mr.. Johnson refer to Mr..
Townsend as the author OF "Chimmy''
Fadden. and to Mr.. Stockton's inimitable
heroine as "Pamona?" Does a study
of humor demoralize the spelling, as
would appear from the examples of Ar
temus Ward and Josh Billings?
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
Mr.. Ingersoll Not Dead.

Mr.. Ernest Ingersoll has been pro-
claimed dead by a Western reviewer
of his book wild Life of Orchard and
Field, who, after killing the author in
the first paragraph OF his critiquc. pro-
oeeds in tone OF tender melancholy
TO praise his book. Mr.. 1ngersoll is.
however, very much alive, and is living
in New York city at the present time.
The Washington times., 1902-06-01
Gilbert Parker to Be KEighted.

The rumor comes from London that
Gilbert Parker, NJ. p. author, is to be
knigh;ed by King Edward.