davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1902-04-06
A Race Novel.

BLOOD VIII Tell" by Benjamin Rush
Davenport, makes bid for popular favor
by dealing with the question of the ANAL
pamation of races. The plot hinges on the
notion that the child o. an octoroon and
n white person is likely to revert to the
negro type. This idea. as Howells once
remarked, is so sensational that the nov
elist in search of thrills may like to play
with it, but that is really about all there
is to it. AS to the question OF the rela-
;ions between the white and negro races
It is altogether too large to be discussed
in Il novel, unless the author knows con
| siderably more about it than Mr.. DaVen-
port. If his arguments we're as logical as
he eviientIy thinks they are, they might
be worth serious consideration. tCleve-
! land: Caxton Book Company
The Washington times., 1902-04-06

and proved ii. one has said enough to
excuse him for any sort of minor
moral lapse One does not apply all
the standards of social life to inter
national law. The present biographer
does prove this, in an unconscious
and casual way, because he gives an
immense amount of information
about Napoleon and his times; but
the trouble with him is that he is for
ever running off on side issues and
stating irrelevant facts in a violent
manner. and that he states obvious
truths with so much rhetoric that the
effect is not dignified. 1t is as if
teacher of mathematics should eX-
haust the resources of oratory and
the figures of English literature in
efforts to prove the truth of the null
tiplication table.
For example, here we have his apol-
ogy for Napoleon's looting OF the
Italian art galleries:
Napoleon has been heartily abused
because he stripped the art galleries
of Italy of their gems-statuary and
paintings French writer's of the roy
alist school swell the cry and cmpha-
size the guilt. Lanfrey, particularly,
calls the world to witness the fact
that he hangs his head in shame, so
| much is his conscience pricked by
Napoleon's seizure of pictures. How
absurd is all this. If to the victor
belong the spoils, where is the line
to be drawn? If one may take the
purse of the vanquished. his jewels,
his house, his lands, why are his pic
| lures sacred? If the civilized world
insists upon maintaining the trained
soldier and continues to hunger after
the alleged glories of wars of con
| quest, we must get accustomed to the
results. Wars of conquest are waged
for very practical purposes. We com
bat the enemy because he happens
to be in possession of something
which we want and which we mean
to have. When we have taken the
trouble to go up against this adver
sary. prepared to smite him hip anC
thigh. in robust. Old Testament style
and have prevailed against him by the
help of the Lord. shall we not bibli
caIly despoil him of all such things
as seem good in our own eyes? AR,
we to allow the ,anquished heathen-
heather because vanquished-tt
choose for us those things which VIZ
shall take with us when we go bacl
The Washington times., 1902-04-06
Ianier on Shakespeare.

An unpublished work by the late Sid
ney Lanier is in preparation by Double
day, Page & Co. 1t is comprised IN Two
large volumes, entitled Shakespeare and
His Forerunners: Studies in Eliza
bethan Poetry and Its Development from
Early English" 1t consists OF two series
of popular lectures; about an eighth OF ITS
contents has appeared in print, but the
book is practically entirely new to the
reading public. 1t is called by the pub
fishers Mr. Lanier's most extensive piece
of prose writing. Among the subjects
with which 1t deals are Sonnet Max
ers," pronunciation of Shakespeare
Time" Music" Domestic Life" Doc
tors" Growth OF Shakespeare's Art and
Growth of His Spiritual Development.
The book will be elaborately illustrated
with portraits, facsimiles, reproductions
Of the title pages and pictorial matter
intended to give the reader the feeling
and color of the time.
The Washington times., 1902-04-06

home? If mine enemy has a golden
crown, or a golden throne, the ap-
pearance and the weight and the hne-
ness of which please me exceedingly,
shall not take it? If happen to be
a king. shall l not include such
trophies among my crown jewels IN
nv strong Tower of London!
Now. there is whole page of talk
devoted to Just about two sentences
of ideas. Napoleon was Il soldier; 1T
was therefore proper for him to fol
low the customs of war. The Gus
toms of war in his time included
loot: and he and his soldiers looted.
That is really all that there is to say
about it.
Throughout his work Mr.. Watson Is
! animated by an unreasoning and V1o-
lent animosity against England,
which. while it may be to some extent
| Justified and while it will undoubted-
" please his Anglophobist readers, Is,
! from a literary point of view, one of
his weak points. The fact that Ma
poleon was denounced by English pol
| iticians as a demon does not justify
| Mr.. Watson in assuming that the pol
| iticians who denounced him were de-
mons. This biographer takes, in his
view of Napoleon's influence, line OF
! argument which is novel and in a
measure correct. He says that Ma
poleon was hated by all royalists be-
cause he stood for political equality
and was opposed to the old feudal
system; that he was hated by Ger
many because he interfered with her
! feudal traditions, and by England be-
cause she was caste-riGden and gener-
ally rotten in aristocracy. 10 GER
tain extent this is undoubtedly true.
1t might be summed up in milder
way, without any sacrifice OF truth,
| by the statement that he was hated
and feared because he was the great
unsettling influence. To minds ac-
customed to the beaten path of con-
servative tradition the radical re-
forms and towering ambitions of the
great conqueror were appalling; and
it is by no means certain that even
the sane and sensible Code Napoleon
would have been good for country
on which it had to be suddenly forced
England had perfect right to fight
for her national independence, even II
she intended to be caste-ridden in in
sular egotism; and that was what she
did, and that was how she came to be
The Washington times., 1902-04-06
A Dream and What Came of 1t.

"Drewitt's Dream" by w. l.. Alden, is
one of the most original tales in the sea
sons output. The hero is young Eng
lishman, who at the outset OF the TO
nance meets a woman and falls in love
with her, as he supposes, in real me- put
afterward discovers that what he sup
posed to be reality was a fever dream Ihe
rest of the book deals with his hunt over
half the inhabited globe for this woman,
and, of course, his search Is duly sue
cessful in time. The best character draw
ing in the book is the portrait of the rich
American, who, with his yacht. volun-
teers to aid in the search, and does SO
quite materially. This portrait cannot be
called realistic; in fact IL gives one the
impression that il was done by an Eng
lishman who had only met selected few
Americans of the types which he por-
trays, but It is highly amusing, and the
main lines of ii come so near being true
that the exaggeration and inaccuracy OF
details become matter of minor i'm
portance. This American has been poll
tcian most OF his life, and held the posi-
tion of boss of Sallust City, somewhere
| in the Middle West. His exposition O
the way in which he would reform Venice
| If he could be the boss is something tC
| dream about. This is his statement o
! his religious views. and the use they wer,
| 30 him:
"All religions are the same to me.
used to contribute regularly to every re
lgion in Sallust City. and we had full
line of them. l should say we had a mul
tiiarious assortment of them. ! half bull
the Jewish synagogue. and | built tn
whole of the Baptist Church, besides Civ
ing a chime of bells to the Roman Cath
olics. Just before every election all tn
churches seemed to be in financial Difficult
ties, and they used to come TO me to hel
The Washington times., 1902-04-06
LONDON SOCIETY.

her; there is the woman herself, perfect
" drawn, her daughter, girl of eighteen.
pure and straightforward; there is de-
lightful old woman, Lady Ardingly. who
proves the dea ex machina of compli-
Gated problem, without being In any re-
spect the conventional angel; and. lastly,
there is Jim Spencer, the lover whom
the heroine really should have married,
and who is nearer being nonentity than
ANYBODY else in the book. The situation
is. one must admit, extremely piquant.
There is no way OF seeing at any point
Just what is going to happen in the next
chapter.
In the eighth chapter, which Is one OF
the crucial chapters OF the book, there
is some of the finest work Mr.. Benson
has ever done, and 1t is as good in Its
way as anything in contemporary fiction
( In this chapter Marie and Spencer tacitly
I admit TO each other the state OF their
/ feelings, and the conversation in which
/ this is done is positively masterpiece
/ OF originality and technique. Moreover,
/ IT is realistic, and some Of the things
which are said in it strike at the centre
OF certain social problems now vexing peo-
pie who have nothing else TO think about,
and more or less discussed by the world
In general. This is the point at which
these two people actually come face to
face with the question whether they shall
behave as the world around expects them
TO behave or set up an ideal OF theii
own, and they become conscious that 1t ia
theirs to decide in the face Of public
opinion. tradition, conflicting influences
and their own strong emotions, exactly
what that ideal shall be. The situation is
handled with all the subtlety Of moderI
thought and all the strength which th'
theme demands.
The only disappointing thing in the bool
is the ending, which seems triie melo
dramatic, and somehow seems to belittl'
the heroine. but that is a matter of taste
and to some readers IL may not have tina
effect New York: ID. Appleton an
/ Company. S1.50.)
The Washington times., 1902-04-06

American Masters of Painting" is
the title Of a modest collection of pa
pers by Charles H. Caftin. which origi-
nally appeared in the New York Sun"
It is one Of the most useful books on
art thus far published. for the sources
from which the uniritiated can get any
information On American painters are
few. far between. and inaccessible 20
the many. II seems unaccountable that
with ali the books which have been
written on the old masters, the artists
of France and Germany, and the his
tory OF art in general, almost no at
tention should have been paid to the
that is the fact. and 1t is high time
that the situation was changed.
Mr. Caffin's book is not only bio
graphical. but critical, and without
some what in detail the influences which
surrounded each artist during the for
native period of his career, and the
reasons of the individual style Of
each. go far as these can be defined.
In addition to this he criticises the
work OF several painters skillfully,
wisely, and, what is quite as important
in dealing with the average reader. in
telligibly. that Is. he is not so given 10
the language of the studios that the
public will not know what he means
Altogether, he has supplied an import
ant want.
The artists discussed are thirteen IN
number, and most OF them are living
The Washington times., 1902-04-06
WATSON'S "NAPOLEON.''

In biography, even more than IN
other history, an impartial attitude
is necessary; for the readers whole
impression depends upon the view
which the biographer gives of the
personality of his subject; and II the
writer's own eyes are covered with
colored glasses, the effect is somehow
dubious.
the influence which Napoleon had on
the time in which he lived. and, for
that matter. upon the future of every
country which his far-reaching ambl-
tions touched. To his enemies he
was a human earthquake, animated
by the spirit of a demon; to his fol-
lowers he was the visible arm OF the
Almighty. 1t seems to have been
almost impossible for his contcmpor-
aries TO conceive of him, in the height
of his power, as merely a man. a
striking proof of the subtle and pow
erful tcnacity of his influence was
! given a year ago in the production OF
! "I,Aiglon," when audiences to whom
he was hardly more than name
/ broke into applause and were unques-
tfonably moved by the mere repet-
! tion of that name The two actresses
who in turn presented the character
of the hero of the play were not re-
NDnDlpnn'
hat. living on the table, he speech re
hearsing the story of his greatness,
were enough to thrill crowded
houses. II was an altogether curious
psychological phenomenon.
In spite of the clap-trap and bonn
bast which crops out in the work OF
Mr.. Watson, there is a good deal OF
this unaccountable Napoleon fascina-
ton in his book. and one is contin-
ually shown how much greater Napo-
leon was than his apologist can make
him. 1t is not necessary for MIR. Wat
son to leap upon platform and in
dignantly demonstrate with those
who criticise Napoleon for the killing
of the Duke d'Enghien, for the di
vorce of Josephine, for the seizing OF
English travellers: the mere facts are
enough. The truth is that for the
time being Napoleon was France;
more Than that. he was the eIubodi
ment of tremendous progressive
forces. and when one has said that
The Washington times., 1902-04-06
LITERARY NOTES.
A Woman in Morocco.

The record of Seventy Days Camp
ing in Morocco" is presented by Lady
Grove in a handsome volume published
by the Longmans. Among the pictures in
the book are a number showing Morocco
ladies' unveiled in their own homes.
So far as Lady Grove knows. her oppor-
tunity of obtaining these pictures was the
first ever offered to any European. She
tells story to illustrate the opinion held
of Tangier by most of the English. though
her own she lets US know is more favor
able.
An aesthetic old lady was extolling the
aspect of her surroundings TO her com
panion when small street Arab inter-
iected: Yes, missus, Tangier vary good
what you call Godforsaken hole Her
shocked surprise called forth the explain
alton. I'VE hear him, all English genie
mans saw that
The Washington times., 1902-04-06
AMERICAN PAINTERS.

mean beauty as 1t is commonly under
stood for he has had his very personal
ideas, and his own modes of reaching
them; but that the source in which he
has always looked for them has been
sane and normal; SO that, amid the
craving for new sensations, and for new
forms of expression, by which, like
others, he has been affected, and with
a taste also for notoriety, and for
shocking the vulgar, he has never in his
art deviated from the sweet and whole
some Nor has he lived without a
strong faith. He has believed in HIM
self without reservation, and Just as
absolutely in his art as he has formu-
lated 1t. There is one god, and Whis-
tier Is it's prophet: creed narrow and
intolerant, but abundantly justified, If
you accept his god, which, again, is
Whistler-the spiritual ego within him
to which all his life he has tried to
give an adequate expression.
For his faith at root is very sim
pie one: the love of beauty, and the
expression Of it; only beauty with him
is one of essence and significance, quite
removed from any literary allusiveness.
and as far as possible expressed by
means which are solely the product of
| brush or etching needle, sensation and
method approximating as much as may
| be to the exclusively abstract ones OF
| music"
The book ought to find a place in tire
library of everyone who is Interested
in the study of art. New York; Dou-
bleday, Page & Co. SLED
The Washington times., 1902-04-06

1.-The Strollers," by Frederic s. Isham,
is n romance which deals with the early
history of the American stage. and there
is other history mixed up in 1t besides.
The heroine is the leading lady OF small
company touring the provinces. and her
adventures at the hands OF two or three
determined suitors are many and thrill
ing.
The scene ranges from the State Of New
York to New Orleans, and the lie OF the
neriod Is depicted with imaginative real
len, The simplicity and naturalness of
the book are two OF its strong points.
The author has somewhat the manner ot
the noyelists in the time OF which he
writes. and tells his story in their leisure
ly. unhurried fashion, as If assured OF the
interest of the reader. There Is no pad
ding in the book but there Is also no
ierkiness or striving after effect. lie Is
,,,ita confident that the reader Is inter
as,od in all the details OF dress, furniture,
and fashion which were peculiar to the
time of his writing, and as matter OF
fact the reader is.
| Some OF the most charming chapters
| are those which deal with the Mardl Gras'
scenes from the Mexican War, and the
riots of the anti-renters in New York
The character drawing is as good as the
description. The characters are real peo-
nIo not puppets. and the romance is not
constructed with an iron faithfulness to
| traditional twists of plot, nor Is 1t en-
tirely orthodox in the personnel OF Its
actors.
! The characteristics of the authors style
are shown in sketch of one of the mlnoi
personages in the tale, with which
chapter midway in the book begins attel
this fashion:
"A dusty window looking out upon
dusty thoroughfare; dusty room, light
ed by the dusty window. and revealing
dusty chair. dusty carpet, and-prob
ably-a dusty bed. over the foot and IN
The Washington times., 1902-04-06
SPRING PUBLICATIONS.
Tuscan Sculpture.

Tuscan Sculpture" which Messrs-
Houghton, Miflin & Co. announce for pub
Hcation, is Volume II in the River
side Art Series. The book gathers ma
terial from survey Of Tuscan sculpture.
consisting O! pictures and masterpieces
and brief accounts of the artists. The
famous old works-the st. George and
the Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata, -"
of Donatello; the Madonna" of Lucea
della Robbia the st. Francis and st.
Dominick," and the "Bambino," OF Adrea
della Robbia, are reproduced, together
wirb Antonio Rossellino's Tomb Of the
Cardinal Of Portugal" Donatello's
"Heraldic Lion OF Florence" and others
making in all sixteen pictures.
The Washington times., 1902-04-06

Readers of Mr.. E. F. Benson Will be
glad that he has dropped Greek life and
melodrama for a time and come back to
his first field, London smart" society.
In spite of it's somewhat yellow tone,
.Dodo" was so thoroughly clever that 1t
held the attention and made place for
Itself in ones memory; and 1t seems
pity that man who can do individual
work like that should not do as much OF
Il as possible. In his latest novel, scar
let and Hyssop," Mr.. Benson has dealt
with the same set of people in much the
same way, and there is in the book the
same element Of surprise and unexpect-
edness and independence of formulae
which made his first book what It was.
The enigmatical title is Biblical, of
course, and so are some ct the senti-
ments and the very plain speaking. This
author has a refreshing way OF making his
characters personalities instead Of pegs on
which TO hang smart sayings, and after
he has elucidated his plot by means OF
drawing-room gossip which is mostly en-
Pertaining In itself he has way of taking
his reader suddenly and breathlessly into
the middle of things and dissecting the
hare motive. He has done this in his
preseat book, and that is part of the
fascination of it.
The heroine, Lady Marie Alston. is
woman OF the world, wife OF leading
politician, who for some reason or othel
has remained essentially pure in the
midst of the corruption of weary old
eocial existence; and this not with
childlIke and pathetic purity, or with
conscious reformatory purpose, but viii
an alert perception OF the facts OF he
life and intellectual brilliancy OF eommen
upou them. The combination is unique
and Mr.. Benson has handled it extremei.
we'll. In addition to this, We have Lor'
AIston. a man of the world, who, afte
carving on for five years an intrigue wiz
a married woman OF considerable clever
moss but essential lightness and vulgar
tty. suddenly finds himself realizing IN
charm of his wife and falling in love VIII
The Washington times., 1902-04-06

ed as n model and martyred wife, for
the proofs are too strong that she
was nothing of the kind. Napo-
Icons morality was that of his time
and people; but his love for Jose
phine is of all time. That is a fact
which seems indisputable since the
recent revelations of his character
and of hers.
As to his public acts, they We're
such as were inevitable, or as he
deemed inevitable, for the accom-
plishment of certain ends; and there
will be more than suspicion, in the
mind of the reader, after n perusal
of Mr. Watson's collection of evil
dence. that these ends were such as
have been ardently desired by all
good reformers, and that the only
thing that was the matter was that
one man, instead of organized
| society, undertook to bring them
| about. Napoleon may not have been
| modest when he said that he was the
| Empire, but he was certainly telling
| the truth. The question has shifted
ground in fifty years. In Napoleon's
time. and for long after. it was re-
! garded simply as the question
f, whether one man should be allowed
to impose his will on all Europe; the
ends for which he worked were prac-
| tically not considered. Nowadays
the world is beginning to wonder
whether some of these ends were not
good enough to justify their further
ing by force; and this new consider
alton of the matter is partly due to
the fact that we are ourselves facing
n complication of forces and an un-
certainty of issues in which it is more
or less openly admitted that the man
on horseback is badly wanted. Many
are limiting that government ny the
people is n failure; others are frankly
saying that only the best element
should rule, that manhood suffrage
has proved inadequate; and it is per-
haps this which makes the tremeu-
dous personality of Napoleon so i'm
pressive and so directly fascinating
in retrospect. Whatever may be the
cause of the recent interest i'll Napo-
leon-and the cause is probably COM
plex and obscure-Alr. Watson's book,
18th all its salient faults of style and
its inadequacy of adulation, still
proves valuable as a means of popu-
lar enlightenment. If its readers Will
discount his partisanship and pay at
tention only to his facts, they will be
quite safe New York: The Mac
milan Company
The Washington times., 1902-04-06
An American Physician Honored.

Dr. John Duncan Quackenbos, author Of
that remarkable book, "Hypnotism in
Mental and Moral Culture" tHarper's),
has been made member of the Society
of Arts, London, of which King Edward
is president and the Lord Chief Justice of
England one of the vice presidents. This
society was founded in 1S47 for the pur-
pose of 1.-The Encourage of the Arts.
Manufactures, and Commerce of the Coun-
try etc. Dr. Quackenbos has also been
elected. in London, a member Of the So
ciety for Psychical Research. He has
devoted many years to the study of Hyp-
notsm as a benefcent agent in physical
and mental cures.