The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-10-12

I
stevenson's morality, we must consider Tho -,
| tern OF his speech F''
us STYLE has not one merit. but msnv IL
says that nc initiated many writer's, and ~
can detect here trace OF Hazlitt there
t'9n'uA q lhoreau, ard in another place feel.
- " ", noinas browne But he is neither
one nor all His style has something moro IL
has leaves from many rose trees b,,, !, :
sprinkied with a spice OF his own so that !,
! me end, It IS sort Of pot poRyrf deliratc n,,,.
gent and uuaint- Favored
lhere are occasions when he writes 60 well
quar- the reader comes near to forgetting VIA,
ne IS reading about being SO taken up with the
righteousness Of phrase, which is like morscI
sweet III the mouth. II is a style which who,
carried to its extreme, is especially fitted for
writing about broomsticks because tbat s,bieo,
- NOT Akely TO be so engrossng as 10 Interfere
win our enjoyment OF the mere sound of words
nu' nc rarely carries IT to the extreme To
'aAe d inquire which he has used in another con
hectlon, this style marks him as a sort NJ 6ne
lady among writers-delicately got up the ~.
most thought and care bestowed upon every little
nicely OF carriage and costume and a great
STRIVING TO bring all things so in harmony that
artitciality shall seem like Nature herself n
is no secret that steels have somewhat to do
with the figure of the lady that the engaging
whiteness Of her skin owes something 10 the
powder puff but she is not admired a whit the
less tor that. SO in Stevenson the artificial never
otends rather it is so delightful that one would
not have 1t changed and the claim that his
writing IS overtime, that he uses the rouge OF
rhetoric as well as the ceruse, is absurd He
knows how far he can so; and like our fine lady.
he usually steers himself safe"
Wonderful is his phrase-makinq. but more
still that in no case is sense sacrificed ITO ar
range letters that they shall roll sweetlv from,
the tongue is worth while but to say what YOU
want to say is the first consideration As to
the larger pattern of the style, we have only TO
analyze one of the essays to see how each SEM
tence plays its part in the paragraph how the
paragraphs are doyetailed together and how all |
hang upon one nail"
The Harpers Monthly has long led all others
in point Of perfection in letter press illustrations
etc, and this month it even surpasses itself W. |
II. Clarke's haftone engravings illustrating Cas-
taignes Monte Carlo" matter are superb and
the colored Christy pictures enrichng the text
of Lady Roses Daughter" feed and refresh the
mental and physical eyes.
The first article in the October Cosmopolitan
is an able and illuminative paper on Alexander
Hamilton which was written by John Fiske and
only published after the authors death
And w, 7. Stead's paper called "rhe Corona
ton and Its Significance" is worthy of very
special mention on account OF its educative value
and the clear and unlabored style in which it is
written. Especially noteworthy is that part Of
it setting forth the fact that secession from the
empire is recognized right OF the British colo
MES.
The following is the opening paragraph OF the
article:
No two events in British history OF the clos
ing year offered such striking contrast as the
coronation in the abbey of Westminster and the
meeting of the colonial conference, which were
held in London about the same time. In the
former, everything that the artistic imagination
Of the British race could suggest or employ was
done in order 10 create a superb spectacle and 10
elaborate a ceremony which for splendor and
beauty would attract the attention of mankind.
The other was entirely devoid of the accessories
If pomp or splendor. Half dozen men in plain
,lothes met in private conference in of the
rooms at the colonial Office, but the public was
not admitted TO their deliberations, nor have any
-eports of their debates been published. Yet the
scene in the abbey, magnificent in its pomp and
oageantry, was mere theatricality of history
homage paid by the present to the past-an act {
poetical and religious in its way but
Without any direct bearing upon the politics of {
he day. If there had been no coronation, the
ding would have reigned parliament would have :
egislated, and events would have taken their
curse exactly in the same way as they are doing
low But at the colonial conference the men OF {
he present were shaping the destinies Of the !
uturc. They have shaped them negatively but
otently in such way that their meeting VIII
onsttute one OF the landmarks Of empire 4