The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-12-14
news and
Views Of
tbe Book
WOrId.
(BY HERBERT BREwsrER.)

Mr. GEORGE ABE has just re-
NI turned from a months stay in
France, where he has been col
Letting material for new play--Peggy
in Paris" THE Sultan of Suiu'' has
proved a remarkable success, and Mr..
AIDE seems likely TO have the misfor-
tune Of riches come upon him There is
an interesting feature of the early his
tory OF the Sulu opera. The production,
when first put on, made no impression.
Mr.. AIDE at once set TO work revising
the matter and, what was as important.
Mr.. AIDES Chicago friends set about
making the piece popular Now it hap
pens that Mr.. AIDE has the reputation
of being the most popular young man
in Chicago. Certainly he IS blessed
with hundreds Of enthusiastic friends
and with thousands of admirers in that
breezy city-and when they made up
their minds to make the Sultan of
Sulu" ruling favorite nothing but
success could come from it.
Mr.. AIDES last book, 1.-THE Girl Prop
osition," was published only a few days
ago.
Those who read the various Vailima
sketches which have appeared during
the past year or so over the names Of
Mrs. Isabel Strong or Lloyd Osborne,
viii welcome the forthcoming book is
sue of these memories of Stevenson. OF
the Vailima family, Mrs. Strong and
her brother were not only domestic, but
also literary members as well. Mrs.
Strong oftentimes served as Steven
sons amanuensis, and Lloyd Osborne
had the honor of collaboration with
him. So it viii be recognized that the
memories of Vailima by those two are
of much literary value An unpub-
lished poem of Stevenson's is included
in the volume.
A really important book of the pres
ent season is a volume entitled 1.-THE
ROyalists in the American Revolution -
a history, in fact, of the American rev
olution written from an entirely new
point of view, and embracing many
hitherto uncollected facts. Curiously
enough, the American people have come
to look on the Wing party in the revo-
lutionary days as the natural party,
and to regard the Loyalist party as a
creation of the times. AS a matter of
fact, however, as Mr.. Van Tyne, the
author. has pointed out in his book,
loyalty was the normal condition. the
state that had existed, and did exist.
and it was the Whigs-the patriots, as
they called themSelYes-Who did the
converting and changed mems opinions
to suit the new order of things. John
share in creating the impression that
the Loyalist was the unnatural party.
For ten years, he wrote in one of his
works. the British government pursued
a system whereby they formed and
orga mixed, and drilled and disciplined
a party favorable to Great Britain. -
I'm fact, he went on to say, they Sc
duced and deiuded nearly one-third of
the people of the colonies"
According to the author, the persecu-
ton of the Loyalists by the Wings dur
ing the war and the Punishment or
death of over 100000 of these most con-
seryative and respectable Americans,
is a tragedy but rarely paralleled in the
history of the world He believes that
public in the matters of finance, dipln-
macy and politics might have been in
part corrected by the presence of that
conservative element which had either
to be driven into exile or If permitted
TO remain, was long deprived of pOlit-
ical and social influence.
Mr.. Van Tyne has started out his
book with a story of an enthusiastic
Loyalist which attracts one to further
reading.
In the early days of the American
revolution, when the companies of pa
triots were raIlying from every part
of the country to repel the British. a
regiment of militia. coming up from
the SOUTH crossed the James river at
ginia. While they were passing
through the town, a shoemaker stood
in his door and cried: 'Hurrah for
King Georgei' No one took any no
tice of him. but after hating in the
wood, a. little distance beyond, the SOL
dierS were cooking and eating some
fish, when the shoemaker came TO them
a nd in fn J,
George. When the commanding off,
GER and his aides mounted and were
starting on, the shoemaker still fol-
lowed, hurrahing for King George.
Thereupon the officer ordered the per-
tinacious Tory to be taken back to
the river and 'ducked.' The soldiers
brought a long rope, which they tied
about the middle. around the shoe
makers waist, and see-sawed him
backward and forward in the stream
until they had him nearly drowned;
but every time he got his head above
water he would cry for King George.
The officer finally ordered him TO be
tarred and feathered. A feather bed
was taken from the shoemaker's own
house. where his wife and four daugh-
tiers were crying and beseeching the
father TO hold his tongue; but stilI he
would not. The soldiers tore the bed
open. knocked the top out of a tar
barrel and plunged the king worshiper
in headlong. He was then drawn out
of the barrel by the heels and rolled
in the feathers until he was a sight;
but st.ll he would hurrah for King
George. The officer, now thoroughly
aroused, ordered the fellow to be
drummed out of town with the warn
ing that if he plagued him any more
he would have him shot. The sentence
was executed, and the soldiers saw no
more os the shoemaker.
There was ludicrous element in the
shoemakers obstinate loyalty. but in
more dignified character the same
determined allegiance could have been
found in the hearts of thousands of
Americans in the early days Of the
revolution With these loyal subjects
of the British lSin~ Samuel Adams and
John Adams had to contend when they
set about TO arouse America to rebellion
and final independence"
Kruger's much discussed and often
announced autobiography is scarcely
off the presses. and yet il is a volume
which is creating the widest kind of