davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1902-01-26
Louise Chandler Moulton.

Louise Chandler Moulton, who mas re-
Gently returned to her home in Boston,
was interviewed by an English writer
while abroad, and as result the follow
ing account of Mrs. Moulton's first ap-
pearance in print" appeared in an English
periodical:
las a schoolgirl of thirteen she wrote
so delightfully."- that on one occasion her
master asked her if the idea. as well as
the verse, was really all her own, and on
her replying, i cannot tell from where
got it. / never knew there was anything
like II in the world. Surely IT all wrote
itself from my mind, his face frightened
as he replied: Then sincerely congratu-
late you. At fourteen years of age the
editor of local paper published one Of
her little poems, and she thus describes
this first seeing OF herself in print:
81 remember how secretly, and almost
as IL il were q crime, | sent 1t In; and
when found the paper one evening, upon
calling at the postoffice on my way home
from school. and saw my lines-my very
own lines-it seemed to ne a much more
wonderful and glorious event than has
anything since that time
But ii was not until she was eighteen
years OF age--a ridiculously youthful age
for so great an event-that her first book
Of sketches, stories. and poems. This. That.
and the other appeared. is, GOO copies be-
ing speedily disposed Of Almost immedi-
ately after that first books appearance,
Louise Chandler married Mr.. William
Moulton the editor and publisher of
Boston paper to which she had been an
occasional contributor"
The Washington times., 1902-01-26

technique. these principles being finally
purely a matter of vibration"
And this again. is lot wholly new
ground since in the Hindu system of
thought, which is now becoming familiar
TO sore Occidental students of mysti-
cism, everything is referred TO vibrations
and explained according to the law of vi
brations.
The book opens with a chapter on the
inherent relation between music and
verse with some account of the history of
poetry. Then come chapters on THE
Arts of Sound" differentiated Notion
Melody Metric Forms" "Heroics.'
and Beauty and Power After finishing
the book the lover of poetry Will be
likely to have a coherent idea. not only
of the principles on which poetry is made,
but the reasons why he likes certain
metres and phrases. The intuitive per-
ception of the poet has enabled him to
construct his lines according to certain
laws as definite as those of mathematics,
and these laws it is the busir ess of the
present author to explain.
The few paragraphs devoted TO the max
ing of the English language are remark
able for their condensed expression of the
spirit of a great period. They are in
part as follows:
There is no nobler vehicle fer the eX-
preston of poetic thought than is fur
nshed by the English language. If it has
not that extreme liquidty peculiar to the
Italian and Spanish, whose golden sylIa-
bles seem to melt one over another like
ripples upon summer seas, yet il has
splendid. virile melody all its own. 1t is
strong. incisive. dynamic. while its opu-
lent vocabulary places in the hands of
the artist an instrument of many strings,
to manipulate at his Will The prepon-
derance OF Anglo-Saxon monosyllables-
which may be used either upon accented
or non-accented beats at the option of
the writer-lend it a peculiar elasticity. at
the same time permitting great possbili-
ties in the matter of terse, concentrated
utterance.
Both the simplification and the ampli-
fcation of the languages we owe to the
Norman.
AT the beginning of the eleventh CEN
tury, with William the Conqueror, came
in new era. He brought to England not
only material conquest. but those subtler
masteries of the ideal to which, superim-
posed upon the sturdy stock of rougher
orders, we give the name OF civilization.
He brought in his train the flower of
Norman knighthood, which, imbued as 1t
was with the chivalry, the magnificence,
the refinement, and the glowing culture
Of the Continent, speedily made itself felt
as a new power throughout the land. In
the S5le examples of architecture, which
even today endure. the Normans left a
lasting monument to the zeal and taste
of that vital period.
But even more revolutionizing was
their influence upon manners, social Gus
toms, literature, and speech.
The revolution extended to the YER
nacular. The conquerors failed to impose
their own language upon the conquered,
hut they SO modified the parent stock
which they received and so infused it
with words OF Latin origin that they
made of ii new language-made. in fact,
out of Anglo-Saxon, English. The Nor
man palate revolted at the Teutonic gut
The Washington times., 1902-01-26

p the train Of thought, he might have
pointed out that in American literature,
poetry has only been found where the
popular religious ditty either has not PEN
etrated or has been overborne by some
thing better. Nobody knows what might
have been the result in American poetry
had the old folk songs of England, Scot
land, and Ireland been the common treas
ure Of the people instead of being super
seded. as they have been, by the mean
ingless trash known as Gospel Hymns"
But the real argument of the book be-
gins with the second chapter. The author
says:
Music and poetry are both the result
Of the discovery by man that the higher
vibrations. either OF sound alone or OF
sound with words, when measured off into
regular periods of time, are pleasant to
the ear. In substance this was an in
stinct. All nature is more or less rec
ognizably rhythmic, and It has been more
than once suggested that the length OF a
breath furnished the primitive quotient
for verse. This is very likely true OF the
metrical outlines-early poetry being
The Washington times., 1902-01-26
Abridged Editions.

Some readers approve Of abridged
editions of famous works. A London pub
Usher announces an abridged edition of
THE Waverley Novels" which will
doubtless sell, for 1t is unlikely that the
astute publisher has risked his capital
on complete uncertainty. 1t speaks well
for the rather studious attitude of the
American reading public, however, that
they generally require extended rather
than abridged editions OF works of value.
Take, for instance, the Thistle edition of
THE Waverley Novels" published by the
Harpers, which sells as steadily as clock
work. 1t is Scott's own edition of 1929
with all the dignity of Sir Walters
general preface. the copious Introductory
notices, the complete glossary, and more
than two thousand illustrations, which
convey much curious information regard
ing the customs and manners OF the times,
and the antiquarian lore which so en-
riches all the works of the great master
of fiction.
The Washington times., 1902-01-26

tural, and, although We still retain traces
of its spelling in such words as rough,
plough, cough, the Teutonic cultural was
discarded. The freer Norman brain also
refused to burden itself with a cumber-
some system of infection; and the inflec-
tion vanished from the forming speech.
But the crowning lingual achievement of
the NOrmans was the substitution in
verse of true rhyme for the Anglo Saxon
allIteration-that is, of endrhyme for
head-rhyme. This, and the enriching of
the language with many resonant, poly
syllable words OF Latin and Greek origin.
which make a splendid foil for the treas
ury of infection-freed monosyllables,
rendered the fruition of a new literature
possible
But this. skillful as It is, is aside from
the main purpose Of the book. The
author points out that In all after his
tory of England. music and poetry have
waxed and waned together. With the
power of the Puritans, poetry and music
together were crushed out. There was no
natural, spontaneous dancing of feet and
heart together. Had he cared to follow
The Washington times., 1902-01-26
An Unliterary Episode.

story of Richard Henry Stoddard
which has recently come to light has
nothing to do with his work, but that
does not injure 1t. Like some other lit
erary men. Mr.. Stoddard has at lis com
mand a vocabulary of considerable size
which is not for publication. nor exactly
an evidence Of good faith. His wife has
succeeded in checking his use of it ex
cept on extraordinary occasions. One
night he had occasion to entertain two
or three friends in the library. They
talked until or 3 o'clock in the morn
ing, when the rest of the household had
retired, and then Mr.. Stoddard became
aware that he was hungry, and pre-
sumably the rest were. So he foraged in
the pantry and brought out, among other
things a box of sardines which he es-
sayed to open with his knife. During the
operation he continued his argument, with
interludes Of a picturesque and forcible
nature.
Presently there came q voice from the
head of the stairs.
"Richardl'
What is 1t, my dear?"
What are you doing?"
I'm trying to open box Of sardines."
What are you using?"
my knife"
"Ah! / thought you weren't opening II
With prayer"
The Washington times., 1902-01-26
A Practical Joke.

The true identity of Henry Somerville,
the author of Jack Racer" has caused
considerable interest in literary circles
All the business in connection with the
books publication had been carried on
by the publishers. Mcclure, Phillips e.
Co, with a supposed newspaper man of
Ohio, who, as they gave out to the press,
had made this first serious attempt in
the field of fiction at the suggestion OF
his mother. who wished him to attempt
something mc-e important than news
paper work" The first intimation of fem
ininity came through the aid of the cam
era, which is usually noted for its truth
fulness. Even the male attire could not
allay the strong suspicious. Finally some
business details demanded Mr.. Somer
ville's appearance in person, and In
walked a vivacious, dark haired little
woman full OF jests and laughter, just the
kind of person to appreciate and draw
character like Jack Racer-and to fool
her publishers. Henry Somerville" turned
out to be Miss Mary Gay Humphreys,
New York magazine and newspaper con-
tributor, recently returned from trip
around the world, including eight months
service as nurse in the army hospitals
in Manila.
The Washington times., 1902-01-26
1.-THE MUSICAL BASIS OF VERSE" By j. F. DABNEY.

on his part. 1t is said Of him. and of many
other poets. that their verse was often
written to the melody of a wordless song
which came to mind before the words were
I evolved, and sometimes before even the
thought had suggested itself. This. IL any
thing. should establish beyond question
the close kinship of music and poetry. IL
not their essential unity
The beginning of the last chapter. and
the end of it, are worth quoting for their
strong and careful statement of the truth
of the whole book.
'The progress of human thought has been
unifying process. Investigation on all
sides proves to us not so much that there
are laws as that there is law. The
scientist today postulates life in all its
manifestations as molecular motion; the
metaphysician postuates thought as mo-
lecular motion. Molecular motion is, in
another word, vibration. and vibration Wa
have seen to be the basis OF the two
highest expressions Of human thought
poetry and music. Science teaches us
further that the force of nature can in
terchange. Colors turn to sound; sound
again to form. If We attach delicate
pencil to the wires OF a pianoforte, place
the point in contact with a prepared
paper, and then strike major chords upon
the keyboard, we shall find the vibrations
of the harmonies transferred to the
paper in loveliest geometric and decora-
tive designs. This ratiocination brings
us round in circles, and demonstrates that
between science and art there is no real
base of conflict, because they are in fact
only different projections of one central
cause.
"Over the inconceivableness of chaos
moved the inspiration of divine thought.
evolving therefrom the conceivable-or-
ganization, measure, proportion, SYM
metry, co-ordination; in another word.
form.
Form, then, is merely the law of ex-
preston.
This generation is wandering through
the barren reaches of esthetic decadence,
the natural reaction from nearly CEN
tury of wonderful production. In the gen.
eral lowering of the ideal atmosphere We
tion. Little men loom before the public
eye like giants. A meretricious impress
sionism has taken the place of inspira-
tion. We endeavor to sting ourselves into
fresh sensation. Poverty of inventive
power says Nauman, ever seeks to glozs
over it's shortcomings by new and start
ling effects One might say that the art
of today, from tie symphonic poem to the
poster, has become largely unresolved
dissonances. But 1t will not always be SO.
The world of art. like the physical cos
mos. must have its fallow seasons, while
the creative spirit slumbers. and the new
forces slowly gather for fresh fruition.
This is the natural and necessary alterna.
tion, the systole and diastole of the uni-
verse"
In other words, il is what the Hindu
calls the inbreathing and outbreathing OF
Brahm. 1t is the swing of the pendulum
from one extreme TO the other. Action
and reaction are the law of the universe.
1t is this intuitive sense of the relation
of the subject of his book TO the deepest
problems of human thought which makes
the work of this author most remarkable.
New York: Longmans, Green G. Coz
The Washington times., 1902-01-26
llTHE Musical Basis of Verse: A

llTHE Musical Basis OF Verse: A
Scientific Study of the Prin-
L ciples of Poetic Composition -
by J. P. DATE ey, is work
which will be valuable to teachers and
students of English literature and to
those who write, or attempt to write.
poetry. 1t is not too much to say that
had this work, or one like it, been gen.
orally read fifty years ago, some new
American poets might havi some 20 light
and good many makers would
have failed to achieve reputation.
In his Science of English Verse;" pub
lished in 1881, Sidney Lanier Brought out
TO some extent the same ideas as this
author, and Mr.. Dabney acknowledges
the debt he owes TO this pt 1eer in the
field. Lanier was a musician before he
into words the principle, instinctively
recognized by every poet who ha, a spark
of the true fire, that really musical verse
is measured by the same principles as
musical composition-that is, IT by the
number of syllables, but by the time
taken in pronouncing them, and that
''slur' in metre is as legitimate as one
in singing The work of the -esent
author is, however, much more than
mere expansion and explanation o! that
of Lanier. He has done original work
on his own lines. One of the points which
he makes is thus stated by him IN the
preface:
In the present work, besides the ex-
position of primary verse-rhythm, az il
lustrated by the bar measurements of
music, l have endeayored TO eIucidate
quality of verse which | have never seen
noticed in any work on metre-viZ., mo-
tion, and the dynamic relation of verse
motion to its theme
The deep relation which exists between
music, poetry, mathematics, architecture,
and other arts and sciences based on
number has been limited at by half the
writer's of English poetry
1t was Emerson who said:
Thou canst not wave thy staff in air.
Or dip thy paddle in the lake
But il the bow OF beauty there,
And the ripples in rhymes the forsake."
Architecture has been defined as frozen
music. Lanier, in his marvellous poem
THE Symphony has SO expressed music
in the terms of poetry that to read tn.
poem is almost like listening to the sym
phony itself; and not only this, but he has
suggested and expressed the relations be-
tween sound, color. and form. For in
stance, here is the expression, "A velvet
flute note and again,
''From out that note
Somewhat, half sound. half odor. forth did float
As if rose should somehow be a throat
In short, all the arts which appeal to
all the five senses are based on principles
essentially the same, and poetry. being
an art which suggests sensuous delights.
but is purely intellectual, must neces-
sarily be rooted in the same common
ground To handle a subject so delicat,
and elusive as this in scientific fashion is
no easy task, but Mr.. Dabney has done
it, and that without shattering any OF the
estheticism.
He states his aim in these words:
In this treatise upon the Musical
Basis of Verse have endeavored TO state
nationally, coherently, and simply what
seem to me TO be the principles of verse
The Washington times., 1902-01-26
A Romance of Reconstruction.

Doubleday Page & Co announce THE
Leopard's Spots" by Thomas Dixon, jr.,
which is described as "a romance OF the
white mans burden" The tale is of the
South during the dark reconstruction
period and up to the present time. 1t
deals with "carpet-bag'' governments,
Kuklux Klan episodes, and the struggle
of earnest men to deliver the land from
lawIessness and crime. The hero of the
story is Charles CASTOR. who plays the
part of lover, lawyer, statesman, and po-
litical Regeneration. but his unusual career
could hardly Ds more startling than that
of the author himself, who. at the age of
twenty. before he could vote, was elected
G. member of the North Carolina Legisla-
ture
The Washington times., 1902-01-26
THE POET AND THE 'POSSUM.

h h
OF type is a Q is writings
a ii ~
eauo tp0Srm claim
n dt H is
friend knowing epeene him n
nud by h fac
to hing tina po t t
ahh woldnt tech de rn fl th @
Ike t the idea fauempig
ginedn Il t norgue ueeoap ppardw with the 10
in the o tn eb shwedu of
oh and mnoq Then eua ap
II mrhrhe hundt etun T amin eel INT
wife 1.-THE o OIo They u poets
u m d
lis hat locke III hesuGu il he hey
they a stood in d OF he p
b d Il poets wife
Goodness skows"a the e d down h b %
Mnd his don ntsnkd
p0um~ was
Mh ma d. ended he b. he
the arOr
ord IS Sher He's s'
Down the aIrmhaa r hecmkm dan excl in h hnd o urh fl h
table la To- h unk O h m
sh man the es out an and h poet is
hn
int ta house uc
The Washington times., 1902-01-26

"Oh, my heart has two wild wings that ever
would be flying!
Oh. my hearts meadow lark that ever would
| be .reei
Well it is that must spin until the light be
dying;
Well it is the little wheel must turn all day
for me!''
| The author also speaks, somewhere else,
OF the fact that Tennysons poem, THE
Lotos Eaters" initiates in its form the
slow rolling up of long, lazy waves upon
the shore He might also have cited Kip
lings Gift of the Sea-" in which the
metre is in exact accord with the rhythm
of the waves upon a quiet beach.
"The dead child lay in the shroud,
I And the mother watched beside.
And her mother slept, and the Channel swept
Its gale in the teeth Of the tide.
"But the mother laughed at all.
i have lost my in the sea,
And the child is dead. Be STILL she said.
What more can ye do to me!' )"
Anyone with some gift for rhyming.
who will take the pains to sit on a beach
some dreamy summer day and write a
stanza in the movement Of the waves as
they come rolling up. each third wave
much longer than the two preceding. will
find that it is in this form.
Mr.. Dabney does. however, cite in this
connection Tennysons more famous
Break, Break, Break but in this poem
the first line possesses a staccato quail
ity expressing a different idea from
that of the later verse. There is storm
and stress and rebellion In the breaking
waves of Tennyson's poem; the kipling
song is dirge.
Many other examples of the mating of
sound with thought might be multiplied
The study of poetic form is fascinating,
and doubly so when carried on with the
aid of so thorough student as this.
The scientific quality OF Kipling's verse
is worth studying in this way, and al
though the present author has not seen
fit to give many examples of this poets
work, it is he who among latter-day sing
ers has perhaps most fully recognized the
absolute accuracy of the rules of verse
making. There is not a poem of his in
which the form is not selected with view
to its appropriateness to the subject.
The most powerful examples Of this, per-
haps, are THE Last Chantey," which is
well known, and 1.-THE First Chantey,"
which is not. In the former which deals
with the sailors rude conception of a
heavenly existence, he has employed the
form of a very old English chantey, or
hymn, whose swinging rhythm lends itself !
easily to the powerful and almost gro
tesque imagery. In "The First Chantey," |
which describes the discovery of the pos |
sibility of navigation by two primeval |
forest lovers who escape from their enc
mics by means of a floating log, the gar
ment of the woman serving as a sail. |
Kipling employs the very movement of |
primitive chant Of triumph, and that not
of England, but of some region hidden in
the midst of prehistoric obscurity:
Mine was the woman to me, darkIing 1 found
her,
Halng he dumb from the camp, held her and
bound her.
Hot were her tribe on our track ere had proved |
Hearing her laugh in the gloom, greatly loved
her.
In this the poet has so far yielded to
his sense of the necessity of fitting ex-
preston for primitive emotion that he has
almost invented new metre. And this |
is not the only instance of such daring /
The Washington times., 1902-01-26
The Man of TuSkegee.

Booker T. Washington's autobiography,
"Up From Slavery" has become a book
Of worldwide renown. Arrangements
have recently been made through the pub
fishers, Doubleday, Page. G. Co.. for its
publication in Switzerland in German,
and in Finland in Finnish, and a special
Spanish edition is soon to be published
for Cuba. 1t has already appeared in
Hindustanee, and the translations into
the French and German were among the
first to be undertaken. leading article
by TIL. Benton in the Revue des Deux
Mondes" names 1t as a book that quail
ity of human interest which will bring
il to the front wherever men aspire TO
know the greatest achievements of their
fellows.
The Washington times., 1902-01-26
Reasons of Popularity.

The publishers of THE Right of Wav"
have been investigating the secret Of its
vogue. They printed advertisements ask
ing readers 70 say why they had read the
book. They got 1.4S6 answers. tabulated
with this result:
I'll said they had heard 1t favorabIy
spoken oil by friends who had either
read it serially or in book form.
4cS had seen 1t advertised or both adver-
tised and reviewed.
ia had read reviews OF II.
Sc had read something the author had
written previously and liked his style.
81 had read the serial themselves, and
wanted he book in consequence.
% replies gave frivolous reasons-"be-
cause they had the price" because "a
fool and his money are soon parted"
because they were dull ard wanted
something exciting" because they
wanted something to talk about"
because they read all the new
books" they wanted to be up to
date etc. etc.
The Washington times., 1902-01-26

species of recitative-and the finer ele-
ments of primary rhythm were only grad
ually evolved"
He then goes on to divide poetry into
two-beat and three-beat rhythm, and to
show how the various movements may be
measured, pointing out that the measure
ment of the groups is always to be made,
not necessarily for the opening note or
syllable but from accent to accent.
In the next chapter the fact is noted
that music and poetry possess the COM
mon quality of motion, as distinct from
the other arts. which are stationery. The
relation of rhythm to the idea is then
discussed and illustrated by examples
from English verse. One Of the best OF
these examples is from the work of one of
the younger American poets, Josephine
Preston Peabody, who has written this
Spinning Song"
Moon in heavens garden, among the clouds that
wander. ,
Crescent moon So young to see, above the April
ways, ,
Whiten bloom not yet, not yet, within the
twilight yonder;
All my spinning is not done, for all the loiter-
ing days
The Washington times., 1902-01-26
Not a Dog Story.

In Harold MacGrath's novel, Tho Pup
pet Crown" there is what the lovers OF
animals call a bully good dog.
A San Francisco woman was told about
this dog of his love for his royal mis-
tress. of his being abused by the rabbIe
because he was hers, and o. hts timely
rescue but she did not quite catch The
title of the book. Prompted by Il curl
osity to learn the poor animals fate, sic
went into a book store and innorentiy
asked: