The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-09-15

under conditions the most extraordinary.
such az no other section Of this country
ever had the faintest glimpse Of II was
a time ii peril, q ~perplexity. II chaIacte.
sitting. OF tremendous demands upon
courage, fidelity. honor. capability. and
1orbeardnce. II Was altogether unique.
astonishing, shifting and solidifying.
This novel has unmistakable vigor, dash.
clearness. comprehensiyene-s, and 4 iIiriy
accurate understanding Of actual coudI-
irons and holiness Of action. Considering
that the author did not 1--we in those dark,
troublous times. he has drawn as a
whole 4 very vivifying, shining, Appealing
picture. 1t is an attempt to treat ii ~
era Of most marked %pccuhanties and
temptations and excuses. 1t IS an ann
mated, forceful portrayal Of the mot ~
traordinary times a great, brave. free
people we're ever called upon to plss
through: times 50 very extraordinary they
it'd necessarily to lie marked by eXtror-
binary events. No doubt there IS some
cxaegeration in the book which Is not
surprising. Everything took on then HI
the mighty ~upheaval most exaggerated.
astonishing form. The oyerdraWing-the
too free use Of colors here and there IS
only a necessary concomitant Of the seeth-
ing pot and the angry growing and multi
plying scoundrelism Of the darksome
period that eifted the wheat from the
chaff. It was a cleansing, purifying, up
building ordeal and only true, noble man
hood was able to bear the shock, ana to
COME out Of it al with the stamp ot
virtue and patriotism and love upon it.
There i not more excess Or eXaggeration
in 'sThe LeopaId's Spots than mark tire
best stories placed amid stormy scene
and in the needs Of 4 great social, poll.
teal and financial cataclysm. Exaggera-
ton, if there he such, is permissible. Are
the scenes and character painting any
more excessive than they are found ia
Victor Hugo's splendid novel. The
Hunchback of Eotre Dame" or il
Dumas's gre@t Trilogy, or SCOTS splendid
triad, Guy Mannering,'' "IVanhoe,' AZ
"KenilWorth" that equal any other three
great novels by the Great Wizard Of the
North or by any other master IN the
mighty realms Of creative fiction? Is
there more Of exaggeration in Dixon than
can be found in the masterpieces 81
Dickens, one Of the worlds supreme mas
ters-in Great Expectations in "tIartir
Chuzzlewit' or "A Tale of Two Cities
and Of one or two others?
I am delighted that MI. Dixon has Writ
ten the novel | am considering. | T.
joice IN its success, because It IS Of Eortl
Carolina warp and wool and filing, and
that it is now rapidly advancing in il,
sale in It's second hundred thousand. The
South should buy at least a quarter Of I
million copies. 1t IS a capital offset t.
the book Of Mrs. Harriet stowe. the New
England woman, who did 50 much harm ia
her day and generation. Her book II
Iauded in Yankee-doodledom as a splendid
work Of genius, and dangerous 0as il
proved 10 be, it has placed the writer 81
it on the highest round Of pedestals II
the New England Valhalla along with
Lincoln, John Brown, and some other OF
the foremost people who are idoiized "gI
there The Leopard's Spots" is a very
clever strike-back at "Uncle Tom
Cabin The Yankees will not read it
because of its truth, and the shifting it
gives the North. That is a very bright