New-York tribune., 1903-02-17
LITERARY NOTES.

fessor OF pastoral theology and Biblical archae-
aioey in the Theological Seminary OF Lincoln
University for his book which is being pun
lished by the Fleming H. Reven Company. The
arguments for the Identification of various
spots IN Palestine are fully traversed and the
authors Own impressions set forth Referring
10 the barren part of Judea. he points out that
its sterility has been somewhat over-ernpha-
sized.
While there is no other region in Syria where
such wide eXpanse OF rugged surface anu anu
dreaEy waste can be found. the Judeah "liueI
ness is not an utter desOlation. ''Wlthout Ilee
or shrub sign of vegetation. as some Wills.
who have seen il only under the wltherins
f,1irh+ Of the summer sun, have described II
throughout its extent as already inliilaleu.;
-ber. are many places barren and wild, beyono
description where it Is literally true tnat 10
waters murnur, chirp OF songDro is neaLu.
and no leaf blade Of grass stlTs IN 'ns
breeze. but this is not true Of the dlsIlCl ds
q whole. -.
Tn The Scriptures there are frequent refer
cnces TO the pastures of the Wlloerhess
Ike all the rest of Judea this district is past
llre range for sheep and goats, but II Is ohlH
available for this purpose. save IN q lsm eAreP 81
tional locations. i'm the WINTER anu eaIls -
tion Of the spuing time AT thus season s Ln
slopes thinly covered with grass anI
spangled with flowers, and even anna the luseto
rocks OF the wild goats" which border 'he
Dead Sea there are succulent herbs and clunps
IF thorny shrubs and little basins OF green
r,sstIJrage The writer has q large flock of
sheen and goats, under shepherds care. among
he Wild rocks which border the Wady en- Mar
beru-een Mar Saba and the Dead Sea. and II is
4 well known fact that the BedaWln trloeS
which claim this district as their peculiar her-
+-are 6nd subsistence for their focks at certain
seasons of the year over the entire range or the
wilderness section.
SneakinR of the imagination OF the artist in
his hook on THE Meaning of Pictures" which
the Scribners have just issued. John c Van
Dyke writes:
There is no metaphysical or asthetic term TO
designate an absence OF The inlaginatlon, pu. !:
possibly the words 'baroque,' or bornbasCc,
1Ijn suggest the results in art. And there is no
lack Of material illustrate it, Unfortunately.
the master minds in both poetry ana painuns
have been few and far between Ihe names
and works that have come down TO US from the
rsst are the survivals from many slftlngs: ana
she few geniuses of the present are perhaps sun
,oF,sc,1red by the bonn bastic performances OF
smaller men The Robert MOntgonleryS ana
tT7s Martin Farorhar Tuppers somehow contrive
IN make a stir and 10 delude the public into
considering them as originals They have not
imagination of their own so they lmltate the
ir1aginatfve utterances srd styles OF others
Not one but many styles Of many men are thus
brought together IN q conglomerdtlon that may
deceive the groundlings into thinking it genuine
poetry; but the judicious soon mo OUT IT'S rue
character. Of course, all imitators try 10 in1l-
tate the inimita ble indvidualities The Mont
roTneTvs and the Tuppers aspire 10 no less Ihdn
Sbs skesr,eare and Milton. Just so IN plctorlal
ert Tasari. Guido. the Caracci reached out lot
-hs fr1aeinations Of Michael Angelo, RaphaeI
.uA forregeio. The result was the contorted ana
boa bastic art of the Decadence, than Whcn
rcne could be less imaginative and more mon
I
sitv distorted the image in the first place anu
then q Salviau came along TO dlstort the ais
tor+iont The figure Of Madonna, for instance
IS elongated by Correggio tor grace ana I 81 IN
gianino following after, elongated the eionea-
ton, This is what have called the ooTnbasuc-
Modern painting is full OF it.
Mrs John Van Worst contributed conoensa-
-ion Of parts of The Woman Who Tolls, the
hook upon which she has cola borated with ner
sister-in-law Miss Marie Van Worst, 70 the
-Revue des Deux Mondes." The article whlch
she entitled ''LrOuvriere aux Etats Unis," was
ouoted at length in various daily newspapers OF
Paris Ferdinand Brunetiere gave the author
a dinner lately in Paris.
Harper & Bros. announce a new edition OF
Eliza r Scidmore's book. "Jinrikisha Days IN
Japan"
The hook on The American Cotton Indus
try which the Scrfbners are publishing, the
work of a visiting Englishman, 7. NJ Young
Is under tood to be the result OF a personal IL
,estiEation carried on for the purpose OF IN
forming the British operators as to American
methods It seems that the author is hirnselL
interested in the industry in Manchester. and
took this method of careful study in the in
terests Of the Manchester spinners. Discussing
the relative working and wage earning powers
Of the English and American workman. and the
popular belief that the American works harder
than the English. Mr.. Young writes:
Now. leaving the Southern States out Of &C
count for factory life there is in very early
stage OF development. 1 think that this com
mon belief is o. the whole. mistaken I am by
no means convinced by what ] have seen ana
heard that IN the cotton industry, at any rate,
fhe American operative works harder than the
English or is more efficient; the contrary,
am satisfied that the standard Of skill is con
eiderably higher in Lancashire than in New
England There Is no doubt that the wages
earned in New England mills. especially for all
operations subsequent 10 spinning Except slash-
tng) are higher than in the Lancashire mills
but am not satisfied that for the necessities OF
life except his house and lodging the Aner1-
workman has to pay. on the whole hlsheI
prices than the Englishman. That is TO say, L
90 not think that such articles OF food,
clothing and furniture as the Lancashire work
man b11ys with his wages are. taking them
altogether. dearer in America If this be true
II follows that real wages'-that is, the guam
Injuries which the nominal or money wages will
procure for the recipient-are, on the whole,
higher in w-England than in Lancashire
In the spring. @. p. Putnams Sons Will have
ready the first volume OF a new series called
Little French Masterpieces" The first volume
VIII be devoted to Prosper Merimee. Grace King
will supply an introduction. The translation
throughout is TO be the work of George Burn
ham Ives. who has made translation Of the
works Of Balzac. Alexander Jessup VIII edit
the series. The first division of ii will COM
prise six volumes Of fiction each TO contain the
most representative stories Of a single author.
and besides the critical essay frontspiece
portrait and a compact bibliography. The
other volumes of the fiction group are as FOL
lows: .'C7ustave FIaubert" with an introduc-
ZION by Frank 7. Marzials; 'Theophile Gautier"
t7v Walter Berries Pollock; 'Alphonse Daudet"
by William P. Trent; Guy de Maupassant,' by
Frederick-Cesar de Sumichrast; and ''Honore
de Ralzac" 10y Ferdinand Brunetiere.