davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01
THE CAPTAIN BY Churchill Williams

1t seems that the books of the pres
end day grow more full of the war
and-war times than they do of home
life or romance. Really and truly
they grow more warlike with every
passing month and give less of the
home life each time.
1 like the way Williams writes very
much, he has a mode of stating fact
followed by a full stop which is UNI
usual and entertaining. His style is
graphic and concise and his descriptive
power far above the average. The de-
scrfption Of the forty-seven day siege
OF Vicksburg is just and impartial and
very interesting. When one finishes
the book they have a very much clear
err and higher opinion of THE Captain
who is Gen. Grant-than ever before.
The story opens with the period
just previous to the beginning Of hos
Titles in the great four years struggle
known as the Civil War. The scenes
are carried on through the war and
some time afterwards. The eharac-
ters are mostly southern, and the two
southern girls pictured IN the story
are Southern indeed and very loyable.
The Captain II given a fine charac-
ger, upright, honest. patient and calm,
Dhder repeated misfortuneg and re-
verses
The story ends right sitter the sur
lender 81 Nicksburg, and just after
'''s Two southern girls haze Yery grace
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01
THE LIFE WITHIN

Usually the aim of book is soon
recognized-its purpose begins with the
beginning and closes with the end. If
the motive of THE Life Within" is an
argument for Christian Science, it has
failed in its significance. We confess
to have had desire or curiosity to
get a glimpse into the thoughts and
feelings of Christian Scientists, we
supposed would be portrayed in a story
of human life.
and miraculous cure from a broken
spine of a long bed-ridden invalid. The
thing was done miraculously, by a
word. The instrument is a woman
Christian Scientist The invalid's ex-
PLANTATION of her recovery is, II dis
covered that my disease was only a
lack of understanding. l found that
the mind of God was really my life;
that mind could not be ill or hurt;
that / was only an expression of that
mind and that was simply held down
by my wrong belief. When 1 felt the
life, the divine life, which is mine,
arose and walked as the afflicted of old
arose when the finger of God touched
him and bade him rise" Accidents are
unknown to the Immortal mind. The
real ME-the woman-was uninjured:
and when l was able to realize that,
and that my body was in reality but
the reflection of the mind, then my
spine was no longer even what you
call 'broken'-not even what Prof. Long
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01

BY Myrfa Locker Avary.

breast of the Southern women that
equals the feeling of consideration in
the Northern heart displays when
Womanhood is thrown on the mercy
of Manhood. The story is thoroughly
Southern, and yet not one line- CRATES
on the Northern sense of justice. This
show of affectionate consideration for
a question that has made an indelible
mark on the pages of American MIS-
tory, will make "A Virginia Girl
popular.
In "A Virginia Girl of the Civil
War" Myrta Lockett Avary has given
the literary world a book that is in
teresting and valuable is a record Of
history. There is a pardonable vanity
on the part of the heroine who tells
her adventures, when one takes into
consideration how stirring were the
times, and how unusual 1T was at that
period for a woman to assume an in
dependent role in the worlds affairs
and escape the customs and environ
ments, that excluded her from public
life.
There is a dramatic movement In
the story that claims the attention
of the reader. There are clearly pict-
ured incidents of hardships endured
because of love; of festivities en-
ployed to further the cause; of chival-
ry and gallantry that would match
the escapades of the quaint old Roar
ers of the past, who went about de-
Tending fair women whomever they
were.
Throughout the tale there are COL
ored descriptions of Southern home
life, that, since the war, have become
traditions, and the odor of hot buck
wheat lavendar scented sheets, crys-
tai dishes and snow-white nappery,
mix and mingle in grateful confusion
as the reader followS the tired, travel
stained heroine, into the colonial
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01

calls broken. When 1 was able to
eradicate the image of disease and
hurt, / was we'll" Another character
in this story is made to say: When
l was in N'York last winter I had the
rheumatics till l thought I'd die, or
l had the bileef in rheumatics. TIL was
a kind lady had the room next me,
an she asted about me groanin' an
a carryin' on, an she asted about me,
an in she comes. She hadn't set with
me long until all tn pain was gone"
The cured invalid's niece becomes the
active instrument" throughout the
story. She casts the demon" out of
a drunkard, the "devil'' out of a woman
of low degree; she vanquishes cancer
and smallpox-makes the objects of
these diseases clean by a look. She
is very young, very beautiful and very
high class. Thus she explains her po-
sition: Il am simply an instrument
to be used" when you understand
you know that you are a part of Gods
spiritual and eternal universe You are
own kin to the stars up there" .
The life pulses through all of US"
at is possible to make that
life felt from one of us to another"
do you know how 1 feel? AL
most as though 1 could fly. You know
that if we really wanted to, and in
sisted upon it. we could-after some
generations" How did birds
ever become to be birds instead of fish
es and reptiles? BY believing that they
could fly and trying it,. The father
of the young woman, after long OBJ
duracy, comes under the influence of
his daughter, and his life is saved
by her as he lay dying with crushed
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01

chest. After his recovery he is made
to say to his wife, who called her
daughters faith a fad: THE truth
is the truth. 1t is the thing that is.
What matter except to us, whether we
accept it or deny 1t? We cannot
change it except for ourselves If we
are not borne along by it's current, we
are put off the stream of life. We get
into the eddies and die there. We COM
init spiritual and mental suicide. Truth
is life" Il suppose you understand
what you mean" his wife said This
man had before been known to say OF
Christianity: IF it is real it will
live" And the author goes on to say:
And he had seen it dying. Not III
| numbers perhaps. Christianity has
long been looked upon as a good reIi.
gion, politically speaking, and it is
interpreted by its present priesthood
Japan seriously considered accepting
it as a national religion on that ac-
count, and almost any conservative
whatever his private opinion may be,
would rejoice to see it held by the
lower classes"
The argument for Christian Science
is yelled under the assertion that the
Christian Church is intolerant; and the
medical profession lacking in under
standing. But the argument of the
work, If 1t may be called argument.
is characterized by assertion and not
reasoning. We are left with an i'm
preston Of defense against persecu-
ton, and plea for the acceptance of
a new faith, without any ineligible
explanation of it.
Aron Nossirrah,
Lothrop Publishing Co.. Boston.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01

home of that kind hearted old coupIe
the Bollings, who float the bonny blue
flag over their heart convictions. bur
hold no resentful feelings towards the
flag that Great Britain could never
Wrest from American hands.
There is not a dull page in "a Vir-
g1nia Girl in the Civil War" There is
no EVIDENT attempt to make the plot
sparkle, for the thread of the story
enwinds as evenly and smoothly as
though some interesting speaker was
incidentally telling the tale. Besides
the story is clean and wholesome. and
there is not a malicious character in
the book
The book abounds with good prom
Uses for the future. 1t proves that the
autnors pen is verile and sharp, and
mat 1t hoWs swiftly. and directly to
denuements that are pathetic. huInor-
Gus and tragic. 1t proves that her
mind is not cloyed with conventional
ideas, and that she can say what she
has to say, vigorously and in a man
ner most pleasing
There is no marshalling of men in
tiresome detail on the battle grounds
no family history dragged in on vel
lum,no exposure of rabid sectional diff
ferences, for the story deals with fair
scenes, brave men, and womanly wom-
en-, who have duties to perform ana
perform them gracefully an6 cheerful
~, whether the actor be one who
wears the blue or the gray. When the
story draws to close, the reader finds
himself in intimate relationship with
the hopeful, cheerful, optimistic hero
Inc, who has followed her soldier hus-
band through life as devotedIy as she
did from camp to camp in a war that
records the noblest struggle that was
ever made for independence in the his
tory OF the world-The Civil War
Lollie Belle Wylie
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01

In "A Virginia Girl In the Civil
War; the author, Myrta Lockett Ava
ry, deals with energetic, courageous
characters, and she presents them in
a bright, brave way.
From the beginning of the story to
the end, interest centers around the
heroine, Nell Gray, who is an unaf-
fectedly portrayed prototype of the
ante-bellum, Southern woman.
The author is a Southern woman.
She is a Virginian. The color on her
brush is true, and the atmosphere she
generates for the scenes of her first
book, is like a tonic.
The hero of the story is one of those
intrepid, yet clinging, women who are
loyal and steadfast to the idols they
have set upon the alter of their hearts
Love, Duty and Religion. The he
roes are chivalrous, courteous men
who have made the South famous as
the center of aristocracy of America.
The principal thing in favor of "A
Virginia Girl In the Civil War" is that
it is free of pedantry, and any at
tempt at forwardness, which makes
an ordinary author tiresome. The
naievete with which Mrs. Avary pre-
sents her story makes it hold. Her
heroine is ingenious and frank. She
is more. She is charming and wom-
anly. The frankness with which she
meets the blue coated enemy, wins for
her affectionate regard, and her youth
and dependence his protection. At
this point of the story, the author is
lust and broad. She handles her yam
kee subjects with as much fairness
as she does the Southern men and
women with whom she deals. She
creates elements of tenderness in the
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01
TREND OF THOUGHTS
ALONG PATHS LITERARY

We are reminded often in looking
over the volume of publications for the
week of the quaint philosophy of an old
country codger who lives in the noun
tains of kentucky. He is away from
contact with the world and the trend
of current events, but he manages to
peruse a few literary papers each
month. When the writer called to
see him some time ago he let drop the
following remark:
''Thar's lots of bad literature pub
lished to-day, but thar's also lots of
good. Eff man wants something
good to read he can surely find 1t.
In looking over the week in the book
world the truth of this statement is
very manifest There have been some
books put upon the market calculated
to elevate, while some others, such as
the Christian Science novel, reviewed
elsewhere on this page, which are cal
culated to do more harm than good.
The author of this novel was ashamed
to attach any name, preferring to
have the publishing house shoulder the
responsibility of the work. The day
has long since passed when a nom-de-
plume received as much attention from
the reading world as a straight name.
The day of unsigned contributions has
long since disappeared, and even the
society editor of the daily paper de-
clines to publish an announcement of
an afternoon tea unless 1t be signed
by the one who sent it.
We are glad to note that book call
ed 1.-THE Study Of the Negro Artisan"
has appeared in pamphlet form. 1t ema-
mates from the Atlanta Colored Uni
versity. and Is a book of some 200
pages. 1t shows that the negro work.
men are attaining very fair efficiency
in what might be called the lower arti-
san trades The book makes a. mistake
in calling for a change of the law pro-
hibiting colored and white workmen
laboring side by side. If the negro is
ever to attain any measure of efficiency
as workman, or his people ever to be-
come elevated above the common
horde, they must do so by themselves
| and not by the mixing of efforts by
the two races. They must cut out
their own path to a higher station,
and they must live within their own
| race, as the white man has lived with
in his race.
The revival of the Poe controversy
has made the literary papers all over
| the country echo in defense of and in
opposition to the merits of Poe. We
are inclined to believe that even
though Poe were a plagarist, even
| tuOuSl his style was ;,
he improved so vastly on that other
mans original as to make his produc-
tons rank at the top and win the
plaudits of all the people.
This is a day of peculiar titles. We
have books with such quaint and
unique titles as The Fool" THE
Whirlwin6,' The Circle" The Mis-
sissippi Bubble" The Leopard s
Spots" 1.-THE Lions Whelp," Tito, =
|
we dare not try to pronounce, Kit
Wykke." Verify we are advancing ir
a higher plain in the literary world. Il
unique titles is a mark of the fact.
The book world for the week has
been rather quiet, but after March
when the spring publications begin &c
come in, there will be quite a fiutter
of excitement; at which time this col
umn will attract until itself a more
| lively interest.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01
RECENT DISCOVERIES OF
ANCIENT BIBLICAL MANUSCRIPTS

Recent dispatches from Europe an
10 be the most ancient of all biblical
manuscripts yet discovered. The dis
covery of the manuscript occurred In
Syria and it is now on exhibition at
Cairo, Egypt. The manuscript con-
tains portions of the Old Testament
written in the Samaritan characters,
which are more nearly like the ancient
Canaanitish characters than any other.
This alone gives the manuscript
special significance, as the text critics
recognize that one of the fruitful
sources of error in the transmission Of
the text has been the possibility of mis-
takes in copying a book written in an
obsolete character.
The manuscript is dated in the year
l13 of the Mohammedan era, which be-
gan in A. D. 622 Thus it will be seen
the manuscript dates about A. D. 1856.
In the Pentateuch some peculiarly in
teresting features are reported. There
is a passage of fifteen lines Immediately
following the decalogue, which affords
some new light on the ancient Israeall-
fish legislation. The date of this manu-
script carries it back into heart of the
Masoretic period, and should give some
informal ton upon Masoretic methods.
The oldest manuscript of the Hebrew
Scriptures, up to the present, has been
copy of the later prophets, preserved
at St Petersburg, and bearing the date
of A. D. 916. There are a number of
.s1lI IL. Iax
claim to much greater antiquity; but
these are the fraudulent products of a
Jew named Firkowitzsch. A manu-
script of the Pentateuch, in the British
museum, is generally conceded to have
been written in the tenth century The
uncritical layman will observe that
more than a thousand years lie between
these documents and the latest books
included in our caconical Old Testa-
ment; while the earliest manuscripts
we possess Of the New Testament are
four or five centuries older than the
Petersburg manuscript.
The fact that this manuscript is writ
ten in the Samaritan character has
another feature of interest. Since the
discovery of the existence of a Samari-
tan Pentateuch, in A. D. 1916, 1t has
been usual to discredit its value for
critical purposes; though it contains
dDOuI O,OOO variations lTOIl the NnOSO-
retic text, mostly of minor Importance.
But the Septaugint corresponds more
nearly with the Samaritan than with
the Hebrew; many quotations in media
eval writer's tend In the same direction,
while our manuscripts of the Septaugint
are older. than any Hebrew texts.
1t is to be hoped that the reported dis
covery will not prove another fraud.
like the Shapiro case of 1888 A copy
of Deuteronomy, written upon scraps
of leather, and without the features
that produce the chief critical prob
lens, was produced. The Jew Shapiro
reported that it was secured from some
Arabs, the manuscript having lain for
centuries in the land of Moab. But
those familiar with the land of Moab
asserted that there was not a cave In
the region dry enough to preserve the
manuscript and on various grounds it
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01
HIDDEN MAMMA ByA. J. Dawson

face. After the ceremony this veil is
removed and she views for the first
time her life companion.
Some very amusing incidents occur
during the time of wooing. The lover
will come to the home. and through a
servant send a message (often one of
extreme sweetness and which it is ex-
ceedingly embarrassing for him to
send to the woman of his choice. whom
he has never seen and will not see un-
I'll after he wins her as his bride. Of
tentimes there are two lovers after
the same girl with the same messenger
to carry their messages back and
forth. This leads to a bribing of the
messenger or go-between, by one of
the other of the lovers, causing the
carrying of false messages. These
messages, of course. lead to the rejec-
ton of one lover by the maiden, unless
she finds out in some way the untrust-
worthiness of her servant.
Hidden Mama" describes this life
and is intensely interesting, and at
times very ludicrous, looked at from
our standpoint. "a. S. Banes & Co.,
New York, $3.50.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01
EDNA LYALL, AN APOSTLE
OF CLEAN LITERATURE

There should be sincere cause for re-
joicing among the makers and lovers
Of literature, that the strata of erotic
morbid material which has been so
successfully utilized by novelists of
recent years, seems to be nearly ex-
hausted. Such books as 1.-THE Triumph
of DEATH" Jude, the Obscure" The
Gadhy," 1.-The Heavenly Twins" and
others, may be. they are, intensely in
teresting, they deal with the life of
the nerves, the secret passions, of
which most of us are ashamed; and,
assuming the nature of stolen wa
ters," they are as Solomon says,
sweet" But they are not wholesome.
They plant false ideas of life in the
minds Of young readers, and since we
have no literary censor to say what
beginners shall peruse and what they
shall ignore, the evil is likely to per-
petuate itself.
We have noticed of late years, how
ever, return to more healthy tone
in current literature. Many of the his
tor1cal novels, large proportion of
the swash buckling romances. and not
a few of the mystery" books, evince
this welcome trend. They are intended
to be exciting, but they are not en-
phatically prurient. They do not en-
courage the consciousness in dwelling
continually on things which should
merely dilute the thoughts, and in
stead they give a healthy impetus to
the minds which they reach when
those minds are the most susceptible
10 lasting impression.
We have much cause for thanking
Edna Lyall,. the English authoress
who has just passed away, for her
contributions to this worthy movement
IN English literature. Perhaps her
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01

There have been few stories written
telling of the life in Morocco, al
though this country and this people
offer wide range for the imaginative
powers and romantic description of
the novelist.
"EIidden Mamma" is not a romantic.
but rather it is a dramatic episode. 1t
1t quite easy for the reader, as he sits
in his or her home, to imagine that
instead of at home they are far away
in the land of people whose life and
whose character is as different from
ours as it is possible for it to be.
The love story of this people is diff
ferent from the love story of our peo-
pie, in that lovers make love through
others and not direct. The woma1 is
not allowed to see the man who is
seeking her hand until after she be-
comes his wife. During the marriage
ceremony, she wears thick, heavy
cloth through which no light can PEN
citrate, which completely covers her
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01

strongest work is to be found in
Donovan" I'VE Two" and "A Hardy
Norseman." While human life is de-
picted in these works in it's most pes
simistic aspect, at the same time each
plot carries its own antidote, and the
moral of the books is essentially of an
uplifting influence. 1--WE Two and
Donovan" deal largely with the top
les of atheism and agnosticism. They
are written, however, reVerently
fairly. At the same time they are not
impregnated with that quality of
"gush" which so disgusts one in the
average religious" work. The men
are self-sacrificing, strong, humane.
The women sympathetic, pure, inn
proving. If at any stage Miss Lyall
weaves in characters of doubtful NOR
atty. they are used only as foils for
the lasting qualities of virtue in the
remainder of the novels personnel
In combination with these desirable
achievements, Miss Lyall has done
more. She has established that a book
may be interesting without being de-
pressing. She has not overlooked the
tragic phase of life, but she has prob
ed deeper into the core of human be-
ings, and shown us that ultimate good
comes out of all somber situations
For this difficult and grateful task, she
deserves the thanks of all readers.
Some one has said beautifully, sim
ply, that HE who makes two blades
of grass grow where stood one" is a
benefactor of humanity. Taken down
to its last analysis, that is what Miss
Lyall has done for the world of liter
ature, and while she may not meas
ure up to the stringent requirements
of the cynical critic, she has given a
breath of wholesome air, and a heart
full of hope, to many of the unfortun-
ates who dwell continually in lifes
Tower stories"
Sam w. Dibble.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01

Ger has some understanding. He
shows those when he speaks of the
parson entering the inn, and brushing
the cat aside to get for himself the
warmest seat at the fire. There is so
much truth in this, that 1t makes us
forgive Mr.. Chaucer for his other lit
tie shortcomings. 1t hits us pretty
close. Our wife attended a donation
party at the new parsons the other
night, and she carried a cart load of
cake, and other fol de rol, upon which
she had expended our substance.
While she was gone we dined on cold
greens.
One of the chief objections we find
to Mr.. Chaucer's book is the spelling,
which is miserable. We wonder if he
knows that we do job work in the
latest style, and guarantee satisfac-
ton? We would be ashamed to have
a book go out of our house with MISS
spelling in every line, though of course
a number of such errors on each page
are allowable. Mr., Chaucer should
choose a better printer next time.
"Sir Roger de Coverly." and other
papers, by Jos. Addison
Mr.. Addison has pleased us very
much, and if he wants a, years sub
scription to our paper, all he has got
papers telling of the happenings in
his neighborhood. He will find him
self in good company. because our
subscribers know that every week we
print Dots from Doddville," Here
hiah Happenings" and "Pottsville
Pointers" Mr.. Addison gets so close
to life sometimes that we can almost
see a rabbit in his bed in the black
berry patch, to use a figure of speech.
Sir Roger de Coverly is Squire Jones
all over again, except that he did not
die in his bed and Sir Roger did.
1.-THE Rhine of the Ancient Mariner"
by S. T. Coleridge.-
Another case of dope. If Sam Jack
son, our able representative does not
support the measure now pending in
the legislature, for the suppression of
this evil, we shall be compelled to
withdraw our support when he makes
his next race.
Masters B. Stevens.