New-York tribune., 1903-04-29
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
Studies in Ethics, Experience, Fic-
ton and History.


collected some short chapters of meditauons'
inspired. in religious mood, as the dedication
suggests, by the death Of dearly loVeo youiis
son Some of these essays are in the nature Oh
little sermons, spoken often ins a note OF au-
fhority and CT firm reliance on matters OF Lal'n'
many are addressed personally 20 the reaoeI'
with intent TO point out new roads to happiness
and admonish on the conduct OF lie: others
are short conversations, even controversies
al times between the author and dual spirit
a sort of Socratic daen1on, who is calico ihe
Friend" and who is allowed superior Wlsooih
and a more unfailing grace Again we come
here and there. solitary thought concheo III
a sentence standing by itself, and carrying some
message Of the authors convictions among
these none is more graceful than that WHICH
follows a discussion with THE Friend on the
merit of Biblical criticism: THE Bible teens
with words of life as the Heavens TEEN with
stars: and like the stars these words are
worlds
or The Friend" this tolerant conscience at
his elbow the author speaks frankly and with
some Characterization. II is a spirit which mas
seen ancient times but is vigorous win the
life Of the hour that has been in all good
fights has listened the prophets on SINAI
and IN Judea, has prayed on Calvary, loves
Plato and Homer. and laughs in his long
beard" al denial OF the Spirit This book OF
philosophic advice, closes with a Credo which
makes no doctrinal postulate beyond Godhead
manifest throughout creation.
The personality Of the author OF such book
as Penal Servitude by W. B. NJ &C. P. Put
nan's Sons. is OF no consequence. beyond the
interest of social gossip though the matter of
identity has been pretty thoroughly aired, and
can hardly be ignored by any one who' being
Of nr,6
in the summer of 1896 reads the authors re-
hearsaI Of 1.-The case OF l. V. S.
c. The "details and progress Of the diff
culties in which the author found himself,
his accountability 10 the law. and the conduct
OF his prosecution together with his experiences
tn serving five years sentence-decreased by
good conduct TO three years and nine months
are recounted in the first sixth OF the book the
remainder Of which is given up TO discussion
of the conditions and injustices of the British
prison system and the attitude OF society toward
The convicted The author makes the sac
rihce Of the additional publicity which such
a publication ncurs. in the hope Of ameliorating
the lot OF those who fall under the arm Of the
law.
That society does not end its punishment
With the conclusion OF sentence is an old COM
plant and not easily answered Indeed
the author probably errs IN speaking Of his
prominent social position and its comparative
effect. when he says that mine out Of ten in
The ordinary walks of life are able, leaving
prison. TO hide their identity and start afresh
tr they choose 10 do so.'' The partial justih-
cation Of his course. which the author makes,
will interest those who followed the case, and
carries some force. 1t is in better taste than
his account-quite an unnecessary further sac
rifice of publicity.-of the reception, kind and
unkind, accorded him by friends and acquaint-
ances after his discharge. As a Straightforward
tract against abuses based personal ex-
rerfence. the book which makes no pretence to
literary interest, is serviceabie.
There is bound to be something of the an
thology about such a book as the Guide to
the Best Fiction CThe Macmillan Company
It is implied in the title, even. and is further
carried out by the critical estimates in the de-
scriptive notes, and the of ssterisk to
indica- -Asssterpieces and peculiarly represent
ative works. The compiler. Ernest A Baker.
faces this difficulty in a predatory note. saying
that IL is impossible to describe work Of lit
erary art without using the phraseology of liter
ary criticism But the asterisk has too much
Of the Baedecker about IL, to thinking. and
might quite as well have been omitted AT
times the notes have quite swing to them. as
when Mr. Dooley's observations are described
as .fanciful, farcical. fertile III bulls The cat
alogue is divided into sections by locality; En-
glish fiction occupies the first place. followed
by the works OF Scotch Irish and colonial
writers; then comes American fiction before and
/ sitter the war; and after that Belgian, Dutch,
French. German. Greek, Hungarian, Italian.
Scandinavian, Finnish and Slavonic. These
sections are subdivided by time periods, in
which, of course, later years are most widely
represented. An historical appendix relates in
structive novels of whatever authorship or time
20 an epitone Of events and two indexes for
authors and titles and for subjects complete
the apparatus. The running heads for the
pages devoted to French fiction, probably by
an oversight, give only time divisions, as in the
main division, English fiction. The book is a
monument Of labor by reader Of novels. who
probably deserves an asterisk himself in that
respect, and who undoubtedly has taste for
the card catalogue 1t is the sort OF book that
could hardly be perfect, and yet on occasion
might very well prove convenience
To compress within the limits OF some seventy
thousand words the history OF Holland from the
time before the coming of the Romans to the
reign of wilhelmina. and present il attractively
for young readers, is the task of which William
Elliot C1riffis has acquitted himself well in his
Young Peoples History Of Holland" (Hough-
ton Miffiin G. Coz. Mr. Grifis has given US
books before on the brave little country, and
rneHtions In the preface of the volume before
us his intention Of setting forth still another
history OF the northern Netherlands In this
book he has emphasized the striking episodes
the odd and quaint occurrences Of which the
vigorous and often tragic story Of Holland is
full: and he successfully avoids growing tire
some IL the narration Of the complicated polit-