The Minneapolis journal., 1904-12-26
NEWS OF TIE BOOK WORLD
THE UNEASY CHAIR

THE UNEASY CHAIR
A Japanese sacrifice.-John Dwight in
the January McCIure's, tells of a young
jinricksha-man who killed his own chill
dren in order to be free to join the regi-
ment from his native town.
The baby first, lest it should awake and
crying, arouse the others.
What tiny neck! Now to find the
place, known to all Japanese, where one
can press the knife in quite painlessly.
Now the next-qutckly, while his hand
is still steady! What? Is it already the
turn of his first-born? It seemed so short
a. while ago that he and his girl wife took
her to the temple to be named, and
bought the amulet which would BRING her
all the virtues most desired by maidens.
His hands were trembling now, and he
felt great drops of sweat roll down his
face. The knife seemed to slip and turn
in his hand. Was he to be coward after
all? Never.
The whole city is on the alert, and the
rising sun shines down upon tens OF
thousands of futtering flags.
The streets are thronged with people
but before the gates Of the barracks the
crowd is thickest, for at any minute now
the regiment may march out.
The bugles ring out. It is the last roll
call that the soldiers will hear in their
native land.
''Tokichi Matsushima!"
"Present!"
away to the music of the cheering crowds,
no soldier in the ranks marched more
proudly than did Tokichi.
A murderer? Yes, according to the
ethics Of the western barbarians,' but q
hero in the eyes of the people of the ori-
ent; for had he not sacrificed his own
flesh and blood on the altar of patriotism
sacrificed it that he might lay down his
life for his country?
Patriotism! What crimes are commit
ted in thy name!
The editor of the magazine introduces
Mr. 'Dwight's story with this explanation
The writer of this sketch has lived twenty
five years in Japan and thru associations In dip
lomatic and native society has gained a knowl
edge of inner Japanese life unusual even among
old residents of the foreign colony. This Incl
dent is typical only in limited sense. 1t illus
trates not modern conditions, but the imme
mortal spirit of Japanese patriotism, that su
preme sentiment, in belated manifestation; be
lated, indeed. yet, nevertheless, despite all mod
ernzing, understood and reverenced thruout ia
pan. The hero Of this tale is now serving ii
the army.
Richard lie Gallienne's Poetic AlIegor,
Of the Religion Of Men.-In a book O
prose poems, fifty called Painted Shadows
Richard LIE Gallenne has an allegory-
First Church Of the Restoration" In thi
| it is made to appear that the old Greel
gods never went into exile at all, but tha
they have been on earth and have beer
worshiped as of old time, all thru tn
| ages down to the present day; only sine
the ascendency of Christianity they hav
been worshiped in secret. Soon, however
| they are to be wOrshiped openly; Apoll
and Plutus and Mars and Venus will hav
their high priests and their low priest
and their temples as of old, and men vii
bring offerings thereto. izeMr. LIE .Gallienn
makes a great promoters of the ''restora
tion'' say to a vicar of whom he woul
make high priest to Apollo:
| In what is the world most interested today
| Is it the kingdom of. heaven; the inheritanc
of the meek; the amelioration of the. poor; tn
spiritual life? No, the world is interested l.
power and beauty. War and women and wealt
| are practically all 1t thinks of. It still Pre-
fesses Christ. but its real divinities are Mar
| and Venus and Plutus.
! Rather bitter that for those Of us VIII
have been wont to talk of the progress {
the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
Yet we need have no great fear. Will
Mr.. LIE Gallienne pictures a conditio
which does exist, his prophecy of the ope
worship under restoration will never b
realized. Man has forever ceased to ca
either upon Apollo or Mars or Venus {
Plutus or even great Zeus III those ult
mate extremities in which he faces til
problems of the universe. They may sal
isfy some in the little affairs of. time, b.
in the larger affairs never again will ma
be content with them. ~
To return to Mr.. LIE Galliennes book,
may be said that therein one finds mo1
of the poet than Of the essayist or story
teller. One feels that the author migl
achieve something of real greatness if
kept his art for highest purposes, a thin
he doesn't always do. He runs now an
then from depths to shadows, from tt
great to the trivial or comm onplace, as
: does in a measure in 1.-THE Shadow of tt
Rose,". where we find this idea, not ney
but newly phrascd:
When we look back upon our lives, do we n,
see that it the shadows that were the real
ties? What Of those long morning shadow
full of romantic promise that ran before us
the sunrise Of our lives, kissing their hands al
inviting us to mysterious goals? What
Love? What of Fame: They were real on
SO long as they ran before us, shining shap
Of promise. They were real only so long
they were shadows.
The authors study in shadows wou
have been better had he kept it on tn;
level instead of descending to the pc
| sonal. But there are things to think ov
in his book, and delightful style that
itself almost sufficient reward for tt
reader of the book.
| Little, Brown & Co., Boston.
; Fun,in Book About Animas.-You W
find it in Edwin J. Weoster's Strenuo
: Animals. One of the strenuous animal
for example is a balloonist dog. Fl
l name was Bitters. He wasSa heavy bu]
l dog. He was great on killing wolves on
, they had been cornered Hence he w
useful to Jedekiah Williams. who liv
! on wolf bounties. But Jedekiah thoug
: If Bitters was lighter on his feet he cou
81 do the .cornering as we'll as the killi1
Y and save his owner lots Of trouble.
: Jedekiah had a balloon attachment ma
S for Bitters, and he was light on his fee
: caught and killed wolves and made Il
3 easy for Jedekiah. Bitters is a go
i sample Of the strenuous animals of n
!. Webster's book.
: Frederick A. Stokes company, New York. s