Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-08

THE tOBDEN HOTEy otoTy VI tbS
Time of King Alexander the Great.
BY Robert Ii. Fuller. New York: The
Macmillan Company. Washington:
BrentanoS
Alexander's conquest of Persia is an at
tractive theme for the novelist. and dan
gerous one. So rich are the materials, so
tic the incidents. so wide Is the field
for the play of imagination and invention,
that there is chance of an author going
astray and dulling the interest of his reader
with an OVERLAPPING of details and descrp-
tlons. Mr.. Fuller has avoided this peril
and has produced a novel that appeals
strongly to the sympathes and the atten-
iiOn. He shows Alexander at his greatest
period. in the flush of his first cOnquests in
Asia a magnanimous victor, wise ruler,
an intrepid fighter. a steadfast friend Yet
he does not focus his story sharply upon
the figure of the Macedonian, but centers
interest upon the adventures of three init
mate friends young Greeks, who have from
personal motives attached themselves to
him. These are Clearcus of Athens. Chares
of Thebes and Leonidas of Sparta, brave
fellows and bound together by. the closest
ties of affection. Artemesia. Clearcus' in
tended wife, is abducted by order of his
avaricious uncle who fears that the union
will deprive him of the use of Clearcus
great fortune. The three youths start in
pursuit after consulting the oracle of Del
pEos. which advises them to follow in the
track of the whirlwind. This is interpreted
As slgnifying Alexander They see the sack
and destruction of Thebes. the battle of the
trdnicus, the splendor OF Darius court at
Babylon where they are carried as captives,
the battle of lssus aid the siege and sack of
Tyre Their fortunes and quest are in
measure interviewed with Alexander prof.
ects, and the young king appears OCCASION
ally upon the scene, splendid figure at
ttautive and true. The story reaches high
bitch of intensity in the rescue of Artemesa
and her unsupported sister. That's, in the
temple of Moloch at Tyre, where Artemesa
is about to be offered as fiery sacrifice to
the fiery god. There are some vivid de-
scrptions of lighting, and a multitude of
characters appear and disappear. The
story is brisk and instructive throughout.
CLASSIC TALES BY FAMOUS AU-
THORS. Edited by Frederick B. De
Berard with General Introduction
by RosSiter Johnson, LID. In twenty
volumes. New York: The Bodleian
Society.
The short story is the waif of literature.
IT is in danger of abandonment and neglect,
to die in the sea o oblivion as the years
yield their hundreds upon hundreds of new
corners. 1t may be adopted by publisher
for the sake of the author and given semi
permanent form by printing with others
from the same source. Or it may rise to its
highest estate and be embodied in great
collection, for its own sake as a work of
art. This edition of twenty volumes of the
worlds best short tales is the product of
such an effort, and is the means of Offering
to the readers Of fiction the gems of all
periods and styles.
In the prosecution of this work the Bod
leian Society, by which it was undertaken,
has been guided by the desire to enable
~ - +. ~
place upon their shelves volumes containing
those writings which the general verdict of
mankind has pronounced to be the best.
The book lover could not himself make such
a collection save at great expense and with
infinite labor. And even when he had gath
cred what he regarded as the best tales he
could not be assured of their absolute merit
or of the completeness of his collection.
In his general preface the editor of the
collection, Mr.. De Berard. who has also
supplied the synoptical and biographical
notes which add richly TO the value of the
edition, writes:
The Classic Library represents only the
literature of imagination and fancy-the
powerful imaginings of the great romancers
and novelists. the beautiful fancies of great
poets. 1t is the outcome of a Christening
process of selection, not formal or premed-
itated, but possibly more drastic. 1t rep
resentS the survival of the fittest,' the con-
sensus of many minds, and not merely the
personal opinion of single mind. Real
book lovers are always critical and usually
discriminating. They have many friends
among books to whom they are drawn by
some positive literary quality-by intelec-
tual strength, imagination, beauty of die
tiOn. dramatic power. Many book lovers
have suggested their favorite stories to the
editor of the Classic Library Many others
have critically discussed the merits or de-
merits of the selections. The critics include
men of letters with whom literary criticism
is a pursuit, and book lovers of cultivated
tastes and wide acquaintance with ltera-
ture. Hence this library is made up of
what many capable judges deem to be
strong and worthy literature, distinctive be-
cause of dramatic force, imaginative quail
ity or beautiful .Iney."
DIR. Rossiter JohnsOn'S general introduce
ton to the work consists in scholarly
essay upon the evolution of literature" in
the course of which he traces the growth of
the art of story-writing from the earliest
ages reached by history. He briefly an
alyZes the elements that have appealed sue
cessively to the readers of genera alton after
generation, and suggests the forces that lie
behind the works that have survived the
tests and remain classic standards of
fiction. He concludes:
All print is open to you said Mr.. Bof-
fin plaintively to MIR. Wegg because Wegg
could read, while Boffin could not. But
Bofiin was able to buy books. and Wegg
was not; il required the resources OF
both to open q vista into the great world of
literature. i ne SUCCESSIVE improvements IN
paper and printing machinery have brought
literature nearer and nearer to the means
OF the poor. while the common school has
been lighting the way for the ignorant. We
have now arrived at a time when every
home wherein is reasonable thrift however
Small its income. may have its own library.
and thus invite the great men of ages past
to make themselves familiar at its board"
The publishers of these twenty books have
done their best to make them attractive to
their owners artistically and practically, as
we'll as TO keep their contents up 10 high
standard. They are of a convenient size
for handling. and save for the possible fault
OF a too compact type page, despite the gen
erous green-lined margins, they are in the
highest degree satisfactory. The paper is
OF high grade, especially made for the
work, with view 10 making the books as
light possible without lessenlng the
durability OF the material and the typo
graphical effect. Each volume is illustrated
by series of fine photogravure reproduc-
tions OF portraits of authors or suggestive
paintings pertinent to the text. Some of
these have never before been published. The
publishers offer u variety of bindings, to
euit the purse and taste of the reader.
In its general outline the plan is to make
each volume separate The stories are
grouped, according to character and SUBJ
fAct under the following volume designa-