New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-12-31
Che NetsoD,or-k gribagses
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 81, 1905.

Now that the holiday publishing season is
over it seems fitting to comment once more
upon the broad character of the books brought
out between September 1 and December 81.
1t has been on the whole more satisfactory
than in any other holiday season of the last
ten wears This for the reason that the pub
fishers have practically abandoned the old type
of book which was not really book at all,
but simply a thing got up, like candy box, 10
look. as it was once thought it looked, "appro-
pirate to Christmas" very good idea OF
what the new policy means may be gathered
from a glance at the mere titles of the salient
publications of the last few months. These
have been books like Mr.. Lucas'S Life OIL
Charles Lamb like Mrs. Brookfeid and Her
Circle" or like Mr.. Crawford's "Salve Venetia."
Illustrations have been made important in these
books but they have not been put in the fore
ground On the contrary, they have only been
introduced with careful reference to what they
might do to illuminate the text When more
than ordinary pains have been lavished upon
them, it has been with good reason, as IN the
case of the reproductions Holbein in the
beautiful edition of Cayendish's Life and
Death of Cardinal Wolsey,' issued from the
Riverside Press, or in certain of the art books
that have appeared. Most encouraging OF all
is the public support which has been given TO
the many good books recently published This
applies not only to miscellaneous literature but
to fiction where n high standard of taste Is
VIGOROUSLY rare. The most popular of the new
novels is The House of Mirth," which differs
from the best seller of commerce as work
of art differs from q machine-made product
A paragraph from the Oxford correspondence
of the London "Athengum,' which is printed in
another column, mentions 4 rather alarming
failure on the part of some Of the American
candidates for the Rhodes scholarships. Per
haps some explanation may be found in Mr..
Edward s. Martins contribution to "Appletons
Booklorers Magazine" for January. Apropos
of the assertion that books that some
trouble to read are not read" he says
An echo to the same effect comes from an
American Rhodes scholar at oxford, who writes
home that the English students at Oxford are
much better read history, literature and poll
tics than the American students; that the Eng
fish youths seem to have read real books at
home but the American youths give no evidence
of having formed such a habit.
Mr. Martin points out that the English stu
dents at Oxford who had read books main
ly sons of well-tO-do families, and, wondering
whether our leisure class read good books he
quotes a master in an American private school
as saying "The modern rich boys don't have
time to read | remember when lucky boy
had either Il horse or a sailbOat to play with.
Such boys have horse and a sailb0at and
an automobile. They don't have time to read
books" We believe that, a matter of fact,
class has nothing whatever to do with the queS-
ton. No single class is responsible for the cir
cu!ati0n here of the good books to which we
have referred above. Readers born, not
made. and boys destined to care for literature
will pick up the books read by the parents
from whom they inherit their taste, whether
they rich or poor whether they have
time or not.