The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1906-05-12
The new PUBLICATIONS
SOME OF THE LATEST BOOKS
OF THE SEASON
'4sahab," Poetic Drama In Three Acts,
by Richard Burton--NOtes of Forth
coming Books-The Magazines.


Lyrics of Brotherhood" Life of Whit
tier" etc. 119 PIP. II mo-, slips net,
published by Henry H. Holt & Co. In
this, his new and most ambitious liter
airy effort, DR.. Burton has produced
drama Of much power, and the simple
dignity and beauty of the verse make it
a distinct contribution to American po-
etry.
From the lines (Hebrews XII, 81 by
faith the harlot Rahab persisted not
with them that believed not, when she
had received the spies with peace
DR. Burton drew the central idea of the
drama. as set forth in DR.. Burtons
works:
1t is ordained by God, through Joshua,
That Jericho shall fall by fire and
sword.
For seven days-so spake the Lord of
Hosts
To Joshua-the city shall be comprised;
But on the seventh, it shall come to
pass
Seven trumpets of rams horns shall
blow
Long blasts, and Jericho's SO mighty
walls
Fall fiat
In the drama Rahab is the daughter
of Nathaniah the Canaanitish prince
In power with the king She has left
her family to live life of wantonness
but she is beautiful, witty and Of noble
soul, and she has learned even before
the Hebrew spies come that Jehovah is
the true God and must prevail. Dreams
OF the night confirm her belief and love
for Salmon, one of the spies, only
strengthens her confidence. For her
faith to them and for her belief in the
true God she knows that she is to be
honored instead of despised. that chill
dren are to lie at her breast and that
she is to be honored in history.
Of "Rahab" the Boston Advertiser
remarks "In view of the fact that,
excepting the work of Stephen Phillips,
modern dramatic poetry in English is
hardly over dramatic and only occa-
sionally truly poetic, this drama by Mr..
Burton comes as a pleasant surprise. 1t
is poetic and it is actable. The play is
we'll balanced action aand text are
harmonious there are no Wagnerian
grlonologues; in the highest flight there
Is feeling for what the critic has called
'the songless melody oil the common
SOUL A keen sense CT word values
and the pictorial force observed in all
this authors strongly characteristic
productions are evident in lines such as
these descriptive of wanton women
Mere butterflies that sport them in the
sun
OF license, dying at the feet Of night,
Wherein are stars that search the soul
affd -Horebs. reference to the sounds of
battle, when
all the why air
HUNS like mighty hive of golden bees
With arrows
We hope to see "Rahab" staged with
Julia Marlowe in the title role. She is
pre-eminently qualified to act the wom-
an described in Lela's song:
Rahab is queen of love; her dress
Betrays the beauty claspt within;
Her mouth is made for tenderness;
Men lose their souls her grace to win;
She stands like a pomegranate tree
Straight, beautiful. and proud to see.
u
The warm dusk-splendor of her eyes
Might wreck the councils of king;
Not statelier the Jordan flies
Than do her feet in pleasuring:
She doth enthrall with magic three;
nd or1o
The Hartford Courant in its elaborate
review says: This poem is far the
most ambitious of DR.. Burton's quests
of the muses.. It's heroic measure, clas-
sic and magnificent theme and setting
its elaborate and polished phrasing be-
token the bold assault on Olympian
battlements which challenges and re-
Quires the homage of the reviewer as
expressed in such judgment as is the
due of the greater poets"
The Hartford Times says: st is not
merely a poem In dramatic form, but a
true drama, in which the action Is the
main thing, and the felicities Of phrase
of minor consequence. 1t comes as a
surprise, because its author has done
hVIAAlA6 i4hS IL pGlOES, DuL HIS friends
have seen something of the dramatic
quality in him, and know that he in
herited 1t from his father (the late DIR.
Or. Burton of Hartford, and many
years ago of Fair Haven preacher as
he was-but also something more than
that"
In addition to the one volume edition
of Mrs. Wards latest novel, "Fenwick's
Career which every one is reading
now, Harper's will bring out in few
weeks an edition de luxe limited to four
hundred and ninety-eight numbered
sets, with an autograph of the author
and photogravure illustrations on ia
pan paper by Albert Sterner
THE Flower of France" Justin
Huntly McCarthy's new romance, was
published by the Harper's on May 3.
The story is constructed around the life
of Joan of Arc, and, with the exception
of certain imaginative touches which
emphasize the dramatic interest and
bring out the strangely mystical quail
ity of the character and mission of the
Maid Of Domremy, the author has pre-
sented truthfully the historic facts of
this stirring episode of history.