The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-05-19
Historical Hooks.

No body 81 troops that Srrved IN the civil
war deserved 60 have is history written
more thar the famous Twentieth Regiment
81 Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
which served continuously at the front
from 1901 10 ls0i, which heads the list Of
Massachusetts, regiments for casualties
and is among the Ave wbicn lost most men
killed. Il contributed far beyond It's shars
to the names in Harvard's Memorial Hall.
That history should have been written
forty years ago, when there were enough
survivors to tell OF personal experience;
it was delayed for one reason or another
and In now prepared by Lieut.. Col. George
A. Bruce, a stranger to the regiment
(Houghton Miflin and Company. careful
md respectable piece of work, dwelling
chiefly on the military operations In which
the regiment was involved, and these are
Of the highest importance, 1t necessarily
lacks the intimate details about persons
that written accounts cannot give. The
chapter on the fight at Balls Bluff the first
In which the Twentieth engaged, is the
fullest account OF that disaster that has
been written,
The personal element in Mr.. John S Wise's
"Recollections of Thirteen Presidents'
Doubleday, Page and Company makes
them very pleasant reading. There is no
attempt to judge the men historically, as
q rule, but rather to present their personal
characteristics. and that by incidents and
anecdotes rather than description. We
get a great deal Of Mr.. Wise himself in the
process, and generally il ia we'll worth
while. The description of his fishing trip
with his father, when he meets President
Tyler, for instance, ia fully az attractive
as tho picture OF hat gentleman.
We doubt IL the %frankness with which
Capt. John W. Headley in Confederate
Operations in Canada and New York The
Neale Publishing Company describes the
attempts Of himself and his ~accomplices
to set fire to New York and other Northern
cities will change the views people hold OF
those acts, II the authors statements can
be credited it Ia clear that prejudiced oPin-
ion Of war times with regard to some men
was more just than later %palliation. The
authors own experiences are of curious
interest. From the tone Of the book the
wal might still be going on.
Lord Curzon's seven years v~iceSoyalty
Of India gives him a place in history, what
ever estimate may be had of his ability
or success. The many problems he had to
deal with are treated from the administra-
tive point OF view In his many speeches,
and from these a selection has been made
by Sir Thomas Raleigh, who also provides
an introduction, In Lord Curzon in India
Macnillans). In a way 1t Is a documentary
history Of an administration which has been
respectable and well mentioned.
From Joseph McDonough, Albany, comes
q typogra phical gem, the small quarto
containing "Joutel's Journal Of La Sales
Last Voyage edited by DR.. Henry Reed
Stiles. The text is that Of the London
edition Of l7i4, which has been collated with
the French Original. 1t is among the
most romantic Of all stories Of exploration.
The volume completes the reprints planned
by the late DR.. John Culinary Shea, and
In form is like the previous volumes, = The
type, the page, the binding are in exquisite
taste and do great credit to the publisher.
The idea Of collecting in a boys book,
as Mr.. Charles Morris has, the stories of
THE Disooverers and Explorers Of America y
u. B. Lppincott Company Is excellent.
The author has cut down each story, how
ever, 30 that it makes drier reading than it
should. Perhaps a geographical arrange
ment would have been more convenient
than a biographical one, but Mr.. Morris
wishes to lay stress on the men, and he is
doubtless right. They seem to be all here.
from Left Ericsson to Lieut.. Peary.
Why q new life Of "Pizarro" should be
written, when Prescott Is accessible to
boys, we cannot understand. Mr.. Frederick
A. Ober's essay (Harpers) is a popular
presentation Of the more dramatic sides Of
the story.