The Washington herald., 1907-09-15

At the Public Library last week. tbs
most popular books in nonfction were
Batchelder's Principles of Design" and
Halls Three Acres and Liberty" In
fiction, the call was for Tayior's The
Impersonator." and De Morgan's Alice
for Short" The youngsters cry was fol
Lang's Orange Fairy Book and Alcott's
Little Men Two subjects of consider
able popularity during the week were
photography and engineering OF the
former. two books We're IN especial de-
mand-Baldwin's Photography and Alb
botts Modern Photography"
OF especial contemporary interest and
timelineas is the biography of ST. Gaudens
that Houshton. Mifin & CO. are now
putting rapidly through the press, It will
have for title Augustus ST, Gaudons; a
Memorial" J." and 1t is the work of Royal
Cortissoz. the art critic and literary ed
itoT of the New York Tribune. It's signid-
canoe and value viii be increased by the
inclusion OF a number Of fine photogra-
.vure representations of the famous sculp-
tors work The same house also an
n0unces Mornings in the College Chapel;
Second Series" q volume Of brief ad-
dresses 10 young men by Prof Francis
Greenwood Peabody, Of Harvard.
A new book by Maarten Martens is an
important literary event. and the news
that "The New Religion; a Modern
Novel" is soon 20 be published is there
fore Of more than average interest. On
the dedication page viii be inscribed;
For those who are sick For those who
believe they are sick. For those who
want 10 live longer than ether people.
For nobody else"
Rider Haggard's new novel Fair Mar
garet" will be published early next
month i goes back 10 the stirring times
OF Ferdinand and Isabella. and 10 those Of
the English King Henry VII
Stanley Weyman has completed The
Wild Geese" a romance of the reign Of
George l. It Will appear seriaily in Eng
land before its publication il book form.
In an article on The Poetic Drama" in
the September number Of the North
American Review, Louise Collier VIII
cox reviews The Poetical Works of
William Butter Yeats" Thomas Har-
dy's The Dynasts." Olive THford
Dramas, Ridgely Torrence's "AbeIard
and Heloise." Percy Mackaye's Jeanne
d'Arc' and "SGpph0 and Phaon." and
sara King Wiley's The Coming OF Phili-
bert. Mrs. Wilcox writes:
Eaca year sends in new dozen or 50 Of poetic
plays. showing that ,he form has undoubtedly c-ne
q stay. T. some sort il gives an answer 20 the
reiterated question: rs literature dali:' Not
dead. bIt hiding. IS The reply. "A little 0yerlaid
b. greltIt-Cs Of che8p.y manufactured novels and
literature being essentially aTis-lCutic somewhat
a"ed oy aserndent c-E1rTacy-' IT. age when an
unietin1d oiaUilu can carry as far as the learned
NlvA p4bHr -eacCl education has made 5Fcry man
Uc.l.ue critic and sus1cgd the sound of the
trained voice, = ls s1meVAat difficult f5r literature
% flourish ezlaerautly- The theory that to enter
the lcTed -lan. living language must be handled
a. g. I2ul1 instrument. depending as much upon
sight and sound, upon texture. color and perfume
es ulaa the s-asc II conveys. does not easily gain
popularity; ard, Eatu the garment os words 10
vLlcl q thought is clothed is worn threadbare for
lie PAIN meanings % peep through. and the mean
1ng5 are adapted 90 suit the masses then literature
can do u1 better than hide awhile and await better
times Fer literature. Ike al true art has as us
am. % gire vey high and rare order of intel
4tctHai 1oyi and r0 say that IT'S first ann should De
% convey TACT. tell O tale is as dun as 20 fan
cy that Beethoven symphony or a Rodn statue
should aim a. telling story CT concentrating a
TACT
At those breakfast parties. which with
the strenuous Vict0riaus were a fayorite
form Of entertainment. Macaulay and his
friends would set themselves to make
class list Of the poets. In those unso-
phtsucated days no one doubted about
Shakespeare nrst place. and there was
not much argument concerning Homer OF
Dante-poets once Of importance. whose
work. in the -ich harvest Of geniuses of
the last quarter Of a century, has faded
into q mere shadow Of great names. But
outside the first three or four there was
matter Tor conflict One reads not with
out emotion how the Lord Carlisle OF the
day fought a battle for Virgil coming
before S5phocles." Where, now. outside
our Older aad more effete universities. is
the literary circle that remembers such
aged gods? We are all, OF course, well
aware that until all the masterpieces Of
the last decade have been read and di-
gested, it is not worth while 10 think
Of these others
Making class lists Of literature is. in
deed, not a peculiarly profitable occupa-
tiOn. remarks the London Daily Telegraph
One star doubtless difereth from another
star IN glory. but the task of putting
them IN order is rGshly undertaken. There
can never be any scales. any measuring
rOa Tor poetry. A vast consensus Of com
petent opinion 10 doubt agrees. on some
main canons Of criticism. but who can
decide questions of precedence between
Shelley and Keats or (to go back to the
NlcloriaEs) between SophOcles and Virgil?
Who wants tO2 The virtue of a poet is
not IN gong one better than somebody
else OF all the works Of men poetry Is
the least competitive Even mathema-
uclans. one hears from Cambridge. are
giving up the attempt TO place them
Selves numerically II is plainly no work
for poets
Indirectly, however, there is value in
these discussions and placings. MacauIay
We know, used 20 make them an occasion
TOT c0pious quotation from his favorites
The champiOning OF this poet or tnat
may well lead % clearer appreciaff0n
Df his worth. So that we can afford 10
JOCK with favorable eye upon the con
unuance OF this competitive examination
81 poetry 50 long as reasons and not mere
lists are its main objects There have
been OF late some highly curious class
lists Of the immortals One which. pos
aoly as jest, was admitted TO print
purp3rted to place the greatest poets OF
he world, and was acquainted with none
born before Goethe. It is wise not TO
talk Of what YOU have not read. but
unsafe TO treat it as n0nexistent.
said Walt Whitman once, according
20 the current Century Magazine: