The Washington herald., 1907-05-05

volume. in which he says that THE clods
are softer under the weary hoOf and the
plow handles easier to manage after a
moments communion with Abe. lie Is
Plato on "a cracker barrel: or radiant
Socrates after Xantippes departure TO
visit her own folks In Teeumseh Town
ship" Mr. James Whltcomb Riley recOg-
nizes Kin Hubbard as a kindred spirit
and the portrait Of Abe Martin as gem
uine. for he adds poem to the collection
of tributes 10 Abe Martins genius. in
which he tells rs that:
Bat best Of en- ans the fooi-breaks AZ
Abe dent see at ell. and yit makes at
Both ne and you lays back and shakes a.
His comic. miraculous cracks
Which makes hinl-cieaH back Of the p0Wer
OF genius itsss1 in rs flower
The Notable Man q the Hour.
Abe Martin. the Joker on Facts.
There is a Joyous hour or two to be
spent with old Abe Martin visit from
him is a sure cure for the blues and the
CHEEKY optimism Of Mr.. Hubbard is good
to live with. indianapolis: The Bobbs-
Merrill Coz
Outdoors" by Ernest McGaffey, is a
delightful book, pocket-size, FOR spring
reading II Is q book Of the woods
fields. and marshlands, a series OF sym
pathetic nature-etchings by one who eyi-
IDENTIFY is a great lover OF nature and,
being close TO her, can interpret her many
moods. II is a book that teaches one
how good it is to walk out into the quiet.
peaceful country and use ones eyes with
sympathy and understanding Here is an
essay on Flight OF Common Birds a
thing We are all rich enough TO enjoy
II we will Says the author truly
There are few persons who have noted
the distinctive peculiaTities OF the more
common birds, so as 20 be able 70 tell
one from the other al long distances
Observation and experience will give one
the power TO read the channels and
winding aisies of light and air as a book s
pages may be scanned. and Ia this sym
pathetic perceptiveness, the veil Of Isis
lifts, be it ever so little, and nature 8
secrets are mistiiy revealed 20 the gazer. "
Sc. although the author does not attempt
to describe these bird flights himself, he
tells US Of the distinctive flights OF the
dove. the swallow. the yellow-hammer,
humming- bird, robin, blue-jay. nighthawk.
wild canary, shrike, meadow-lark, bat
and many more. After an essay such as
this the flight OF the red-headed wood
pecker takes on an added meaning. and
as one sees his swinging, forceful stroke
o. wing one will recall:
AID then across an open place. betEeeH the seHied
High up in sln-surounded spaee golden shadow
fess,
In curves that rise and curves that dip.
As graceful as q cIrtseying ship.
With measured strokes Of piuious bright
That marks the hifkers fight.
sfsf-e t1-g.1 l-g..r-- .ff.--4-.-r
and the essays themselves are as delight
ful as their titles. There are essays on
Under a Greenwood Tree Along a
Country Road. p" Down the ST. Joe River, "
In the Haunts OF the Loon, and many
others. Then. too. there are chapters on
the delights Of sport. from Fishing for
plymouth Bass" 10 "Pan-hshing." and
a delightful chapter on hunting the bull
frog Mr. McGaney has "a style which
makes his matter delightful 20 read, it
is the next best thing 20 doing the things
he describes. one rises from reading such
a book refreshed and inyigorated. New
York: Charles ScTibner's Sons)
The Birth OF the Nation, by Mrs.
Roger Pryor. is an especially timely vol
ume in view OF the recent opening Of
the jamestown Exposition, because here
the author tells simply and directly the
complete story Of the founding OF the
first settlement Of Englishmen al James
town, three hundred years ago. There
is always something mystical perhaps
awful, in the contemplation Of the found
ing OF nation, in the discovery and
settlement Of new countries, Strange
names are whispered IN vague traditions.
which are found In no written record;
names of mariners who were blown by
tempests upon strange coasts-ArthuT
Malgro. Brandon; a Friar OF Lynn,
who by reason Of his black art" reached
the north pole in 1850; Maddox, "sonne OF
Quinneth. Prince of Wales" a man Of
peace. who sought refuge ia the wilder
ness because Of strife among his breth-
ren; Left, the Norwegian; Nicolo Zeno.
the Venetian Hanno the Carthaginian.
Colossal figures tremble for a moment on
the horizon and are lost in fog and
doubt
At last the great Genoese sails forth,
becomes a tangible figure in history.
Then comes the adventures who fol-
lowed CoIumbus-the Cabots, who landed
and claimed the country for the English
crown; the Spaniards and the Portu-
guese. upon whom Pope Alexander had
generously bestowed the world; and then
Amerigo Vespucci, whose name We bear
to-day
It is. of course, with Sir Walter Raleigh
that the history Of the English colonies
in America begins His royal mistress,
Elizabeth. gave him viceregal powers
over any and all of Englands prospective
colonies. and IL was his reports that in
duced Eiizabeth's successor. James I, 10
charter the land on this continent which
was TO prove the beginnings of the nation
We know to-day. When Bartholomew
Gosnold, Richard Hakluyt, Robert Hunt.
John Smith. and others succeeded in OBJ
tanning a royal charter from the King.
he busted himself in drawing up an in
strument for the government of his fu-
ture colony. Everything began and ended
with the King. A council of thirteen
was TO govern iE London. controlling
a subordinate council In Virginia Trial
by jury was allowed 10 criminals The
Christian religion was to be preached to
the Indians. IN other respects the colony
would have no rights other than those
which James I chose to allow il. There
were to be two colonies, one hundred
miles TO intervene between the boundaries
Of the two. The boundaries of the south
ern colony were enlarged and exactly
defined IN 1909. II was 10 embrace the
territory two hundred miles north and
two hundred miles south OF the mouth of
the James River. and to reach up to
the land from sea 10 sea.
So Mrs. Pryor retells the story of our
colonization. With her, In this volume.
we may follow the voyage OF the Dis
eovery. the Godspeed, and the Susan Con
stant on their perilous voyage across
the waste Of waters. we can see James
town as it was in those days, three hun
dred years ago. and mark the influences
which, spreading all over this vast conti-
nent, were 10 make the nation which
stands so high IN the councils OF the