The Washington herald., 1909-10-24
BOOKS AND BOOK REVIEWS

is reluctant to rellnquish the story and
say good-by. Her last words are but
/ Don't Make Me Cry-Tm Just A-smilinl
! Through My Tears"
YOUR CHILD AND MINE.-By Anne Warner
Boston: Little Brown Co
Having read Of Susan Clegg and hel
friend Mrs Lothrop. and later screamed
over the Regeneration of Aunt Mary. 81
the readers OF Anne Warner find il hard
to reconcile the same author with the
sad. but happily ending story of Corn.
wallis General. that diminutive but
sturdy soldier-child with the tcpsy-turvy
name. Somehow there is a gripping
quality about this tale that the most
hardened reader will find easily brings
tears 70 his eyes. and the proof OF Mrs
Warmers versatility Is irrefutable there
by. your Child and Mine" very apnrn.
priately leads off with the story OF Corn
wallis, and into the same volume just
from the presses Of Little. Brown a. Co,
there have been gathered score or more
Of kindred tales, all about children. They
have appeared previously. from time to
time, in the magazines. chiefly during the
past two years, and are among the
authors most successful works. making
a strong impression upon those who have
had the opportunity 10 read them. The
collection makes a delightful gift book
for the holiday season, or IL may be re-
tanned on ones own reading table 10
pick up for an hours reading. when IN a
tender or reminiscent mood. The por-
traits Of child life are all finely drawn,
and there is hardly a character in the
book but can be recognized as a living
type. so Intensely human and natural
are they depicted. The volume is IL
Illustrated by many of the original pic
lures.
THE MYSTERY OF EDUCATION AND OTHER
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCES. Barrett Wen
den. New York; Charles scribners' Sons.
AZ a time when institutions of learning
are opening wide their doors that all who
wish may enter, and Offering education,
so-called. at a lower price than ever
known before, a skeptical and unitarian
public is demanding with increasing in
sistency that educators Justify their
methods and existence With literally
millions spent In educating the American
youth his employer is complaining that
he finds in him not a dollars worth OF
additional value.
There Is not a serious conflict OF opin-
ion between the educators and the pub
lie Rather. the former are asking them
selves and one another the wherefore
Instruction is provided in superabundance
by the most carefully developed meth
DDS. yet results seem painfully lacking.
Unrest dominates the educational world
THE Mystery Of Education and Other
Academic Performance" is really
manifestation OF this unrest. Prof Wen
dell does not avow this I'm presenting In
print the text Of several speeches delv-
cred before collegiate or semi-collegiate
hearers. but the spirit pervades every
page.
Under such topics as the Mystery Of
Education" Study Of Literature" and
Study Of Expression" a discussion OF
the really serious problems which con-
front the American teacher to-day is
thinly yelled. From the broadest phases
Of cultural education to the more linn
tied one, in so far as the college cur
iculum Is concerned. OF English compost
ton. the Harvard educator seems TO at
y
intensive cultivation OF the field. He hints
that microscopic examination has pro-
duced inhibition OF the intellect. as
result Of the extreme development Of the
investigative spirit. He points out that
the man peering Into corners cannot see
the broad eXpanses and that too much
seeking for something 70 investigate OBJ
scures the reason for wishing to inves-
tigate,
Generalizing. Prof. Wendell defines
education as the adjustment 70 environ
ment. literature as examination OF mems
writings which have furnished the in
spiration 20 civilization. and expression
as the fitting OF the word 10 the thought
and emotion. In other words. Il is the
broad view which is taken. the attitude
which subordinates knowledge 20 wis
dom.
The teacher he would have a vital
force. a living dynamo. radiating. not so
much facts, as truth, inspiring. and sttuu-
iating- The student of literature he
would have acquire a broad view OF the
great works Of mems minds. rather than
srovel In the rubble OF incident and
triviality. Finally. he defends writing
as an art, and not as a mechanical OBJ
servance Of rules OF rhetoric, though
not advising the total disregard of me-
chanical aids.
Doctrines not very revolutionary. to
De sure. yet showing some rift in the
fog. which the writer himself freely adj
mits. at present envelOps the methods
Of imparting knowledge Coming from
a man whose experience as an educator
is ripe after thirty years at Harvard.
these papers may be taken as a guide
post TO the future.
The remaining articles consists of
lecture demonstrating the unique posi-
ton OF Edgar Allan Poe as the one
American writer without faint of To-
cality or section. and an almost reckless
plunge into verse commemorative Of the
retirement OF President Eliot and the
appointment of DR.. Lowell
incidentally, one may venture the as
sertion that Prof Wendell may soon
claim honors as pUrveyOr Of "cOnfden-
tial literature" lately IN vogue. For
these papers. although sober discussions
Of vital matters. are written in a STYLE
30 easy, fluent, simple and lucid. as TO
be almost seductive. carrying along the
reader without his knowledge that he Is
being led, with a gentle and friendly
humor.
HOW TO RE HAPPY THOUGH CIVIL. Bv Rev
p. J. Hardy. New York: Charles scribner's
Sons.
We have always been told that we are
by Europeans the most i'm
polite nation on the globe. Whether we
are or not does not enter into this dis
'ussion-the question at present is. what ,
have we done to be afflicted by such a
work as the Rev. Mr. Hardvs hand |
book of manners. entitled How to be
Happy Though Civil" He saws in the
preface that it is book Of good man
lers. written after the fashion Of the
DOCK OF that name by Jacques Legrand. |
IN pity Tor the condition Of unmannered |
.OlkS who are ike hrtlfe haos+S