davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31
SHORT STORIES,

IT. AND OTHER STORIES. BY Gouver-
neur Morris Emo, PIP. $50. Charles
Scrbners Sons.
Mr.. Morris forestalls criticism of this
collection OF twelve stories by himself
a graceful dedication in verse. He has
abundant technical dcXteritv and rich
fund of inventivcncss. but the inventions
which he presents here are all below
his best. which is very good indeed. They
are. as nc frankly admits, fuel to keep
the pot boiling average magazine stu.-
les" II should bc added. however. in al;
justice, that Mr. Monis's average in
this commodity is always considerably
above the general. So. while his plots
they are rather incidents and anecdotes
matter but little there is consdcra bio
interest i'm some of the characters that
play Their parts in them. 1t i3 here that
tpis author technical dcXt,rity stands
him i'm good stead The reader recognizes
th"sc outline sketches of PEOPLE he has
met or would not be avcrsc Ia meeting
the average Of pleasant men and women.
young. middle-agcd and old. with here
and there villain to lcavcn the whole.
It is when he tells strong" story that
we like MIR Morris hest, as in "'fhe Trap"
and The B-.dos Dead" ON the othnf
hand. the simple little idvl of pryi,is
Blythe's capture of the hashful Nlr Mas
ters is perhaps the best thing i'm the
book
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31

at the coronation Of the German en-
pcrors we're preserved at Nuremberg
and were beyond his reach; the ordinary
sword of the King was kept at AK ana
this Napoleon ordered to he sent to
Paris. At the Abbey Of ST. Denis the
! treasury had long held a crown, a SWORD
| and other objects which were said TO be
! CharIemagne's, and which Capetian
| kings had used at their coronations.
The crown and sword had disappeared
when, during the Revolution, the Abbey
was looted; the sceptre. the golden spurs
| and the hand of justice were found.
Two swords of Charlemagne presently
/ came TO light and. though their authen-
ticity was questioned, one was selected.
| only to be later rejected in favor of an
entirely new weapon. His crown Of
| golden laurel leaves. Napoleon deter
mined. chould be new: also the other IN
signia-his fit of devotion 10 the past. we
are told. suddenly abated. The design
crs of his coronation clothes still cluns
to rome hases Of former fashions while
they invented others. turning out. in the
end. y hybrid theatrical costume of pur-
plo velvet. white satin and gold embroid-
cries. which seems little less than alb
surd to the man of to-day who views
! them in glass case at the Louvre
Their coct was great though in these
days Of enormous riches il does not seem
as great as it did then. But it was only
Josephine had to he dressed-and her
Jewels were wonderful. all the members
of the Bonaparte family, all the brand
new aristocrat3 of the imperial house
hold. had to he properly prepared for the
Uageaut Expensive dcmo.tons were
necessary around Notre Dame. From
dav to day the expenditures mounted
from million 10 million.
Every procedure Of the ceremony was
Canvassed beforehand by the chief actor
Here" says NJ Mason, I'VE have the
whole character cf NAPOLEON with its
qualities Of order. method and system
which distinguish it, and its petty as
poets also of jealousy. susceptibility. and
even childiahness." The ceremonial he
finally decided upon was almost incredi-
bly, complicated and operate in its
gorCeousness Josephine. jewelled. hand
some, almost bewitChing in her hapri-
ness. promised to he not the least pict-
uresquc part of il. There had been no
crovning and conservation Of queen
| in France. it must he remembered. for
two hundred years. There is not much
doubt that Napoleon had already deter
| mined to rid himself Of her. Why, then
| did he wish to share the assumption Of
| imperial dignites with her? Our author
holds that he was animated by gratitude
| toward her. a spirit of opposition toward
his brothers and sisters, who hated her
and an mpulsive freakishncss Of nature
| unexpected in him. 1t was, in conclusion.
IA mere piece Of sentiment" In the
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31

tale of the strange happenings In Fair
bridge. which may he reached from New
York by ferryboat or tube and train. y
chronicle of small beer in the begin
ming, making interesting a number OF
intrinsically uninteresting people, in turn
tho creators and the victims of 4
stiningly narrow environment. the book
gradually works up to the lie told by one
of the leaders of the local society. and OF
its culture club" a woman whose am
bition. great as NapoleOn's. must find its
outlet in that sodden, self-centred. self
satisfied circle. Then follows n case of
that American conscience in whose
ANALYSIS Mrs. Freeman is an acknowl-
edged expert. There are two vitally in
teresting young women in the story. one
of whom shares first place with the men
dacious lady, and i'm the end leaves her
far behind. The other, even more worth
while. Alice Mendon. having played her
part. is left unprovided for, so to speak,
this treatment making her. perhaps not
without purpose on the authors part
the one figure in the book whom the
reader remembers longest This by the
wav. is one of the incidental results or
conscientious realism: it often distorts
the proportions planned by the reallst
Mrs. Freem works with microscope.
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31

days of the Directory they had been
united by the civil marriage then in
order; now the Pope refused to perform
the ceremony Of conservation unless they
submitted TO a religious marriage. Ma
pOleon had TO yield to a proceeding which
increased the difficulty of the divorce
he had in mind. and his uncle Fesch mar
ried the pair in private. The delighted
wife played her part uncommonly we'll
at Notre Dame and won her lords ap-
probation. They dined alone after the
ceremony and the eXhilarated Emperor,
besOught her to keep on the crown which
was 50 becoming. The ceremony had
been conducted with gravity and dig
nity-thero had been no flaw except the
totterine backward Of the imperial pair
when in mounting the steps To the throne
they suddenly bore the whole of the pro-
digiOus weight Of their velvet, fur lined
and gold embroidered mantles rclin-
quished. at the moment, by the train
bearers. The Glittcring scene had been
clevcrly stage managed by Jean Etiennc
DosTreauX, the dancing master and poet.
Madeleine Guimard:
Murdt and Bcrnadottc. the JaCObins II
Yesterday, had calmly carried the cush-
ions laden OF unladen with the formerly
dcteSted insignia ot tyranny. The ladies'
had performed their parts as though In a
ballet, with a. much grace and more dl2 -
nifty. The Empress had appeared adorabie
ana even young. The faces of the prIu-
ccsses had been wreathed i'm smiles. some
even had been unable to help looking pretty.
Inc Emperor had shown himself both i'm
posing and majestic. The crown of the
''eSdrs had become his Roman brow lit
mp with genius and pride II was said that
might have had a few qualms of the StOm-
dch ON the return To the Archbishop :
palace, wishing 10 speak to fcsch. who
was walking in front of him, he prodded
him in the back with the end of his sccptIe
Ia attract attention. but only onc-a truSty
iricnd-saw this. Some might have found
the ceremony long and tedious, but 10 o@c
found IL ridiculous!
Paris was all fcstivity that cold De-
ccmbcr night. There were marvellous
Examinations. fireworks mere abundant
and fountains Of wine were flowing for
the popuacc. Those who detested the
Empire rrOfcsscd 10 see in the cnthu-
siasm with which the new Cesar was
greeted IN the streets. not affection hut
curiosity. Perhaps. Even in the year
1917 there are thoughtful Frcn~hmen
who believe that PrCtcnder. II ne Were
sufficiently spectacular could sweep
Paris off her feet Napoleon had re-
Jected an open air coronation on the
ground that the weather might he ba:
and = hedraGEled Emperor and family
would give too apt an opportunity for
pleasantly 10 the Parisisns, who love
10 turn everything into ridicule,' he
said, and who are accustomed to see
Cheron at the Opera and Talma at the
Theatre Francois play the Emperor A
good deal better than | caa do it." II
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31

manner lie does so. and when IL is nee
he acts accordingly. Here is his ac-
count of one method that he adopted:
twice sailed forth alone and on horse
hack and bent my course 10 4 distant WI
lage ON my arrival. which took place just
after the NCsfd or afternoons nap had con
cluded | proceeded i'm both instances 10 the
nlarket-place. where ] spread hofse-clotn
on the ground. upon which / deposited my
books then commenced crying Win a
loud voice: Peasants peasants, ! bring
YOU the Word of God at cheap price. !
know YOU have but little money. but !
bring IL YOU at whatever you can COM
mand. a four or three reals, according W
your means" thus went on till crowd
gathered around me. who examined the
books with attention many of them read
ing aloud. but ! had not long TO wait IN
both instances my cargo was disposed ot
almost instantaneously. and ] mounted my
horse without a question being asked me
and returned TO my temporary ABODE
lighter than I came. These instances oc-
CURED IN CASTLE and tallcia, near the
Towns OF Santiago and \alladolid'
There is the true Borrow, the doCr
whose books, which charm MS like ro-
mances. are in their very grain and
spirit the records of life passionately
llNe0. Il suppose, MI. bHItll ldS Sdi''
"it would he considered ridiculous in
these fine days TO call Borrow a sreat
artist" OF course it would he ridicu-
lous. But whether men call "Lavencro'
and The Bible in Spain works of art
or not. they will go on reading them.
They are packed with human nature
They brim over with character and adj
venture. We have spoken Of BoTrows
faculty for Coloring a statement and for
falling silent when. on occasion, we wish
he would go on talking. But not all the
arbitrary touches in his work, not all the
dramatic ingenuity that h cultivates,
can rob his style of that concise and
clear quality which he admired 50 much
when he was working on the old
"Trials" He drives ahead. taking
thousand incidents and emoticHs in his
stride. He writes with gusto and il IS
with gusto that YOU read him. You read
him thus not only because he has so
much to say that is interesting, but he
cause he is Borrow and dominates the
page.
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31

lau,e act and the great man prepared
to set ~ a dynasty; but more than
seven months passed before he allowed
the results of the vote TO he published.
He was not content. NJ. Mason points
out. to base his throne solely on the
popular choice: perhaps his knowledge
of the French Of his time justified him
in the belief that the will of the people
on his lips they were becoming MY
People''-was not then sufficient TO Sc
cure that permanent dynasty He
planned for solemn conservation of
his imperial title that should make him
indeed a sovereign. should fix religious
and royalst support, and for mag
nifiCent spectacle that should dazzle the
nation into rejoicing acceptance of the
new CharlemaGnc cult. by keeping
back the result of the voting until the
eve Of the religious ceremony says our
author "and by overlaying the consti-
tutional oath with the pomps of the
pontifiCal coronation, he would leave IL
a matter Of doubt as To whether the
Empire WAS founded on Popular or Di-
vine right"
1t was not until after lcng and trouble
some negotiations that Plus VII was
persuaded to come to Paris for the cor
onation. The chapter in which NJ. Mas
son describes in detail these negotiations
is of curious interest The Pope ana
the Sacred College insisted or conditions
and concessions the granting Of which.
in most cases, Napoleon either cleverly
evadcd or calmly ignored. He was pro.
fuse in promises as to the advantages
t. the Church to be gained by the Pope's
journey; he was alternately friendly and
threatening. The great Captain pre-
vailed-and he broke, the very next day
after Plus had consented, several Of the
engagements which had been agreed To
in his name. During the months ui
waiting the Emperor had been much oc-
cupiCd in preparations for the corona
ton. He had taken the CarlOvingian
spread eagle as the heraldic creatur,
representing the empire, but he cast
about for a more personal emblem as a
substitute for the Capetian fcHrS dc IUS.
Some metal bees had been found i'm the
tomb Of Chlperic, at Journal. and i.
was supposed that they had decorated
the mantle, long turned to dust, of that
King of the first dynasty. Why not
bees for the founder OF a later dynasty?
IT is said that Napoleon never gave any
formal and definite explanation of his
adoption Of these ornamental insecte
but by his orders they were showered
over everything g-eVen his carpets and
h1ngings.
The crown, the sceptre and other in
sigma Of the sovereign gave him many
hours Of reflection and much Vexation
Those of Charlemag gne which were used
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31

the actual coronation was not ridiculous
II did not. Mason believes, stir the heart
of the people. The effect, at least. was
not what Napoleon expected and 1t was
by his order that silence on the subject
was maintained. Ii Is worth while To
note that the "Monteur" never pub
lishcd description of the ceremony,
and I'm his address from the throne at
the opening of the legislative body tho
Emperor made no allusion to II. lie
would not listen, however, to those VINO
told him that the opinion of the nation
was not with him. that throughout
France the coronation had not made Il
favorable impression. For MS own
time. for the France of that day. says
Mason. Napoleon was wrong, but ne
adds that the conservation has aroused
the imagination of rosterity and has
profited by distance.
There was a ceremony on the pre-
1tth Of July which In its simple dignity
and patriotic sentiment did truly sur All
Republican hearts Within the chill, sol
dierIy austere walls of the Church Of the
Jnyalides. Napoleon in the plain military
garb of his youth, distributed to the
members Of the Legion of Honor the
stars of their order and heard the 're-
mendous shout that answered his caIl 10
thom to swear devotion to their country
and the maintenance Of Liberty ana
Equality For those who. granting MS
faults and mistakes, must always feel
the magic of the mans genius ana
achievement that ceremony dims the
pretentiousness of the other. Still. for
,bon, sounds that wild cry Of enthusi-
asm. echoing into the dome beneath
which in his great sarcophagus of red
rorrhyry now lie the bones Of the Con-
nleror
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31

is "majestG" here. there and everywhere
Ia such profusiOn as would have seri-
uu.ly embarrassed Victor Hugo. Of
whom it relates the following story:
When Dom Pedro visited Europe he eN-
pressed "A desire To meet Victor Hugo,
but the author of Hermann would not
visit the Emperor Whcreupon the En-
peror observed that If the superiority "f
genius prevented the great Frcrchman
from paying the visit he would call upon
the T"et himself"
Victor Hugo was moved when Dom
Pedro accepted an invitation To dine at
his house. After dinner the Emperor
asked Hugo 10 nscribe his name on the
title page Of his last work. Here the
author was in = difficulty about using
the term majesty, so he improvised tha
following. "A Dom Pedro Il Alcantara." &"
This, as our contemI orary observes,
would rot stultifv ANYTHING he had writ
ten IN "Herrani Or "Ruy Bias An
other instance cited of littleress Of
genius - the way in which Hugo ad
dressed the pu, d'Aumale, who sent him
his hook on the Princes De Conde.
His letter cf thanks besan, Cher ct
royal COItIeIe."
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31
FICT ION
Newcomers and Old Hands in
Current Fiction.
LIFE AM ART.

GIf = AM EEN -
THE UNKNOWN WOMAN. By Anne
Warwick Frontspiece in color by VIII
Grefe Emo, rp. 2i6. The John Lane
Company.
This is an exceptionally good piece OF
work. planned on large scale and exc
cuted with an able, firm hand. ta'e
of one of the most interesting phases o.
the life Of contemporary New York-of
the line where art and intellect ami
wealth meet-it is not unworthy OF Its
subject, the author peopling the terri
tory of her choice with a host of people
who time and again suggest an elusive
trace of semi -portraiture, even as the
plot has, on one side of its complications
at least, a reminiscent touch. The I'm
known Woman" is, in the first place, L
bust by Donatello, an audacious fraud
planted" on an American collector by a
gang of swindlers in Europe But the
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31
THE MELRoSE PRIZE NOVEL.

THE MELROSE PRIZE NOVEL.
BEYOND THE LAW. BY Miriam AleXann-
der. 12mo, PIP. 36i G. p. Putnams
Sons.
This novel was selected as the best
submitted for the second annual Prize
Novel Competition, established in Eng
land by Mr.. Andrew Melrose, the judges
being Messrs. w. j. Locke, \. G. Ben
son and A. T.. w. Mason. 1t Is not a
bad specimen of the sort of fiction that
prize competitions usually call forth, an
historical romance of Ireland in the days
of William III. The Dutch King or
England appears only for moment In
the opening pages, in order to set in
motion, through his perfidy, his lack of
honor and various other villainous quail
ties. the tragedy that bestows the estate
Of the LisrOnans on one of his follow
ers from across the Channel, murder
Gus blaCkguard beside whom the basht-
bazCuks Of the Bulgarian atrocities ap-
pear like innocent shepherds. One re-
ioices when the curse laid on him by an
old Irish woman comes true to the very
letter. 1t is a tale of violence and
bloodshed, oppression and injustice, hf
men and women and children hunted
and slaughtered like hares. tale of in
cessant action and misfortune, of re-
venge long sought and slowly found. OF
many ingenious turns and twists Of the
plot, which contains also cleverly com
plIcated romance. OF course, there is
the historically imperative connection
with France and the Court of Versailles.
This is apparently a first novel, and as
such it shows promise of a pretty minor
talent
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31
Literary News and Criticism

IN futile as we'll as inCongruous' fash'oH'
The fact is that Borrow has been pre-
posterously sentimentalized by some
writer's. Lovers of the man ana MS
work remember only too well the pom
posity with which one English crl'ic Wno
met him in his old age set down MS
"reminiscences" some years ago bor-
row was a man who in the course oil MS
life did quantity of superb wri'l''e'
Rut he was never even In his most
learned transactions, a literary man III
our latter day sense of the term ana 1t
is farcical to approach him with por-
tontous critical apparatus. He, too' hhe
the amiable Mr. Smms who was hanged
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31
George Borrow in the Role OF a
Servant of Religion.

THE LIFE or GEORGE BORROW;
Compiled from Unpublished Ofhcial
Documents His Works. CORRESPONDENCE.
etc BY Herbert Jenkins. WITH ,''o Ir3u.
tispieCe i'm photogravure and twelve
other illustrations. Svo, PIP. XVIII, 49o'
G. p Putnam's Sons.
LETTERS or GEORGE BORROW TO
THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN 81 lbLt: ~
SOCIETY. Published by direction OF
svo no, xviii. Al. The George II. Doran
Company.
The books which we owe to the genius
of George Borrow are so richly auto
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31
NAPOLEON'S CORONATION
Politics Of the Rise of the First
Empire.

NAPOLEON AND HIS CORONATION
BY Frederic Mason. Translated ny
Frederic Cobb. With seven illustrations
by Felicien Myrbach Svo. PIP. SOL. The
J. b. Lippincott Company.
The ScnntuS COHSultum. which on MAY
IS, 1904, established an hereditary gov
ernment in the family of Napoleon was
founded upon belief more or less gen.
uine that the Royalist conspiracics con-
tinually threatening the life Of the First
Consul and the security of the republic
could only thus be brought To an end.
A popular pl6bGScite ratified mat legis
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31
a STORY OF A LIE.

wilkins Freeman Illustrated by Paul
Julien MeNlan. ien,o. rp 292. poid.
Mead & Co
Mrs. Freeman has sketched suburhia
before. but never yet with so much acid
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31

no draft for him and that If he ala ~,
clear Off they would send for the po"'v
DO" SAID the novelist. with no "sS
head or temper. Looking about ne
served a set Of pigeonholes m VIZ
he Judged that foreign drafts were NV
He turned To them, ranSacked the 'V,
tents and found his Edinburgh u'a
Then he lcctm,d the crestfallen oIn''.
on their behavior and marched ont S"1,
their apologies. TO mark the eNeh' a''~
his victory" said Colvin, he deslshe'
medal, but / don't fancy 1t was e''
struck"
Valuable Letters.
\ recently discovered and viva
ter Of Henry Fielding. written NV
after his arrival in prison, vas
at Sotheby's the other day for 49,
pathetic letter from Charles ppeAea,
dealing with the death Of his SV'
sister law. Mary Hogarth, ot0Ss
at the same sale $3.50.
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31
Stevensoniana.

Sir Sidney Colvin has been lecturins
on his old friend, r. L. Stevenson, and
has told some stories which, If not en-
tirely new. are nearly forgotten. One OF
these recalled Stevenson's night wander
ing through London in an effort ao get
himself arrested as a vagabond' He
tried policeman after policeman, but all
of them had eyes sharp enough to esti-
mate the man rather than his shabby
clothes, and each meeting, said Colvin
"ended with a friendly chat, mostly
about the policeman's own joys and
troubles" Stevenson was equally shabby
when one day he went into French
bank-it was at Clermont-Ferrand, in
Southern France-to get some money on
an Edinburgh draft. The provincial
bank officials were not as clever as the
London policemen. They looked him
over and decided that he was a rogue
and told him so, AMI added that they had
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31
ECCENTRICITY OF GENIUS.
The London GlOhe.

FROM 1ue Lonuol blobS'
The recent visit of King Peter Of Ser
via to Paris leads Paris journal to re-
mark upon the subserviency shown by
republicans to royal personages when
lonportunity arises We are told that IT
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31
LITERARY NOTES.

The profits Of authorship are alva,1
matters of discussion among autho..
who often consider them problenatic.,
Al the recent meeting in London NJ ~.
members Of the Royal Literary Ma
the chairman's speech was littls L..
than mOurnfuI. lie declared that a..
receipts Of authors, even OF novels. v.,.
very poor. and noted that thera h..
lately been published particulars OF =,
agreement under which the author =,
novel OF which thirteen hundred con,..
were sold i'm the first year received /.
sum Of two shillings and elghtper..
Assuming, he added, that 1t took two a.
three months TO write the book. rhs an.
thor earned about halfpenny day =.
against the minimum OF seven shillin,,
for which the miner was striking.
The New Harper Thsokersy.
The new Harper edition OF Thacker,v
for which Lady Ritchie, the novel,sr,
daughter, has supplied fresh blograph,.
cal matter, Is now ItduJ iDT tne eilh-
scribers. Only 4s1 sets are availshl.
Those in vellum cost 500 and those in
half morocco 5000.
Apropos Of new edition Of Thacks.
ray's works Il may be mentioned thar
Mr.. Lewis Melville does not believe tha.
the novelist wished the story Of his lie
TO remain unwritten. The enterprising
bioerapher says: "Thackeray. 50 thu
story runs. some years before HIS death.
was so disgusted with an unduly ful.
some biogra ply he was reading that hs
laid down the volume, saying to his
daughters. Let there be none Of this
when / go They interpreted this remark
literally with the result that neither tho
members of his family nor his intimats
friends have attempted 10 compile ar
official biography" Mr.. Melville thinks
that Thackeray's "only desire was thai.
the truth should be told, that all the
scars should be painted in the portrait
which il must be remembered is merely
Mr.. Melville's opinion. Lady Ritchies
biosraphical introductions 10 her faith.
er's works give. on the whole full &C.
count of his career.
New-York tribune., 1912-03-31
A Barrie Story.

barrIe otoTJ'
Mr. J. NJ. Barrie. II IS recorded, once
made a speech at Burns dinner, which
sreech in the next number Of The Ma
tional Observer" was satlrized In very
sharp and amusing way. Divers admir-
ors Of Barrie were moved To rage by this
one of them. indeed. was so angry tha,
he threatened to travel to London to
horsewhip the editor. This energetic
proceeding was stopped by the pubca'
ton of the name of the contributor o:
the satire. It was James NJ. Barrie