The Washington herald., 1913-04-27

| part from his authority? Antony speaks
Of him as the MODEST Roman of them
all, and Brutus even as the foremost
man of all this world. The solution IL
plain. The great poet was but following
| the traditional representation of Caesar
as manifested in the writings of his
,, predecessors The gradual evolution OF
the Braggart Caesar again is treated ex.
| haustively in the appendix.
Incidents connected with the career OF
Caesar, especially his rivalry with Pom.
pejus, have been made the subject OF
dramas by other authors. As early al
1861 there was performed at Whitehall q
play, entitled Julius Caesar" the ear
| Hest instance of q subject from Roman
history brought upon the English stage
Not all of these dramas survive. Those
that are extant are so merely In printed
form; all are tedious, hence their fate.
The one best known is the tragedy OF
Julius Caesar, by Sir William Alexander.
Earl Of Stirling (Sterline). 1t is also
based on Plutarch's Life Of Caesar.
and probably was composed in 1904. II
was published in 1907. Modern students
claim that the play. in large part, is a
translation of tragedy by one Jules
Grevin, which, in turn, is taken from a
work in Latin by Muret. Alexander
opus is reprinted verbatim in the ap-
pendix to the present volume.
A tragedy by an unknown author,
| Caesars Revenge on Pompey,'' which
was performed at Trinity College, Cam
bridge, in 1905. has its claim to notoriety
in the fact that 1t was the first drama
| in English on a classic theme that was
performed at either university. 1t Is
academic and dull
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar was the
first of all his works to be translated
| into German. 1t was done by Wilhelm
Won Borck, who was Prussian envoy to
England Q735-173S. Ten years previous
Voltaire had composed his lie Mort de
Gear which he admitted was inspired
by Shakespeare's tragedy. 1t was pro-
duced in 1875.
To appreciate what Mr.. Furness has
done for English literature by adding
his monumental commentary to the lists
of it's classics. the present volume must
be read carefully and his notes Of ref
erence. annotations, and the exhaustive
appendix just as carefully studied. 1t is
one of the greatest, as it is also one
of the best works--if not the best-of
it's kind of contemporary effort
LITTLE THANK YOU: By Mrs T. p. O'Connor
G. p. Putnam's Sons New York.
Nothing could be more daintily writ
ten and presented than the fascinating
story, Little Thank YOU" by Mrs.
OConnor, which has just been issued
by the Putnams. There is a charm
about the little fellow upon whose rare
personality hangs his elders fate that
fills the story with light, and poesy, and
brightness.
The author has struck a happy note
in bringing into the love story of the
v-id q leading the
wonderful character of the attractive
child, who, in becoming her lovers ally
brings about her happiness.
The story as a whole is a little gem,
and all who have read il will join with
Florence l.. Barclay, the author Of 1.-The
Rosary" in prophesying for it q we'll
deserved success.
THE AMERICAN SPIRIT: By Oscar s. strsus
twice Ambassador to Turkey, former Secretary Of
Commerce and Labor, and member OF the Per1na-
nent Arbitration Court at The Hague. New York
The Century Company.
The author, by reason of his scholar
ship and distinguished public service at
home and abroad, is well fitted to inter-
pref the American spirit. The book con-
tains twenty-five diplomatic and his
torical essays and addresses-stucies of
our history. our diplomatic relations,
protection of our citizens and the growth
of our commerce. This collection of
thoughts is a distinct contribution to the
proper understanding Of the spirit, growth,
and tendency of American life, its foreign
and domestic problems, and should prove
of interest to the general reader, but in
forming and valuable reading to mer-
chants, students and specialists in his
tory.
The problems that present themselves
to each generation vary with the tenden-
cies of the times. While our age, says
Mr.. Straus, is dominantly commercial and