The sun., 1916-09-24
SOME NEW BOOKS.
SrrSerlck W. Stewards Recollectlons
Of Civil War Times.

l
SrSerlck ". Stewards Recollectlons
Of civil War Times.
The best reading for Americans Just
spw Is that which revives u political
s.st: and that IL done better In the
Irrespective writings Of mon who Wit.
sassed the events Of ffty to sixty years
Am. and took part in those Of thres.
Hur or five decades back. than In for
nj histories. The histories r based
N documents. the rccollections on
men. Eighty.fvc years. from 1850 to
ssiS. was the life span Of the author
n "Reminiscences OF q War Time
sotesmdn and DIPLOMAT (Putnams):
ana As the reminiscent Is FREpERicA /!
4. SEWARD. son of President LincolnTs
s.crs,ary Of state and himself Assist.
at Secretary in the Administrations
n Lincoln, Johnson and Hayes. the
Nsok is as genuinely important as II IL
saea.ing. There are clear memories Of ;
~ life and people Of the '40s. eyewit-
- reports Of civil var conditions In
darlington and Of incidents back of
(As curtain On the political stage. and
sniichtening accounts of our diplo-
SSstic enterprises after the war. in Mex
n the West Indies and Alaska.
william II. Seward sa; in the New
Ohrk state senate from 1880 to 1884.
1885, he was an unsuccessful candi-
Mia for the Governorship. but in '3S
was elected and In 40 reelected to
Al office. Ills United States Senator
Aip filled the years from 40 TO 81.
men he went to the State Depart
seut. The book tells Of home life In
Auburn, " hotel life In Albany. and Of
tourney by carriage 70 Washington
1885. In Frederick's early boyhood
4 listened to his great grandmother's
aories OF Revolutionary times. "the
Ara winter the guerrilla fighting and
niding, the fears and hopes Of the folk
this city. The boy was only I'VE
SSars old when no went to Virginia,
hi az long A ne lived he remembered
Ssvtdly this picture. presented At q
(buntry tavern on the way. where the
carriage arrives Just at sunset:
A cloud Of dust 10 seen. coming slowly
Gevn the road. from which proceeds . con-
kssd noise Of moaning. weeping and shout
:. ~. on reaching the gate Of the stable
' ma Il discloses itself. Ten naked little
kssrol boys. between . and ~ years old.
Va together. two and tive BY their wrists.
~ all fastened TO . Ions rope. and fol-
kwed by . tail. gaunt white who
Oth his long lash whips up tho sad and
Vsary little procession, drives them TO .
6ofss trough to drink and thence to .
Aed. where they lie down on the ground
knd sob and moan themselves TO sleep.
Institutions, like individuals, arc
quite likely to be Judged by the worst
Dat is part OF them.
Mr. Stewards early pages are varied
md entertaining. In the hard times OF
VI his grandfather explains the term
Ashinplasters." with description OF the
Offerings Of young gentlemen in the
lsy. 81 knee breeches. when "aore
Ohins" was a prevalent winter COM
elaint. We see the daguerreotype and
he steam railroad coming In. and the
Domestic silk craze that set all the
Cslks TO raising mulberries az proven.
(ar for the silkworm. and counting on
convict labor TO rival the product Of
Europe. There are memories Of the
Hard Cider campaign. Is II to the
popularity Of Old Tppecanoe that we
are to trace the use of Tip" as q name
Tor dogs?
Here Is Roscoe Conkling. who was
only a year older than the reminiscent,
but was one OF the big boys' Of their
school. the Pearl Street Academy. In
Albany. cnvied because OF his inclusion
: b q draft Of s~choolboys to serve as
lupers in Julius Cesar" And here is
York Van Allen. Governor Stewards
eelored servant. coming into the room
when a lady. imploring pardon for
her brute Of a husband. sent to prison
Tor beating her" has reached the
historical stage in her pleading: ne
6ys: II beg pard'n, sir-but Gov
amor Clinton used to alleys tell me I
tas 70 take EN- away when dey began
60 on like dat. and Governor Tomp-
6ns too, sir. alters" The lady took II
y a matter OF course and went out
calmly enough.
Then there is a story Of IAN artistic
Sntest' between Chester Harding and
henry lnman. with three other
eainters, in making a portrait Of the
elder Seward for the Governors Room
q our City Hall. When the Common
Council met to select the picture for
banging they were not able 10 make
Caoice between those by Harding and
mnan. Finally Inman said to Hard
P6: Shall We toss up for 1T" Hard
Pc agreed, and lost; so Inman's pic
me gained the wall.
IN lsi3, when Frederick Seward was
=, John Quincy Adams was at Au-
vurn. In conversation he said: II
\ used 70 think so'-that slavery would
(ome time he abolished peacefully and
cgally-"but / do not now. I am salts
ned that It will not go down until It
eoes down In blood" A steamboat cap
Nm with whom the old statesman
md travelled expressed a popular
wish In terms Of his own calling when
p said: "Oh. II you could only take
'pns engine out Of the old Adams and
vut It into a new hull"
frederick goes to college; his
other's college. Union. The Governor.
cuytng furniture for the boy in a
schenectady shop. orders the larger
pieces sent 20 the students room:
1sn, taking the pitcher himself and
Uv'ns the lamp and looking glass to
Ne son. he leads the way afoot. Ac-
ooSted by a friend one NJ his old nro.