The sun., 1918-12-29
A Book On Historic =
American Shrines
Z VISITING historic places or buildings

~
in the United States can hardly be
considered either a fashionable or popular
custom. To travel across the ocean to
visit eathedrals in England or France is
i commonplace for New Workers who
would not dream of wandering about the
Paulist Church on Columbus avenue or
never thought it worth while to study
the superb ROmanesque interior of the
Catholic Cathedral at Albany.
But there are folk who really DO this
sort of thing and know intimately the
Whipple House at Ipswich. Mass, OF
which Sylvester Baxter Orce had the
courage TO say it was finer in the same
field than the Cluny Museum, and who
actually visit and revisit the Van Cort-
landt mansion that stands on the mar
gin of the most popular of our civic parks.
For such as these and doubtless with the
hope of being a preacher in the wilder
ness, John 7. Faris has written the pOrtly
and beautifully illustrated volume called
Historic ShTiHes Of America. The writer's
plan is to take his readers on round
about tour of buildings of historic inter
est, beginning at Boston and thereabout,
coming down TO New York Where Pat
ROOFS and KnickPTbOcketS FIoWTisbed,
thence 4crosS The Jerseys With the
Patriots, and devoting twOScore pages
TO the places in and around Philadelphia
more or less famed in our history. We
say ''more or less" for We wonder Just
how many Americans who have been IN
tereSted in the domestic architecture of
England are familiar with the beauties
of the curiOuSly named Fatlands near
PhGnixville, Pa, and its superbly beau
tiful classical residence. One of the
singular Oversights Of the author is to
make no mention in his description Of the
Moravian ChureH at Bethlehem. Pa, of
the famous Bach festivals that are held
every spring there chiefly through the
mUnifeence of Charles NJ. Schwab. He
gives us glimpses Of dOorways at New
Castle, Del, that are more exquisite than
any in Salem; of the Carroll place,
DoughOregan Manor in Maryland, of the
Capitol, the White House and the Octa-
gon House in Washington, two of which
are known to most Americans at least.
Mr.. Faris then leads us down through
Virginia to Richmond, Lexington. VIII
liamsburg, Montpelier. Monticello and
Charlottesville; and farther into the
Southland of Charleston, Savannah. New
Orleans, San Antonio, Texas. Nashville
and White Haven near St. Louis: this
last We take it a perfect specimen Of the
old time planters" home. The homely
Abraham Lincoln house in Springfield is
pictured and described and then we travel
back to Albany to glimpse the Schuyler
mansion, and beyond to Portsmouth to
see the Wentworth House and up to Port
land, where the Wadsworth LOngfellOw
house shyly blooms in architectural beauty
on the unlovely main street of that gray
town.
1t is to be hoped that the necessity OF
Eseeing America first brought about by
the rigOrs of the war will create among
us a stronger desire to know something
more than we do about the shrines in our
own land that Mr. Fairs has described and
pictured so effectively in these pages. And
even if one can only be fireside traveller
there are few journeys in 5Ookland so
interesting and picturesque that one may
wander at will through as in these pages.
HISTORIC SHRTNES OF AMERICA. BIZ
JOHN T. FAIRS. George H. DOran Com
pany So.