The sun., 1918-10-13
"Billy and the Major"

ID and books about children for
growups, compare for resemblance and
contrast, about ike paper play hats and
paper money, wooden swords and wooden
penholders, lead soldiers and lead bullets.
Penrod wouldn't enjoy Penrod as much rs
Penrods father would ScboolbOys might
view the Varmint, the Tennessee Shad
and the rest of the immortal crew Of
young LawrenceviIlians with indifference
or scorn, while the stories command the
affection of the elders through their con-
tribution TO self-defensive self-deeeit. We
can imagine real children yawning over
Helen's Babies, and a wounded soldier
forgetting his aches while reading it.
y The books about children which are
most pleasing to grown folk are not tie
best books for children to read. They give
too many hints to incredibly receptive and
ective young minds Is it slyly, for tho
sake of these hints, that children stand for
such lot of thinly disguised preaching
in their unguestiOnably favorite storiesf
Although packed, jarnmed full Of the
infantile sayings and dOings which end
lessly amuse men and women-especially
those who are not bringing up" children
of their own-Billy and the Major is not
a Juvenile" 1t will make the Majors
chuckle, but the Billies would find more
fun in original pranks.
The story has no plot, but it has con-
tinuity and development, structure. Back
Of the recital of the children's funny say
ings is skilfully revealed history Of q
fine friendship between little boy and
man; and back of that is the tracing Of
softening -ripening process in the kind
but somewhat harsh nature of little Billy's
aunt, the Majors wife. A rather austere
lady, she did everything for Billy-exeept
call him Billy When at last she drops
the oppressive civilian" for the friendly
"Billy" no one needs to be told how
Aunt Minerva has grown In the grace OF
living; and the author deserves credit and
thanks for refraining from eIpatiation.
The small boy is a Tennesseean; his pal
is little negro boy; and they cram the
book with dialect which gets less bother
some as the pages pass and the eye ad-
justs itself to the distortions of orthog-
raphy; still, with a reduction Of about 50
per cent. in the use of apostrophes, it
would be jnst as effective, as dialect, and
much more slightly, as print. There are
some vulgarities, which may be, according
to the views Of the sitter in judgment, on
the order either of Peck's Bod Boy or
Mark Twain. We shall not, either to
praise or blame, pillage the story, but it
dulls no edge to call the roll Of its per-
some: The wise and genial Major; the
aunt, who is learning life late but well;
the funny little negro boy, the two little
girls, fat Jimmy; the quaint old darky
cook, the wicked old billy goat, the severe
schoolmam and Miss Ainerra's baby
and the jolly little chap, brave, generous,
afeetonate, who most properly leads OF
In the title. And there must be q word
for the illustrator; whose twenty draw
ings, Of no over refined art but full Of
homely character, ct the story exactly.
The publishers tell Us that the volume
to which this is q sequel, Mss Aiserca
asd W1ham GSse~ HIl, has had q run
\of more than 100000 copies. Books that
sell like that don't come IN for literary
criticism.
BILLY AND THE MAJOR. BY EMMA