The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 21, 1902, Page 12

12 THE SUNDAY CALL. CONDUCTED BY 4 B. G. LATHROP. 5 + wish to acquire some mnew to make the close and tance of some beings of 1 world whose memories will cherishing for years to t meet the people that F. created in his latest Fortunes of Oliver Horn."” Mr. Smith's longest work, g, his best. on Smith is quite one of the He has not only an en- tion as an engineer, but he as an artist, while as a writer s name deserves to be placed of the men of letters of eculiar and remarkable tal- permits a man to be two such different — in engineering and art and t book is from the press of er's Sons. This same house, is just issuing a subscrip- n of the complete writings of that has been prepared under personal supervision and has ated in colors with drawings or and other well-known » West,” the author drew eriences as an engineer and of lighthouses—the famous —now in “The Fortunes he turns to his early t for the inspiration of In this story you might well there is no “plot,” no “willain"— -known claptrap prop- posed to be necessarily modern fiction. And you on to the next, a sigh of real regret that el down as finished. The rawing all rings so true, the f pla and. customs, the e in the South before ings in the artist quar- ‘hirty-five years ago, nd artistically present- Fortunes of Oliver Horn™ ear and white against kground of the mass of so- is put before us In p bookmaking. part of the book introduces us v and its delightful list es among the old Southern he slavery days. In this Mr. Smith gives us the of its kind that we scene for the opening fe of that refreshing r Horn, is laid in Ken- the late '50's, supposedly . as a matter of fact it is t Mr. Smith is drawing for us a f Patrician Baltimore at that pe- these s of ¢ we meet ers of that the dearest type of old school, Richard f Oliver—*a composite nge contradictions, of hments and yet of ures. And yet, gracious in speech, so so0 helpful in counsel, n and lovable, that, or not, as you pleased e lingered with you re, too, we are intro- good, the faithful— remember. Not so man flesh and bone emned to his service for i was free to come and 5o privileged since the tate had been settled when Richard had dom with the other s lot; not that kind his comrade, his man, black as 1d who in laying m would but have the embodiment of d motherhood, ready sband or son, but ess of mind had r inherited bellefs and the necessity of me & the customs of the old South- .fi- racy—a woman of the narrow £ re the war, when any occupa- t ths ofession of the law was the dignity of the & line of ancestors who had cen legal lights. t Kennedy Square, too, that we ntance of Amos Cobb, t¥pe of the North and the acts as a balance wheel in falling fortunes of the r's ambition to become an ar- - s desire is arrayed no Tce of obstacles. His mother dobs ve; and this alone is an insur- e hindrance to the loyal Oliver— ie has been with all the and respect of mater. her son, and, as she e him from himself, Mrs. sends him to New York to his own way in the world er, such a course is neces- r the fi 'S career as an in- as s diminished the Horn Boods and it seems that s of the young son must de- ng of the Horn family when come upon them. despite her inherited nar- vision, is a woman of the se and wise enough to e advice of the shrewd Amos Cobb. He it is that ests himseif in Oliver and after in- the mother to give her beloved opportunity of making a man of though the method be a harsh ves the young man letters that en- » make his first start on the situation of affairs North and South this time is very well brought out in e following dialogue at the club be- n Colonel Clayton, one of the “real uthern gentlemen,” and Cobb: u are quite right, too, about his young (Oliver), who has just left here. He has the qualities that go to make a gentleman, many of those which will make a jurist, s now studying law with my assoclate, dge Lillicott—a profession ennobled by his = sir, and one for which what you ance call his ‘stuff, but which we, sir, call his cially fits bim. You Northern men, . don’t believe in blood. We do down here. This young man comes of a line of ancestors that have reflected great our State for more than a hundred he is bound to make his mark. His his mother's side was our _— = " > e B TS i & The Illustrations on this page are reproductions of the clever drawings of Walter Ap- | pleton Clark in F. Hopkinson l Smith’s latest novel, “The ‘ Fortunes of Oliver Horn.” | | (Copyright, 1902, by Charles Serib- ner's Sons.) + =3 Chief Justice in 1810, and his great-grand- father was——" “That's just what's the matter with most of you Southerners, Judge,” interrupted Cobb, bis black eyes snapping. ‘“You think more of blood than you do of bralns. We rate a man on Northern sofl by what he does him- self, ot what a bundle of bones in some family burying-gronnd did for him before he was born. Don't you agree with me, Clay- ton?" ““I can't say I do, Cobb,” replied the colonel slowly, stirring his toddy. “‘I never set foot on vour sofl but and so am unfamiliar with your way liked Cobb. “He's so cursedly practical, and so proud of it, 00, he would often say; ‘‘and if you will pardon me, sir—a trifle underbred.” “When was that?’ asked Cobb, the top of his paper. hat wes some years ago, when I chased a wounded canvashack ! across the Susque- hanna River, and had to go ashore to get Rim; ard I want to tell you, sir, that what you call ‘your. soil' was damned disagreeable muck. I had to change my boots when I back to my home, and I've never worn . And the Colonel crushed the sgar in his glass with his spoon as savagely if each jump were the head of an enemy, and raised the mixture to his mouth. Amos’s thin lips curled. The high and lofty airs of these patricians always exasperated him. The shout of laughter that followed the colonel’s reply brought the color to his cheeks. “Chased him like a runaway nigger, I sup- pose, Clayton, didn't you? And wrung hi neck when you got him: » retorted Amos, biting his lips. Ot course, like I would any other plece of my property that tried .to get away, or as 1 would wring the neck of any man who would help him- And the colonel looked meaningly at the Vermonter and drained his glass with a gulp. Oliver in New York has a hard struggle for livelihood, but he stays with his up- hill task with dogged persistency. Chance throws in his way as a friend one of the ertist set; one of the strugglers in the varnguard of those who should eventual- ly place the arts at theilr proper height in the civilization of the America to come. Inclination keeps him among them, but it is only after obtaining his mother's consent that he takes up the study of draswing,as a side issuf to the actual re- quirement of making his own living. The glimpses of artist life in New York at this time that Mr. Smith gives us are particularly charming and prove espe- clally®delightful, for we can read between the lines the heartfelt expression of the author's own early career in the world of art. Here it is that Oliver meets Margaret Grant, who is to prove such a dominat- ing influence in the ultimate shaping of his career. Bhe, like Oliver, is struggling against the wishes of one member of her family, her father, to make for herself & name among the artists of the day. From New York the scene shifts to the mountains of New England and there we become even better acquainted with these two young peéople as they while away the happy hours in sketching and painting; and we see the first seeds of congeniality ripen into a real, perfect and lasting af- fection. Here we meet the Grant family —all of them just as characteristically Northern in their customs and views as the Horns are strikingly Southern. It is in depicting the beauties of these Northern mountains and valleys that the artistic temperament of the author is most strongly in evidence. Here is a bit of prose description that is as truly po- £tic in its construction and idea as the soul of the muse herself could desire: Our young enthusiast watched the Diaz of @ wood Interior turn slowly into a Corot, and with & cry of delight was about to unstrap his own and Margaret's sketching-kits, when the sun was suddenly blotted out by a heavy cloud, and the quick gloom of a mountain storm chilling the sunlit vista to a dull slate gray settied over the forest. Oliver walked over to the brook for a better view of the eky, and came back bounding over the moss- covered logs as he ran. There was not a mo- men: to lose if they would escape being drencbed to the skin. The outlook was really serious. Old Bald looking ov Face had not only lost his smile—a marvelous- ly bappy one with the early sun upon his wrinkled countenance—but he had put on his judgment cap of gray clouds and had begun to thunder out his disapproval of everything abo® him. Moose Hillock evidently heard the challenge, for he was answering back in the murky darkness. Soon a cold, raw wind, which had been asleep in the hills for weeks, awoke with a snarl and started down the gorge. Then the little leaves began to quiver, the big trees to groan, in their anxiety, not knowing what the will of the wind would be, and the merry little waves that had chased each other all the morning over the sunny shallows of the brook grew ashy pale as they looked up into the angry face of the Storm God, and fled shivering to the shore. Mr. Smith does one of his cleverest bits of work in that part of the book wherein he relates the visit of Oliver to the New England home of his adored Margare that part where the chivalrous, warm. hearted Southerner, son of the cayallers, meets Silas Grant, the practical Northern- er, descendant of a long line of Puritan- ical ancestors. Another particularly happy narration is wherein Mr. Smith tells of the visit of Richard Horn and his old friend to New York and how they win their way into the hearts of Oliver’s friends among the artists and musicians of the day. It would hardly be fair to the many readers who will enjoy “The Fortunes of Oliver Horn"” to go into any of the detalls that might reveal the ultimate climax of the author’s story; to tell of the struggles of the Inventor that so often seem to result in nothing but failure or of the long wait- ing of Margaret and Oliver before they can overcome the double difficulty of fam- 1ly prejudice and poverty. “The Fortunes of Oliver Horn” is in every sense of the word a great book, one that can be read by all, young or old, With a keen sense of enjoyment, unflag- EBIng interest and with the feeling on the part of the reader that he has been bet- tered. by this intimate friendship with persons of such sterling worth as these whose characters Mr. Smith has so_ably and forcefully deplcted, EESL AT S The Bridge of the Gods. A. C. McClurg & Co. of Chicago have just brought out a new and striking edi- tion of a story published some years ago —one that has endured the fires of liter- ary criticism and public perusal until it has now come to be regarded in the light of a classlc among books of Indian fic- tion. The book referred to is “The Bridge of the Gods,” by F. H. Balch, a novel founded on the legends of the Columbia River ‘and the mystical “bridge of the gods.” In this story Mr. Balch has given us probably the most truthful and real- istic picture of those great tribes that in- habited the Oregon country two centuries ago that has ever been written. The motif of the story concerns itself with the tragic fate of a young minister who came from New England to the wilds of the forest and stream to convert the Indians, The present edition, which is the seventh, is of particular interest to us of the West, inasmuch that all of the illustrations, which add so much to the illumination of the text, are the creations of a talented young Californian, L. Maynard Dixon, Mr. Dixon has long been known as one of the foremost illustrators of the coast, and his work has always been most high- ly regarded. He is a close student of life, as is shown by the realism with whjch he endows his drawings. For the past two years he has been making a special study of Indian types, and has covered many a ‘weary mile on horseback and slept many a night beneath the stars on the plains of the great Southwest in his efforts to see for himself and to study those pictur- esque types and customs that he is able 50 proficlently to reproduce on his draw- ing paper. No better man could have been selected to do justice to the fllus- trating of “The Bridge of the Gods.” The price of the book is $1 50. History of English Literature. A history of English literature that is to be particularly commended for the use of the general reader seeking a better ac- quaintance with the works of English writers, both past and present, is one that has been recently published by Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. This book Tepresents the work of two assistant pro- fessors of English literature in the Uni- versity of Chicago, Willlam Vaughn Moody and Robert Morss Lovett. The book contains some five hundred pages— small space in which to cover so great a subject; but the authors have selected and condensed their matter so well that this work will be found very acceptable to the student who would economize time in his studies and get the fnost out of a little. The clearness and simplicity of style is especially praiseworthy; as is also the fact that the authors have seen fit to ed- ucate the reader more by the plan of sug- gestion than by a statement of their own personal opinions. The first half of the book is devoted to the literature of the last two centuries, and much more to the nineteenth century than to the elghteenth; with the idea of bringing forward most prominently that portion of the study of greatest working importance to the stu- dent. As a hint for future study, a reading gulde or bibliography has been added to the text. The price of the book’ is §1 25. Man in the Streets Stories. The most complete and up-to-ddte book of humor that we have seen for many a day comes to us from the press of the J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company, New York, price $1. This encyclopedia of fun has been given the title of “The Man in the Streets Stories” and is a collection of over six hundred humorous after-dinner 4 storles about prominent persons that have previously appeared in the New York Times. That journal did a good turn for the fun-loving’ public when it be- gan to collect from here and there and everywhere live stories of humor—pre- ferably those that had the namse of some well known person connected with the anecdote to give it “human interest.” The Times even offered prizes for the best stories of short, crisp. humor. The publishers have done their part in making the present book attracjive and handy; for example, Chauncey M. Depew, the king of after-dinner. speakers, takes an interest in the work and has stamped it with his approval by writing a well turned introduction for the fun that fol- lows—no mean commendation in itself. To add to the further convenience of the volume there has been provided a double index. For example, if you feel that the only humor that will appeal to your mood is a railroad yarn, you have but to turn to the *“r’s” and under the head of “rail- road” you will find the numbers of the stories devoted to that particular depart- ment of fun; or, in the second index, if you are convinced that you must read some comic bits about Mark Twain or General Miles, or in fact any other well known person of the past or present his- tory, you can there find under the proper letter the name and numbers all ready for reference. If this double index scheme is not a marvel of up-to-dateness for the convenient’ propagation of fun it would be hard to tell what is. All of the stories that we have read are certainly far above the average of the kind generally foisted upon the publie as humor and the book taken in homeopathie doses for after dinner reading to the fam- ily or to your assembled friends will be found quite an addition to the library of every well regulated household. Here fol- low two of the first prize stories that will serve as a sample of both the quality and quantity of the fun in each selection: Presiding Justice Van Brunt of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court is a man of rare good humor, and yet withal a Judge who can call an offending lawyer to account in a man- ner that he is not likely to forget. The Pre siding Justice met his match, however, in a young lawyer who appeared before his august bench last week. It was a simple cause that the young lawyer pleaded, but his heart was in it and he be- lteved that he was entitled to a reversal of the verdict that had been rendered against him. He was armed with all the authorities, and he quoted from them coplously. The honorable Justice yawned as he presented his case in this elemental fashion. “Pardon me,” interrupted Justice Van Brunt after a time, “‘but I would suggest that you get down to the merits of your case. “‘Presently, your Honor, presently,” respond- ed the young lawyer with forensic eloquence, yet he continued Wwith renewed earnestness to expound the law as he saw It. “Let me suggest to you,”” sald Justice Van Brunt, Interrupting again, “that you get down to t merits of your case and take it for gtanted that the Court is familiar with the ele- mentary principles of la: “No, your Honor, no,” declared the young lawyer, with absolute sincerity. “That was the mistake that I made when I argued this case in the lower court.”’ ¥oualle George W. Perkins tells a story of an Irish- man, who, while walking with his friend, passed a jewelry store whers there were a lot of precious stones in the window. “Would you mnot like to have your pick?” asked Pat. “Not me pick, but me shovel,” sald Mike, Stephen Holton. Charles Felton Pidgin, the author of “Quincy Adams Sawyer” and “Blenner- hassett,” has in his latest novel, “Stephen Holton,” written a story with a purpose. The hero, Stephen Holton, 1s a young clergyman who lives in the siums of Boston, and who carries on a crusade agalnst Intemperance and vice. The novel Is, in particular, a protest against the temptations which beset coun- try bred youths and maidens when thrown upon their own resources in a large city. The scenes of® the story change from country to town, and in- habitants’ of both places furnish the principal characters of the book. The novel is not high-class fiction. Still its earnestness of purpose excuses some of its more conspicuous defects. (Pub- lished by L. C. Page & Co., Boston.) The Art of Music. Very useful and handy books are to be found in the “Library of Useful Stories,” published by D. Appleton & Co., New York. The latest addition to the series is “The Story of the Art of Music,” by Frederick J. Crowest. Mr. Crowest |is also the author of “The Great Tone Poets.” The present volume contains 180 pages and has a complete index, which makes it handy for subsequent reference. After a brief but instructive introduction concerning the history of music, the au- thor considers notation; then early har- mony, folk songs, troubadours and first counterpoint. After this he takes up four- e teenth century music, rise of opera and cratorio, the organ, early schools ¢ mauste, the madrigal, Roman and Protest- ant church music, opera and passion musie, Bach and Hande ed oratorio, symphony, Haydn, and Beethoven, romantie art in symphony, growth of form and tion, possible English school, opera— Gluck to Verdl, modern German and Rus- sian music. The books in this A uniform in price, 35 cents. 4 Literary Notes. Miss Annie Douglas Sedgwick, author of “The Rescue,” has written a story of a friendship between women called “A Deserted Temple,” which is to appear serially in The Century, with tures by Miss Harding.” perfe M, Stopford A. Brooke’s thorough-going study off Robert Browning is soon to published by Messrs. Thomas Y. Cr & Co. Mr. Brooke's previous work - Tennyson has shown his superior insigh into the poetical animus of the last c tury and his ability to deal with great companion poet of Tennyson. \ volume begins with a striking contrast of these two writers, preparatory to a consideration of Browning and his writ- ings in their varied aspects. The following Interesting articles make up the contents of Club Life for Septem- ber: “The California Outdoor Art League,” Ella C. B. Fassett; “The Trebls Clef Cludb™; ‘The California Historie Landmarks League,™ Laura Bride Powers; “Association Ploneer Women of California”; *“The Corona Club™; “The Papyrus Club”; “California State Floral Soclety”; ‘“Ploneer Daughters”; “The Adelphian Club, Alameda™; *““The Criterion Club, Alameda™; litera: department “Romance of Kah-botin,” “Casa Boneu “The Alden Club”; “Traveling Pictu: Work™; “What the Newspapers Say’: “Philharmonic Election” ‘Plano Re- 3 “Pure Olive Oil,” Vincent C. Among new editions to be brought out by Littls, Brown & Co. this fall are the following: “Plutarch’s Lives,”™ Ox- ford edition in five volumes; “The Col- onel’'s Opera Cloak,™ by Christi C. Brush, with {llustrations; “Madame D’Arblay’s Diary,” two volumes, limited to 500 coples; a new thirty-two volume edition of Charles Lever's works; “Ho to Live,” by Dr. Edward Everett H: “Little Women™ and *“An Old-Fashion Girl,” Louisa M. Alcott's famous stor! superbly illustrated; Hamerton's “Et ings and Etchers” and “The Intellectual Life”; Helen Hunt Jackson's “Glimpses of California”; “Hours with German Clas- sic: by Frederic Henry Hedge; a popu- lar fllustrated edition of “The Three Mus- keteers,” by Dumas; and “Miss Be donna,” by Caroline Ticknor, with a tional chapters. il The Baker & Taylor Company an- nounces for publication in the early fal “Reciprocity,” by Professor J. Laurence Laughlin, head of the department economics in the Chicago University, and Professor H. Parker Willls of Wash ton and Lee University; a “Life of Ul- rich Swingli,” the Swiss patriot and r former, by Samuel Simpson (net $1 2 “Recollections of a Long Life, an Auto- blography,” by Rev. Theodore L. Cuy D.D. (net $150); “Help and Good Cheer. a gift book, by Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D.D. (net $1); “Valld Objections to So- called Christlan Science,” by Rev. A drew F. Underhill (cloth, net, 50 cent paper, net, %5 cents); the Rolfe Shakes- peare, In limp leather (single volumes, net, % cents; forty volumes, boxed, net, $36); and “Over the Black Coffee,” com- piled by Arthur Gray (net 75 cents, gift edition, ooze leather, net, $1 50). Books BeeeiveJ. JUDITH'S PHOENIX, AND OTHER AN- GLO-SAXON POEMS—Translated by J. Less- le Hall. Silver, Burdett & Co., New York 75 cents. WANDERING HEROES—By Lilllan Ie§ Price. Silver, Burdett & Co.,, New York. 50 cent LORD CHESTERFIELD'S LETTERS TO HIS SON—Edited by Joseph B. Seabury. Sil- ver, Burdett & Co., New York. 35 cents. THE QUEST OF POLLY LOCKE—By Zoe Anderson Norris. J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company, New York. $1. IN THE DAYS OF ST. CLATR—By James Ball Naylor. The Saalfield Publishing Com- rany, Akron, Ohlo. $1 50. ROB AND HIS GUN—By Willlam Alexander Linn. Charles Scribner's Soms, New York. §l. POCO A POCO—By W. F. Johnson. The Saalfield Publishing Company, Akron, Ohic. $1 50, THE CLIMAX—By Charles Felton Pidgin. C. M. Clark Publishing Company, Boston. TOM TAD—By Willlam Henry Venable. Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, $1 50. TEMPORAL POWER—By Marle Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, $1 50. BY THE STAGE DOOR—By Ada Patterson and Vietory Bateman. The Grafton Press, New York. TALKS TO STUDENTS ON THE ART OF STUDY—By Frank Cramer. The Hoffman- Edwards Company, San Francisco. MOTHER GOOSE PAINT,BOOK—By J. M. Barnett. The Saalfield Publishing Company, | Akron, Ohlo. $1 25. THE BLUE BADGE OF COURAGE—By H. H. Hadley. The Saalfield Publishing Compa- ny, Akron, Oblo. $1 25. | 4 | 1 THE \ Book Room set entirely apart for HILDRE they will lind treasures piled high upon the shelves. o o o o FAIRY TALES, WONDER BOOKXS, ADVENTURE, GAMES and PUZZLEs. CHILDEEN, you can com: and sec for YOURSELVES. Sit dowa and Look, «BO- GIES” will nol both:r You. Elder and Shepard, 238 Post Street, San Frarcisco, Corell.