Newspaper Page Text
RELIGION IN PERSIA. ROME OP THE MYSTERIES BENEATH Tl srilFACE OF ISLAM. A YEAH AMONGST THE PERSIANS. Impi sion* a* to the Life, Character and Thou of the People of Persia, Received I-urine; Twt Months' Residence in That Country in lae Ye 1887-8. By Edward G. Browne, If. A.. M. 1'p. Ix.. 591. London. Adam & Chark-.* lila It is ft pity that Mr. Browne waa compel to yield to his publishers In the form of his w on Persia. He ls a thorough Investigator, 1 he ia not so good a. narrator of his own i perlenccs as might be wlsh-d. The most fcseestlng parts of Um present work aro not I episodes pt travel, but the recurrent studies SOdal aad religious life, of magic and mystlcis themes on which Mr. Browne had already i hibited his learning and skill In works less p Ular and StDtaSSHlsS p'-rhaps than the pres* ono. The exigencies of the narrative ha broken these studies into parts when th might easily have been shaped In each c; Into a well-rounded essay on Zoroastrianism, S-.ifllsm, on Mask ..nd on the Babis. There have been occasions when it eec Hied If these United Slates were to be the home the Inventors of ieligions. But lt has alni' Invariably happened that a few years w nessed the complete growth and premature t oay of Western vagaries in the religious lie The true home of religious origins is Wests Asia. There, in spite of every form of oppo tion, they gradually reach perfectloa T reasoning of the Orient on this point is t reasoning of (lainallel-if the thi-ip ts Rood. power on earth can stop lt; if it is not good will die. But by the same reasoning the tyra ls Justified, since he presses with a strong ha: ora all alike and only allows that to grow whi? rl 1st grow in spite of him. Martyrdom by t wholesale seems foreign to the thought of ti nineteenth century. But we have merely to e large our hr rizon a little to al nd not only th it ls possible, but to learn that the heroism early Christianity has been rivalled within t! last nfty years by a sect which has sprei almost as far in a lifetime as Christianity d in the age of the Apostles. The rellplon-buil lng of the West, whether it bc by ignorant e thusiasm or by an esoteric cult, seems 111 child's play beside movements characteristic the East. To one of these movements, that b gun by Mirza Ali Muhammad the Bab. in Pe ala. Mr. Browne devotes a great deal of atte: tion. It is a subject which he has worked up before, but he tells In this volume how he ft In with the "Friends" in Persia, as If by mysterious accident, long after his ima-rinatlc *had been Area by the enthusiastic work i Oobineau on the Bab and his followers. OBS OS easily imagine the way in which this happene though the author himself carefully avoids sui gcstlng any theory, "n the first place, as student of the Persian language and llteratur lie had shown his interest la the Babis, and s lt turned out a voting Persian with whom r foregathered in England was also attracted b the sect, was familial with its leaders an might well have informed them of the cumin of a friendly traveller. Moreover. Mr. Bmwr had no sooner reached the boundaries of Persl than he began his search for a Babi. The myi terlous bein-r eluded his most strenuous effort and moat diligent Inquiries. Even In Teherai the home of Persian philosophy, he learne only enough about the hidden sectaries to rnak him the more desirous of discovering then Yet, doubtless, h? was surrounded by them. " was told tales," he writes, "of their unflinchin courage under torture, of their unshakabl faith, of their marvellous Skill in argument, but more he could not learn until later?an then he found that, some of the Teheranis wh had converred with him were Babis too caution to Incur persecution by making themselve Known. He might have inferred as much, an /'doubtless did, from a single anecdote which h tells of a learned man who said: "I once mt one of these Babis as I was returning from Kei bela, and he succeeded in drawing me into discussion on religious matters. So completel was 1 worsted by him at every turn, s i. thorough was his knowledge of the Koran an Traditions, and so ingenious was the use h made of his knowledge, that I was finally coir felled to effect my escape from his irresistlb! logie by declaring myself to be 'la-mazhab' < freethinker), whereupon he left me, saying tha with such he had nothing to do." Imagine a real Mussulman making such a ron fesslon as that of defeat in an argument! Man ifestly Mr. Browne was being led along with th astuteness common in the Orient until thos within the obscure circle which he sought t enter were convinced of his trustworthiness and had raised his curiosity to the highes pitch. This conjecture is confirmed by the ex periences of others as related to him. H< found an American missionary who admlttec that he had talked much with the Babis with ont ever encouraging their confidence, because he deemed their ideas fanciful and mischievous And the missionary seemed to be surprised that any one found difficulty in identifying them, "as they always spoke on religious topics whenever an opportunity presented itself, and dwelt especially on the need of a fuller revela? tion, caused by the progress of the human race." One can dimly remember that he has heard such things nearer home within the last twen? ty-five years. When Mr. Browne thought he had caught a Babi, he always found that he was mistaken, or at all events he could never make his prize confess the fact. Once he was sure that he had a victim In an old merchant of Shiraz, who was loud in his praises of the new religion. "All the time he was talking he kept looking at me in a peculiar way, as though to watch the effect produced by his words." This old man told of signs and won? ders which heralded the birth of Mirza All Muhammad the Bab, and his miraculous keen? ness and intelligence as a child, and of the startling prophecies given out by the Bab's suc? cessor. Now, there was something curious about these prophetic utterances, as Mr. Browne found out later. According to the belief of the Babis, the second head of the Babi organiza? tion addressed a letter to Napoleon III, long before the Franco-Prussian War, in which he exclaimed: "Because of what thou hast done, affairs shall be changed in thy kingdom, and empire shall depart from thine hands as a punishment for thine action. , . , We have Boen humiliation hastening after thee, while thou art of those that sleep." And there were other letters to the Queen of England, the Em? peror of Russia, the Shah of Persia and the Pope of Rome. While none of these potentates seems to have been duly impressed with the Importance of these epistles, there ls no ques? tion about the reverence accorded them by hun? dreds of converts to the new religion In Persia. The trouble was?and lt ls frequently a diffi? culty in new religions?nobody could give a date to these letters. The adherents of Beha, the Bab's successor, thought that they were writ? ten about twenty-five or twenty-six years ago. That would give a very trifling margin for a prophecy to Napoleon III. Meanwhile the search of Mr. Browne for a Babi went on with me:ancholy lll-succesa until he reached! Isfahan. He soon tired of the ?Ights of that ancient city, and was wondering whether he should Journey next to Shiraz or Ye_d. when two pedlers with a collection ,of braaswork, carpets, old coins and the like asked - permission to exhibit their wares. But the I traveller, though he looked at the trinkets, was Irr n-0 mood to buy. The older pedler upbraided Wm for taking up so mucb of their time without rec_mpenBe, but the younger stepped on the platform where Mr. Browne stood and whis? pered: "You are afraid we shall cheat you; I am not a Muaauiman that I should desire to cheat you. J am a Babi." Though' it has been Impossible, ol course, to describe all Mr. Browne's preliminary expert IE ences, yet surely those which have been given were such as by a perfect sequence would lead to some such dramatic disclosure as this when? ever the leaders of the movement felt sure that I they could trust their new investigator. Tel j Mr. Browne adds with delightful innocence: ,eB. "To this day I am at a loss to account for the ?ht j motives which prompted this extraordinary ir* i frankness. Perhaps some rumor had reached the man (for rumors in Persia net about in the most unaccountable manner) that I was anx? ious to make acquaintance with the sect to rk {which he belonged; perhaps he Imagined that >ut 'all Christians were better disposed toward the Babis than toward the Mahometans; perhaps the admission was merely a random shot, prompted by the consideration thal at least it was unlikely to expose him to any ri?k." From that moment the author found the search for Babis an easy one, and In every city he had endless discussions with them on the peculiari? ties of their belief. He round that, while the old merchant of Shiraz had dwelt on the mira? cles said to have attended the Origin and prog? ress <>f the new religion, the learned men within the circle of "Frlen.ls" rather deprecated allu? sion to these, maintaining that the really potent as j fact was the growth of the sect Itself. Bul they compared the life and martyrdom of the Bab (he was tried and shot for his religious opin? ions) to those of the Founder of Christianity. They accepted the Mahometan notion put forth in the Koran of a succession of prophets, including Moses and Christ and Mahomet. but they' added their own founder to UM Hst, Ite'pind also accepted Zor -aster on the ground that ii religion which had lasted for BO many thou? sand years must have more right than wrong in it, and its founder must have been divinely inspired. These prophets were manifestations Of divinity, and so the Babis trenched on Ml pantheism on one side, while on another they gave evidence of having adopted the old Aryan ideas of reincarnation. For example, a literary woman with whom Mr. Browne became ac? quainted Imagined that she was a reincarna? tion Of Kurratu'1-Ayn. a poetess whose memory is clv-rished arnon* the Babis not only because of her f-enlus but because she was one of tho early martyrs of the sect. It ls not to be wondered at that Babis, hav? ing rejected the peculiar notions of Islam about "religions of the book," should have become friendly with the Zoroastrians. With these also Mr. Browne became familiar, not only In the places where they were tolerated, but In others where they were forced to wear the dull yellow rob-** intended to mark them for dis? grace. In the matter of proselyting there ls a curious and picturesque limitation. Some? times a Zoroastrian changes his creed In order to marry a Mahometan girl. If. then, he wishes to return to his old faith his friends send him to Bombay, and there his wife often becomes a flre-worshlpper with him. "I was not aware." said Mr. Browne, on one occasion, "that lt was possible, under any <-lr cumstanc.'s, for one not born a Zoroastrian to become one. Po you consent to receive back a renegade after any lapse of tim.-?'' "Not after six months or BO," was the an? swer; "for, if they remain Mussulmans long'-r than this, their hearts are turned bia. k and incurably affected by the law of Islam." Mr. Browne also happened upon some curi? ous incidents that had a bearing on magic. For example, he heard a story which in all es? sential points was the counterpart of Lane's famous narrative of, the Egyptian aoreerer with the boy In whose hand was poured a drop of ink. II" tells also nf ;x certain investi? gator who had an experience not unlike that related in the early narrative:' of Faust, but who convinced himself finally that he was the vl'tim of his own imagination. The author found also a general belief In the occult s. 1 enees, particularly geomancy. astrology and the interpretation of dreams; but it was added usually that moat of the professors of the*., act ences were charlatans. His study of Persian metaphysics, while lt Indicates that the Weet has nothing to learn in the way of advanced thought, nevertheless proves that historians of philosophy might find Persia worthy of in? spection. He dwelt for a longer or shorter time in Tabriz, Teheran, Isfahan, Shiraz, fesd and Klrman, and his work throughout shows that he was alert to the popular talcs of the people, to th<* differences of so-ial Hf.* and to the civic peculiarities of the various centres of population. a rs H. ck. led I .f HEINE MEMORABILIA. A BOOK OF BIOGRAPHICAL FRAGMENTS. HEINRICH HEINE'S LIFE TOLD IN* HIS OWN WOHI)S. Edited by Gustave Karpele* and translated from the Gerrr >n by Arthur DextT Octavo. Pp. vi., 375. New-York: Henry Holt & Company. ISM. I This amorphous compilation ls at once good and bad. amusing and Irritating, a thing of shreds and patches and a tolerably satisfactory monograph. lt ls bad because lt has the dis? jointed, unsymmetrical character offensive to all sound conceptions of literary art in bio? graphical writing, and because lt Introduces Heine's poems too copiously, wrenching them from the setting In Whick they belong, and forc? ing their vagrant music to play the part of autobiographical confessions. It is good be? cause the life of the poet and Journalist ls told In his own words?than which there could not lie any more interesting?and because the dithyrambie nature of his genius was suited to a mode of self-revelation which discards routine and convention, and follows its own sweet will. Side by side with a^ protest against the Irreg? ularity of the narrative placed out by Herr Karpeles there goes positive enjoyment of Its spiritual harmony with the wayward tem? per of its subject. Heine was born a lyrist. He han left on foe* ord, In a memorable passage, his desire to be recognized as a brave soldier in humanity's war of liberation. Posterity, awarding him th.. -.cot's wreath, has been slow to crown him with the sterner laurel which he chiefly craved. Even the authority of Matthew Arnold, who, in a famous essay, has generously accepted Heine's claims as an emancipator, has not served to consecrate thc German poet as a hero of reform. It ls a question of temperament, of inborn taste. He protested that he would rather be an orator, stirring the great heart of the people with Impassioned words of liberty, than another Petrarch, going to the capitol for his coronation; but his postscript to this confession Bums up the last Impulses of his nature. "Paney my horror," he saya, "when I entered the .... People's Union, to find every savior of his country with a pipe between his Jaws and the whole room so filled with the smoke _"e of bad tobacco that my lungs felt choked, and lt would have been utterly impossible for me to say a word. I cannot bear tobacco smoke, and saw that In a German revolution the part of braggadocio, in the style of Borne and his followers, would never do for me. I also ob? served that the path of a German tribune ls not strewed with roses?certainly -not with sweet roses. For one thing, you must shake hands with all your hearers, your 'dear com? panions and brothers.' Borne may have spoken metaphorically when he declared that If a king should take him by the hand he would put it in the fire to cleanse lt; but, I say, in no figurative sense, but quite literally, that If the people took me by the hand I phould wash lt at once." Detnocra'lc in Hi heart and in his Imagination, I ," Heine was, In temperament and taste, not only ! wit an aristocrat, but an epicurean, and there ls j *n\ not so much a moral fermentation In his prose j So as there Ls a quivering of aesthetic ?m-iblll- ' B ties. He was not a dllletante by any means, yet ! th? his satire was never more Instinct with feeling Pg Mian when it Wa_ levelled at some Intellectual Sa II ou He eui mn RSI am WI poi UKI hui ll'.' liv Ir. ll object, and transfixed, not a tyrant, but a ! *ln bore. He hears & noise in his entry, and says er? lt sounds "as if one of K1()p8to(.k'H ode8 had fallen downstairs." _*, ^x, ot hli wrath tte a n.l the were poured out upon dulness, upon cn Philistinism. Against the Philistine everywhere He! waged so determined ,x war, and there is SO SSS sincerity in his enthusiasm for political r orntatlon. that lt would be absi*Td to balli the character of hts utterances OH serious topi but lt is Impossible to extract an organlz message of d-ep sociological or phOoOophll Import from his prose?the prose of a pi conversing familial ly. As for his poems, th bear no burden of reforming zeal; they ji simply "short swallow flights of song that i their wings In tears and lly away." This e mein of pathos, the touch of tearful emotfc is never absent from Heine, for even in I eertlesl days his hypersensitive disposition h much to bear. His schooldays were like Sh ley's?a kind or purgatory, and ail through 1 life fate contrived to wound him. It wound him most when he was Isast ail.- to bear it his Hosing years, surcharged ?ith physti misery. But lu* gives the clearest Insight In his chara, let- when h- Bays, "ti page M of tl volume- "1 have at this moment t.i abase ti cap and bells to banish the ead thoughts. No ntiafortuna <?- tdd blunt tbs trew ha p..|nt ..I' his pen, no cruelty of .t..-m! .oniii daua! his spirit fltrength of cbs Beter, he naya, somewhere, was what in- m.. believed in: and thc cap and bells jingling HM rlly through the record of his career show th; his courage was an Invincible fact. The room ns lt is given In Herr Karp'-l.-s's volume Ix orel known, arni needs no paraphrase here. howev> brief, though on every page there ls an Itlustr timi, wonil reproduction, of thc wit. th.* ronUU tic sentiment, ami the charm which How. without an effort from tlc- author's brain. B cans" nf this the work has a value which love of Il.-lne's personality and lifts will rSOOgnll while they deplore the general clumsiness i the scheme for which thc editor bi reaponstM Tin- reprinting of the poems In Un- bonk CS satisfy no one. for even granting that lt useful to see them associated chronologtcall with letters and other pros.- writings, their li elusion really throws no HOW Unlit "ii Heine development al this or thal period. The ind vlduallty and the lyric note of the poems bat disappeared under Mr. Dexter's painstaking lu quit- uninspired hand. Hine he has abridge the book in respect to Its proas he might ale have shortened lt by a number of poem* A !!??' edition of the work without the latter woul make a popular sketch of Heine, .1 STUDY OF PORTSMOUTH. A < HAUMI.v. UTILE BOOK BY MR AU KI H. AN OLD TOWS' TV TIIK BRA. By Tliomn ' Hailey Aldrich. Pp. UL, Ut Houghton, mihi. ? Ce. a delightful little book bi this, full ..f poo humor snd twinkling in un atmosphere of Ita tnn an almost.tn ra thal oace enrelofM I all New-Mas land. "Bvcry where la Mea Rag ia nd," mya Mi Aldrich iiii'-.uiifuily. "tba Imprasa ..f tha :?;??<? i fa.ling out. 'riie* f.w old fashioat I nen ead womel ?aualat, shrewd aad racy ol tba aoll ws i Itel in little. silvery-gray tdd homesteads strum- atom the New-England mada snd by-ways aili abort!; oeaee lo axial aa ? dam ava In ihe n ? I ? mme raeh ebarmlus chronicler .i*1 Sarah Jowett ? ? Mary wilkins, on arboea sympathetic pages ti... Save already taken i< thetaoolfta t remote .o af loimke-it lavender aad peaayreyal." He sal; illudc* le them anti..nt ilaines. us Hey Vera al rectioaately relied, in order lo Indicate abe shaagm have eoaae etrei Ihe laaar social life .? Portmaooth aad other ancient aa i Iowna i'i.r Psrtsmeuth la the town by th** set ahleh Mr. Aldrich describee He calla ll an ob town, sad yet be ht reminded ttut la comparlaoi rlth Boase other satlquRlee it wa* oely thc othei -lay, aay iii B*SSl thal tba 'ir?? t .rr..ii Brea Bmda ti ?M'I'ire the r<-a> hes of the PleeatagUS Rivet ".'??? comrnander of the VSSBSl wu* oin- Martin Pring and his object sits imi the romantic OBS "I p-.n Mseovery, bal the i.?? proaalCi ..r pe rte pa urn malic, one of ola.tining a esrs*0 of *a*-*iifra.s. lt :he assrch for th-* sroaderful ledlelaal tr.-.-, hf lay have lat'.led oil Hi. very Bpol arbem i'nrt*. routh njw slanl*, ani Mr Aldrich imagim?* how ba river, widening at that point, willi ll* "gras* ranks covered with B HOtWOf? Of Mr i .*. l-rry ines," and In the barkglimail a \.i.m for- <t ai n-mlock, maple, oak and pun-, must have looked la hose day*. Master Pring wa* foOowed Maria tar.* later by thal StraagaSl Of all tte explorer* ind settlers in thf Mew World, Captain John *mith. who discover.-i Ihoal Islands aad naawd hem after himself, bul wa* neglected by pos erlty until "a. few years ago S lardy sens.* of ustlce expressed Itself in etOCMag on Star Island i simple marble shaft to J..lui BJ-glb the multl sdhmusr* To Smith's auggi allon, perhaps, and certainly t> th.- BUteSqueat v.va;.f sir Perdlaaado ?orges. waa due the founding af DMlBSJiiulk. three liles from the sea, on a rsash sf th" PlSSStaaua, hlch at flood-tide look* mon- like a lake than a Iver. Many a town twice Ita age In the old World, ne may Infer from Mr. Aldrich's dmtTlptloa, areal I ?ok no older than Port amenta dom at ibe arater l.le. ll*- thinks of the worm-eaten wharves, her. n-i lhere grassgroau; tte tu.pty, weather-otai.i firehouses, and nm.HBbara ihat oace spoo a time hess wharves and warehouses, so silent now, r>* eteed io th.- sounds of a busy Hade arith tin? iest Indies. In thone days portsmouth BBemed I IgOfOUB rival to BOStOa and .N'.-w-Vork. Hut ley were the day* of kaeedWSSCteO and silver loc-liuckle.s and plMB KlkWBtl i...it* willi mille* L thu wrists. An eptSOde Of that ancient Hine as tin- Wat oi im::, wnii tin- Innumerabia prrve ? rs sent out tum Portsmouth Harbor. Am tha >wii became niiti.iuaie.i, the deaceadaata of th tm iring spirits who had ma.I.- Its .arly fame de? li tel ti. new BCenee, and, as Mr. Aldrich remarks, llmost every city In tba I'nlon. and many a city TOM the sea, < an point to .-.onie (inlti.-ut merchant, wyer, or what not, as a 'Portsmouth boy ' " Hut tin- dreamy man of letters the silent, mi,. harv*** are otott attractive than they w.r.- In e busy years of the past. "The BUBShlne," says r. Aldrich, with graphic emphasis, "smmi lo ? a foot flmp" him.n them -fte silvery line of tho -poelte Hhore and the islands between an- Uk. portion of fairyland, snd sa om- could stay in at maaic region seven years and think h.- had ly been gene a Simfter of an hour, so Un- ..lilli..i ys he "could fumy a man -utting on th.- ind that old wharf very emit. nt. .Hy for two m | ree years, provided ll Could always be .lune." lui Mr. Aldrich does not prolong his story upon I wharves to the limit of a June jiosslbllliy. ||,. ids his readers among the wide Streets aol au? nt trees of the town. Hu points oul th.- un nt houses and the graveyard-, mid as h.. utroll* mg be tells storlea of many an oil celebrity. In m1. the index of names, OOBSldcrtag the size the book, ls somewhat Staitllag. Hut th. n all ? people he mentions did not live in Portsmouth - ? example, Socrates ami Michelangelo and Mo ?e and Queen Klllahtth. He notes the fact that .ugh Portsmouth did not .scape the witchcraft uslon. there were no hangings lu the township. doubt* If any New-England town ever turned . so many eccentric characters as Portsmouth. re a hermit nnd there a hen-peeked hus'oand oc ? to his memory, and he watchea his reader Ile over the sign of shop-keep.-r, thu-.I of the ne. who call.d himself "Timothy Winn 31," Ich was Instantly translated Into "Three-penny nn." Finally he turns to his own immediate and sonal i-emlnlscc-nces, nnd surely his readers will ee with him that he had strange varieties of nan nature to study In his boyhood. The pref. to the book is a poem to the Pl*cnta<iua er- -rm TACTS AHOI T STORIES. rn The London Graphic. i Mr. Weilniorc's new edition .,' his delightful I'totals of France and Renunciation" he has uduced an ot allenl aystera whick might be h advantage, more i*<"i..-nilly adopted At the of each story he gives tin pl.-*,.,- where lt was tt-ti and the date. The lirst is Interesting as wing how lm the author might be Influenced local color and Climate, hut the second i? in th,, fit-xt degree Important. In these nays w I. n re ls not a little furbishing up of old idea* un.I Juting them an new, when ordinal)- sa>ini'H ch have long been the property of tin* world appropriated as original, wh.-1 not a iittit die* < and delving In the works of bygone writers I on, and their liert notions ure reproduced "Hy disguised. In mod rn dress, wlx-r. title* an? dy antn xed and articles are artfully conveyed adapted, lt ls above all thlnsro neeesaary that date of the writing of a apecial atory or article ne ch If. Ile should ha ria-rta- Indicated. It l? lo bp hoped Mr. Wc.inore's'cxJeiicm Kmamy Uaeeera-y adopted. LITERARY, NOTES. Mr fable has taken Bp his pen again, after a vacation of several -rears, and his produced a BOVel which will appear In "Scribner's Magazine." lt l? to be oiled "John March, Southerner." The first chapters will be brought out In the January number. _. Th- baaattfUl new edition of Burton's "Anntomy of Meian, bo Iv." which is nearly ready for publica? tion, le distinguished by the fact that it furnishes verlfleetloBS of Burton's sway .imitations. No at? tempt has i.n ma.le Hatti now- to pursue the quain! trriter in bia excursions Into the daaatca and into the obscurities of "small poet-cbuatfcal authors." This will be, no doubt, the standard edition for many year:- to come. The 17.000 autographs are all In their proper places In "The Hook of the Author's Club," and th.- volume i-; slmosl ready to leave the bindery, se mys a member of thc Hiting Committee; and he adds the*.- enthusiastic Beateacea: "It ha* fallen In me to edit considerable good literature, flral aad Mat, bul no book that was tba subject of so much pride and aatlafacttoa as this. Not only baa every contribution been written purposely for it. but H baa drawn from som- of our most emi? nent writers articlea that they never a mid have written for anything else. 1 might mention BU ex. ouisltely pathetic story from one who I* known only ns a humorist; Interesting reminiscences of Lowell at Harvard fr.un a writer Oh military topics; a d.-lift..md:.- humorous prom et ?ry from a sonni l er; a Bonnet from n Roman Catholic bishop; a literary eaaay from a leader-writer on one of our great dailies; a po.-m thal reminds one of Browning/a beet from a young novelist; and from an older one the veralflcation of bis religious creed. And the typography is a thing for a connoisseur to revel over." _ The most popular professor of thc 1'nlv. rsity of Berlin lo-day, with the poeatble exceptions of Von Treitechke, Braal Cortina snd Du Bola Raymond, is Theodore Mommeen, who has just e.-l-l.rat. d the fiftieth anniversary of his graduation aa a doctor of law. He be? lo?ea to a family In which Utera fire and thc Sciences have been cul? tivate 1 for centuries. As proof: of the spirit which ruled In thc p_ rental bouse, botb <>f Mommeen'a y o u n ger brottera, Tycho and August, have become widely known, thc ene H a philologist and thc Other as un archaeologist. Tba *i - -- r three volupies of Mommaea'a greal work. "Romas History." api.ear.-i while be waa prof) aor of law la Zurich and Brealau. Tte tifth volume area not pubUahed until isst.. and Ibe fourth ls miii in manu* rlpi form. Il waa the "Roman History" which assured Mommsen. fain-an-1 gave bun aa immortal plact imong the trorld. greateel blatortaaa He la a man of nnoaual Induatry. De? spite the active duties -.f bia calling, he eaafound time to play a prominent political ian. and was a Liberal member ..f tte Oerman Reictetag fr..;u Ita to iv 1 Tot ? time be was al*.. Editor of the "gchleawlg-Holatelnh ba Zelturg." Owing to bbl a.ivar..-..I nw-, h- sp. odfl comparatively little time to Berlin now, preferring t" l?% ?- ta Rome ta lbs hope ..f Bnlabtng hi* hist m. a sonnet, originally broughl ont in a nowa paper, sad In sn unpublished kiter assigned by Coleridge to Wordsworth, has lately been reprinter; for tba i.r-1 time. Hera it i I rind lt v.: If. tl ??' Sun ?' That travelling In strang.tuntrlea once be found \ corpse ii it ii\ sxpirlns on tba ground, I-* .r will. h. with p.In. BO caused ?! . ..I.s.-.pile* To be p rfonni I, and pakl all holy feen Soon after, thia man a Uhoat unto hun came Ail toil hin nm ti Ball, i* waa ins aim, On i iri i ship then reedy f-.r the s.-.i*. Him midi ?. i !"? mlake i !?. Ibe 'l.'iost. Ri main, i b. hind; Ihe ship lh. following l ty **..-t sui. wa* arrecked, an.l nil on boord wa* lost. Thus wa- th- lendei ' Poel that could be, Uh., mng In ancient greece his loving lay, Sav.-d out of many t>> hi? piety. i?r Henry M. Field ha* written ?> nee booh of travel, whick ibe gcrlbaei are about te bring out ender th.- mir of "Th.- Barbary coast." it de *.. rih.s. of . ci-- . s Journey in Algiers, Tunis ami Tripoli. _ That particularly clever novelist, Lucas Maid who in private ur- i* Mrs Karriaon, daughter <>f Chark i Klagale] i,n. Hnlahed a nea story, it is lo bear the -trana.* an.) fluggeeUve title of Tte I'.w.r of th. Deg." They ar^ the words of the Piaiini t, "I ive my soul from the Hon snd my darling from th.- power of th., OOO}." What Am.-rican literature particularly n<?eds ls. in the opinion of Mr. t'haries Dudley Warner, .'rltlrism "V*V baVB thrown away," he says In the BOW "Hsreer,** "or tried to throw away, tradi? tion. We are growing in the habit of being suf tici.-nt unto eurool vee We have not Phlltatlnlam, but we have aometblng ei*.> There has seen no nume for it >?<?? to voa ted borne say it is mtiafae tion in anperaclallty. aad they point to Um f-emin-wi ?cteol sad to Chautauqua; th.. Preach my it ls mtlafactlen in mediocrity. Al any rat.-, it i* a saflsfa.-tl.in that has a large element of boastful? ness In lt, and boastfulness bused upon a lack of enlightenment, in literature eepecially a want of discrimination, of toe discernment of finality. it I* h huiiit of looking at literature aa w* look at other things; literature in national nf.* never st.m.is alone; if ara eondoes arooh adeem ta politic* and In buslne** miler the nani'- of smartness, we apply the same s >rt of lest that i-. tba test of Bucceee to literature, it i* th.- i.st of the tote Mr. Barnum. There is in it a dtoregard Of moral as well ns of artistic vain ?? gad stan.lards. Von BOB lt in the preos, ta sermons BVea th.* efTort to attract alt.ntl.ci. th.- lack of moderation, th.- Btrlvtug t-. h>- floaaatlonal ta poetry, in tn.- novel to sho.k, io advertlM ihe performance, Bverytbtag ls on a strain. No. this ls not Philistin? ism. It ls nu-, also, that lt ls not the dual ex? pression of tin. American spirit that Whick will repreeenl lt* life or tis literature. Wa trust tt i* a ira nalani dtoenae, which we may perhaps rail hy a transl.-nt MUM r.arnumisiu." POUT books by linens Hitherto unti.instated an? ti appear lu the mw library edition of his worhi Tb. ere "olympe .j,, cievee" (dealing witb tbe Court of Louis xvi, "The Compenloaa of Jehu," and "The Whit.-* ani th., p.lu. s" uw.? Napoleon romance"), ani "The .'he-Wolves Of MacheOOUl" Uti.- Louis Philippe p. rlod). lom- totereaUag remlalaeeacm of Daniel Webeter dav.- been eel forth i..v the Hon. Robert C. Win throb for tin- benefit >>f tbe January ''Scribner.** in it i un.- number Mr, John Drew aili discuss "Thi Life of the Actor." "Ibr Lord and King" ls the somewhat bread an.I buttery title of the BOW BOVel which tl... author if 'lindo" ls about to present to Hu* world. A Ht r Stol I -Vo co mon Things," ls .v.. .dng from the pr- ss Mr. I'enson ls an archaeologlal a* well as a nov.list, and lulen,ls ti spend the coming whiter In hard work at Athena In spite of "Dodo," mot I,illly ls Hie lust thing to h.- Imputed lo him; h. is a healthy aad vigorous young mau. witta a strong love and great ability for athletic -tame.-.. With the filing of Francis Parkman'fl will and the coamaaeat conveyance <?f his Metortcal Ifgg, to the Maaaachaaettfl Historical loetety and of hi* booka to Harvard, the personality of the historian (edee In a meuHiire from the public consciousness. Hut dearer than e\cr to those who knew him. and lon-; to be regretted, ls that winning llgure of UM shrewd and klaaly scholar. M. Paul Verlaine, the lender of the Paris Deca? dents, ls about to visit England and Will le tun- In Oxford and In Lui-loi,. h.- w-|* be an object ot curiosity to the literary folk and the subject of many newspaper paragraphs and then the tide of Knglish Hf.- will close ,,ver M. Verlaine and ho will be as If he wi re not. Two volumes of th- essays of nplbSasH BrOSI Cortina sre snnonnced The first win coolata the authors monographs on the history of antiquity. The l.-u; Inst;.Itu.nt of the late M. Tain.ft "'"'I* gines .I.- In France Contemperatne" is paiwMng throagh lbs press ami his widow la eorreetlag tte proofs. The rolUBM which ,leuU wltk the cb i ;v was nearly completed by Its author; only fl couple of chapter* are to eking Ml;s Kth-i Arnold, BkMsr Of Mrs. Humphry Ward, ls an uncommonly hrllllant talker, an I lt bM long leen supposed that sh- couM. If aha would, write reasarhaMs booka, ths is shout le prove shat stu- can do lu this line In a volume lo be -ailed "Platonlca." ? Tl ih. die bc. ("li PO) do, MU till th ?in? to he v.-il of we i ii km I.IK rsm tbe tte un' Pl. Urs Bril fall tab for bs] wbi ba kai T din. KIPLING'S MISTAKES. HIS SKA BALLADS ABC SPOTTED, BOT ACCUUATK. To the Editor of The Tribune. Rr: Mr. Hu.lyn rd Kipllr.R. in lila "Ballad ol Three Captains." makes this note: "This b; appears to refer to om- of the exploits of th. toil.us Paul Jones, the American pirate. I founded on fact." As Jeffreys said of Wordsw. "This will never do." Mr. Kipling is plainly aware that Commodore Paul Jones was nui om> on the lirst group of American lleuten created by the American Con-*ress, his cominis bearing the dat*- of December 22, 1773. He rece his commission SS captain in the Navy, ran SB eighteen on thc list, on October 10, 1776. received the command of all the American s in European waters, as nctlm? commodore, in ?mumer of 177!). and upon his return to the fr .-"tates after his glorious crul:i?s in the Hat ml the lion Bosuns' Richard, he was unanimo ?let..) by Con-tress the ranking officer of Am-Tlcan Navy, SltbOUgh a Junior capt thereby jumping him over the heads ninny junior captain* In the Navy. Congi In ike in in time, had niven him a rou vol- of thanks and a gold medal, aril France bestowed upon him a gold sw..rd nml the Ct Croea of the Order of Military Merit, never be awarded a foreigner. England, after .-ill. t;,o mi' him the blgheet compliment, fir, after co marttolllag captain Pearson, who surrendered Berapifl to him. not only was Pearson acquitted, made a bsronel beetdea, because he had dom a me, Paul Jonea mav be pardoned for n-marl abeu be beard of thia: "If i should have the , fort.-ti- t. meei him atfalr., I will make hir lord." Th.- stat.- Department, in ITU adoressed i Jones a.s -Admiral" a grade not then Mtablll in tr.?- American Navy. This, no doubt refen the rear-sdmlrsl'a conuntoslen he accepted f the Rmpress of Roasts, subject expressljr, howe to the pl.-asur" of the American Government. Qovernmenl proposed io eserctoe this right, an fen daya after th-* death of Paul .Jones in P a notification came that hi? Oovernment inten to put bim In command of a force to reduce pirat.-s of the African coast, lt was in refer. to bia commission aa rankins officer of all Amer! ships in Knr..-..-an wi-.ters that Paul Jon... wi arbes demanding s salute from s French Adm! "I take the liberty of incloaiag B commission H i".labI-- as any the French admiral Cin prod'i< H.* Rot his salute. Mr. Kipling also gtvefl ln.llcatl-.ns of regard Paul Jonea aa a privateer. Ae e matter <.f f by an act of COngrem a privateer was forbid lo hoist his pennant In tba prefl nee of a Bl ott.ier af Paul -Tones- raab without permlm and one of th->m attempting lt in a French r without Paul Jones's pei'misMon ama persmpto "called down" by the American commander. Paul Jon m was the same oort ->f B pirate t Admiral Oberardl ls. now commanding the Pro lyn Navy Yard. And if Paul Jones was a pin Oeneral George Waahlngton must have been guerilla chief, aad a double-dtatllled traitor besii as be he 1 actually held and fought under a c m.--ion In ihe Prltish Army, while Paul Jem Oral commlaalon waa given him by th" Amerti Comrreu al tha outbreak of hostilities. Thia "ballad" show* also that, aa Mr. KlpI baa Invented a new flori of pirate, ha baa Ukea Inti duced i ship ..f a ral i i bltb rm unknown tbe navies ..f the rn rid. He apeaka of a ' rea three." Mr. KlpUag has evidently seen decaf by Thackeray*! pl. aaantry: They haaged fal Jack and dogged Jtaunee; Bul as for little Pill, thev made him Til.- Captain of a seventy-three. i.itti.- pm had previously seen from tin- ma to'g-ltont mast Jeruaalem .ind Madagascar, Ami North and So nh Amt-rikee. If Mr, KlpUag will shut his eyes and >' toe !':.? very comical effect "f a ship pierced seventy-three tuns, or .-my edd number <>f gu tn- win certalaly launh. Tte bat- Idea would mi a graven Image smile. Beventy-foura, Mr. Kipn leventy-foura?which shins comm. nh- carried rigl rum*, however, We ar.- further toatructed in t i. i'la l that when Paul Jones wtaked to dtagutee i . ilk* . !? meter <>' his ship, be pa- "< anvaa bi.; .n his bow gttS porte." What a pity he di.I i POI Item "ii lils k;uns in buttery: It i :-. t UK. P fonea to cover up his two bow gUttfl aad iel ins Blab >r eighteen in broadeide show plalaly sad a lldn'l h- pimply towt r bte j rtllda? Put aa it bunded on fact nnd printed In a book, and vouch for by Mr. Rudyard Kipling, nobody dares to c. indict. Tl;.- skipper, though, who tills the tale, < ? laius that he COUI I'i't Rghl Paul Jones "bOCM .f tin- falling light," au i "a rough boam aaa," thou ie hulled the pirate on.-.-. This was uucer condi ni tie- skipp, r's port, When Cantata Paarma Ka ip the Berapta, and -.-"t a baronetcy in exchange, sis pitch dark ani Mr. KlpUag I'cor ls the tn nata nee where a Britton, captain hesitated t.? ii* rn accoual <.f rough w.-ath.r Th.y never mini ightiag while rollin* their yardarms in the wat. cr did the Americans mind either. And althou h.- Britte- at thal time did not often hull their a ?marica aimim- rather at tbe masts and var.. ? t tin- skipper having huii.-d her once, th. te aeei io K.....1 f.a:on why he should not lune COBttau ? > hull ber?Which, If kept up long enough, w nuke any ship full of holes. lt ls, however, srben deecribing the battle* of mo rn ship- ..f war that Mr. Kipling shines with effi lenee, in th.- "Ballad >.f tbs Clampherdovrn" Ivate Bchehoraaade. Tranalated in plain prose, t Khi runs thus: "Tte warahlp Clempberdowa," i -bleb Mr. KlpUag describes a bettleahlp with Undred-ton gun forward and another bli- i.n? Mi iKhts a light cruiser, armed arith "a dainty Rotc Isa kihi." Nov.. one would tbtah that tho .:i bing for tt;.- light cruteer to do was -,o tak? er heels as her regutotlona no doubt, prescribed nd Mr. Kipling !?< e.ireful to Inform us that si in quite ail.- to nm away Put what doee si i th.- pr. mis. s" sin- boldl) prpcocdfl to tackle ti attleahlp a parallel cern t" thi* would be for ui-year-ol'l boy to offer battle to a profession UgUtet, But th.- cruteer, lt turn* out. had. in h. dainty Hotckklm gun," a wi ipon ti-..it never wi ri s.-a or land. No j-un before contrived by tl and of mm ever -iii as muck aa tin-. H itel sk iv .li 1. uni .. f. w more such icuti* would put op to war forever. With lt th.- Unfit oruba ii;., "i the big battleship bul are are entlctpattai m.. battleship "opened gre al aeven aUlae" wit ?r hundred-ton Kim. Thia surprising eoaducl wa 'bowed by th.- inert) ibte consequences. Kev. Mrtag practtoed Bboottng at a Boating target aeve Iles off, naturally tin- gun. Cl-W didn't blt BB) Ung or In any way imp I.- ti..ur-" of the Ugt lils, r, which cam.- -.teaming on t" wallop th tltleshlp. Put lifter twice Bring a' fl seven H.. lam,-.-, th.- hundred-ton gun wenl all to piecee ', as Mr. Kipling e-preeees it, "Propped ilk.- , y on Its Stalk." ThUB Mr. Kipling shows, a ber nautical experta ti .v.- dona that thees Mi I- < of no great account ilthough noni of thea ive bl a ... unlucky as to give OUl at th O. This Indi.-ales fraud on thc part of t'-,. ord nie people who supplied the hundred-ton Illy l this time th.- dainty Hotckklm gua had beei tytag with fearful effect upon tbe battleship, ar.. .1 knocked ber deck beama ami aoms cf ket mor ptotm Into scrap lion. Tin- lit.--' Uoutcnaa1 mes lo the Captain ani makes the propoeittOf at th<-y shall mat for an hour or twain. And botch the shattered piatas agata, ie notion of stopping tin- ti -tit in [-Moreen tot i purpose of riveting new armor plates in ptnei I not strike the captain favorably, probably mum there were no armor plates among thc unpher.lown's stores, to say nothlnx of tho pol lt prejudice In favor of putttag a ship in do? ck while dolnj? such work. Put the chi f raa i seems to bc that the llj-ht cruiser was having nrts all her own way, and had no mind to let * battleship "rest an hour or twain." However, airs In the Clampherdo.vn were going from bad worse, nnd when the lieutenant announced that could "hear the his.- of thc helpless ram." lt ;| be admitted that such conduct on the part th.- ram?which ls not given to hissing?might II appall the stoutest heart. Nol so. The cap it merely said, "Turn ani go," Be evidently tm thc lieutenant wus "pulling a tog," in sailor guage, ami if encourage i in hi.- Bbbtag would ort that the binna. I.- wis dancing n [Milka, or Hying bride.- luui begun m crawl. About this ie, th.- battleship executed a manoeuvre hitherto ,ltempted in naval ararfare. sin- tamed .-.'la? tely around, and begun to bach up hind foremoal arl her antagonist, making slay. SMB?While, h lb" bli* stern u;;n lik- lin- .Mamelukes, who. itu, to break tin- soil i squares <>t the franck miry, turned tbete borees- h.-ads outward aad tad their kicking steeds BgabuH the v..iii of ?oin-m. Bul Hil-, unparalleled feat did ns ;; "-I stover, tin- dalgty Hotchklm gun < mtinulng to mon* than a mat. ti for anything on tic Clamp? down, lie captain of tin- battleship behaved bi extraor* arlly In this ernei _> ney as one could lina-jine. IX ' the lil,el ? no t ls >rth, un nber ants ?sion Ived king He hips the ilted airer usly the iain, of ?ess, stag had ?and fore ugh, ?U'l til? but ? no king coed a a ?a ul ihed ; to rom ver. The d S ari* .Ld the ?nee can tag l.t. den i val lon, ort illy hat ok lt-, a les, mg Ise In ty? red ig for fl ?. ike 'lg. '?ty his Iii. ids V I ml ???:; bj ls led and at the crisis very obi'Kingly "awong roued a. take the cruiser's nre." The battleship waatoa! driftlnK "upon the cruiser's beam"-a moat eUan_* position for rammlng-when the captain makes th astounding declaration that "he dare not ram. ?_, she can run!" Mr. Kipling makes no mention af what the lieutenant did at hearing these word* but lt ls presumed that he lay down on deck and died of astonishment. The captain had prevtoualr told him to "Lie down! Me down!" and the lieu tenant appears to have lied up and down both Br* this time, thouKh. tho battleship was grlndlni against the side of the victorious cruiser, when an order was given which, lt has been said, win never more be heard In a sea flsht-the call for boarders. Four hundred men responded and swarmed over the side of the cruiser. The cruiser, for soma reason not explained by Mr. Kipling, then sun rendered?probably her company all fainted dead away at tho assurance of the beat >n battleship'! crew attempting to board under thc circumstances ami when they came to, the Clampherdown's reen were in possession. But lt is sincerely hoped, In the interests of Justice, that every man on the cruiser, from the captain down, was afterward hanged at the yardarm as soon as they got back to their native country. With their adversary al? ready beaten and their sunernatuial Ho tchki-is gug as good as new. they made no use of their gee ondary battery or small arms whatever, and al loured SH men from a beaten ship to walk on board and take possession. Hut now cornea the moat aa. tonishlng part of the whole yarn. All that haa . before is as n ithing to what will follow after. The battleship turned turtle and weat down. Waa not the light cruiser, sghSBSt whose side she was grinding, eaught In the suction, and did she not go down like McGlnty? Ko! a Mt of it. She ju?t ?teamed off, defying the laws of physics and me? chanics. BS f-he had previously d?fi. >l all the la wa of the universe and the naval regulations BtflMea aad arith the victorious crow of th C-uapbrrdewb in poBBtaalon. bo ends tbe tale, uv gre not lnform< l whether the captain af the CUmpherdown was cashiered and probably shat for his refusal to rans?-Admiral Byng was shot for less. Nor do we find aesnttonc 1 the hanging of the of-Cen ani crew of the cruiser, which they richly deserved, nar the official taVQBllgBliOII into the phenomenal conduct of the hundred-ton gun, and the ram thu! hissed instead of batting as a steel ram is expect, I to do?nor any further particulars about this unprecedented s<*i tight. Hut when that light cruiser with the awful Uni-* Ifotehkixs ruo which could sink a bettlsahlp got home, th<* crew, on tolling the story, would do sreU to imitate a . -nain old sailor of the American Navy. After re? tailing the mest amazing yarns?riot, however, a patch on Mr. Kipling's-the old salt would always give as authority some daad-aOd-gB?0 (aptain of the maintop, or master gunner, or ship's carpen? ter, adding totem?ly: "And bein' B sallorman, 'tain't l-k.-ly h.- bed about it." Mr. Kipling may take the place in nautical litera? ture that Macaulay gives Boswell In biography: "It ls Eclipse Ant, and ti*o r. st nowhere." M< ILLY ELLIOT SE A WELL*, COUSIN LEI EEC E. Edmund Clarence Stedmnn in St. Nicholas Here where the curfeu .-'?iii. th y I iv. r::;;;-. Tim.- r.-st"l long ago, Foiling his wini*... Here, on old Norwich'a 1 iut-alons rt ni, C ?u ?.:: Lucr. tte ii..1 her abode, Norrldge, not Nor-wlch .-? ?? Mother Qoem), c, el enough English Kor n BO-g*! use. Bl !? ? : ! roof -hlngled. All of a p: Here was th. .oitawe of i '..ria La. recs. Living forlornly on Nothing a y. ir. How sin- t k comfort I '.ns mu BBM ir. How kept her l. )-ly. < >.i what they gave. Out of the poorhouse1 out of the grave. Highly connected? Straight as th- Nile Down from "the lardners" Sj Gardiner's Isle (Three bugles, chevron guise, Hand upon sword), Qrmt-greet-granddaughter Of the third lord. P.ent almost double, Ii.-af as n. witch. Gout her chief trouble Just as if rich: Vain of h.-r ancestry, Mouth all Bgrin, Nose half-way meeting her Sky-pointed chin; Due-tBg her forehead-top, \\ rink I.-I and bare, V. Hil a Colonial Furbelowed air: Greeting her next-ef-kin, N'.-pii. w and niece? F.'.'llsh old. prating old Cousin Lucr. I I . Once every year she had All she could .-at. Turkey and cranberries, Pudding and sareet; Kv. ry Thanksgiving l*p to the great Hourn of her kinsman waa Driven In state. a Oh. whnt a sight to see, ? Rigged In her best! Wearing the famous if.-wn Dream from h>r chest Worn, ere King George's reign Met-.- ebonee l t" ceaee (in..- by a forebear ot Cousin Lu.!, ce, Pamask brocaded, Cut very low; Bhorl aleovea and fln?er-mlus Kit for ix show; Palsied neck shaking her Rust-yellow .ails. Rattling its roundabout string of mock pe_rla. Over her nod ll-'. Draggled and stark. Two ostrtrli feathers? Hrouf-ht' from the ark; Sh .es ..f fray."! satin, All heel and ? On her crippled feet Hobbled bel iw. My! how the Justice's Bona and their wives Laughed; while the little folk Kan for their lives, Asking if bei_amee < mt of th.- past, old fairy-e*odr-otbera Always coull last? No! Une Thanksgiving, Bitterly old. Af'.er th.-y took her home (Ever so ajdli In her gray .hair she sank, Th.-r-' to find peace: IM.-d in her ancient dresa? Poor old Lucrece. voices ARR visi'iss Til.nra ; Lilley Aldrich In Scribners Magaxlna, la routh, ti.--i-i" ita- lonely flee, Voices and vlslutis came to me. Titania and her furtive broods Were my familiars in the wood*. Fl SSI every flower that brnkc In flame, Some half-articulate arhieper came. In every wini I fell th- stir , of aomo cei, stint meesenger. Later, i.ml.l the city's .lin And toll and weal?I and want and sin. They followed me from street to street, Tin- dreams thut made my boyhood sweet. As In the silence-haunted glen, lo, mid the crowded ways of men Strange lights my errant fancy led. Strange watchers w itched beside my bed. Ill fortune had no shafts for me In this aerial company. Now one by one the visions fly. And one by one the voice* die. More distantly the accnts ring. More frequent the receding wing. Full dark shall be the days In store, When voice und vision come no morel AFTER WATTEAU. -. , A Austin Dobson in Harper's Magaalne. "Basharauoas-aoos fleer '" i**-"*" Cythera -Th. .1.* B.invU|-. "i-'mburquons-noua!" I seem to go Against my win. 'Neath allaya low I lend und hear across the ulr. Across th' stream, faint music rare,-. Whuse tor nam UBS T whose chulurr.etiu? Hark! Ia not that a laugh I know? Who was lt. hurrvlng. mrned to show The galley, swinging by the fltalr? "Kmbarguons-nous!' Tin- : Ilk sall flap:', fresh breezes bl aw, 'ill luce.-i flutter, satins flow;? You. with the love-;tnot in your hair. Allon*, embaniuons pour Cytherel You will not? . . . Kress her, then, PlerrotM '' Lm bu.ra.uon--n.-U41''