Springfield weekly Republican. [volume], February 22, 1917, Page 8, Image 8

About Springfield weekly Republican. [volume] (Springfield, Mass.) 1851-1946

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8
j BOOKS and AUTHORS
Bancroft and j. sparks
■ SAN EXCHANGE OF LETTERS
i 6Y AMERICAN HISTORIANS
b A Contributor to North American
Review and His Relations
With the Editor
"Correspondence of George Ban
s troft and Jared Sparks, 1523-IN 12
B Which Prof John Spencer Bassett has
| edited for the Smith college studies
K In history (department of history of
| Fmith college; 50 cents a number).
| Consists of letters written while
| Sparks. afterward president of Har
| fvard college, was editor of the North
I American Review and Bancroft was
I Conducting a school for boys in North
| fempton. Bancroft was one of Sparks’s
I Contributors, and these letters relate
I tehiefiy to articles and reviews which
® Bancroft wrote.for the North Ameri
| can. As Prof Bassett says, they throw
| light on editorial practices of a cen
i tury ago and give us an example of
| the epistolary style of our grand
|>fathers. They also show us some
lithing of the workings of the minds
i iof two eminent American historians.
!'The volume contains a judicious se
: Section from a large mass of core
s' tepondence, preserved in historical col-
I lections.
| Using at first the formal "My dear
j Wr.'* the two men grow to address
j teach other with phrases denoting
F friendship. Occasionally their work
rnaniike language is marred by evi
dences of carelessness in composition,
but these are negligible. "Allow me
to reciprocate your kind remem
brances. and to express a confidence
that you will lend me from time to
time such aids as may be compatible
With your duties." So Sparks writes
in 1823. when Bancroft has offered ti
Fend reviews to the North American
In our days of colloquial directness
the language of Sparks may seem u::-
nocessarilj given to literary ameni
ties. But, when intellectual subjects
are being discussed, there is much less
waste of words than some of us to
day may imagine And the style hat
st humaneness which well comports
■with the subjects. It is. indeed, the
style which saves some of Sparks's
letters from curtness and some of
Bancroft's from sentimentality. For
Sparks was somewhat indifferent to
Bancroft's sensibilities, which had per
haps been stimulated by a study < f
German romantic poetry, and Bancroft
was sometimes vexed with Sparks. '
chiefly for alterations in reviews
which the Northampton schoolmaster
had written. At one time the reader
fears that their relations will drift
into a quarrel. Bancroft writes: —
"When you told me that you should
return, unread, articles sent to you to
be inserted unchanged, you did tne
same, as you tell me, according to my
principles of action, not to send you
any at all. . . To give up a pro-
duction of my own to be accommodat
ed to another's views, to have an
other’s mind reign in it. is what 1
never can do. I value opinions, deli
cately formed, too much for that, an l
1 value my self too much for It also.”
Later we have this specific charge:
"Do you not know, you have
changed one assertion from a negative
to a positive one. t herebv saying
something which I do not belie ve' ami
which makes the words at least un
meaning? And do you think that,
when a man has written according to
the strictest rules of rhetoric as far as
he knows them, lias consulted har
mony and perspicuity in the structure
and arrangement of his sentences, and
has carefully and after frequent deub- .
eration selected his words and phrases. :
that he likes to see them erased -v
supplemented by words which do not
express his ideas?”
Here, at least. Bancroft would seem
to have a just complaint again*'
Sparks: but at other times one sym
pathizes with the editor, who assei is
that he has had to alter reviews i .
cause they were abusive and indis
creet. Even a blameless scholar like
Bancroft can be very ferocious in up
holding a view against an opponent,
and it is conceivable that Bancroft,
who was still under 25 years of age.
was ar times in need of judicious edit
ing. Sparks is slightly brusque in his
replies, hut neither man ever relaxes
a gentleman's restraint upon his tem
per. On the whole, one finds Bancroft
the personality which of the two it is
easier to sympathize with; but Sparks
on occasion is capable of bantering
and wit of which one finds few traces
:n Bancroft. These letters nt least
prove how worthy men can disagree
without animosity, and. as has been
remarked, the. style of 'heir norrc
ppondence proves its suitability for
vuch exchanges. As to the opinions ex
pressed. perhaps the most interesting
are those of Sparks, written during
and after his European trip, with re
. gat'd to his desire to see established in
y:his country a full-fledged university
t" distinct from the college where
«-fiorts must necessarily be cen
tered on teaching the young. Sparks
Mae a. practical man—he showed
that in his conduct of the North
American Review—and the refornr
that he favored were such as would
place the higher American institutions
on the footing of those in Europe.
AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY
Volatile XV of the National Cyclopedia
Though its purpose is sober, the
National Cyclopedia of American Biog
raphy is a romantic work, h’or it nar
rates the lives of the men whose
achievement has built up this country'
or contributed to its culture. The his
toric past has been covered fully by
previous volumes, and Volume XVJust
issued by James T. White & Co. sup
plies us with biographic al sketches if
men Still active in American life
and industry or men who ba re
recently died. Some lack of pro
portion is naturally to be found,
hut the book is intended for pres
ent and popular use. and the tone
is meant to bo not unflattering to those
who are honored by having their CH-
I' veers detailed in its pages. Even so.
there is little of the eulogistic rhetoric
• sometimes found in such collections of
sketches. The work Is apparently not
yet complete, for there are omissions
of many men of equal note with those
Included and of equal note in the same
field.
Valuable as such a book Is for rofer
enOk, it has inherent limitations as a
historical work. For Instance. In the
amount of the United shoe machinery
company, which is Included in the
biographical sketch of its president,
there Is no mention of the govern
ment's suit against this corporation,
though its expansion and its welfare
Wo.k arc fully treated.
An interesting feature of the l>ook
J» Its condensed genett logical informa
tion. In most cases the ancestry of
the subject is briefly sketched, and the
reader learns from what country, or.
eften, and generally in the case of
England, from what part of the coun
try the family’s American founder
came. One learns, for example, that
George Westinghouse was descended
from the English branch of a family
that emigrated from Westphalia in the
14th century. Another feature of the
book is the large number and excel
lence of the illustrations. The index,
too. is admirable, not only giving the
names of the subjects, but listing them
also under the activities or the busi
nesses with which they are or were
connected. Thus, under “automobiles,
development of.” one finds Henry Ford,
under Bethlehem steel arc Schwab and
Taylor, etc. The index covers vol
umes XIV and XV.
A WORTHY ENGLISHMAN
”My Life and Work,” by E.
Knowles Muspratt of Liverpool—
A German Savant—Cobden at a
Peace Congress
"My Life and Work" (John Lane;
$2.50), by Edmund Knowles Muspratt.
one of Liverpool’s most distinguished
Citizens, docs not possess the sus
tained glamor and literary charm of
some Englishmen’s memoirs, yet it is
a book with something on every page
to interest the humane reader. In
these days when the novel is so fre
quently devoted to a futile and un
pleasant life, it is more than ever
agreeable to take up the record of a
real life that has been both useful
and pleasant.
Mr Muspratt. who is now over SO
years of age, has been a chemical
manufacturer in Liverpool and a
leading figure in the city’s artistic,
educational and social life. When a
young man he studied in Germany and
formed a strong friendship with the
great German chemist, Liebig. His
father was by nature a very sociable
man. rather fond of stage and lit
erary people, and the story of Mr,
Muspratt’s early life shows that he
had no reason to regret being the son •
of a Victorian chemical manufacturer
in a portion of England celebrated for '
its commercial atmosphere His
brother. Dr Sheridan Muspqttt. mar
ried Susan Cushman, the actress, a
sister of Charlotte Cushman. Mr i
Muspratt was one of the small group '
of Liverpool liberals who espoused
the cause of the North in the Amer:- j
can civil war. In politics he has been,
though not a conspicuous figure, at ■
least an active force in behalf of good I
causes and a true liberal of a broad
and progressive type.
Mr Muspratt’s home is Seaforth
Hall, a Greek mansion, on the Mersey,
a very noticeable building, which his i
father built, and which used to be a
landmark for passengers arriving j
from New York. Now the city has
crept up to Seaforth Hall, and on ad- '
joining grounds is the Gladstone dock
i named after Robert Gladstone of I
dock board fame). "When the Aqui-•
tania or other big liners are in dock|
they overshadow the whole landscape I
and seem to sit in our front lawn." ।
There is an amusing anecdote regard- j
ing the punctuality of steamers 50 or
60 years ago. at a time when there j
was great rivalry between the Cunard i
line and the Collins line. Once when
Ballard, the discoverer of bromine,'
and Liebig and some other persons I
were dining at Seaforth Hall, the;
conversation turned on the wonder of
transatlantic steamers keeping such i
; excellent time. Mr Muspratt’s broth- '
er said. “One is now due," and had
i no sooner uttered the words than a j
gun was fired, announcing the arrival i
1 of a Cunarder.
In these pages we hear of persons !
whom literature has made famous in •
the guise of fiction. Mr Muspratt’s'
father, for instance, knew Miss;
O’Neill, the actress, who was the pro- j
totvpe of Miss Fotheringay in ’’Pen- i
dennis." Miss O'Neill's father was.
of course, the Capt Costigan of Thack- '
erav, and as bibulous in real life as i
in the great novel. Mr Muspratt
homselt knew the German lady who j
was the original of the heroine in
I Meredith’s "Tragic Comedians." There!
I is much charm in Mr Muspratt’s de-1
! scriptions of student life in Germany, j
the Liebig family being notable for'
j its culture and simple kindliness. Dur-1
ing one winter Mr Muspratt’s sister,
I lived with the Liebigs, and, falling l
; ill with typhoid fever, was near death i
j through inability to digest food, j
I Greatly worried by the girl's condition.!
I the fine old German scientist prepared |
I an extract of meat which enabled her'
;to regain ber strength. This appar- I
i ently preceded the famous extract of |
! beef.
Before leaving Mr Muspratt’s ac-;
count of his happy days in Germany— ।
first at Giessen and later at Munich, j
where north Germans were disliked■
and suspected—one should mention 1
the pence congress at Frankfort-on-1
Main, which Cobden attended. Not I
onlv did the English visitors eat up!
all the pudding for the first time in i
the history of the hotel —drinking no|
wine, and therefore requiring more j
sweets, according to a now familiar!
theorv, which Liebig seems also to I
have held —but they made an impres- |
sion at the congress. At least Cob
den did. There were two Englishmen;
present, however, who “were not at
all favorable to the cause of peace."
After hearing “some fluent rhetoric.”
they "jeered and sneered and pro
posed to leave.” Then Cobden was
called for. Mr Muspratt continues:
CoMen began in a conversational tone,
saying be bad spoken on the two previous
days but as he was always wining (o
oblige lie would say a few words in sup
port of the resolution. After a few min
utes these two Englishmen who had:
sneered at the whole proceedings said. ■
"What <1 4 common sense the man does
sneak." If not <-00X11100(1. they were nn- i
able to answer him. like Sir Robert Peel, j
who on one occasion during the debate on i
the corn laws, wliejt urged by Ills party i
I to reply. Raid: “You may answer him who
can. I cannot."
Mr Muspratt, who has traveled
widely and wisely, and tells unaf
fectedly of what he saw, has had
many connections with America. The
late Prof George J. Brush of the Shef
field scentiflc school was a friend of
his from student days In Germany.
Cyrus W. Field, who founded the At
lantic cable, was his father's agent In
America for the sale of bleaching pow
der to paper manufacturers. In fact,
Mr Muspratt's father was financially
interested in the great cable project, Mr
Muspratt came to this country in the
year of the centennial. In a letter to
a relative he comments on the be
havior of the great crowds in Philadel- !
phia: "Notwithstanding that there ;
were people from the far West and I
many unsettled parts of the Union, I
there was no approach to rowdyism!
or even vulgarity.” Mr Muspratt’s
part in combatting the prejudice of
Lancashire manufaturer* against the
North at the time of the civil war is
a historical chapter of great interest,
but too long for retelling here. It
will he membered that the Liverpool
Dally Post wak one of the few Eng
lish papers that favored the North.
The editor of that journal was Michael
James Whitty, an Irishman, who es
tablished the first penny paper in
Great Britain.
Mr Muspratt’* connection with Liv
erpool university, of which he was
prochnncellor from 1903 to 1IM»9. and
his interest in the repertory and oth
er theatrical movement* of the city,
are described in the later chapters. It
THE SPRINGFIELD WEEKLY REPUBLICAN: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1917
should be noted that lie has stood for
the adoption of German methods of
chemical and other scientific research
in English universities —a need to
which the nation has been slow to
awake. His character sketches are so
entertaining that one regrets that they
are so few in number. The picture of
■ the eccentric and absent-minded
Philip Rathbone, member of a distin
guished Liverpool family, is specially
good. On one occasion, when Rath
bone was dining out and had
taken his hostess in to dinner,
the food did not meet with his
approval. After struggling with two
courses. Rathbone turned to the
woman and addressed her thus: "You
really must excuse the hopelessness
of the dinner. I have been advising
my wife for the last three months to
dismiss her cook, who is absolutely
incompetent at her job. but for some
reason she still keeps her."
Mr Muspratt would seem to prove
that these who enjoy the best pro
vincial society in England—even in
the grim north —have no reason to
envy those in the possibly more
brilliant circles of the capital. A man
<?f cultivation and trained intelli
gence. of high principles, both as
regards private and public duty, and
apparently of strong .and lasting af
fections. Mr Muspratt will prove a
! cheerful and interesting companion to
; those who read his book. He writes
I frankly and intimately, not intending
•at first to publish these chapters,
i Much of the book was dictated after
IMr Muspratt lost his eyesight. His
i son. Max Muspratt. was recently elect
| cd lord mayor of Liverpool.
FRANKLIN AS PRINTER
! Biographical Sketch by John Clyde
Oswald
"Benjamin Franklin. Printer" (Dou
’ b’eday. Page A Co; $2), is a book by
I means of which the Associated adver
> Using clubs of the world do honor to
! a man whose contribution to the gos-
I pel of publicity was his originality
' and excellence as a printer. The au
thor is John Clyde Oswald, editor of
the American Printer, and an experi
enced collector of Frankliniana. In
dealing with Franklin as a printer he
rotes that the art of printing in
Franklin’s day was understood to in
clude printing, editing, publishing and
advertising. He has brought his project
to fruition in co-operation with the
Associated advertising clubs, which
last year held their convention in Phil
adelphia.
Mr Oswald admits that the book was
hastily written, and there are places
where more methodical treatment
might have been an advantage. But
the author writes with spirit, and his
own enjoyment in antiquarian re
search is communicated to the reader.
The book is plentifully supplied with
illustrations —most of them photo
graphs of title-pages or other prod
ucts of Franklin’s presses or of Frank
lin's own labors as compositor when
he was not his own employer. The
sketch aims also at picturing Frank
lin’s personality, and indeed is a ju
dicious and pleasant excursion in lim
ited biography.
Mr Oswald quotes Paul Leicester
Ford's paragraph in which‘Franklin's
achievements as a publisher are
summed up. Franklin did not actually
publish the first general magazine in
America —a rival printer anticipated
him —but he claimed that the idea was
his and that he lost the distinction
through the broken faith of the man
who was to have been his editor. But
I he published the first American medi
! cal treatise, the first novel printed in
America (“Pamela"), the first pam
phlets against slavery, and the first
Latin work that was both translated
and printed in the colonies.
He was. in fact, a printer most of
his life. As a boy and young man he
served apprenticeships in Boston, Phil
adelphia and London. He published his
own ideas from an early age, too.
When employed by his brother, -with
whom he afterward quarreled, he vied
to slip anonymous contributio’ns under
the door of the printing office at night,
fearing to hand them directly to his
brother, lest they be cast aside as com
ing from a lad too young to write any
thing of merit. As a matter of fact,
his brother not only printed them in
the Courant, an ill-advised and ungod
ly sheet which had a short life, but
named prominent men of Boston who
might be the anonymous authors. Nat
urally this was very pleasing to young
Franklin. In those days the principal
journalist of a community was the
postmaster, who had the privilege of
sending all journals free through the
! mails, but generally limited the priv
! Hege to his own paper. Franklin, when
; he became postmaster In Philadelphia,
i gave other publishers the same terms
•as those which his own papers en-
I joyed.
Mr Oswald observes that most of
Franklin's biogiaphers say little about
the press which Franklin maintained
at Bassy in France, during most of
his residence of Sl-i years. A full ac
count of the printing done at. the
Hotel de Valentlnois was. however,
published privately by the Grolier
club in 1914. being written by Luther
S. Livingston. The leaflets, broad
sides. etc., which Franklin produced
at Bassy during hix SVe years’ resi
dence, were mostly for the amusement
of himself or his friends, though some
were for practical use. The reader is
reminded of Walpole, and his press
at Strawberry hill, and may think
that a private printing press is a
pleasant pastime for a man of literary
turn and leisure. Mr Oswald notes
that William Temple Franklin was too
much of a dandy to think of giving
his time and attention to such trivial
; matters as setting type and working
1 a press, but a younger grandson. Ben
i Jamin Franklin Bache, was of a dit
i terent mold.
Mr Oswald denies the claim that
Franklin was the first American ad
vertiser. Advertising was common in
the papers before Franklin became a
publisher on his own account. More
over. Franklin was not a "self-adver
tiser." As Mr Oswald savs. "Except
ing for the statement of his public
services that he prepared for the con
tinental congress, he never made any
claims for himself.”
Franklin’s birthday, January 17. is
annually celebrated in Philadelphia.
The appearance of Mr Oswald’s book
was timed to synchronize with the ob
servances of the present year.
p FAR EASTERN POLITICS
Stanley K. Hornbeck’s History of Con
temporary Movements
The world waits for no historian.
The waves of critical events pour in
upon the modern chronicler, as pow
erless as Canute of old. Early in 1916
Stanley K. Hornbeck gathered his ma
terial for "Contemporary Politics in
the Far East" (Appletons), and in loss
than a year so much has taken place
that some of the work reads like an
cient history. But even the most cas
ual observer of the Orient appreciates
the need for a careful study of the
past before those of the Occident at
tempt to judge present eastern prob
-1 lemx. We have had much literature
1 on the Chinese empire, and Lnfcadio
Harn gave us the fruit* of a long
, study of Japanese life. We were just
: ietUna interested in the Chinese rev-
elution of 1913 when the European
war attracted our attention elsewhere.
The most praiseworthy feature of Mr
Hornbeck’s useful work lies in his con
stant reference to far eastern opinion
r< yarding the political problems of
Japan and China. In addition, the book
contains extractsfrom different Chinese
constitutions proposed since 1913 the
recommendations of Yuan Shih-Kat
and Dr I- rank J. Goodnow. China’s
constitutional adviser, being: specially
noteworthy. The demands of Japan
on China in 1915 are particularly well
represented in Mr Hornbeck’s transla
tions of political documents. They arc
nlso well arranged to lend weight to
Mr Hornbeck’s contention that Japan’s
attitude toward! China should not he
tegarded as a sudden violation of the
“open door." but as the direct conse
quence of her foreign policy for the
last 10 years or more.
Mr Hornbeck lived for some time In
southern Manchuria as instructor In
the Fengtien (Mukden) law college.
The facts that he gives in connection
with the Japanese administration
there show Japan's monopolistic meth
ods. Preferential tariffs and govern
ment subsidies and boycotts have driv
jen out not only the western traders,
but even the Chinese themselves from
this exploited province of Manchuria.
Having traced step by step the diplo
matic process by which Japan ac
quired Korea, and pointing out the
Manchurian exploitation. Mr Hornbeck
dwells on even the huger spoils con
templated at China's expense. The
statement of Japan’s demands on
China as furnished to foreign govern
ments by Japan was far different from
the actual document handed President
Tuan Shih-Kal by Mr Hioki; the par
allel texts are furnished.
The plan of a Japanese Monroe doc
trine for the far East is unjustifiable.
Mr Hornbeck asserts. Comparing it
with our traditional policy, he points
cut that the American Monroe doc
trine “is defensive and all-excluding;
the Japanese is aggressive and not
self-excluding.”
"THE NEW MAP OF AFRICA"
A Study of European Colonies as
Affected by the War
One of the great questtons that will
have to be settled by the peace con
ference at the end of the war will be
the division among the belligerents of
the vast territories in Africa now con
troled almost wholly by the entente
allies. Shall these lands be returned
to the countries which held them be
fore the war? That is. shall Ger
many’s colonial empire be restored to
her" Or shall she be permitted to
seize the colonies of her enemies In
return for the evacuation of the con
quered portions of their domains in
Europe? Shall Belgium be permitted
to continue to reap the profits from
her ownership of the Congo? These
are questions that will inevitably loom
large In the peace conference, and
their answer will depend mainly upon
the outcome of the struggle in Europe.
No one understands this better than
the belligerents themselves and the
inhabitants of their African colonies.
Next to central Europe and the Mar
mora basin, no field of territorial re
alignment after the war offers more
interesting ground for speculation
than the continent of Africa.
Americans who wish to acquaint
themselves with recent developments
in Africa will find Herbert Adams
Gibbons's “The New Map of Africa"
(Century company; $2) an accurate
and Impartial source of information.
The author of “The New Map of Eu
rope" has succeeded in presenting a
clear-cut and discerning account of
the development of European colonies
in Africa In the 20th century. Mr
Gibbons has little patience with those
who hold that the Africans should be
left alone In their savagery and bar
barism. The book covers a large
field, but the author has narrowed it
down sufficiently by eliminating the
unessential points and leaving In only
the most significant events in that
part of the world since the end of the
war in South Africa.
Mr Gibbons ascribes the success of
British colonial administration to the
existence in Great Britain of a large
leisure class, possessing high ideals,
which is willing to spend years in
foreign lands improving the so-called
inferior races. He hands out praise
and blame impartially to all the col
onizing powers in Africa, and says
that the Germans have been as suc
cessful in dealing with the natives as
-.he Belgians and French have.
Much of Mr Gibbons's book is de
voted to the two extremes of Africa,
Egypt and South Africa, in which
civilization has made the greatest
strides. He finds much to admire in
the economic administration of Egypt,
but criticizes the British for failing
to intrust the Egyptians with a larger
share in the government of their
country. He thinks that they are bet
ter off than they ever were under
Turkish rule, but holds that they will
never be satisfied with their present
status as a part of the British em
pire until they are given control of
their Internal affairs.
The grant of self-government to
the Boers. Mr Gibbons rightly regards
as “a notable proof of the intuitive
genius of the British as empire build
ers.” Coming down to the present war
Mr Gibbons thinks that Great Brit
ain will be embarrassed at the peace
conference because she called upon
the South Africans to conquer the Ger
man colonies in East and South West
Africa. She will not be free to play
them as cards In the game of di
plomacy. for the people who have shed
their blood in the task of driving the
German flag from Africa win not take
kindly to any settlement that would
t estore these colonies to Germany.
Mr Gibbons also regards it as a
mistake for Gen Botha to call upon
the Boers to engage in the Southwest
campaign, for while they were ready
to defend their land from Invasion,
many of them were not in a frame of
mind to wage an aggressive war
against a power which they had al
ways considered friendly to them. Mr
Gibbons ascribes the unsuccessful re
bellion early In the war to this feel
ing. rather than to any hope of re
gaining the former Independence of
the Boers. It may be as he says, but
ti ls la not the view generally held In
the British section of the Union.
GREEK RELIGIOUS THOUGHT
Careful Study by Clifford Herschel
Moore
Prof Clifford Herschel Moore puts
Into clear and compact form the re
sults of scholarly study in his book,
"The Religious Thought of the
Greeks,” a series of lectures delivered
originally In the West, which the Har
vard university press Is publishing.
Prof Moore writes with the object ot
sober exactness, never courting wild
theories on his own account and show
ing good sense In picking his way
among the theories, wild and other
wise, of others. The study, too. Is or
derly and methodical, not perhaps
brilliant or original, but a responsi
ble volume, such as one can turn to
with confidence, and a worthy and
useful popularisation of knowledge.
Prof Moore treats adequately the
poets and dramatists. He does not
take the mystical view of Euripides,
which is held by Gilbert Murray, but
says, “No other poet of his age seta
forth the true nobility of man no per
fectly as Euripides.” Still. Euripides
is iconoclastic, and offers no positive
system of religion or morals. “The
stimulating character of his dramas
makes him one of the great religious'
poets of the world."
Prof Moore carries the study
through Plato and Aristotle to the
later religious philosophies. Plotinus
not only preached a return to the
divine nature, but raised his life above
the plane of the senses. His pupil
Porphyry laid even more stress on the
subjugation of the flesh. "The more
we turn toward that which is mortal."
he says, “the more we unfit our minds
for the infinite grandeur, and the
more we withdraw from attachment
to the body, in that same measure we
approach the divine.”
The other late philosophies are
lucidly presented—among them Epic
ureanism. Stoicism and the revival of
Pythagoreanlstn. Prof Moore includes
In his study the pagan religions which
influenced later Greek and Roman
thought and also Christianity. In dis
cussing the Greek and other pagan
elements in Christianity he carefully
distinguishes between the rite of bap
tism as a symbol nnd baptism as a
mystery, a state into which It had
developed by the middle of the sec
ond century. It was then thought
that baptism “bad a magic power to
secure salvation." He notes, too, that
In the course of time the Lord's sup
per similarly assumed the character of
a mystery. Apparently J. Estlln Car
penter's book on this phase of Chris
tian development appeared too late
to be included in Prof Moore's bibli
ography tor this chapter.
"NEW IDEALS IN BUSINESS - ’
Science and Humanity Partners in
the Industrial World
To anyone who has not kept informed
on forward movements in the indus
trial world but has cherished a sort
of Rip Van Winkle idea about the
conflict between labor and capital,
the office and the shop, a great awak
ening is coming when he reads Ida M.
Tarbell's description of "New Ideals
in Business," (Macmillan Company.
$1.75). The dozen chapters appeared,
in substance, as magazine articles a
year or two ago under the general
heading of “The Golden Rule in Bus
iness,” and this is a concise state
ment of the whole book.
Admitting the lack of efficiency and
justice in American industry. Miss
Tarbell contends, from persona! and
widespread observation, that a silent
revolution is in progress, emanating
not from the ranks but from the
office. Managers have discovered that
science can help the workers to
greater efficiency. They have also
discovered that it pays to keep their
workers well and happy, so that hu
manity and science have joined hands
to create new and better workshops,
safe and sanitary, in which the work
ers thrive. Shorter hours and higher
pay have co-operated again and again
to increase output and profit for the
business. A regard for the quality
of the homes has come to bo another
ideal of many managers, and this too
has been proved worth while.
The outsider will be surprised to
learn of the procession of workers
through the average factory. “Hire
and fire" is the actual working prin
ciple. and it is no unusual thing for
a factory of 100 operatives to take on
150 new workers in the course of a
year. This unsteadiness is being
counteracted by improved conditions
tending to make each worker more
efficient and better satisfied.
Yet these forward movements for
the welfare of the operatives have
often been opposed by them through
sheer ignorance anil suspicion that it
was but another oppressive scheme
of capital. Improvements have had
to come slowly, because the workers
had to be converted at every step to
a belief in the sincerity of the man
agement in seeking their welfare. But
results have always justified the
patient persistent manager who re
fused to turn pessimist when labor
flouted his first attempts at better
ment. Miss Tarbell speaks by the
book; she has been through scores
or hundreds of factories, talked with
all grades of workers from the office
down. In all sorts of works; and she
cites concrete examples of every point
she makes; she knows the facts, and
lets them speak for themselves.
Such a book as this deserves the
widest possible circulation in the in
dustrial world, first of all among the
managers. The new ideals of bus
iness here described have not often
been born of labor’s demands but of
capital’s concern for its toilers. The
office needs converting first. The
public also ought to read the book:
it is as fascinating as a romance, and
not long ago it would have been
classed as romance rather than sober
fact. In an Increasing number of
factories the entire force dwells to
gether in unity of purpose, and bus
iness prospers accordingly. The new
captain of Industry, says Miss Tar
bell, “is seeing a significance and a
possibility in humanizing his relations
that he formerly did not dream. He
is developing the inspiring conscious
ness that it is possible for him to be
not a mere manufacturer of things
for personal profit, but as well a
maker of men and women for so
ciety’s profit.”
“AGNES OF THE BAD LANDS”
Trials and adventures of the Mary
Pickford pattern fill the tenderyears
of the small girl whose story is nar
rated in "Agnes of the Bad Lands”
(Macaulay; $1.25), by J. Breckinridge
Ellis. She is a waif in a metropolitan
slum section known as "the Bad
Lands.” Her father is a dissolute
hanger-on in the saloons, and she is
brutally treated by a stepmother
whose morals are on a par with those
of her father. Agnes is "different”
from other children In the alloy, and.
in consequence, is unpopular. A
chance phrase by a saloon habitue
stirs her curiosity concerning God;
but her father threatens dire punish
ment If sho continues her queries in
this direction. The stepmother at
tempts to force her into a place of evil
surroundings. The child eventually
obtains the protection of persons who
assist her in securing an education and
ultimate happiness. The story Is sen
timental and religious in tone.
“BLITHE MeBRIDE”
Quito apart from sophisticated story
telling Is Beulah Marie Dix’s "Blithe
Mcßride" (MacMillan; $1.25). Here is
an appealing bit of 17th century fic
‘Aton, woven around the central char
acter of a child of the London slums,
who escaped from her sordid surround
ing* and companions and crosses the
seen to America, where In due time
her courage and honesty of purpOS*
secure a merited reward. Mias Dlx
has before interested young people
with other works, but her latest novel
la rather superior In portraiture to
her previous writing,
A GROUP OF NEW NOVELS
BELLAMY’S “THE BALANCE”
Pleasing Story About a Playwright
Who Becomes Serious-Minded
The fact that Francis R. Bellamy,
author of “The Balance” (Doubleday,
Page; $1.35), is a relative of the late
Edward Bellamy, may incline readers
to see In his choice of theme a de
sire to bask in the fame of the dis
tinguished Utopian. But it is un
just to Mr Bellamy to seek to estab
lish a definite analogy between this,
his first novel, and “Looking Back
ward.” It Is true the theme is so
ciological. but Edward Bellamy con
ceives a radical solution of the prob
lems of poverty, while his young rel
ative goes no farther than to indorse
the efforts of those earnest settlement
workers and writers who are at
tempting tn llchteu the burden of the
poor by teaching thorn to help them
selves. or who. through the use of
their pens, are making the more fa
vored classes of society aware of their
responsibilities toward their needy fel
lows.
Mr Bellamy approaches his theme
indirectly, employing the stage as a
medium of its presentation. His hero,
as a youth, is impractical and imag
inative. He is dropped from Williams
college for scholastic deficiencies. In
a short business career in his home
city he loses his small patrimony,
whereupon the wealthy parents of
Carrie Schroeder, whom he desires to
marry, virtually forbid him their
house. This young woman, however,
determines to wait for the success
that she believes he will achieve. She
is lofty-minded, and an idealist, and
it is the latent influence of her
idealism that sustains him through
out his subsequent trials until his
character finds the solid foundations
cn which he builds enduring fame and
usefulness.
In New York, the young man is
not obliged to wait long for at least
superficial success. His introduction
to theatrical folk is made easy, and
he writes an unwholesome sex play
for a famous actress. While it is
voted a tremendous success, Carrie is
so deeply disappointed that she breaks
their engagement and they drift
apart. But. they do not cease to love
each other, nor does the girl cease
to concern herself about him. In
dustrial depression and the with
drawal of the play are coincidental.
Carrie, in the meanwhile, has given
over her entire time to settlement
work in her city. But serious dif
ferences with her father over the
question of aiding the poor induce her
to sever her connection with local
charities and she goes to New York
to take up settlement work there.
After his play is withdrawn, the
playwright disappears from his usual
haunts. He wanders through the
poorer quarters of New York.
Gradually he becomes impressed with
the problems involved in eradicating
the canker of poverty. Thus the idea
to write a great play presenting the
question in practical form slowly
crystallizes in his mind; and when
it is completed and presented, it is
epoch-making.
In writing his novel, Mr Bel
lamy avoids dramatic incidents,
but throughout there Is a quiet vein
of force that is more effective than
climaxes. The two principal char
acters, though hardly studies of
depth, are depicted' with clarity, and
several of the minor characters prove
very engaging. It is a first novel to
command attention, indicating that
in the author contemporary Ameri
can fiction has received a worthy re
cruit.
BUCHAN’S “GREENMANTLE”
A Thrilling War Story By an Ac
complished Writer
That the dangers and thrills of
service in the first-line trenches in
Flanders are not the maximum of
dangerous service in «the European
war may be gathered from reading
"Greenmantle" (Doran; $1.35), by
John Buchan. It Is a stirring tale of
British secret service in the near
East, in which two young British
army officers of coolness and re
source, and a laconic American,
thwart Germany's efforts to launch »
Mohammedan “holy war.” In its early
stages, the story Is given over to a
lively narrative of Maj Hannay’s
exciting experiences In making his
way across Germany in the guise of
a. South African Boer, and his trip
down the Danube aboard an ammuni
tion boat until the three foregather
fn Constantinople, fn t'uelr jonrney
ings the three severally pick up
isolated facts regarding the object of
their mission, which, pieced to
gether. disclose that a German
“superwoman” is conspiring to launcn
a religious revival upon the luke
warm Turks with the aid of a "holy
man” known as “GreenmantlC.”
The three men, however, encounter
a potential nemesis in the person of
a German secret service man, but
they cleverly gauge the Teuton’s
tortuous psychology, and foil him at
every point, but not without hair
raising escapes from danger. The
climax comes with the capture of
Erzerum by the Russians a year ago.
The author interjects pictures of Ger
man methods of warfare and
diplomacy in accordance with the
popular conception, together with cir
cumstantial pictures of the unpopu
larity of the present regime among
the masses in Turkey. It is an absorb
ing tale, written with Mr Buchan's
■well known skill of narrative and
Imaginative vigor.
THE CAREER OF “JERRY”
The Young Ironworker's Rise to Fame
Narrated by Mr Pier
The hero of "Jerry” (Houghton.
Mifflin; $1.50), by Arthur Stanwood
Bier, begins life as an ironworker un
der very satisfactory labor conditions.
But. the absorption by the steel trust
of the company which has employed
him brings about oppressive condi
tion: of employment. A strike results.
Jerry takes a prominent part In con
ducting the Ironworkers’ fight, and.
when the strikers are beaten, he Is
obliged to seek work In “the city.”
Moreover, he is jilted by Nora Scan
lon.
Jerry, who has just reached hl#
majority, has already acquired some
knowledge ot politician* and of the
subterranean manipulations of practi
cal politic*. But from the outset he
espouses the cause of public honesty.
Jerry first has a career as a police
man, but gets Into trouble. Nora’s
husband mistreat* her. and her father
kills the husband and himself, where
upon Nora and Jerry resume their
former relation of sweetheart*, hut
again she marries another man when
all arrangement* had been made to
marry Jerry.
The hero, having studied law dur
ing hl# idle hours, is admitted to the
bar, and when the reform element
captures the city government 1* ap
pointed assistant district attorney,
One of the most engaging and beet
drawn characters in the book is
Jerry's mother. She is a warm-heart
ed, motherly old Irish woman, deeply
devoted to her son. She takes Into her
home three children orphaned during
the ironworkers’ strike, in the eldest
of whom. Kate Dobbin. Jerry
eventually finds his heart’s ideal after
his two disappointing experiences with
Nora. The story, which is told with
spirit, is an appeal to young men to
enter the fight for purer public serv
ice. _________
INTRIGUE IN INDIA
“King of the Khyber Rifles,” by Tal
bot Mundy
Few corners of the British empire,
apparently, escaped Germany's ante
war machinations. “King of the Khy
ber Rifles” (Bobbs-MerrlH; $1.85), by
Talbot Mundy. Is based on Germany’s
alleged carefully laid plans to stir up
revolt in northern India at the mo
ment of the launching of the European
conflict. Lieut King, a resourceful
young intelligence officer, is hastily
dispatched to the turbulent Khyber
pass country to search out the myste
rious “Heart of the Hills.” which
seems to be the fountain bead of the
Intrigue. King’s life Is constantly fn
peril, but he is always able to antici
pate the assassin’s attempts.
Craft, good luck and unfailing
knowledge of the native character are
the chief contributions to his success;
but without the power of love which
he inspires in a mysterious woman,
v.ho figures prominently in the story,
even these aids would have been futile.
It is a highly interesting tale, vivid
and colorful as to background, and the
savagery and cruelty of the hill men
are relieved by the humorous atmos
phere with which Mr Mundy sur
rounds their complex characters and
tl ?ir fatalistic philosophy.
HISTORY ON BLUE CHINA
Early American Scenes and Heroes
Immortalized in Pottery
People interested in old china will
greet with enthusiasm Ada Walker
Camehl’s volume "The Blue-China
Book” (E. P. Dutton & Co; $5). It is
a large and showy volume, and there
are over 200 fine half-tones in color,
illustrating toe plates, platters, pitch
ers, etc., which are described in the
text. Mrs Camehl has not presented
blue china here Indiscriminately, but
has specialized on Staffordshire his
torical pottery and in this field has
further limited herself to early Amer
ican history. lt> is a book that will
delight the general reader as well as
the collector. While dealing with blue
china, the author has often let in a
picture of red or mulberry or black
pieces, without detriment to the theme.
The volume consists mainly of t<wo
parts, a tour of the country and five
leading cities, and the nation’s build
ers and their work. Besides these 15
chapters, there are three more called
supplementary, the first of which de
scribes and illustrates quite fully the
collection of presidential china in the
White House, while the third takes up
the famous willow pattern and some
other important blue series. After a
short tour of toe young nation’s do
main, the reader is taken successive
ly to “the crooked but interesting
town of Boston,” old New York, the
Philadelphia of Penn and Franklin,
early Baltimore and Washington, the
new capital.
The second part begins with Co
lumbus, the Pilgrims and Penn, then
Washington and the Revolution are
shown. Franklin and his precepts. La
fayette’s visit, naval heroes, the Erie
canal, the new railroads, etc. The
chapter on the presidential china is
one of the most interesting. The pub
lic is probably aware of the custom of
refurnishing the White House for each
new occupant, and it is interesting to
note the changing fashions of a cen
tury or more in table porcelains. At
last a satisfactory design destined to
some permanence was Installed by Mrs
Roosevelti and continues in use to this
day.
The text of the volume is, within its
limits, a handbook of American his
tory, and the antiquarian will find
much of interest preserved here in the
verses and other Inscriptions that
adorn the pottery under consideration.
The publishers have co-operated well
with the author in making a book that
is a delight to the artistic sense in
every respect.
“PORTRAITS OF WOMEN”
Another Volume of Gamaliel Brad
ford’s Studies
Having most successfully studied a
number of prominent American men
on both sides of Mason and Dixon's
line, Gamaliel Bradford has in mind
a similar volume concerning some no
table women of America. But possibly
because he doesn’t understand woman
as clearly as man, or perhaps because
he wants to make hU book of Ameri
can women a masterpiece, he ap
proaches It by a studv of other wom
en. ‘‘long ago and far away,” as Kip
ling puts It; and In a volume of some
200 pages he presents nine “Portraits
of Women” (Houghton Mifflin com
pany; $2.50), born tn England and
Erance between 1026 and 1805.
Mr Bradford himself acknowledges
this finesse of approach; but anyone
who has read any of his previous “Por
traits” will not be beguiled by the
preface into thinking that this is a
sort of apprentice volume. The only I
plausible criticism that the average
American would offer upon this collec
tion of "psychographs” is that the
catalog, of names is, in the main, un
familiar or Inconsequential. To which
the author might justly reply that
Jane Austen and Lady Holland and
Mrs Pepys ought to be familiar names
to any well-Informed reader, while
Lady Montagu, Mme D'Arblay, Mme
de Sevlgne. Mme du Deffand, Mme de
Choiseul and Eugenie de Guerin were
conspicuous enough In their own day
for literary or social reasons to de
serve some slight remembrance even
to-day. And if the reader still crit
icizes that other women were more
deserving of being portrayed by Mr
Bradford's skilful pen. he may answer
again—as he does —that a biographer
must have material from which to de
rive knowledge and inspiration, just
as a tailor must have cloth if he would
make a. suit. Therefore these women
are chosen because they left journals,
letters, or other writings which reveal
them to their modern chronicler.
All except Mrs Pepys, who left
never a scrap of paper of her own,
but who stands Out in her husband's
diary as clear cut as a cavneo, mar
ried at 15 and burled at 2s)— the short
est of all these lives, with Jane Aus
ten. 42. next in brevity. Ax befits the
people within the covers, the book Is
daintily garbed and ornamented, a
pleasure to the eye as Mr Bradford’s
work is to the literary sense. There
will bo keener anticipation over his
next book.
While the British government has
taken possession of the coat mines "for
th* duration of the war." no one should
bo confident that the mines will ever
again be under private ownership.
'BOSTON LITERARY LETTER
INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES
Noted New England Familes of Ad
ams, Bradford, Otis and Warren
From Our Special Correspondent
WESTFIELD, N. J., Tues., Feb. 13
Whoever is familiar with biblical
history, the chronicles of 'Babylonia,
or the earliest Egyptian history must
have noticed how insistent the king,
emperor or by whatever title he
chooses, is in talking about himself
all the time. The French definition
of a bore is “one who talks about him
self all the time, when you wish to
talk about yourself.” A more com
plete example of such a bore than
these early potentates could not be
Imagined. Ho cares nothing about
you; for him you do not exist. Him
self and bis ancestors are all that
seems to have any importance in his
eyes. But all successive history
shows the same peculiarity—a set of
persons always bringing themselves
forward, and measuring the impor
tance of their kingdom or nation by
tho relative value of individuals. Thus
Feter the Great of Russia, in the early
18th century, said. “In Russia there
are only two persons of any conse
quence- myself, the czar, and the man
T am talking with; and he only while
I am talking with him." Here is ar
bitrary government reduced to its ab
surdity. No government can be. or
ever was. carried on in this simple
autocratic form, and Peter himself
went to Holland, England and Ger
many in order io learn how to carry
on bls autocracy more sensibly.
Under any form of government. In
dividuals of force make themselves
felt, and their families become im
portant. Saul and David, founders
of the Hebrew kingdom, are exam
ples of this. Saul did several im
portant things under the suggestion
of the witch of Endor, the Prophet
Samuel and the Old Harry: for he
finally became insane and was un
manageable. The going to grass of
an important Babylonia king, Nebu
cadneza. is to be explained in the
same way. His treatment, as a de
ment. if recorded in detail would be
valuable; he must have been unman
ageable. yet apparently he was
restored tn sanity. But the whole
Book of Daniel is under such sus
picion as a forgery, that it has ceased
to have any historical importance.
New England, in its first century
or two. attempted to set up this side
of the Atlantic, the imaginary He
brew constitution set forth in the
Pentateuch and in -the kingdoms that
followed upon the Book of Judges.
The early settlers therefore made the
law of Moses their model, but as no
civilized nation could possibly live
by tnat. and no half-civilized nation
ever did live by it, we perhaps find
that the New England families came
into being and acted their several
parts in as natural a manner as any
where else. Like King David, m
Saul’s armor, they found themselves
embarrassed by the Mosaic ritual,
and dispensed-with it: adopting those
simpler and more enlightened forms
of religion which have gradually
maintained themselves in the so-called
Christian world.
Gov Bradford's published and re
published history shows how the
Bradford family started. Of the Al
dens. Browns. Robinsons, Westons.
Winslows. Watson’s, etc., of the Old
Colony, we have copious accounts
elsewhere.
Of the magnates and important
families of both the Puritans and the
Plymouth Pilgrims, few were more
important than Adams of Braintree.
Otis of Barnstable. Warren of Ply
mouth and of Boston. A correspond
ence, long carried on. between mem
bers of these families, covering, as I
suppose, some 75 years, is now being
edited and printed by the Massachu
setts historical society. John Adams,
having married Abigail Smith, and
Mercy Otis, sister of the famous
James Otis, having married James
Warren of Plymouth (a more impor
tant person for years in the ranks of
the patriots than the Warren who fell
at Bunker hill), all political corre
spondence between these persons be
comes politically valuable, especially
after they began to quarrel (about
1785). Portions of It have been pub
lished years ago. chiefly the quarrel
ing portions: and both John Adams
and Mercy Warren were good at a
quarrel. They finally became friends
again. How soon this volume may be
expected to appear. I cknnot say: but
there is a large volume of Revolu
tionary correspondence in the New
Hampshire historical society which
ought to be printed about the same
time. The New Hampshire family
papers now concerned in a suit pend
ing at Philadelphia for more than a
year past, ought to be settled as to
ownership before the matter goes fur
ther. This New Hampshire society
will have more funds to pay for pub
lications than in former years,
through the liberality of Edward Tuck
of Paris, but a native of New Hamp
shire. who lias shown much generosity
in building and endowing hospitals,
etc., in New Hampshire. The long
unprinted manuscript autobiography
of William Plumer still remains un
edited and unpublished, the property
of the author’s great-great grand
daughter. Mrs Charles Norns of
Portsmouth. N. H. Promised histories
of Now Hampshire, or of towns there
in. are still withheld from publication.
The completion of the “Histories of
Massachusetts and New York” in the
Commonwealth series, is promised for
this year: that of Massachusetts bv
S. R. Morison, the accomplished biog
rapher of Harrison Grey Otis. The
latter was a nephew of Mercy War
ren. the correspondent of Jolin Adams
j above mentioned. The southern
states continue to publish, but rather
slowly, the Revolutionary papers each
of its own state, and the quarrels in
Virginia and Kentucky continue to
furnish material for m uch discussion.
FROM THE GOLDEN BOOKS
Haroun Al Raschld
[Longfellow]
One day Haroun al Raschld read
A book wherein the poet said: —
‘ Where are the kings, and where the
rest
Of those who once the world pos
sessed?
"They're gone with all their pomp
and show:
They're gone the way that thou shalt
go.
“O thou who choosest for thy share
The world, and what the world calls
fair.
"Tako nil that It can give or lend.
But know that death is at. the end.”
Haroun al Raschld bowed his head;
Tears fell upon the page he read.
Admiral Fiske. Is quoted as author
ity for the statement that a year ago
British aeroplanes flew to the sea of
Marmora carrying torpedoes wltn
which several Turkish ships were
sunk. But it the British a year ago
had a workable device for launching
torpedoes from aircraft how is it that
they have not been using It against
German ships, specially along the
Belgian coast, where only a short
flight would be needed? Aviator t
have been dropping bombs there, but
nothing suggests the uae of the more
formidable weapon.