YALE ATI Reet
THE BOOK SHELF.
(Conducted by ALBERT LEE, '91.]
So far as the reading of books is
concerned, college men may pretty
fairly be divided into-two distinct
classes, one of which pursues a
“course of reading,’ while the other
takes his books more or less indis-
criminately as time, opportunity, in-
clination, or chance may provide.
There is perhaps a third class of col-
lege men,—and doubtless a large one,
—Wwhich does not read at all, outside
of the morning paper and a magazine,
but that one, of course, is excluded by
our premises.
As to which is the greater of. the
two book-reading divisions of the col-
lege, I am unfortunately unable, from
my present view point, to judge, and
having been unobservant in my own
time, my recollection upon the sub-
ject is of small account. My surmise,
however, is that the second group,—
the desultory crowd,-—is the greater;
and, further, my sympathies and con-
victions are’ wholly with the ‘“‘Dab-
blers” and squarely opposed to the
“Regulars Coursers.’’ There must be
a number of. men in every class, and
we have all of us known them, who 3
think that their intellects need a
“course of reading,’’ and they resolve
that during the term, or the year, as
the’ case may be, they will read the
works of Dickens, or of Thackeray, or
of Balzac, or of Dumas, or of such
writers as have earned high places in
literature, making their selection ac-
‘ cording as their opinions go concern-
ing what the ‘course of reading’’
should be. Most of these fellows nurse
the fallacy that it is incumbent upon
any man desirious of being considered
_ lecture.
nn
well read, to wade through everything
written by Dickens or Thackeray or
such authors as they consider ‘‘stand- .
ard,’ whether they like and admire
what these men have written or not.
I remember very well that this self _
same doctrine was pounded at me
when I was a youngster, when I was
about twelve or fourteen. A vigorous
attempt was made to impress upon Mme
the relative positions in literature Of
Charles Dickens, and Oliver Optic,—
positions which I now frankly admit
were, in their relations as propounded,
directly the reverse to that which they
held in my own boyish affections.
They also told me that Dickens was
humorous; lingua pueri, ‘“funny’’. Then
they gave me a copy of the Pickwick
Papers and I plunged boldly in, en-
thusiastically expectant of a comic
But my boyish conception of
humor was not that of my elders. Il
had a very hard time of it with Mr.
Pickwick. I plodded through the close-
ly printed pages, urged onward solely
by a sense of duty. I began to- think”
I must be stupid, or perhaps too child--
ish for my years, and I wondered if
other boys liked Dickens, and why.
At the end I could not recall more
than one funny page in all the Pick-
wick. Papers. That was the incident.
of the lost hat, and I certainly enjoy-'
ed reading of how Mr. Pickwick’s
headgear went bounding away from.
him, a sport to the wind.
That is all I remember to the pres-—
ent day about this book, except one
thing. At an entertainment a few
years later a gentleman read from the /
Pickwick Papers,
Sam Weller’s
and he spoke Mr.
dialogue just as Mr.
. Weller himself would doubtless have
spoken’ it had he been there, and I
was highly pleased. But I have al-
ways felt, down in the bottom of my
heart, that the passage which «this.
gentleman read (and perhaps all the
other ‘funny’? passages of the book)
were not in the copy I had as a boy,
for I never saw them, or seeing them
I knew them not.
All of which is to lead up to the
statement that I believe most boys
are taught to hate the standard au-
5 a
KING NOANETT.
A Story of Old Virginia and the Massachusetts Bay
A NEW HISTORICAL NOVEL.
By F. J. STIMSON,
(J. S. of Dale.)
‘‘ We are not afraid to predict that ‘King Noanett’ will take its place in the hearts
of the people with such books as ‘Lorna Doone’ and ‘The Little Minister..—A most
noble book.”—James MacArthur, in the September Bookman.
“achat ee SRR CE AT STIR OAT Sm ALTRI 8 OT ESR CIE
WW HHhKhLY
thors by being dosed with them before
they are mentally capable of appre-
ciating them. The greater number of
these boys doubtless overcome the an-
tipathy and, perhaps, when they get
to college, they read the authors
again, when they are able to under-
Stand and enjoy. These are the ones
Who go in for a ‘course of reading;”
those who can’t get the taste out of
- their mouths are the ones who put
their interest into contemporary liter-
ature.
The point I am endeavoring to make
is that the college man, and just as
much the college graduate, ought to
have some way of finding out what
kind of reading is most suitable to his
tastes and to his necessities. He
Should not be compelled to take so
much chaff with his wheat. If I could
80 back into Freshman year now,
knowing what little I do to-day about
books, I believe I could make very
good use of the Linonia Library,—very
much better use of it than I did in
the halcyon days. A man in college,
and afterwards, cannot read all the
books there are. He can read only a
certain number of volumes in the time
he has at his disposal. Some men can
devour more than others, but it is a
question if these do not eventually suf-
fer from literary dyspepsia. There-
fore if those who are. busy with other
matters can have some means of as-
certaining what books,—and I am now
largely speaking of
books,—will be the most profitable for
their individual -wants and tastes,
they can save a great deal of time.
The critic has undertaken, in. mod-
ern times, to point out these things
which I have thought should be point-
‘a out. But frequently. the . critic,
from various motives, allows the ele-
ment of personal opinion and preju-
dice to enter too largely into his dis-
Sertation. The college man and the
college graduate, do not care so much
for criticism, so far as current litera-
ture is concerned, as they do for what is
colloquially known as a “‘tip.’’ Tnere-
fore, if it were possible to point out
‘that which is good on the book stalls,
doing this from a general knowledge
contemporary
Tighe, Lane, Wheeler & Farnham,
Attorneys at Law,
109-112 Manhattan Building,
St. Paul, Minn. .
AMBROSE TIGHE.
JOHN W. LANE.
HOWARD WHEELER.
CHARLES W. FARNHAM.
of the kind of book the college man
is likely to be interested in, and writ-
ing of books and their contents from
a college man’s point of view, this
column might serve some good purpose
in the field of its endeavor.
SRR: saa
Dr. Chase’s Pamphlet,
A notable pamphlet of 27 pages has
just appeared at Leipzig (Buchhand-
lung Gustav Fock) entitled, ‘““A Biblio-
graphical Guide to Old English Syn-
tax.’ In it Dr. Frank H. Chase, ’94,
gives a list, complete to date, of all
the treatises on Old English syntax,
and afterwards classifies them (1)
chronologically, (2) according to the
universities at which they were pro-
duced, (3) according to syntactical cat—
egories, and (4) according to the va-
rious texts investigated. He then adds
four or five pages of observations, sug-
gested by his examination and use of
the treatises tabulated. The little
work will thus be indispensable to all
investigators in this field. A single
sentence will illustrate the character
of his appended remarks: ‘The ideal
dissertation in Old English Syntax
should, it seems to me, be a complete
historical account of a single form of
expression, or group of such forms; it
should distinguish between early and
late usages, when a distinction exists;
and should point out traces of Latin
influence, if they are present. Copies
of the pamphlet may be had in this
country on application to the author
at Cheshire, Conn.
SOME OTHER PUBLICATIONS.
A Bad Penny, by John T. Wheelwright.
With ten full-page illustrations by
‘It is marked in conception and execution alike by a trait which, without reserve,
we may name beauty. The quality of charm which pervades the romantic tales of the
Old World is just what distinguishes ‘King Noanett.’ The real spirit of the book, the
temper which gives it inevitable romantic charm, comes from no documents at all, but
straight from nature. The beauty of this book in its conception is like the beauty of
our woods and our fields, of our fields and our streams. It is native. That is why we
love it. Subtly rhythmical cadences which belong to the essence of lyric prose. In sub-
stance and in style alike, then, we may welcome ‘ King Noanett’ as a thing of beauty.”
—Prof. Barrett Wendell, of Harvard University, in The Boston Transcript.
‘‘So far as American fiction is concerned ‘King Noanett’ is far and away the book
of the year. Certainly nothing fresher or more original has found its way into our
literature for many a year. The volume possesses a distinct historical value.”—Literary
Editor, The Boston Transcript.
‘* A book which it is hard to put down until the end is reached. The climax is a
triumph of clever manipulation. It is a credit to American letters to have produced such
a book. We trust that no one will miss the opportunity of making the acquaintance of
‘King Noanett.’ "—N. Y. Examiner.
‘“We have read few fictions whose interest was so steady, so continuous and so
absorbing. ‘King Noanett’ must, however, be read in full to be justly appreciated.
We sincerely commend the story to our readers, "—_N, Y. Independent.
‘‘It is interesting. It is spirited.
cavalier is a delightful acquaintance.
Literary World.
‘‘ A stirring and delightful romance.”—Congregationalist.
‘And who but an Irishman could have said Heigho ! "Tis the women who make
the trouble of this life—and life worth the trouble.’ Mr. Stimson has done his best
work in ‘King Noanett,’ and in Miles Courtenay he has added an immortal figure to the
characters of fiction.” —James J effrey Roche, in The Pilot.
It has movement and life. The young Irish
‘King Noanett’ possesses positive merits,”—
‘‘It is difficult to describe the fascination of its style, the enchantment which it
wields, and the spiritual beauty which illumines the whole work.”—James MacArthur,
in The Bookman.
‘** King Noanett’ is a book designed for all ages.”—N. Y. Tribune.
‘* Mr. Stimson writes as good a story as DuMaurier ”—Brooklyn Eagle.
Ex Libris: Essays of a Collector, by Charles Dexter Allen. Illustrated by
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