THE BOOK SHELF. [Conducted by ALBERT LEE, '91.] : Of all the editions of Izaak Walton’s “Compleat Angler,” probably none have ever surpassed in good book making that one recently published by J. M. Dent & Co., of London (New York: MacMillan). It has the ad- vantage of a long introduction by Mr. Andrew Lang, and its pages are nice y strewn with illustrations from the pen of Mr. Edmund J. Sullivan. His are just the kind of pictures to set off the text of the gentle Izaak—fine: pen and ink sketches of old English scenery, quaint manor houses, and _ sluggish streams with tall reeds on ether side. There is a touch of Abbey in Mr. Sul- livan’s work. ‘The cover of the book, too, is most appropriate, being of a deep trout pool green. Of course, as Mr. Lang very justly says, the “Compleat Angler’ is to be read for human pleasure, and not for instruction, although I yet believe that any man who reads the book—if he has not already read it long since— will get a good deal of information out of it, though not necessarily about angling. He will get a look into the fields and hhighways of old, England, and almost into the hearts of the jolly fellows that wander through the pages with Izaak. Amid all this modern overstock of reading matter that hun- dreds of printing presses turn out each year, it is like meeting an old friend to see the “Angler” come posting in again—especially when he comes dressed in such elegant apparel. The editor of the “Chap Book,” Messrs. H. S. Stone & Co., of Chicago, have gathered into one volume a num- ber of the tales that have appeared from time to time in their little mag- azine, under the general title of ‘““Chap Book Stories.’’ I cannot say that they are giving us the cream of. their short fiction, although it is probable. that the reason for this is that most of the cream thas already gone between other covers. .the tales..of..Galloping. Dick. Ryder, for instance, The chief in- ' the folio. terest in the present volume seems rest in the fact that here you have no monotony of style, and that if your literary palate is not tickled by es oysters, yousemay pass on to the soup.’ or even to the fish, or, further still,” until you come to that course which, most appeals to your taste. an advantage in this, but have the story which represents them) for. their work. Mr. Clinton Ross, * example, has done better thing than. that drivelling. dialogue which is in- cluded in the present collection. ‘ I spoke above of the “little maga-_ zine,’ but the Chap Book may be no. It seems that, in the opinion of the publishers, what=) ever charm the small size of their pe long \ since destroyed by the deluge of min-| iature magazines that has flooded the) land since the Chap Book first ap-'* longer so-called. riodical may ever have had, was peared. Of course, this is a matter of! opinion only, and the enlargement of the Chap Book to its present dimen- ( if i n eX=! a *3¢ x sions must be looked upon as a candidates for other track events are doing indoor work in the Gymnasium. periment.: be many advantages coming to us in) However, the new suit fits well, the little boy seems at home in his long trousers. ‘ In his story of ‘A Sturdy Beggar’’ ; Charles Charrington treats again of an abnormal state of affairs, but his: selection of plot this time is not so happy as it was in his previous story™ Neither” so well There is scarcely. ~ any action in the tale—it being ae ee _ ciation will occur during the lavier (New York: Stone & Kimball), of “Lady Bramber’s Ghost.” does he handle his characters in this last effort. made up of a long recital by one man. The first two chapters promise wells but after that the quality falls, andy the interest which held the reader o the “Ghost” story is here in no. rag _.awakened or sustained... The. ending oil give a concert in Providence. on of the tale, too, is weak; it was bad | There is). it is pe za haps not fair to all the writers toy There was much in favor of retaining the small size—there may, Perhaps we shall get more: But quantity is not what we are after... and enough to have one crazy man, but Wholly unnecessary to have two. Mr. Charrington had the materials for a good plot, but he hurried in the build- ing of his story. $$$ Winter Work of Athletic Teams. Candidates for Yale’s various ath- letic teams are already preparing for in this book, stand as an example of the contests of the coming season. The Freshmen Crew candidates were called out immediately after the Christmas vacation. About a hundred men re- sponded to the call, but this number - has now been reduced to about seventy. The candidates for ‘the University Crew were called out yesterday and will begin regular work at once. Captain Keator of ‘the baseball team is not a believer in long cage practice for baseball candidates... The Winter work in baseball, therefore, will be light this year. The battery candi- dates for the University Nine will be called out the first of next week, and the Freshmen candidates soon after. The bicycle squad of the track team is now doing light training, and the : : PRRERE BEES) LC ME ROE TAD CAT Chicago Alumni Association. At a recent. meeting of the Yale _ Alumni Association of Chicago the fol- lowing officers were elected to serve for the year 1897:—President, Wash- ington Hesing, ’70; First Vice-Presi- dent, Lloyd W. Bowers, ’79; Second Vice-President, Dr. George F. Fiske, *83 M. S.; Secretary and ‘Treasurer, Clarence T. Morse, ’87; Executive Coim- mittee, Henry E. Mason, ’87, chairman; George W. Meeker, ’79S.; Hugh J. Mc- Birney, 75; Edward J. Phelps, ‘80, «nd Richard T. Crane, Jr., ‘958. “he thirty-first annual dinner of the Assc- part of February. ~<> <> ww Ss The University Glee and Banjo clubs Fepr find 24th. trial, TIFFANY & CO. Makers of Corporate and Frater- nity Seals and Dies Silver Testi- monials Athletic Prizes Class Pins Society Emblems Engraved Invi- tations and Stationery for the Leading Universities Colleges and other Educational Institutions. Cuts of Watches and Chains sent upon request, UNION SQUARE NEW YORK. Yale Mayflower Descendants. At the congress of delegates of the various state organizations of May- flower Descendants held at Plymouth, Mags., on Jan. 12, the following Yale graduates were elected to official posi- tions in the General Society of May- flower Descendants, established by the congress: Governor-General, Howland, 54, New York; Deputy-Gov- ernor-General for Pennsylvania, Francis Olcott Allen, ’62, of Philadel- phia; Deputy Governor-General for Connecticut, William Waldo Hyde, ’76 of Hartford; Secretary General, George Ernst Bowman, ’83, 623 Tremont Build- ing, Boston; Ejlder-General, Rev. Roderick Terry, D. D., ’70, New York; Surgeon-General, Orlando Brown, M. D., 58, Connecticut; Member of Board of Assistants, Percy Coe Eggleston, "92, of Connecticut; Historian-General, Richard Henry Greene, ’62, of New York. Hon. Henry E. A New Course. {Clarence Deming, "72 in N. Y. Post.] Among the new and _= interesting courses is one for graduates by Prof. John C. Schwab on the civic, indus- and economic history of the Confederate States of America as dis- iinguished from its military history. There has never been any course of the kind at Yale, and none is known of here at any other institution. ALL THE WORLD'S BEST LITERATURE. IN This is indeed an era of unread books. In this bustling, feverish age of ours few are the favored individuals who can The vast majority of educated people finish lay claim to being ‘‘ well read.” their ‘‘serious”? reading just as they begin to be able really to appreciate the treasures bequeathed to us by the mas- ter minds of the past. The Need of Condensation. There are many, however, who hon- estly desire a large acquaintance with the great authors and books of the world, but the task is so enormous that a lifetime would seem too short to ac- complish it. The realization of this fact has pro- duced a unique ‘‘ Library of the World’s Best Literature,” the simple yet daring plan of which is to present, within the limits of twenty thousand pages, the The lines upon which this work has been carried out are as broad as literature itself. It offers the master productions of authors of all times, irrespective of cream of the literature of all ages. the personal predilections or tastes of any one compiler or group of compilers. Although Charles Dudley Warner is the editor-in-chief, with Hamilton Wright Mabie, George H. Warner, and Lucia Gilbert Runkle as associates, the assist- ance has been sought of an advisory council, consisting of one eminent scholar from each of ten of our leading universities, thus insuring the widest possible breadth of literary appreciation. A Few of the Famous Contributors. The arrangement is not chronological, but alphabetical, thus diversifying the matter and avoiding the heayy monot- ony of ancient or medizval literature. There are also elaborate articles upon all great authors, great books, and the literatures of different ages, nations and periods, and these articles have been intrusted to over three hundred of the foremost critics and writers of the United States, Great Britain, France and Germany, and signed by such authorities. as Dean Farrar, Andrew Lang, Mrs. Humphry Ward, Dr. An- drew D. White, W. D. Howells, Henry James, and many other literary celeb- rities. These articles greatly increase the interest in the contents, and adda tremendous educational value by col lecting for the student the most schol- arly literary judgments of our own time. Some Special Features, One must search long before finding any similar combination of the scholar- ship of all lands called into harmonious and effective collaboration. The wide range of subjects is indescribable. The reader may compare the oratory with which Demosthenes stirred the souls of his fellow Athenians with those colossal utterances of our own Daniel Webster ; the finest essays of Bacon with those of. Emerson ; the style of Herodotus with Macaulay ; in wit and humor the best is to be found, while all that is vulgar or debasing has been eliminated. In that most popular form of literature—fiction —the choice of writers extends from those of ancient Egypt to Bunner, Kip- ling, Stevenson and Bourget ; while in poetry, it extends from. Homer to such modern singers as Tennyson and Long- fellow. In Politics, Letters, Biography, Sciences and Philosophy, Theology and Pulpit Oratory, Drama and the Theatre, likewise, the names of the greatest ex- ponents are to be found. There are, moreover, a host of legends, fables, antiquities, mythologies, folk-songs and folk-lore, More than a Thousand Illustrations. The work is embellished with more than a thousand full-page and vignette portraits of authors, which enable the reader to obtain a perfect idea of the appearance of nearly the entire list of literary celebrities. The exceptional typographical beauty of the Library, and the attractive bindings, will endear the edition to the most fastidious book- lover. THIRTY VOLUMES. A Literary Education. No one with any aspirations to liter- ary culture or taste can afford to be without this monumental compendium. In a word, if one reads at all, it is in- valuable. With the aid of this great library which Mr. Warner and his able associates have so admirably wrought out, one May acquire in a season's easy reading a wider grasp of literature than could otherwise be obtained by the in- dustrious study of a lifetime. Although this proposition may seem startling at first, these thirty volumes really contain a well-rounded literary education. How to Secure this Great Work. A limited number of sets is being dis- tributed through the Harper’s Weekly Club to introduce and advertise the Library ; these sets are at present sup- plied at less than one-half the regular price and on easy monthly payments. Club No. 2, now forming, will close in February, after which the price will be advanced. The introductory sets available will be so quickly claimed that arrangements have been made with the Club to reserve a limited number of sets for the special benefit of YALE ALUMNI WEEKLY readers. Those who first apply, men- tioning this paper, will secure them. Applications for special prices (and sample pages) should therefore be made at once to Harper's Weekly Club, 91 Fifth Avenue, New York.