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About Yale Alumni Magazine | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1897)
as YALE ALUMNI WEEKLY THE BOOK SHELF. [Conducted by ALBERT LEE, '91.] . The publication, after his death, of Mr. James Sager Norton’s ‘‘Addresses and Fragments in Prose and Verse,” (Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co.) makes us feel all the more keenly the loss of a Yale man who could have been, had he chosen, as prominent in literature as he was in the law; and, as we read these fragments, we cannot but regret that such a clever poet and witty essayist should have thrown himself away into that hospitable profession which absorbs almost every man who graduates from college with- out a taste for any particular calling in life. When I say that he threw himself away, I do not wish it to be understood that I consider Mr. Nor- ton’s energies were wasted in the fieid that he selected, (for we know only too well how much good he did and how much success he reaped as a lawyer); but I feel, after reading this posthumous collection of Mr. Nor- ton’s writings that the fate which gave Chicago an able lawyer robbed American literature of a brilliant ornament. Even from the few metri- cal selections included in this volume, it is plain to see that Mr. Norton vossessed the gift of rhythm and rhyme to an unusual degree, and a versatility beyond the ordinary. To say which of. the poems is the best would be a difficult task, but one which especially appeals to me is that addressed to the late Eugene Field. There is a trick of versification in it that I do not remember having seen before in English, although I think Victor Hugo in an echo lyric, adopted a similar method. The play upon the words comes in an expansion of a re- peated exclamation, as ‘‘Alas! Alas! a lass she is!’ and, ‘‘So made, so made, so maidenly !” The final stanza reads: ‘“‘But having seen your face, so mild, So pale, so full of animus, She can but cry in accents wild, Eugene! Eugene! You genius!’’ The prose fragments have a dis- tinct literary value, and the addresses delivered upon. certein Yale occasions | are almost models of after-dinner | oratory. According to Mr. BE. G. Ma- son, who contributes an introduction — to the volume, James Russell Lowell. was of a similar opinion. Perhaps one of the cleverest allusions in any of the speeches was made at a dinver of the Harvard Association at which Mr. Norton prefaced his remarks by thanking his audience for the unex-— pected opportunity afforded him of beholding so many Harvard men “pure” and “simple.” Miss Alice E. Sawtelle, who took her degree of Ph. D. in the English Deé- partment of Yale in 1896 has published her doctoral thesis, “The Sources of Spenser’s Classical Mythology” (Bos- ton: Silver, Burdett & Company.) Prof. Cook, who is the head of our English Department at Yale, and to whom the little volume is dedicated, has contributed a short prefatory note in which he says he thinks there ought to be ‘fa modest place in col- leges and schools for a work of this rature; certainly where Spenser is studied, * * *”’ and I guess he is right. The thesis appears to cover the ground, and it must represent an immense amount of labor and fre- search into ‘‘sources.” But from the point of view of one who prefers the thyme of Omar to the wisdom of the world’s philosophers, it seems. that this young woman has put a vast amount of thought and energy into a labor that will really make no man happy,—and it is one of the provinces of women to make men happy. There died in Germany not long ago a pro- fessor who had devoted the greater portion of his life to the study of the Noun. On his death bed he said that the only thing he regretted was that he had not given up all his time to the Dative Case. When I go to the theater I like to see a play that will make me laugh, not one that will bring the lumps to my throat and cause the lady “Sitting in front of me to sniffie. This same leads me tog. characteristic doubtless prefer a novel in which the pathetic eiement. is limited. or, Co.) and ‘‘Mademuiseile Bianche,”’ Pa. better, getic wholly absent. Persons similarly con- Stituted will therefore probably not care ch about reading “Grip,” by John nge Winter,” (New York: ‘Stone & imball), although, aside from the pleasantness of the sub- ject, the story, as such, is interesting. I don’t like to read about people in hard luck; give me the feliow who has money to burn and an inelination to burn it, green fields, fair women and music. You can make just as good literature out of these materials as you can out of want and misery. Bet- ter—for the first kind will pro- mote the gaiety of nations. In ‘Grip’’ there is a poor devil of an: English- man whose best girl marries a French- man, and the Britisher goes to Paris to revenge himself on the lucky man. He gets into a fight with the Paris police and cracks one fellow’s head. (By the way, Mr. Winter, or Mrs.—, “gens’’ is a collective noun, and if you insist upon using French when “policeman” is a very good English word, vou snould avoid saying a “gens de police,’—a police ‘“people.’’) Well, to return to our unfortunate, the Englishman is sent to the penitentiary for fifteen years, and a good part of the book is taken up with a descrip- tion of his sufferings in the Toulon prison. Of course, we know all the time that the hero is going tc get out, and he does, but it is unpleasant to hear of his experiences. The charac- ter study throughout the book is excellently done, and the main schenie of the plot is strong. It is to be re- gretted that the author’s' resources were not sufficient to avoid the use of the old device of having the little sister who looks just as the older sis- ter used tc look; but so long as every- body is happy in the end, we should be satisfied. The cover that contains this story is another of this publish- ing house’s successes. We have also received ‘‘A Christmas Masque of Saint Roch,” by M. E. M. Davis. (Chicseor:. 4. C- McClurg & John D. Barry, (New York: Stone & Kimball.) <>< ie SB ie John Penn Brock, 1900, of Lebanon, has been appointed temporary ‘captain of the Freshman. crew. py — 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. A Memorial to Nathan Hale. Revy.:3... BD. -Burrell; - D... D.,,.~ °87, preached in chapel Sunday morning and addressed the University meeting in the evening in Dwight Hall. At the Uniiversity(meeting he spoke on Nathan Hale and during the course of his re- marks said: “T understand that a iowernent is on foot to memoralize, in some proper way, the distinguished sons of Yale. If this shall be done I sincerely trust that Nathan Hale who was gradu- ated in the Class of 1773, will not be forgotten. The most eloquent preacher in New York City is the silent, bronze figure of Hale, standing in City Hall Square, bound for execution, and declaring to the multitudes who pass along Broadway such truths as duty, moral heroism and manhood. What could be better for the inspiration of our undergraduates than to place on the Colleze Campus a similar statue of the patriot spy?” <p Lin eee atl Contents of January “ Lit.” The January number of the Yale Liter-_ ary Magazine was put on sale about a week ago and contained the following articles: ‘“‘The House of Rad,” by F. Tilney, ’°97; ‘In Clear Dream,” poem by F. Wickes, °98; “Lowell’s Critical Es- says,’ by N. A. Smyth, ’97; ‘““God’s Will,’’ poem by R. L. Munger, ’97; “In Shadow,”’ Dv to. P. eeeconed, eae “Song,” poem by R. L. Munger, 97» Savannah La Mar,”’ Wickes, °’98; and _ portfolios Streeter, 98, D. DeF. Burrell, Hincks, ‘os, 11. D; Gallaudet, , ee . B. Moore, ’99, and R. Hooker, ’99. “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 niajority 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 cream of the literature of all ages. 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 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 heavy 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 add a 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,
