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About Yale Alumni Magazine | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 1897)
YALE ALUMNI WEEKLY THE BOOK SHELF. (Conducted by ALBERT LEE, '91.] The wise and the fortunate ones who have read “Little Mr. Thimble- finger and His Queer Country” will remember that just as Buster John and Sweetest Susan and Drusilla were about to leave those wonderful regions, they were asked if they knew a man named Aaron; and upon replying that they did, they were informed that Aaron, the son of Ben Ali, knew the language of animals and that they could make him divulge this marvel- ous secret by twisting his left thumb backwards and making a cross mark on it. Therefore, at the first oppor- tunity, Buster John exerted this talis- man, to the great amazement of Aaron, who was forced to obey the mystic command and instruct the children as to how they, too, might understand the talk of the animals. This forms the opening incident in Mr. Joel Chandler Harris’s ‘Story of Aaron” (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.) and it is plain to see that the op- portunities thus afforded might be ex- ceedingly interesting. Mr. Harris takes advantage of them in his usual happy manner, and the three children be- come the confidents of a number of interesting animals that live on the plantation with them. The first result of the acquaintance with the talk of beasts is the placing of Buster John and Sweetest Susan upon terms of friendship with Timoleon, the Black Stallion, an animal whose reputation had hitherto been one of fierceness and intractability. The boy and the girl take a ride on his back, to the terror of their mother, but to the great satisfaction of their grandfather, who had always maintained that Timoleon was a gentle beast, in spite of the fact that he crippled stable boys every now and then. But Aaron, the son of Ben Ali, had always been on terms of friendship with Timoleon, and Aaron is truly a wonderful per- son. Mr. Oliver Herford’s illustrations add greatly to the appearance of the volume. Another book by the same author is “Sister Jane’ (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.). This was intended b} Mr. Harris, I believe, (by his publish: ers, I feel almost certain) as a novel a long story with a plot, a beginning, a climax, and a conclusion. But “Sister Jane” is really not a novel; it is a picture of the life in a little Georgia corner, in those days pefore the war, when slavery was a part Of the local civilization. The slaves that . Mr. Harris writes about in “Sister Jane” are picturesque, and their mas- ters are not brutal or overbearing; “Sister Jane’ will never rank in the same class with ‘‘Uncle Remus,” but any one who wishes for pleasant, peaceful reading may well take up the book. Those who like the opposite kind ¢f entertainment will find a very Ser- viceable volume for making a railroad journey pass quickly in ‘Don Belasco, of Key West’ (New York: The Home Publishing Co.). The author is the prolific and versatile Mr. A. C. Gun- ter, who has already gievn us several “Mr.’s’” from various cities, the most famous being one Barnes; and now we have a Don who is mixed up wita adventures connected with the Cubana revolution—a very serviceable back- ground for Mr. Gunter’s imagination to work against. Mr. Bret Harte’s latest collection of Short Stories is entitled ‘‘Barker’s Luck” (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.), and they may well be said _ to rank among his better efforts. Some, of course, are of a higher order of merit than others, and among these we may place the title story and ‘“‘A Yellow Dog.” Mr. Harte’s ability to define character without scarcely touching upon his subject is one of his greatest’ qualities, and this is especially exam- plified in the case of Kitty i “Barker’s Luck.”’ ———____ +> ———— The Graduates’ Club held a meeting on Tuesday evening, February 9, and elected the officers proposed a week previous by the nominating commit- tee, published at that time in the Yass | Alumni Weekly. a en Rey ee Set a aOR Scientific Monthly for February. The Scientific Monthly appeared February 5, with the following arti- cles: “Appendicitis,” by Walter B. Jennings, Ph.B.; “The Inhabitants of Alaska,” by Erastus T. Tefft, ‘98S.: “The Milwaukee River Flushing Tun- nel,” by Lawrence Fitch, ’98S., “August Von Kekle,” by Claude H. Miller, ’98S.; “Argentiferous Lead Smelting at Leadville,’ by Frankiin Ballou, Jr., ’99S. Besides these arti- cles there were the regular depart- ments, viz.: Editor’s Notes, Scientific Notes, Book Notices, The Month, Alumni Notes, and a Digest of Fresh- man Physics compiled by R. C. Lanphier, ’97S. 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. THE NEW €ROWN VIOLET s st Ws NG: + WN, =i The Latest and Finest Violet. Locus MY ‘The Crown Orchidia STEER ADAM THE NEW CROWN SERIES In seven delicious odors, extra quality. ‘The Crown Violet The Crown Ambre ‘The Crown Chypre yy) Uhe Crown Crab-Apple Blossoms ‘The Crown Peau d’Espagne f i Each in a beautiful Carton, For sale by all leading dealers in Perfumery. Crown Perfumery Co., London, Makers of the universal favorites, CRaAB-APPLE BLOSSOMS ana MATSUKITA The Crown White Rose Price $1.25, i — PERFUMES and the CROWN LAVENDER SALTS asked for all over the world. 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 lay claim to being ‘‘ well read.” The vast majority of educated people finish 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. 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. THAR LY. The 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.
