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.
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THAR LY.
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VOLUMES.
A Literary Education.
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