YALE ALUMNI WEEKLY
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THE BOOK SHELF.
(Conducted by ALBERT LEE, '91.]
The first volume of Prof. W. M.
Sloane’s “Life of Napoleon Bonat
parte” has just been published by the
Century Company of New York. There
are to be four volumes in all (volume
II. being now also ready), and the last
two volumes will probably be com-
pleted for publication within the next
six months.
The mechanical part of this impor-
tant undertaking has been carried out
by the Century Company in a manner
worthy of the subject, with the result
that we have here as fine and elabor-
ate an example of book making as has
ever been shown in the preparation of
any historical work that I have had
the good fortune to see. The books
are a large octavo, handsomely bound
in French morocco. The paper is of the
finest quality and the type is un-
usually large and clear. (For this let
us be devoutly thankful!) The illus-
trations are profuse, and no effort has
been spared to make the pictorial part
of the work as striking and complete
as modern methods and resources can
produce.
There are many colored photogra-
vures (made by the best house for
that kind of work in Paris), reproduc-
ing the famous paintings illustrative
of the text. 'There are any number of
engravings, made especially for the
present history, and a profusion of
portraits. At the time of the -publica-
tion of these articles in the Century
Magazine there was some criticism
made on the apropriateness of ideal
pictures in a work of this nature. It
was suggested that the illustration of
“The infant Napoleon in the room of
his birth’? was of no value, since it
was a purely ideal conception of the
artist, and doubtless wholly inaccurate
This seems almost like hypercriticism,
although I have no doubt the critic
will find adherents among the over-
particular who think it a mistake
to introduce ideal pictures into a his-
tory. Yet, on the other hand, it would
be a poorly ilustrated history that
barred this class of ilustration entire-
bs
ly. The picture of the snowball fight!
is an ideal picture, but it is valuable \.
because it ilustrates an event which
we know occurred. We are not so«
sure about the lady in white gazing”
wistfully at the cradle. We even doubt.
if this is a good portrait of Mrs. Bona-~
parte. . Still it is a fine picture, and
an addition to the artistic features of \
the book, and for this reason it de-,
serves the place it holds, and the man t
who objects to its presence no doubt.
has a bad digestion or a liver. :
To pass to the more important por- ‘
tion of this review, the history itself, .
it seems no exaggeration to assert that
Mr. Sloane’s work is beyond question |
the best history of Napoleon ever writ-'
ten in English, and certainly the most:
complete and impartial record of the
man and his times ever set down in:
any language. The critics of France’
and England, commenting upon the
instalments as they appeared in maga-
zine form, were almost unanimous over
this latter point. There were some
who professed to believe that Napo-
leon “was only too recently of the liv-
ing for his history to be written with-
out bias; but the general sentiment
has been opposed to this, and the stu-
dents of the Napoleonic era have wel-
comed the American explorer into
their realm. Napoleon is perhaps not
long enough of the dead for a French-
man or an Englishman to be able to
write impartially of his life. The shad-
ow of the man has not yet by any
means faded away from the field of
modern events in HBurope, and there
are still remaining some of Napoleon’s
finger marks on the map. But for an
American to face the intricate problem
and the colossal labor of setting down
Bonaparte’s life as it was—with its
motives and a true account of its acts
—was possible even within a century
of Waterloo. Prof. Sloane has proved
that; and his work will endure.
The life of Napoleon was so full of
startling deeds and of famous men,
and of events, each worthy in itself
of a separate history, that most of us
who have read the record of the great
man’s career have obtained only a
very general impression of it, and few
of us ever learned much of his doings _
previous to Toulon. There is so much
more of living importance to the world
in the man’s deeds after he became a
soldier of some note, than there is be-
fore that, that the minor record has
fallen to a lesser importance than it
should. But, as a matter of fact, it is
only by a careful study and a full Use |
pmo ie eh
derstanding of Napoleon’s early days
that one can come near comprehending
and appreciating the true character of
the man.
Prof. Sloane has devoted much time
and research to this period, and he
makes the youth of Bonaparte more
interesting and more clear than any
author has ever done before—so far as
I know. It is marvelous that, with the
obstacles he had to surmount as a
youth, Napoleon should have succeed-
ed as he did. No ordinary man could
have. Herein lay his genius. All this
Prof. Sloane makes us see as we have
never seen it before, and herein espec-
ially, to my mind, rests thé#value of
that portion of the history contained
in Volume T.
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The Mechanies Lectures.
The Mechanics’ course of leetures in
the Scientific School, which has already
begun, has on its list some lectures
Which will be particularly well illus-
trated. There are four of this character
by Prof. D. Cady Eaton on different
Egyptian subjects. Another lecture
“with fine slides is to be given on ‘‘The
Battefield of Gettysburg,’ by Mr.
Buehler who has gathered a particular-
Iy good selection of photographs for
this lecture. The names on the list
besides those mentioned are Prof. W. H.
Brewer, Dr. E. H. Jenkins, Prof. Had-
ley, Mr. Burton, Mr. Bumstead and
Prof. A. E. Verrill. The dates and
subjects are given in the Weekly’s
musical and literary program.
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The Yale Shingle.
The Yale Shingle, the annual publi-
cation of the Law School, will be edited
this year by N. Canaee, ’97 L. S8.. It
will be published about May 1, 1897 and
will contain the following articles:
“Class Poem,” E. C. Snyder; “Junior
Year,’ Henry Merwin; ‘‘Senior Year,”
Francis Parsons; ‘‘Kent Club,” R.
i oostolls:: ‘Law. ; Journal,”’: Roger
Baldwin; ‘Social,’ J. D. Thomson;
“Religions,” R. J. Thompson; ‘“Ath-
meee eC. da, -AVETY, ins ‘Moot
Court,’ G. B. Thayer; also an article
to be written by a member of the fac-
ulty, as yet undecided.
There will be half tone photographs
of every member of the Senior class,
and three large autotypes, one of the
New Front of the Law School Build-
ing, one of the Faculty, and one of the
Law Journal Board.
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 C
UNION SQUARE
NEW YORK.
hains sent
upon request.
Andover Congratulates Herself.
The Phillipian congratulates Andover
with unusual warmth on the remarkable
record made in the business management
of the football team in the past season.
It is not possible to give an idea of the
satisfaction felt at Andover and ex-
pressed by the paper except by the repro-
duction of the following editorial on the
subject in the Phillipian: ‘‘Andover’s
reputation as the foremost among pre-
paratory schools has for a long time been
such a well established fact that we have
almost come to think it impossible to
make any great addition to it. But in
forming that reputation she surely has
made no one record which could be any
more desirable than the one we have
made this year in the matter of football
subscriptions. Itis safe to say that there
is probably no other school in the coun-
try, as large as Andover and where the
student has as much liberty as Andover
students have ‘in these matters, which
can boast, aS we can, of having closed
football accounts with no subscriptions
whatever due from any one in the school.
This is indeed a novel situation for An-
dover, but certainly a most desirable one
and one on which we may well congratu-
late ourselves. And let us hope that this
record may be equalled, since it cannot
- be beaten by every manager’s report in
the future. And this is possib!e if we will
each dio our part towards it.”
——_— + & ——___
Prof. William H. Riddle, instructor
in mathematics at the University of
Minnesota, was fatally injured in a
railway accident on a grade crossing
January 9, dying two weeks later. He
was only twenty-three years old.
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-
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Although Charles Dudley Warner is the
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A
Gilbert Runkle as associates, the assist-
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A Few of the Famous Contributors.
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THIRTY VOLUMES.
A Literary Education.
No one with any aspirations to liter-
ary culture or taste can afford to be
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first, these thirty volumes really contain
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Club No. 2, now forming, will close in
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The introductory sets available will be
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