Life — November 9, 1899 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A Revolutionary Heroine and Five Uncomfortable Lovers. HIERE is a great deal to bo learned about the American Revolution from “Janice Meredith” (Dodd, Mead & Co,), but very little about the heroine, Janice. Tho author, Paul Leicester Ford, is a skilful historian, who knows the period thor- oughly from original sources, His descriptions of the New Jersey campaign, which culminated in the battle of Princeton, may bo accepted as accurate, Moreover, his account of tho life of the people—land- owners, tenants, and villagers — is a revelation of the times which {# more real than In aay recent Revolutionary novel, This effect is produced by the skilful use of alot of little details which could only be acquired by a close student of the period. The glimpses given of General Wash- ington, Loe, André and other historical Personages aro not the heroic imaginings of a novelist, but careful portraits by a student of history, Of course this does not apply to the dialogue, Genera! ‘LIFE* Washington's ponderous compll- ments to Janice are not, we beliove, a matter for historical Proof, ‘ « > VERY BODY in tho story is in love with Janice except her own parents, who treat her atrociously. Never was. colorless maid more beset with wooera, Thore is little in what she says or does toaccount for this popularity. But then sho had a very pretty face, and her father owned twenty thousand acres of good Jersey land, Most of her lovers aro a bad lot, Three of them either want to bully her into marringo or buy her out- right from her father. ‘There aro two good ones, however, and ono of them dies, Bat tho real hero, who is loft to win her in the end, isaflnofellow, Mr. Ford's portrait of Brereton in w consistent and sktiful ereation, He dominates tho story, and is well differentiated from the usual hero of historical romance, He has dash, resource, and fidelity — without bluster, Why he should go to so much trouble to win Janice is hard to explain — unless pretty faces wero scarce In those days in New Jersey. Janice is w rather silly and obstinate girl, who sher father “dada” and her mother “mommy.” Sho half promises to marry three meu in the course of the story, and only decides which ono she really loves when General Washington takes @ hand in the game, . . > HERE isa very modest kind 7 of verse which has a better chance of living long than tho ambitious kinds which call them- selves poetry, Some- times it {8 called “nonsense” verse — but that does not exactly cover it. Thero are three pre-eminent examples of it—Calvorley’s “ Fly Leaves,” Stophen's * Lapsus Calami,” and Gilbert's “ Bub Ballads.” It takes wit, ingenuity and undoubted cleverness to produce it — and when it's done it seems as though it wore very easy, and grow that way. It isn’t flattery to put Oliver Herford’s verses on the shelf with the other three. He wou a place there with “ Artful Anticks” and “The Bashful Earthquake,” and he has made the place more secure with “A Child’s Primer of Natural History” (Scribner's), Tho wit in these pieces is neat and delight- ful,and grotesque, The conceits ure copied from no model, and tho drawings are as funny as the ideas, ‘There {an't any competition in this fleld, and when a man fills {t well all by himself, people ought to say 60. Droch, The Beginning. NCE a cherub ran away, Wandered from the flock astray, Whilo they romped in meadow skies Like a lot of butterflies ; Long they sought him overywhero, Under clouds and in the air, Whero the laughing cherubs peek When they play at hide-and-seek ; Allin vatn, for not a trace Found they of his chubby face, Till a lntter came one day From the earth 80 far away, Written with starlet dipped In dew, Penned upon a cloudiet blue, And the truant cherub wrote In a most ungracious noto That bo'd found tho world so fair, He'd become a baby there! Now, when cherubs disappear, All the others fluttering near Whispor of the fatal day When tho first one ran away. Kate Masterson, REAT AUTHOR: That really is the most senseless story I ever wrote, His Wire: Are you going to sign your name to it? “Why, if I didn’t they wouldn't take it’ The Cause of the People. WE ste nota military peo- ple. We love peace, we love the pursults of <=> peace ; we love Its occupa- ~ “Hons; we are not a military government, and never will hecome one ; It tsagainst the genius of our institations and the spirit of the people. The government of the United States rests In the hearts and consclences of the people. It ts thelr govern- ment. It represents them, It 14 the agent of thelr will, and while we are not a military gov- ernment or a military people, we never lack for soldiers In any canse whict. the people espouse. Win, McKinley's xperch at Hoopeston, Itt. Hurrah !* There is probably not a man, woman or child in the whole country that doesn't feel a crying need for the Philippines. Or else our President is sadly mistaken io his statements, a comicbooks.com