Life — June 6, 1907 — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

foundations, and there seems to be a ten- dency to-day for historical writers to mass their subjects in such a way that the reader gets an instantancous bird’s-eye view. Per- haps a good illustration of this would be to say that we are enabled to look at history through the stereoscope. ‘A recent book published by E. P. Put- nam’s Sons, ‘The Greatness and Decline of Rome,” by Guglielmo Ferrero, im- presses us with the great advance made in historical writing. Just such a book as this on Rome is needed. But before perusing it the reader should first go over his Gib- bon; then Ferrero’s method would be all the more striking. ILL Senator Chandler, sometime Secretary of the Navy, bring suit against Winston Churchill, novelist and re-creator of New Hampshire, for libeling the late Ruel Durkee? Would such an ac- tion “lie”? Can you, in the eye of the law, libel a dead man when, for purposes of fiction, you distort his character? Is an author at liberty to point a moral and ado his tale by making the memory of a just man odious? What are the privileges of the historical novelist, anyway? These questions, apropos of “Coniston” and Jethro Bass—who was Ruel Durkee in the flesh—remain unsettled. The pro- priety of Mr. Churchill’s course was chal- lenged by Senator Chandler as long ago as last November in a little pamphlet printed at Concord. It set forth certain tes- timony in behalf of Durkee by men who knew him well, arrayed it against the novelist’s “caricature,” and put these pertinent queries: As you have acknowledged that the orig- inal of Jethro Bass was Ruel Durkee—state which of the’base things you have imputed to Jethro Bass, Ruel Durkee did, and which he did not do. What facts do you know, or have credible evidence of, which were, in any way, dishon- orable or discreditable to Ruel Durkee? What are the privileges as to real persons of an historical novelist? Can he fairly make them infamous characters ; that some of the things they did a they did not do, and not specify what they did and what they did not do? * & * 2 questions were embarrassing to Colonel Churchill (the title was not ac- quired in Missouri, but in New Hamp- shire), who has emulated the discretion of Brer Rabbit. The way of the reformer is hard, and he has other things to occupy his attention—chiefly his ambition “to make New Hampshire a model commonwealth.” Hence he feels that he has neither the time nor the strength for personal controversy. But Senator Chandler will not be denied. He has rallied around him some of Dur- kee’s stanchest friendsand adherents—con- spicuously, Mr. N. E. Reed, attomey and POPE-HARTFORD PRICE FULLY EQUIPPED $2750 EX’ ION TOP $150 EXTRA Find, if you can, a car with as clean a record. The personal experience of every Pope-Hartford owner in 1906 is your assurance and safeguard for 1907. Immunity from trouble, unfailing uniformity of performance—these two vital virtues have been rendered doubly certain in Model Ly the remarkable record of Model F. Last year's best has been immeasurably bettered. You have in the 1907 Pope-Hartford a 25-30 H. P. car as close to mechanical infallibility as unsur- passed Pope facilities and invaluable Pope experience can possibly make it. Model L Runabout Equipment $2750 Two bucket seats in front, third seat removable Pope Manufacturing Company HARTFORD, CONN. Members Aswuciation Licensed Avtomolite Manufacturers r iL ‘This signatare ‘We have over 30,000 testimonials. ALLEN =EAS For FREE Trial Package, also Free se of FOOT-EASE Sanitary A Certain Cure for Tired, Hot, Aching Feet. Qos BOCA _sr0k of FOOT-EASE seot "7 DO NOT ACCEPT A SUBSTITUTE. on every box. dress, Allen S. Olmsted, LeRoy.N, A COOL BREEZE OFF THE WATER IN OUR HOME OR OFFICE It_moistens and purifies the air, removing all dust and impurities and gives a delicious coolness to the air in a room, N A SICK-ROOM it 25 is imperative, clears it of all germs, prevents contagion and cools and soothes the patient. Installed like an electric fan. Inex- pensive, efficient. Write for particulars. JOHN W. FRIES, 47 LAFAYETTE STREET, NEW YORK comicbooks.com