This page needs to be proofread.
666
BRIEFER MENTION
Hither and Thither in Germany, by William Dean Howells (illustrated, 16mo, 131 pages; Harper), undertakes the by no means slight task of ignoring the intervening upheaval and writing as if such a thing as war had not occurred. This circumstance, combined with the tranquil, orderly nature of Mr. Howells' style, gives the volume an almost antiquarian flavour. The Mr. and Mrs. March of Their Silver Wedding Journey are here conducted with care through descriptions of Hamburg, Leipsic, Weimar, Berlin, and the Rhine country. On the last page Mrs. March remarks that they "romped" through Germany, but that is merely a touch of homeward-bound hyperbole.
A Sprortsman's Wanderings, by J. G. Millais (8vo, 298 pages; Houghton Mifflin, Boston), reflects the catholic taste and broad horizon of the man whose career has followed such diverse trails as those of soldier and artist, naturalist and landscape gardener. Here is a readable blend of lively reminiscence and first-hand observation, without verbal or scientific excess baggage.
The American Credo: A Contribution Toward the Interpretation of the National Mind, by George Jean Nathan and H. L. Mencken (12mo, 191 pages; Knopf), lists some five hundred tersely stated articles of belief—superstitions and near-superstitions—in some of which almost any American will see certain facets of his mind unflatteringly mirrored. More than half of the volume is occupied by its preface, for which the authors advance the one excuse "that, having read it, one need not read the book"—a grateful choice.
The Quest of the Ballad, by W. Roy Mackenzie (12mo, 247 pages; Princeton University Press). Professor Mackenzie, of the English Department of Washington University, has recorded enthusiastically his experiences while collecting ballads from delightful "touchy" old men and women in Nova Scotia. His volume contains suggestive notes upon the nature of variations in the old songs from singer to singer, and concerning ballads of well-attested local events where the proportion between the actual and the imagined may be observed—notes of great value to students of folk-literature.
