On the Road to Poland. -- Extensive Grain-Fields. -- Polish
Peasantry. -- A Russian General. -- No Evidence of Oppression. --
Warsaw and its Surroundings. -- Mingled Squalor and Elegance. --
Monuments of the City. -- Polish Nobility. -- Circassian Troops.
-- Polish Language. -- The Jews of Warsaw. -- Political Condition
of Poland. -- Public Parks. -- The Famous Saxony Gardens. --
Present Commercial Prosperity. -- Local Sentiment. -- Concerning
Polish Ladies and Jewish Beauties.
From Moscow to Warsaw one travels a long and rather dreary seven
hundred miles, the first half of which is characterized by such
sameness, verst after verst, as to render the journey extremely
monotonous. The country through which we passed is heavily wooded,
and affords some attractive sport to foreign hunters who resort
hither for wolf-shooting. In the summer season these repulsive
creatures are seldom dangerous to man, except when they go mad (which
in fact they are rather liable to do), in which condition they rush
through field and forest heedless of hunters, dogs, or aught else,
biting every creature they meet; and such animals, man or beast,
surely die of hydrophobia. The wolves are at all seasons more or less
destructive to small domestic stock, and sometimes in the severity of
a hard winter they will gather in large numbers and attack human
beings under the craze of ravenous hunger. But as a rule they are
timid, and keep out of the way of man. There are also some desirable
game-birds in these forests which are sought for by sportsmen, but
the wolves are all that the foreign hunter seeks. The wild bison
still exist here, though it is forbidden to shoot them, as they are
considered to belong to the Crown, but the gradual diminution of
their numbers from natural causes threatens their extinction. If they
were not fed by man during the long winters they would starve. The
Emperor sometimes presents a specimen to foreign zoological gardens.
As we advanced, the country put on a different aspect. The beautiful
lavender color of the flax-fields interspersed with the peach-bloom
of broad, level acres of buckwheat produced a cheerful aspect. These
fields were alternated by miles of intensely green oats, rye, and
other cereals; indeed, we have seen no finer display of grain-fields
except in western America. The hay-makers in picturesque groups were
busy along the line of the railroad, nine tenths of them being women.
The borders of Poland exhibited a scene of great fertility and
successful agricultural enterprise. As we crossed the frontier a
difference in the dress of the common people was at once obvious. Men
no longer wore red shirts outside of their pantaloons, and the
scarlet disappeared from the dress of the women, giving place to more
subdued hues. The stolid square faces of the Russian peasantry were
replaced by a more intelligent cast of features, while many
representatives of the Jewish race began to appear, especially about
the railroad stations, where they were sure to be offering something
for sale. At the frontier town of Brest the extensive fortifications
attracted notice, where considerable bodies of infantry and artillery
were also observed. These elaborate fortifications are said to
embrace a line of twenty miles, and are kept fully up to a war
standard. As to the defensive condition of Russian forts, Alexander
III. considers prevention better than cure, and is at all times
prepared for an emergency. The dwelling-houses which began to come
into view were of a much superior class to those left behind us in
Russia proper. Log-cabins entirely disappeared and thatched roofs
were rarely seen, while good substantial frame-houses appropriately
painted became numerous. Neat little flower-plats were seen fenced in
adjoining the dwellings, containing pretty shrubbery, flowers, and
fruit-trees. Lines of bee-hives found place near the dwellings, and
everything was suggestive of thrift and industry.
On the same train in which we had travelled from Moscow was Prince
Gurkon, commander-in-chief of all the armies of Russia. He was a man
past the middle age, with a countenance of pleasing expression, not
wanting in firmness, but still quite genial. The Prince was almost
covered on the left breast with the insignia of various orders. He
was in full military uniform, attended by a staff of a dozen
officers, and being on an official tour of inspection was received
with a salvo of guns at Brest. He was inclined to conversation, and
was not a little curious about America, concerning whose political
and military status he had many questions to ask. Like all of his
countrymen he expressed hearty sympathy with our Republic, and spoke
intelligently of American history and progress. He had special
respect for General Grant as a soldier, and remarked that fortunately
Russia had disposed of the terrible incubus of serfdom at a less
bitter and bloody cost than America incurred in the suppression of
negro slavery.
After crossing the borders of Poland, the thoughtful stranger cannot
divest himself of an earnest even though silent sympathy with the
people who are so thoroughly disfranchised in a political sense; and
yet truth compels us to say, that few if any outward signs of
oppression met the eye. We must confess that a decided effort to
discover something of the sort proved quite a failure. The masses of
the people are cheerful and talkative in the extreme, exhibiting a
strong contrast in this respect to those of Russia, who have a
chronic expression of dreariness and inanity, and who, as a rule, are
essentially silent and sad. With their national existence
annihilated, so to speak, we had been led to anticipate discontent
and grumbling among the Poles, neither of which we encountered.
Warsaw is seemingly as thoughtless over these matters and as gay as
any capital in Europe. As regards the nationality of Poland, her fate
is certainly decided for many years to come, if indeed it be not
settled for all time. And without prejudice or any false sentiment,
one is forced to think perhaps this is best for Poland. Dismembered
as she is, every new generation must amalgamate her more and more
completely with the three powers who have appropriated her territory
and divided the control of her people among them. We continue to
speak of Poland as a distinct country, though the name is all that
remains of its ancient independence. The map of Europe has long since
been reconstructed in this region,--Austria, Germany, and Russia
coolly absorbing the six millions of Poles, and Warsaw being the
capital of Russian Poland.
It was at the close of the second day's journey since leaving Moscow
that we approached Warsaw in a course nearly due west, witnessing one
of those fiery sunsets which are only seen in their intensity towards
the close of summer in the north. The gorgeous light escorted us into
the capital across the long and lofty iron bridge which stretches
from the Praga suburb over the broad, sandy bed of the Vistula. This
remarkable bridge is one thousand nine hundred feet in length, and
was designed by the same architect that superintended the
construction of the Nicholas Bridge at St. Petersburg. The curtain of
night fell in sombre folds as we drove through the streets of the old
city amid a blaze of artificial light, the town being gayly illumined
on account of its being the birthday of Alexander III. It was
observed that this illumination was in some respects peculiar, long
rows of gas-jets, extending by means of temporary pipes along the
gutters by the sidewalks, supplementing the blaze in the windows of
stores and dwelling-houses, so that one seemed to be passing between
two narrow streams of liquid fire. It is a long drive from the
railroad station to the Hotel Victoria, but when it is once reached,
the traveller finds himself located in the centre of Warsaw and in
very comfortable quarters.
The city extends about six miles along the left bank of the Vistula
and upon high land. The river--which is navigable, though at the time
of our visit it was very low--extends the whole length of Poland from
north to south, its source being in the Carpathians and its mouth at
Dantzic. The city, which covers a great surface in proportion to the
number of its inhabitants, is enclosed by ramparts pierced by ten
gates, and is defended by a castle of modern construction. The
fortification is well kept up to a war-standard, especially in the
department of modern artillery. The garrison was drilling at the time
of our visit in the management of some new and heavy guns. Warsaw has
nearly half a million of inhabitants, one third of whom are Jews, who
monopolize the main branches of trade, and who appear in an
exaggerated aspect of their repulsive peculiarities. There is but one
synagogue worthy of mention belonging to this people, who certainly
would require more were they composed of a race adhering strictly to
their religious professions. The temple referred to is an extremely
plain, unpretentious one, which is capable of accommodating twelve
or fifteen hundred persons, and is generally visited by strangers in
the city. The prevailing religion in Poland is Roman Catholic, and
doubtless much of the bitterness of feeling which exists between this
people and the Russians is caused by religious differences, fomented
by the Catholic priests.
On arriving in a new city, an experienced traveller will
instinctively seek some suitable point from which to obtain a clear
and comprehensive view of the entire locality, which will thus become
mapped upon the brain, so that all after movements are prosecuted
with a degree of intelligence otherwise impossible. Here the St.
Petersburg railway station in the Praga district affords the desired
view. From hence a vast panorama spreads out before the eye in every
direction. On the banks of the Vistula opposite may be seen the
citadel, the older portions of the town, with its narrow streets and
lofty houses, the castle and its beautiful gardens, as well as the
newer sections of the city, including the public promenades and
groves about the royal villa of Lazienki. Viewed from Praga as it
slopes upward, the effect of the city is very pleasing, and a closer
examination of its churches, former palaces, and fine public
buildings confirms the favorable impression of its architectural
grandeur. This view should be supplemented by one of a bird's-eye
character to be obtained from the cupola of the Lutheran Church,
which will more clearly reveal the several large squares and main
arteries, bordered by graceful lime-trees, thus completing a
knowledge of its topography.
In spite of its misfortunes, Warsaw ranks to-day as the third city in
importance as well as in population in the Russian empire. It was not
made the capital of Poland until 1566, when it succeeded to Cracow.
It is now but the residence of a viceroy representing the Emperor of
Russia. The town is heavily garrisoned by the soldiers of the Tzar;
indeed, they are seen in goodly numbers in every town and village of
any importance, and are represented even at the small railroad
stations on the line from Moscow. War and devastation have deprived
the city of many of its national and patriotic monuments, but its
squares are still ornamented with numerous admirable statues, and
with a grand array of fine public buildings. In the square of the
Royal Castle there was observed a colossal bronze statue of Sigismund
III.; in another quarter a bronze statue of Copernicus was found. It
will be remembered that he was a Pole by birth and was educated at
Cracow, his name being Latinized from Kopernik. There is a
thirteenth-century cathedral close by, whose pure Gothic contrasts
strongly with the Tartar style so lately left behind in middle
Russia. This old church was very gray and crumbling, very dirty, and
very offensive to the sense of smell,--partly accounted for by
obvious causes, since about the doors, both inside and out, swarmed a
vile-smelling horde of ragged men, women, and children, sad and
pitiful to look upon. The square close at hand has more than once
been the scene of popular demonstrations which have baptized it in
the life-blood of the citizens. The finest public buildings and
elegant residences were found strangely mingled with wooden hovels;
magnificence and squalor are located side by side, inexorably jumbled
together. We remember no other city in all Europe which has so many
private palaces and patrician mansions as may be seen in an hour's
stroll about Warsaw; but it must be admitted that the architecture is
often gaudy and meretricious. Here for centuries there were but two
grades of society; namely, the nobles and the peasants. Intermediate
class there was none. A Polish noble was by law a person who
possessed a freehold estate, and who could prove his descent from
ancestors formerly possessing a freehold, who followed no trade or
commerce, and who was at liberty to choose his own habitation. This
description, therefore, included all persons who were above the rank
of burghers or peasants. The despised Jews were never considered in
the social scale at all, and were looked upon by both nobles and
peasants as a necessary evil contingent upon trade. They were not
even subject to military service until the Russians assumed power.
Now the Jews enter in large numbers into the service of the Tzar,
especially as musicians forming the military bands. Being intelligent
and to a certain degree educated, they are also employed in places
where recruits only fit for service in the lower ranks would not be
trusted, and we were told that they make excellent common soldiers.
Where the great iron bridge which spans the Vistula joins the shore
on the right bank, one comes upon the barracks of the Circassian
troops who form a portion of the local garrison. Here we chanced to
witness some of their peculiar cavalry drill, where, among other
manoeuvres, the exercise of dashing towards an object placed upon the
ground and catching it up on the point of the sword or lance while
the rider is at full speed, was practised. These soldiers are most
efficient as cavalry, being what is termed born horsemen. Russians,
Circassians, and other Eastern troops garrison Warsaw, while Polish
soldiers are sent elsewhere for good and sufficient political
reasons. The support of the entire scheme of power in Russia, as in
Germany and Austria, turns upon military organization and efficiency;
hence this element crops out everywhere, and its ramifications
permeate all classes in Warsaw, as at St. Petersburg or Berlin.
In passing through Poland the country presents to the eye of the
traveller almost one unbroken plain, admirably adapted to
agriculture, so much so that it has long been called the granary of
Europe. The Polish peasants are extremely ignorant, if possible even
more so than the same class in Russia proper; but they are a
fine-looking race, strongly built, tall, active, and well-formed.
There are schools in the various districts, but the Polish language
is forbidden to be taught in them; only the Russian tongue is
permitted. The peasantry have pride enough to resist this in the only
way which is open to them; namely, by keeping their children from
attending the schools. Therefore, education not being compulsory, as
it is in Norway and Sweden, little benefit is derived from the
common-school system as here sustained. With a view utterly to
abolish the Polish language, it is even made a penal offence to use
it in commercial transactions.
The Polish peasantry as a whole are by no means a prepossessing race.
Naturally dull, they are still more demoralized and degraded by an
unconquerable love of intoxicants, the dram being unfortunately both
cheap and potent. In every village and settlement, no matter how
small, there are always Jews who are ready and eager to administer to
this base appetite, and to rob the poor ignorant people of both
health and money. It is unpleasant to speak harshly of the Jewish
race, especially as we know personally some highly cultured,
responsible, and eminently respectable men who form a decided
exception to the general rule; but the despised and wandering
children of Israel, wherever we have met them, certainly appear to
exercise an evil influence upon the people among whom they dwell. We
record the fact with some hesitation, but with a strong sense of
conviction. Poland appears to be after Palestine a sort of Land of
Promise to the Jews; but they are certainly here, if nowhere else, a
terrible scourge upon the native race. Their special part of the
town--the Jews' Quarter--is a mass of filth, so disgusting, so
ill-smelling, that one would think it must surely breed all sorts of
contagious diseases; but here they live on in unwholesome dens, amid
undrained, narrow streets and lanes, often in almost roofless
tenements. Bayard Taylor wrote of the Polish Jews: "A more vile and
filthy race, except the Chinese, cannot disgust the traveller." Here,
as in other parts of the world, the Hebrew people have a history full
of vicissitudes, and are composed of various tribes, Galician,
Moldavian, Hungarian, and native Polish; but in their general
characteristics they are identical, being universally wedded to filth
and greed. While they are strangely interesting as a study they are
never attractive, with their cringing, servile manners and dirty
gabardines, their cadaverous faces, piercing black eyes, their hooked
noses and ringleted locks. Wherever met they are keen-witted,
avaricious, patient, frugal, long-suffering. The race is now banished
from what is known as Great Russia, and so far as Government is
concerned is barely tolerated in Russian Poland; but to drive them
hence would be to decimate the country in population.
The present political condition of Poland is the more impressive, as
we remember that she was a great civil power when Russia was little
better than semi-barbarous. Now neither books nor papers are
permitted to be published in the native tongue, and all volumes
printed in the Polish language are confiscated wherever found, even
in private libraries. The public library of Warsaw, which contained
some hundred and sixty thousand bound volumes, was conveyed to
St. Petersburg long ago, and Polish literature may virtually be said
to be suppressed. While becoming conversant with these facts, it was
natural as an American that we should speak plainly of the outrageous
character of such arbitrary rule. The intelligent and courteous
Russian with whom we were conversing could not see why it was any
worse for his Government to claim possession and direction of Poland
than it was for England to do the same in the instance of Ireland.
This was a style of arguing which it was not very easy to meet. "It
became a political necessity for us to take our portion of Poland and
to govern it," said the gentleman to whom we refer, "but she is far
more of a burden than an advantage to Russia. Only the common people
of this country--the masses--have been really benefited by the
present state of affairs."
The "Avenues" is the popular drive and promenade of the citizens of
Warsaw, bordered by long lines of trees and surrounded on all sides
by elegant private residences. Here also are located inviting public
gardens where popular entertainments are presented, and where cafes
dispense ices, favorite drinks, and refreshments of all sorts. The
well-arranged Botanical Gardens are not far away, affording a very
pleasing resort for all lovers of floral beauty. Just beyond these
gardens comes the Lazienki Park, containing the suburban palace
built by King Stanislaus Poniatowski in the middle of the last
century, and which is now the temporary residence of the Emperor of
Russia when he visits Warsaw. The grounds occupied by the Park are
very spacious, affording great seclusion and deep shady drives; for
though it so closely adjoins the city, it has the effect of a wild
forest composed of ancient trees. The royal villa stands in the midst
of a stately grove, surrounded by graceful fountains, tiny lakes, and
delightful flower gardens. There is a fine array in summer of
tropical plants in tubs and many groups of marble statuary, more
remarkable for extravagance of design than for artistic excellence,
if we except the statue of King John Sobieski. Adjoining the Park is
that of the Belvidere Palace, formerly the residence of the Grand
Duke Constantine; but the place is now quite deserted, though
everything is kept in exquisite order.
Most of the city houses are built of brick or stone, the former being
stuccoed so as to give the general effect of the latter. The churches
are numerous and fine. It may be said, indeed, that the public
buildings throughout the city are on a grand scale. The two principal
streets are Honey Street and that of the New World, so called. There
are a plenty of hotels, but mostly of a very inferior character,
several being kept in what were once palaces, generally by Germans or
some other foreigners, never by Poles. The people whom one meets upon
the streets seem to be more Asiatic in their features and general
aspect than the residents of St. Petersburg, showing clearly their
Tartar descent; but in manners, customs, and dress they are much more
European than the Russians.
There are several large open squares in Warsaw where provision
markets are held daily by the country people, but especially in the
early morning and forenoon. The principal one is located near the
Saxony Gardens, the trade of which is entirely conducted by women;
and so varied is the business here that it partakes of the character
of a public fair rather than that of a provision market. Vegetables,
flowers, fruit, fish, poultry, tools, clothing, toys, domestic
utensils, boots, shoes, and articles of female attire, all enter into
the objects collected and offered for sale. The women are mostly of
Jewish extraction, a large number of the middle-aged wearing wigs,
under which their natural hair was cut short. On inquiry it was found
that this is an old Jewish custom with women of that race in
Poland,--that is, as soon as they are married to shave their heads
and wear false hair, a practice which we have never observed
elsewhere, and which is not followed here by the more pretentious
families of the Hebrew population. The market square adjoining the
Saxony Gardens affords a highly picturesque sight, where the mingling
of colors, races, and costumes is curious to study. In the gardens we
have one of the most attractive and oldest city parks in Europe,
where the trees are very large and of great variety, while the
flowers which adorn the grounds on all sides, mingled with
artificial ponds and fountains, delight the eye and regale the
senses. We have all heard of the Saxony Gardens of Warsaw, but we
have never heard them overpraised. A military band performs here
night and morning during the summer season, while mineral waters--a
specialty here--are freely drunk by the promenaders, recalling
familiar scenes at Saratoga.
The city to the practical eye of an American seemed to be
commercially in a state of more rapid growth and prosperity than any
capital which has been treated of in these pages. In matters of
current business and industrial affairs it appeared far in advance of
St. Petersburg. The large number of distilleries and breweries was
unpleasantly suggestive of the intemperate habits of the people. The
political division of Poland which we have incidentally spoken of was
undoubtedly a great outrage on the part of the three powers who
confiscated her territory, but the author is satisfied, while writing
here upon the spot, and after careful consideration, that this
radical change was a good thing for the people at large. With what
has seemed to be the bitter fortune of Poland we have all of us in
America been taught from childhood to sympathize to such an extent
that romance and sentiment have in a degree prevailed over fact,
blinding cooler judgment. There are those who see in the fate of
Poland that retributive justice which Heaven accords to nations as
well as to individuals. In past ages she has been a country always
savagely aggressive upon her neighbors, and it was not until she was
sadly torn and weakened by internal dissensions that Catherine II.
first invaded her territory. Nine tenths of the population were no
better than slaves. They were in much the same condition as the serfs
of Russia before the late emancipation took place. They were
acknowledged retainers, owing their service to and holding their
farms at the option of the upper class; namely, the so-called
nobility of the country. This overmastering class prided itself upon
neither promoting nor being engaged in any kind of business; indeed,
this uselessness was one of the conditions attached to its patent of
nobility. These autocratic rulers knew no other interest or
occupation than that of the sword. War and devastation constituted
their profession, while the common people for ages reaped the fruit
of famine and slaughter. Even in what were called days of peace, the
court and the nobles spent their time in vile intrigues and bloody
quarrels. However hard these reflections may seem, they are fully
sustained by the history of the country, and are frankly admitted to
be true by intelligent natives of Warsaw to-day.
There is no denying the fact, leaving the question of right and
justice quite out of the discussion, that the breaking up of Poland
politically has brought about a degree of peace, wealth, prosperity,
and comparative liberty such as the masses of the people of this so
long distracted land have not known for centuries. That there is
shameful despotism exercised by the ruling powers all must admit; but
there is also peace, individual liberty, and great commercial
prosperity. In the days which are popularly denominated those of
Polish independence, the nobility were always divided into bitter
factions. Revolutions were as frequent as they are in Spain, Mexico,
or South America to-day, the strongest party for the time being
disposing of the crown and ruling the country amid tumult and
bloodshed.
"The class who so long misruled Poland are now powerless," said a
native resident of Warsaw to us. "The sacrifice of our political
nationality has been indeed a bitter experience; but it has at least
given the country a breathing spell, and the rank and file of the
people a chance to recuperate their fallen fortunes. We had become
impoverished by internal dissensions and endless conflicts abroad;
now we enjoy peace and material prosperity. If the matter depended
upon a popular vote as exercised in America," he added, "there would
be found only a designing few who would vote for a restoration of the
old regime." The gentleman whom we have quoted belonged to the
mercantile class, and was native born; therefore we think his words
may be taken as reflecting the average sentiment of the citizens of
Warsaw.
Let us not forget in these closing pages to speak of the Polish
ladies. They are almost universally handsome, with large expressive
eyes, dark and deep as the Norwegian fjords, lighting up faces full
of tenderness and sympathy. They are generally more accomplished in
what is considered womanly culture among the better classes than are
the ladies of Southern Europe, being almost universally good
musicians and fine vocalists, as well as possessing a natural gift of
languages. In secret these daughters of Poland are extremely
patriotic, though the public expression of such sentiments is hardly
admissible under the circumstances. It is not surprising that they
should regret the loss of a condition of society which made them all
princesses, so to speak. The representatives of this class are little
seen in public, very many having removed to Paris, where they
constitute a large and permanent colony. When encountered here, they
are vehemently earnest as to patriotism, and ready to encourage any
extravagant measure looking towards a possible restitution of Polish
nationality.
A fellow traveller between Warsaw and Vienna, in responding to a
casual remark touching the extraordinary beauty of the Polish
ladies,--"ladies whose bright eyes rain influence,"--told the author
of a gallant friend's experience with the gentler sex of several
nationalities. It seems that the person referred to lost his heart in
Germany, his soul in France, his understanding in Italy, and was made
bankrupt of his senses in Poland. When his affections were thus
reduced to a complete wreck, the gentleman settled down to
matrimonial felicity in Russia! Some of the Jewish women of Warsaw,
of the wealthier class, are extremely handsome, so marked in this
respect that it was a pleasure to look at them. Many of the race are
blondes of the most decided stamp. Unlike Parisian, London, or Vienna
beauties, their charms are all quite natural. They require no rouge
to heighten the color of their glowing complexions, no shading of the
eyes, no dyeing of the hair, no falsifying of the figure, no padding.
These Jewesses are beholden to Nature alone for their charms of
person.
The Polish language as spoken by the people of Warsaw is indeed a
puzzle to a stranger, being a sort of Slavic-Indo-European tongue.
When Poland enjoyed a distinctive nationality, no less than six
different dialects were spoken in the several provinces of the
kingdom. There is so much similarity, however, between the Polish
language proper and the Russian tongue that the people of the two
nationalities easily understand each other, and on the borders there
is a singular conglomerate of the two tongues spoken by the
peasantry. Until towards the close of the eighteenth century, the
Polish historians wrote almost exclusively in the Latin language, and
her poets also expressed themselves in that classic medium; hence the
paucity of Polish literature. As already intimated, the German and
Russian languages are spreading over the country, and will eventually
obliterate the native tongue without the enforcement of arbitrary
measures on the part of the dominant powers.
Commercially, Warsaw seems destined to a steady growth and
prosperity; but in the higher paths of civilization as evinced by
mental culture, the growth and dissemination of scientific knowledge,
and the general education of the masses, it is and must remain for a
long time to come far behind the much more inviting and interesting
capitals of Scandinavia.
University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR:
GENIUS IN SUNSHINE AND SHADOW.
_One Volume. 12mo. $1.50._
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and literature. Mr. Ballou displays a broad and thorough knowledge of
men of genius in all ages, and the comprehensive index makes the
volume invaluable as a book of reference, while--a rare thing in
reference books--it is thoroughly interesting for consecutive
reading."
THE WATCHMAN:
"The book contains, in a condensed form, so large an amount of
interesting information concerning the personality of authors,
artists, and scientists as to cause us to wonder how one mind could
be sufficiently retentive to produce so comprehensive a collection.
The book is so easy and flowing in style as to seem more like
listening to agreeable conversation than the reading of printed
pages."
BOSTON TRAVELLER:
"One of the most permanently valuable publications of the year. It
has one very striking and curious element in being a kind of literary
phonograph, so to speak, with which one can sit down alone in one's
room and summon up spirits from the vasty deep of the past with far
better success than attended Glendower's efforts in that line. One
returns to Mr. Ballou's book again and again to discover the secret
of this peculiar quality; but, open the work where he will, the same
spell of fascination is over it. The wide range of literature in many
lands and languages, the fine and discriminating insight, and the
scholarly culture that were so conspicuous in Mr. Ballou's
'Edge-Tools of Speech,' are revealed in the 'Genius in Sunshine and
Shadow.' It is a book to live with,--a statement that can be
predicated of few of the latter-day publications."
SATURDAY EVENING GAZETTE:
"A large store of delightful literary entertainment. It is written in
a graceful, fluent, and attractive style, and with an easy liveliness
that makes it peculiarly pleasing in the perusal. We know of no
volume in which is presented so vast a fund of interesting gossip
about the world's great ones in art, literature, and science as is
here set forth. Every page is abundant in anecdote, of which there is
such a copious shower that it even overflows into foot-notes. It
would be next to impossible to describe the work in detail, so
extensive is the field it covers and so luxuriant is it in
illustration. It is enough to state that it will be found fascinating
by every reader of refined and educated taste, and attractive and
edifying by all, not only for what it tells, but for the bright,
chatty, and spirited manner in which it is told."
MASSACHUSETTS PLOUGHMAN:
"One of the most agreeable books. It is a work teeming with
delightful information and anecdote gathered from the broad fields of
literature and art. The great charm of the book is its colloquial and
epigrammatic style, conveying a whole volume of suggestiveness and
facts on every page. Open it where we may, it reads charmingly, and
one is loath to lay it aside until every page has been perused. In
saying that the book is one of real and permanent value, we pay it a
just and merited tribute."
EDGE-TOOLS OF SPEECH.
By M. M. BALLOU.
An Encyclopaedia of Quotations, the Brightest Sayings of the Wise and
Famous. Invaluable for Debating Societies, Writers, and Public
Speakers. A Treasure for Libraries. 1 vol. 8vo. $3.50.
* * * * *
NOTICES OF THE PRESS.
CINCINNATI COMMERCIAL:
"A vast collection of pungent quotations.... Mr. Ballou has made this
immense collection in a liberal spirit. His test has been fitness and
excellence. The volume will be an addition to the working force of
writers, speakers, and readers."
THE NORTHWESTERN:
"An almost inexhaustible mine of the choicest thoughts of the best
writers of all ages and countries, from Confucius down to Garfield
and Gladstone,--a _potpourri_ of all the spiciest ingredients of
literature. There is a vacancy on every student's desk and in every
library which it alone can fill, and, we believe, soon will fill. The
book deserves the popularity which it is most certain to gain."
THE BEACON (Boston):
"The quotations cover a wondrous multitude of subjects. Indeed, the
book is like an endless string of pearls, with here and there a ruby,
a diamond, or a bit of honest glass interjected. Mr. Ballou's taste
is thoroughly catholic, his sympathy wide as the world, and his
judgment good. The friends of quotations will find these 'Edge-Tools'
inexhaustible, yet well arranged, and highly convenient for
reference. The book is a literary treasure, and will surely hold its
own for years to come. It deserves a place by the side of Mr.
Bartlett's 'Familiar Quotations,'--no mean honor for any book."
THE CRITIC:
"M. M. Ballou's 'Edge-Tools of Speech' shows a broader culture and a
wider range of thought and subject. He has classified his quotations
alphabetically under the head of subjects after the fashion of a
glossary ('Ability,' 'Absence,' etc.), and has collected the most
famous literary or historical sayings bearing on each subject. Every
side of the subjects finds an application and illustration in one
quotation or another. Thus the word 'Ability' is made the text of
wise utterances from Napoleon I., Dr. Johnson, Wendell Phillips,
Longfellow, Maclaren, Gail Hamilton, Froude, Beaconsfield, Zoroaster,
Schopenhauer, La Rochefoucauld, Matthew Wren, Gibbon, and Aristotle.
It has no rival."
PHILADELPHIA TIMES:
"There is a running fire of fine thoughts brilliantly expressed, and
hence a splendid fund of entertainment."
BOSTON JOURNAL:
"'Edge-Tools of Speech' will find its way into thousands of families.
It is a volume to take up when a few minutes of leisure are found,
and it will always be read with interest."
CHURCH PRESS:
"The work, indeed, is a dictionary or encyclopaedia of wise and
learned quotations; and, beginning with the word 'Ability' and ending
with 'Zeal,' it presents in consecutive order the wisest and wittiest
sayings of all the best writers of all ages and countries upon all
subjects in theology, philosophy, poetry, history, science, and every
other topic that might be useful or entertaining. It is thus a
treasury of useful learning, and will prove valuable in suggesting
thoughts, or in supplying quotations for the illustration of ideas,
or the embellishment of style."
BOOK NOTES:
"It is a large collection of condensed expressions of thought on a
great variety of subjects, by the most distinguished or profound
writers of all ages. It is arranged by subjects. Take the word
'novel,' by which we mean a fictitious story. This book gathers
short, pithy expressions concerning it by Herschel, Goldsmith,
Emerson, Sir Walter Scott, Thackeray, Dryden, Carlyle, Sala, Beecher,
Willmott, Hamerton, Fielding, Swift, Macaulay, Sterne, Masson,
Balzac, George Curtis, and others. It is not within the range of
possibility for any reader to have read all these writers. Even had
he done so, how could he remember just where to turn to these authors
to find their thoughts, and yet how convenient it is for a writer or
a speaker to have quick access to them for illustrations. This book
for the uses for which it was made is invaluable."
THE COMMONWEALTH:
"A remarkable compilation of brilliant and wise sayings from more
than a thousand various sources, embracing all the notable authors,
classic and modern, who have enriched the pages of history and
literature. It might be termed a whole library in one volume."
THE WATCHMAN:
"Highly creditable, as evincing vast literary research and a catholic
spirit in the selections. Professional men and litterateurs can
hardly afford to be without a book which is calculated to aid and
stimulate the imagination in so direct a manner."
BOSTON HOME JOURNAL:
"The volume is not only of great value to students, professional men,
and litterateurs, but will be a rich treasury in the intelligent
home."
* * * * *
_For sale by all booksellers. Sent, post-paid, on receipt of the
price, by the publishers,_
TICKNOR & COMPANY, Boston.