Book Reviews [pp. 221-224]

Book Reviewus.
August.
TAKE up thy rich and wondrous garments
Oh August, queen of months, and turn away.
Bend not thy face, serene, commanding,
Nor let the fragrance of thy presence stay.
I cannot bear thy proud, calm beauty
Here in these hard-trodden streets of trade:
Thy place is in the woods and meadows,
Amid the hills, or lakes in sunshine laid.
Depart and leave me to my longing, Or take me unto thy still realms with thee:
The very trees toward thee are bending,
And crouching lies the great, pale sea.
Here I will rest me in thy sylvan kingdom
Where no unquiet sentiments intrude:
Thy courtier da) s may now pass lightly,
Pass lightly by, nor irritate my mood.
H. C.
BOOK REVIEWS.
Samuel Adams.1
THIS is one of the better written of the "American
Statesmen Series." It tells an interesting story in a
straightforward manner, with only a slight show of
not very profound pedantry in the matter of the
"folk-mote." The epoch is one of ever-living interest, and a well-hand(led popular presentment, with
Samuel Adams thrown into relief as a leading figure,
we consider very timely. The character of the revolutionary struggle can hardly be understood without
a comprehension of Samuel Adams's services therein.
And Mr. Hosmer's chief merit is in having given an
available account of them. That Adams was the
"father of Independence," he has given substantial
proof.
WVe regret that Mr. Hosmer is not able to idealize
the character of Adams from his work, and present
us with a clear analysis of him as an individual. The
apparent materials for this are scanty; but we believe
that the real materials are adequate, and that the indiviclual might have been found reflected in his work.
Samuel Adams, preeminently among the rather arbitrarily selected statesmen of this series, seems to us
a figure that gave opportunity for a sketch that might
have been a permanent contribution to American literatutre. WVe regret that Mr. Hosmer could only
quote, and could not fully realize, the following opinion of John Fiske's: "A man whom Plutarch, if he
had only lived late enough, would have delighted to
include in his gallery of worthies, a man who, in the
history of the American Revolution, is second only to
Washington, Samuel Adams."
But as an historical narrative, in biographical style,
the swork is well done. MNr. Hosmer has made good
use of historical materials; he often shows a fine discrimninating sense, and writes with impartial justice.
Historically, the most instructive portion of the book
is that in which he deals with the five years of Thomas Hutchinson's prominence in colonial history. This
is the backbone of the narrative, and Mr. Hosmer
1 Samuel Adams. By James K. Hosmer. American Statesmen." Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
t885.
here displays his best powers of historical writing
and of critical judgment. He summarizes as follows
the main facts of Hutchinson's career:
"Born in I7I I1, he left Harvard in 1727, and soon
made some trial of mercantile life. From a line of
famous ancestors, among them Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, that strong and devout spirit of the earliest days
of Boston, he had inherited a most honorable name
and great abilities. He was a Puritan to the core;
his wealth was large; his manners conciliated for him
the goodl will of the people, which, fo,r a long time,
he never forfeited. He became a church member at
twenty-four, selectman of Boston at twenty-six, and
at thirty was sent as agent of the province to London
on important business, which he managed successfullv. For ten years after his return he was representative, during three of which he served as speaker.
In particular, he did good service in the settlement
of the province debt in I749. For sixteen years he
was member of the Council, and while in the Council
he became judge of the probate, lieutenant-governor,
and chief-justice, holding all these offices at once. It
is shooting quite wide of the mark to base any accusation of self-seeking on the number of Hutchinson's
offices. The emoluments accruing fromn them all
were very small; in some, in fact, his service was
practically gratuitous. Nor was any credit or fame
that he was likely to gain from holding them at all
to be weighed against the labor and vexation to be
undergone in discharging their functions. A more
reasonable explanation of his readiness to uphold
such burdens is that the rich, high-placed citizen was
full of public spirit. That he performed honorably
and ably the work of these various offices, there is no
contradicting testimony. As a legislator, no one had
been wiser. As judge of probate, he had always
befriended orphans and widows. As chief-justice,
though not bred to the law, he had been an excellent
magistrate Besides all this, he had found time to
write a history of New England, which must be regarded as one of the most interesting and important
literary monuments of the colonial period-a work
digested from the most copious materials with excellent judgment, and presented in a style admirable for
dignity, clearness, and scholarly finish."
By contrast, too, with Hutchinson, Mr. Hosmer is
enabled to bring out more strongly the attitude of
Adams at the time of the "Massacre." With another extract, we commend the book to all American
readers. Mr. Hosmer says:
1885.]
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