In a little essay entitled "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences,"--an essay, by the way, that can be recommended to anyone who likes his humor biting--Mark Twain delivers some of his opinions of the first of America's older novelists.

"There are," he says to begin with, "nineteen rules governing literary art in the domain of romantic fiction--some say twenty-two. In 'Deerslayer' Cooper violated eighteen of them." Or again, "A work of art? It has no invention; it has no order, system, sequence or result; it has no lifelikeness, no thrill, no stir, no seeming of reality; its characters are confusedly drawn and by their acts and words they prove that they are not the sort of people the author claims that they are; its humor is pathetic; its pathos is funny; its conversations are--oh! indescribable; its love-scenes odious; its English a crime against the language. Counting these out, what is left is Art. I think we must all admit that."

But read the whole essay; and before you do, go to hear Professor Murdock speak on James Fenimore Cooper at 10 o'clock this morning in Harvard 2. His point of view will probably not be that of Mark Twain's, but it will also probably be more nearly right.

Two musical events, for which there is hardly space to do more than mention, are taking place over the weekend. This afternoon in Jordan Hall at 3 o'clock, Mischa Levitzki, a noted though young pianist, will give a recital of Beethoven, Schumann, Chop n and others. Tomorrow at 3.30 in Symphony Hall, Pablo Casals, the greatest living master of the violoncello, will perform a Sonata of Bach in G. major; a Sonata in D major by Locatelli, our eighteenth century composer; Beethoven's great 'cello Sonata in A major and an Adagio and Allegro by Schumann.

Lectures of interest are:

9 O'clock

"Does Education Train the Mind." Professor Holmes, Lawrence 3, Education A.

10 O'clock

"Michelangelo", Professor Edgell, Robinson Hall, Fine Arts 5h.

5 O'clock, Sunday Afternoon

"Opera and Music Drama: The Marriage of Poetry and Music", Mr. Gideon, 403 Marlboro Street, Boston.