The San Francisco call. [volume], March 18, 1900, Image 6

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
In his favor or against it, Mr. Sedgwlck
has chosen to sift the undisputed facts,
which will give to the general reader, a
clear outline cf Paine's career, leaving
the student to supplement this by refer
ence to larger works.
"By the Marshes of Minas."
To while away a pleasant summer after
noon get a copy of Charles G.\D. Rob
erts' short stories, "By the Marshes of
Mlnas," and take, it In ..homeopathic
doses. Do not read "one story after the
other until, you have, finished, the book,
but digest them slowly as ,'. you . would
poems. Mr. Roberts Is a poet, historian
and novel writer all rolled in one, and the
poetical side of his nature is particularly
In evidence In this collection of romantic
tales of love and adventure. There is a
certain sameness throughout the book,
largely owing to -the fact that the scenes
are all laid In Nova Scotia, In that pic
turesque period when It was passing from
the hands of the French Into those of, the
English: and also that the same charac
ters appear in several of the stories. Mr.
Roberts' idea :of the short ;* love; 1 ; story
evidently Is: given, one mah-^ne -woman
—both good looking and very Impression
able ; they meet under circumstances out
of the ordinary and- fall In love at first
adored one." The ptories are all good,
sound and; refreshingly wholesome. (Sil
ver, Burdett & Co., Boston, New York
and Chicago. $1 25. • ,
"A Rational Marriage "
. "A Rational Marriage," by Florence
Marryat.ls the story. of a match entirely
different . from the , accepted idea ' of ' : a
wedding/, In It a I young lady of; rather
bohemian habits leaves her country home
and goes . to London to make her own liv
ing. ¦¦ She becomes the private secretary of
an old:, nobleman, and incidentally -does
typewriting . for a young; journalist. She
has' an old grandfather from whom she
will one day receive : an inheritance,': but
only under the 'condition' that she, remain
single.' '¦- Of course the young people fall in
love and are married, but the lady gives
her consent' only, upon the ; condition . that
the- wedding ,be kept "a close secret and
that • they - have..*; their ?« own •; Individual
friends, spend their, earnings to suit them
selves and never see each other. unless by
previous arrangement. -All sorts of amus
ing and ' trying circumstances occur to
make, "the. I , story ; a very ; Interesting s one.
The situations arising, from this 'novel un
derstanding:? are \ humorous :¦: and % brightly
told, ; and . as I the young: people have .both
been hard hit by Cupid's arrow, all turns
"But here we come on another fact of
even greater slgniticar.ee.
"Not only is there this total dearth in
the British army of men of experience
for the branches of the service just.men
lior.ed, but, in addition to that, It'ls a
Ftrictly accurate statempnt that no officer
in the British army has had any practi
cal experience in handling any difficult
problem of transportation in opposition to
a modern, civilized army.
"The two men who come nearest to
meeting the requirements of the situation
are Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener."
Mr. Stickney then proceeds to show
that their experience in handling any dif
'•.-uit ciuestion of transportation has been
very limited. He further. shows that even
In the Crimean war and the trouble in
India, white "the record of the achieve
ments or British valor has been unvaried,
there has been at the same time complete
lack cf variety in the record of the in
competence ar.d ignorance of the British
War Office." .- . i
All of which is very interesting when
compared with the incidents brought for
ward relative to the remarkable mobility
of the American armies in the Civil War
and tho manner in which they handled
problems of transportation and supply.
From a British point of view Mr.
Etickney'B book Is decidedly a wet blan
ket and contains dire prophecies of trou-
Me with India and danger from Russia, in
addition to his bold attack upon English
army methods. In fact, this point is
rather overdone in the way of constantly
lecurring remarks to the effect that:
"The first point to be noted in this con
nection in regard to the British army of
to-day is its lack of braJns," «
"Last and not least comes the Immense.
dense. Intense ignorance of the British
p.rmy. as an army, of the principles and
liractice of modern and scientific warfa>>..
'"They have not studied topography. It
is a matter of common report that tha
British War Office has been inadequately
t-uppliecl with maps. This is merely a sin
gle point which chows the Ignorance cn-1
incapacity of the British War Office, and
their ignorance of the fundamental con
ditions of modern warfare. Their meth
ods are still medieval."
There are Innumerable Instances of this,
until the reader forms a hazy Idea th'it
possibly Mr. Stickney has had some ex
perience with the British War Office of a.n
unpleasant nature and is venting a pet
sonal spite. Ho brings plenty of ptoof
forward to show the incompetence which
he declares exists, and his evidence Is
convincing, but his reiteration is tire
some.
The ending of the book is rather dra
matic and #ives a good Idea of the
author's partisanship.
"Th.? end of the whole matter is— tl:M
war of the Rothschilds is a war for gold.
In the latest map of the republic that has
come to my hand from London, which Is
stated to have had already a sale of 14\
000, there is among the 'explanations' the
designation of 'gold fields' by a patch >f
yellow. Thereupon, upon examining the
part of tho map which represents the
Transvaal, we find it thickly covered w'th
patches of yellow. The Johannesburg
pold district there appears only as one of
many, and cne of the less important.
"Here we have the veritable cause of
this war. in behalf of what Mr. Joseph
Chamberlain now calls 'British Para
mountcy.' A few months ago he called
it a war for the civil and religious rights
of the UHlander!
"But v.-ho ever looked for the truth from.
Mr. Joseph Chamberlain?
"gold! gold: gold:"
The book goes to the time of the relief
of Kimberley. It is more Interesting for
THE SUNDAY CAL
RESULTS FROM THE PENS OF
BOOK-WRITERS
And -.-Some Laterary Notes V¥©rt In •llnowing
fell under the ban of the Jacobins Paine i
was sent to the Luxembourg and sentenced
to the guillotine, from "which he escaped :
by a lucky accident. It was while Paine ;
was In prison -that, he "commenced "The ,
Age of Reason." . . <
Paine returned to America, where he. :
passed the remainder of his life.
The publication of "The Age of Reason"
caused such a storm of indignation that
in its shadow the good caused by Paine's
more Important work was forgotten. But'
as time passes and makers of history
in our country come to be Judged without
the bias which comes from personal con
tact Thomas Paine will be held In in
creasing regard for the Inestimable ser
vices which his leve of liberty prompted
him to perform for its sake. •
Ellery Sedgwick, to whom was assigned
the preparation of this biography, has
performed his work with care and dis
crimination. From the mass of writing'
about Paine, much of it prejudiced either
sight: throw in a hairbreadth escape or i
two and the ; story is complete. It is Mr. ?"
Roberts' way of telling his stories and '
his poetical powers of description that
give them their charm. The mystical tale
of "The Eyetff Gluskap" Is especially de
lightful, as it gives the author full play
for fantastical fancies and brilliant im
agery. "The Bewitchment of Lieutenant ['
Hanworthy" is written in light vein and
is charming, though slightly improbable.
It is entirely dialogue under rather re
markable circumstances, and ends in a
runaway match after an acquaintance on
the part pf the hero and heroine of half
an hour. "La Mouche" "is (he tale of.
an Acadian hunter of that name, who is
most active in his hatred of the" English,
and considered one of the fiercest men in
the employ of the evil Black Abbe. He
falls in love, but finding his passion un
requited makes a most heroic and unex
pected sacrifice to restore his rival to the
out welL ; (F. M. Buckles & Co., New
York. .. sl 23.) : v, . /. ¦
On Corporation Law.
Corporation- Accounting and Corpora
tion Law" is the'tltte of a text just pub
lished by. J. J. Rahlll. cashier and head
bookkeeper for- the Fresno Publishing
Company. Fresno,. Cal. It shouTd prove of
great value to every one Interested in a
corporation, ..whether , as stockholder or
official. The contents comprise all the
necessary forms and data essential In the
running of » a corporation, with especial
regard to the laws of . California regard
ing the same.- The laws of other States
are also presented In a brief way, but the
book is distinctively: of value and Intend
ed for the use of the California business
man. The .classes of corporations treated
are oil, mining, mercantile, mechanical,
manufacturing, railroad and printing and
publishing;: also an appendix on stock ex
changes. (J. J. Rahill: Fresno, Cal. 52.)
A Detective Story.
"High Stakes." by Lawrence L. Lynch,
is the name of a detective' story just pub
lished. For all who delight In complicated
plots, murders, dark clews and the usual
run of Impossibilities made possible by
the twist of a clever writer. Mr. Lynch's
book will be welcome. There are no
lengthy description or attempted flights
of genius, but the story Is told for the
greater part in straight dialogue, with a
clew on every page, to say nothing of
screams, pisto' shots and murders. The
illustrations, in this day of great possi
bilities in the way of half-tones and good
J'.ne work, are wretched and should much
b»tter have been omitted, bnt any one
reading an up-to-date detective story has
lit !e time to waste upon studying pic
tures, so bein.~ no gain, neither are they
any loss. (Laird & Lee, Chicago. Cloth,
75c. 1 paper, 23c.)
"A Mother Book."
"A Mother Book," by E. Francis Soule.
Is a suggestion on the newer method of
child education as 'applied to religious
subjects. Its object is to help the consci
entious mother who wishes to -train her
children to keep holy the Sabbath' day
¦enu yet to make It a pleasure to do so.
to be called the "Westminster Biogra
phies " It is the Intention to model this
series on the plan of the "Beacon Biog
raphies." which have; been reviewed at
length in former columns of this paper.
The type and paper will be the same wltn
the exception that the cover will be red
instead of blue. ____
It was the old fashion to turn a success
ful" drama into fiction, as for instance
Victor Sardou did with his "Mme. Sans-
Gene " Dumas with his "Corsican Broth
er* " Charles Reade with his "Peg Wof
flngton." It is the new fashion to turn
successful fiction Into drama, as for in
stance—but why give instances where the
fact is so well known? From "Trilby to
"Sapho" we have had a succession of
dramatized novels. Wilson Barrett merges
the two plans. He and Elwyn Barron
have been collaborating on the simul
taneous production of a play and a novel
entitled "In Old New York." The book
is just out. The play will be produced
shortly. The plot tel!s of. a young Dutch
man who. after a life of noble self-sacri
fice, is slain in a duel by the young man
he has done most to befriend. There are.
indeed, three duels in the book, besides a
horse race, where the favorite -is shot
dead a few yards from the winning post.
It is rumored that Bret Ilarte contem
plates the publication of a second series
of "Condensed Novels" which will do for
present-day fiction what the first series
did for that popular novelist in his youth
—that is, turn' it into good-natured ridi
cule. Will he find it possible to burlesque
Sarah Grand or Marie Corelll? one asks
with bated breath. And will the burlesque
really be funnier than the original?
What a change a happy marriage, a
landed estate, a seat in Parliament and an
increase of years and waistband will
make in a man! Here is Rider Haggard,
who a few years ago was writing of war,
adventure and romance in South Africa,
now. at the very time when the land of
which he wrote is filled, with war and ex
citement, and King Solomon's mines have
been discovered, publishing a book about
his year's farming. Think of the magnifi
cent description of the battle in "King
Solomon's Mines," when the impls clashed
their shields and spears and shouted
"Koom!" and then read this: "Most peo
ple unaccustomed to the routine of a
farm have a notion that his (the farmer's*
duties are of the simplest description. To
these I would say, let them try. any one
of them, even the easiest, such as 'draw
ing' a ditch, and I think that they will
change their views. In truth, there is no
single operation on the land that does not
require a very considerable amount of
skill to perform it properly, and this
skfll. acquired by years of practice, the
agricultural laborer puts at the service of
any one who will pay him 13 shillings a
week. Moreover, there is no nonsense
about eight hours a day with him. With
tine romance. "Strlngtown on the Pike"
was written by the author for his ow i
«ifaS on and with no expectation cf
its being published. It was believed, how
ever 5? those who had the opportunity of
readirg it that it possessed. interest avd
merit *o great as to forbid its belnjc wth-
S ftSm the general public, and the ed
itors of The Bookman believe that in it
they have made a discovery and found a
prize. ' .
Stephen Crane's remarkable* "J»« ?«
sketches of the great battl^ of the world
begins in March Lipplncott s w Itn strlK
fnf timeliness. His chosen ¦«««**»;
been war. In spite of excursions i"^ other
fields, and since his "Red Badge of Cour
age" he has done nothing so significant as
the work now begun.
The Overland Monthly for March con
tains a most interestins article by George
Wharton James upon "Type* of female
Beauty Among the Indians of the South
west." It is well illustrated T.lth photo
graphs of the different type 3 under dis
cussion.
Outins for the current month an
nounces a change, of editorship and
ownership. The entire property of tne
Outing Publishing Company has been
purchased by a company composed tot
well-known sportsmen, and the editorsmp
has been assumed by Caspar Whitney.
The' many friends of Mr. Worman. the
present editor, will learn with regret that
in view of his being a partial Invalid he
has deemed It advisable to resign. It is
the Intention to broaden the field of the
magazine, and in the announcement of
future policy the names of many well
known writers are mentioned as contrib
utors. The March number presents nu
merous up-to-date features, and amoncr
them are several articles that will be read
with Interest by Callfornlans and San
Franciscans. Arthur Inkersley frtves a
paper on "Rowing In San Francisco Bay.
that is most timely, considering the gen
eral feeling that more attention should bo
paid" to this splendid sport by our ath
letes, and especially by the two universi
ties of the coast, who should take up the
matter of intercollegiate races. There la
also given a well Illustrated article upon
"Golning in the Far West." by Thomas
Arnold, that should be read by the many
golf enthusiasts of the coast.
The March number of Harper's Maga
zine is rich in timely and interesting fea
tures. Prominent among these 13 the Illus
trated article on "Pretoria Before the
War," by Howard C. Hillesos, author or
"Oom Paul's People." in which the writer
gives a comprehensive sketch of the life
In the South African capital at the time
of his visit shortly before the breaking
out of hostilities. Captain Mahan . con
tributes the first of a series of articles
on "The Problem of Asia," ill which ho
discusses the future of the European
powers as factors in Asiatic problems, and
the third Installment cl Mrs. Ward's new
novel also appears. There are short
stories by Stephen Crane, Virginia Frazer
Boyle. Charles Egbert Craddock, Ellen.
Douglas Delani. anrt -Marie Van Vorst, and
special articles by Julian Ralph. Archi
bald R. Colquhoun, Poultney Bigalow and
'iappan Adney.
The International Monthly (Macmilian
Company) of the current rr.on:h contains
an article by W. W. Ireland upon 'De
generation, a Study In Anthropology."
which is full of startling facts most ably
presented and of great value to every
de-ep thinker.
Mr. Eserton Qastla ia what mlsht be
called an all-around man. He 13 an au
thor, dramatist, editor, publisher, sol
dier, engineer. He T.rites delightful nov
els, one of which. "The I*ri<l«« of Jenico."
written jointly with Jits wife, has been
dramatized, and »la soon to be produced
by Mr. J. K. Hackett in New York. "The
Light of Scarthey," though only recently
published in this country. na s gone into
four editions.
Mr. Henry Guy Carleton has drama
tized "When Knighthood Was in Flow
er." and. It Is reported, has succeeded In
pleasing both the actress and the author.
Miss Marlowe and Mr. Major.
So much has teen said about the present
circulation and sale of novel 3 that an In
quiry has been .started concerning their
sale" In the past generation. Of "Uncl3
Tom's Cabin," probably the moat popular
novel ever published in America, 1!»/X.O
copies were sold in the first two months
after publication, and 200,000 in a year. It
must be remembered, however, that "t'n
c!e Tom's Cabin" was published in ISJi,
and that the period of Its active sale— t; i
years— was long beyond precedent. For
quick sales, however, we must look to
Paul Leicester. Ford's recently publlshe-l
novel, "Janice Meredith," which three
months after publication had reached tl.c
surprising total of 200.000 copies.
One cf the literary event 3 of the season
in Paris ls> to be.the choice of a successor
for Victor Cherbul'.cz in the Academy, and
already the election bids fair to be a hotly
contested one. Another coming event la
the production of 'TAig'on." by Edmonti
Rostand, author of "Cyrano de Bergerac."
Mme. Bernhardt Is to impersonate Napo
leon's son in this play, vrhlch is to be the
chief dramatic attraction during the Ex
position.
It is reported In all seriousness from
France that a careful father lately wrote
to Zola asking him as to the fitness of his
new novel. "Feccndlte," for young ladles'
reading. In reply M. Zola wrote politely:
"I don't write for young ladies. I don't
believe my books are good for brains still
In the process of development. You are
perfectly right to direct the children's
reading 1 , who owe to you obedience. Later
on. when their life 13 more free, they will
read what they want. This opinion may
guide other parents who are perplexed by
similar problems."
The fourth volunfe of the new Haworth
edition of the works of the Bronte slstera
will contain "The Professor," "Emma." a
fragment by Charlotte Bronte and poems
by the three sisters, and will be published
on March 6. "The Professor" was written
in the author's thirtieth year, and shows.
as Mrs. Ward saya In her interesting in
troduction, 'a method of composition al
most-mature, a pronounced ¦ manner and
the same power of analysis, within nar
rower limits, as the other book 3.
It was the author's wish to publish
"The Professor" immediately after her
first great success. Her publishers, how
ever, dissuaded her. and to these clissua
slons we. in all probability, owe "Vil
lette." "The Professor" was finally pub
lished after the author's death, when Mrs.
Gaskell's "Memoir" had created a demand
for all of Miss Bronte's works.
Mark Twain will probably return to
America in April, but it Is not likely that
he* will so back to his Hartford home.
The place has been unoccupied for a
number of years, and It la said la sorely
in need of repairs. There i 3 a rumor that
Mr. Clemens will settle In Princeton, but
it seems to lack foundation. As a mat
ter of fact. , Mr. Clemen3 has not decided
exactly what he will do.. "He may rexnaia
here or he may return to England.
Books Received.
. "London Guide," published by Charles
Alvin Glllls. 2 Cockspur street. Trafalgar
square, London S. W.
"A Kipling Note Book." published, by M.
F. Mansfield and A. Wessels, New York.
Elzht numbers. 13 cents each.
"A Maker of Nations," by Guy Boothby.
D. Appleton & Co., New York. $i.
"•Municipal Government." by * Bird S.
Coler. D. Appleton & Co.. New Yc*k. »1.
"Thro". Fire to Fortune." by sirs Alex
ander. R. F. Fenno & Co.. New York.
"Who Ought to Win: Oorn Paul or Quoen
Victoria?" by Spencer Randolph. Laird &
Lee. Chicago. 75 cents.
"The Transvaal Outlook." by Albet t
Stickney. Dodd, Mead & Co., New York.
%\ 50. SttjSHS
"Honore de Balzac' 3 Letters to Madatr.i
Hanska." translated by Katherine Prc3
cott Wormeley. Hardy, Pratt & Co.. Bos
ton.'- Jl 60.
By 3. Q. Aalhrop.
EVEN at this premature date books
upon theTranvaal situation are be
pir.ning to flood ihe market. The
1 ' Anglo-Boer contest is being con
sidered and picked to pieces from all po»
fiWe points. There is ihe resum? mU
tary, the discussion political and the af
fair social. One writer takes the side o.
the Boer and the next espouses the causa
of the Briton, oach seemingly offering the
beet of arguments pro and con. It is ap
parently a difficult subject for the authors
I) discuss without allowing their own.
personal opinions to enter into the con
troversy. Not one sterns inclined to pive
the testimony upon both sides, permitting
the reader to deduce his own conclusions.
Still, to po Into all the minutia of details
connected with th< political questions in
volved in the long struggle between the
Boers and England; to present thoroughly
The mass of evidence for and against
either cause: would, besides the task in
volved in such a compilation, be of little
avail to the general reader. He would
poon ftr.d himself losing track of the main
points at issue in a vain attempt to fol
low fome evidence relating to the ques
tion of "who hit who " and "who struck
tirFt" >n s=ome unimportant encounter be
tween the burght-r and English residents.
Albert Stickmy in a very clever pro-
Beer monograph on the war has made
this one mistake— he endeavors to discuss
in a portion of his work the question of
who is in the ri^ht and who in the wrong.
When the reader takes up a book to help
him in the eoii^iueration of some political
.question he withes to hear the best evi
dence from both sides arid then form his
own opinion— not to listen to a rehearsal
of one side alone and be obliged to take
the author's opinion for a conclusion. It
is hardly r.s strong as that in this case.
for the author does present some British
arguments, but not at any length, and he
omits mention of the main points claimed
by the pro-Britten to be most convincing.
In the space taken up v.ith the discussion
«.f rights it would have been impossible
for Mr. EUckney to bo into a more de
tailed account of arguments pro and con
even had he been so inclined— his mistake
¦was In touching upon tl>e matter at all.
The book is filled with Interesting mate
rial asiiie fr«im th»- question of rights.
The work is of great value as a treatis3
on the military problem in general as weil
es the Transvaal afTalr in particular. The
rirst part was written prior to January
4. I**), and is a discussion of the militar/
situation under the three heads. Bupply
ar.d transportation, the field of operations,
the contending forces. The author drew*
a comparison between the civil war and
the present crisis, greatly to the dlsyar
ngement of the English tacticians and the
British War Office. He holds that with
the exception of improved arms and the
use cf dynamite the fundamental featri'.s
of a campaign are pie same now as then,
a:id prerents from good authorities *-n I
<Jonts in the civil war illustrative of thi
crenderfo] work performed by «n;r ensi
r.rerir.e corps in the manner of railway
construction and the perfection In ;l<f
commissary ard quartermaster depart
ments. He rums up the situation In the
Transvaal as follows:
L The impossibility of h?ndlir.g the
problem ef transportation and supply for
any larpe army in South Africa by any
means other than by railway.
2. The extreme ease of the process i}t
destruction, with the extreme difficulty of
the process of construction of rallwa/
coraur.ications in the present Soutn Af
rican field of operations.
3. The abser.ee of prepa ration on ?he
part of the British army for the handling
of the present pro Mem of transportation
ar.d supply.
4. The fact that the reason for that ab
sence of preparation is to be found in the
Immense ar.ii dense ipnnrar.ee and incom
petence of the British War Office.
Mr. Stiekr.ey does not ?p«re the British
Wer Off.cc. He explains its "ignorance'
and "lneompeter.ee" in the following:
"What is the reason for the ignorance
and the incompetence of the British War
Office?
"The answer to that questi-sn is some
what complex. It Is to be found in ¦
number of facts taken in combination.
It is an old story. At Its foundation lies
the principal fact of the incapacity of
hereditary klntrs and hereditary classes
to do the severe, steady, hard work which
is absolutely essential,/ to the proper
handling of affairs of state in general and
of army officers in particular. To that
fact is to be added the further one that
e^cient army administration is an abso
lute Impossibility when it re^ts in the
hands of an ever-shiftir.g group of igncr
ant laymen, selected at uncertain' times,
for uncertain periods, from a Legislature
¦whose time and la!>r>r must always be
given in the main to the manipulation of
the majority In the House of Commons..
These last arc- the conditions v.-hioh exist,
•under vrhat is termed •parllamcnlar:"
government.' "
The author further points out the entire
lack of preparation upon the psrt of the
British and "that Great Britain to-day
i? practically destitute of men of experl
*--.c<" for ;-e-r\lce in the quartermaster ami
commissary <iep« n ments for any new
troops which may now be raised for ser
vice In South Africa." His figures; upon
this poi:u are interesting.
"The only force in the entire Dn'.ir-h
army ex. present crating for the purpose
of transportation and supply consists of
the I'oyal Engineer?, the Departmental
Corps and the Army Service Corps. The
fiprtrres cf those different branches of the
service, according to the latest reports,
are as follows:
-
brief Intervals for food, he labors from 6
to 6. or more, and in winter from daylight
to dark."
People In England just now are interest
ed-more In carnage than cabbages, and
Haggard's earlier books are selling well,
while "A Farmer's Year" is not in great
• The London Athenaeum is given to
learned discussions of American litera
ture. Of David Harum it has spoken
heretofore much in a solemn and critical
manner, but It has, not yet discovered that
its author Is dead. The other day It pub
lished an article in which it said: "Mr.
.Westcott has the makings of a good nov
.ellst. -• • • In the! art of "narration he
has a good deal to learn. • • * • it re
quires a patient reader to find out the
good parts of his work, and he should bear
in mind that there are not too many pa
tient readers." .
By a curious coincidence John Kendrlcfc
Bangs' "The Houseboat on the Styx" "has
been made the subject of , illustration by
two of the carnival societies of New Or
leans. It is the first time in the history
of the carnival that an author has been s*>
honored. His book was .chosen by the Co
mus Society and by that of the High
Priests. of Mithras. Much bitterness be-
and not a task. The book is unsectarlan
and undogmatlc.- At 'the end" there Is a
collection of hymns and poems for the lit
tle ones. (Fords," Howard & Hulbert, New
York. Cloth, 75 centsl)
Overheard by the Bookworm.
Professor, Harry. Thurston Peck, In. the
Independent, has given an Interesting list
of the six best novels of the year 1599, ar
ranged in the order of their literary, merit.
Four; of ' these have- been great . financial
successes also, but the two others are
lacking in the popular appreciation shown
in enormous sales: ¦
1. "The Greater Inclination,". by Edith
Wharton. .
2. "David Harum," by!E. N. Westcott.
3. "The Maternity of Harriott Wicken,"
by Mrs.,Dudeney. . .'.
. 4. "Richard • Carvel," *. by Winston
Churchill. ; .
5. "The Market Place," by Harold Fred
eric. • '. ¦ "
" 6. "When Knighthood , Was in Flower,"
by E. Caskoden. . - : -.. -.'-• ' ? ...":•
The valuable > VBeaeon Biographies"
published by Messrs. Small, Maynard &
Co. have * proved ; so acceptable that ¦; the
publishers are about to issue j a series jof
'.'brief : memoirs ; of ¦ eminent Englishmen,"
tween the two societies has naturally re
sulted. The question as to which has the
prior right to the selection Is now" agitat
ing New Orleans society. Both presenta
tions of "The .Houseboat" were so elab
orate and unusual in their character that
the curious coincidence is regarded by
outsiders as most happy.
The editors of the Bookman have hign
hopes for the success of their serial story
for the year 1900, beginning in the March
number. It is entitled "Strtngtown on the
Pike." While it Is not the first book of the
writer, yet it is his first venture in fiction.
It is a thoroughly American story in spirit
and in execution. The writer, s John Url
Lloyd, was born in Western New York
and removed to Cincinnati, where he be
came a clerk in a retail drugstore. In h:s
spare time rescued from the long houra
then and now Inseparable from that occu
pation, he taught himself to be so good a
chemist that he is now, a member of th°
principal- pharmaceutical societies not
only in this country; but abroad as well.
A few years ago he wrote "a book called
"Etldorhpa," which was • published at 'his
own expense In Cincinnati and has passed
through ten or twelve editions of as many
thousand copies, each. . This book embod
ies the author's speculations In various'di
rections, and may be considered a scicn-
look, by Albert Stlckncy. Dodd, Mead &
Co., New York; $1 50.)
Biography of Thomas Paine.
There has been issued by Small, May
narti & Co. another volume of the Beacon
Biographies. Thomas Paine is the' subject
cf this latest book.
The publication of a life of Paine Is par
ticularly appropriate coming at this time,
when there has arisen a renewed interest
in the meaning of the principles of the
American republic. For although Paine
reached America just before the outbreak
of the Revolution, there were few Ameri
cans who played a more important part
than he in arousing his adopted country
men to defiance ¦ of tyranny and in
strengthening their flagging courage when
they had once entered upon the war.
Thomas Paine was born in Thetford,
England, in 1737. His father, who was
a -staymaker, took the boy at the age of
13 from school into his '•hop. These few
years of schooling formed the foundation
of the education which I'aine supple
mented by private reading. The trade
Paine's father taught him he practiced
for a few years, but he did not succeed
in It, and, as it v/as hateful to him, he
gave it up. Then he tried several other
employments, in which he was equally
unsuccessful. Finally* he decided to go to
America. Paine had met In London Ben
jamin Franklin and had been given a let
ter from Franklin to his son-in-law in
Philadelphia. "
On Patne's arrival in America In 3774
Franklin's letter procured for him em
ploy/nent and opened for him the career
in America which was successful for so
many years. It was In 1775 that Paine
began this publication of the political
pamphlets which brought him so quickly
into renown and which were of such mo
ment in inspiring with hope and zeal
those who were struggling for the liberty
of the colonies. Paine threw himself heart
and soul Into the struggle for the new
cause he was championing. All through
the war and for several years after Its
termination he. lent his enthusiastic aid
to the new republic. When he felt that
his services were no longer, needed in
America he returned to England on a
visit. There his republican, sympathies
led him Into the attack upon the govern
ment of his . native land which resulted
in his publication of "The Rights; of
Man," and later upon his banishment
from England. . ; ¦•
Paine next went to France and there
played almost as important a part In the
Revolution as he had in America. As a
member of the Convention he allied him
self with the Girondins, and when they
6
its treatment of the military problems
and probabilities than for Its presentation
of the eihical and political sides of the
question. It contains several good maps
and from its careful study of the charac
ter of the ground, its Interesting points
regarding engineering and transportation
methods in vogue during our civil war,
and its statistics relative to the Boer and
English armies during . this and past
campaigns, becomes a valuable work for
present reading or for library reference
long after this trouble may have become
a thing of the past. (.The Transvaal Out-
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