Ctko Saa Francisco bunu-.y
BOOKS REVIEWED
M osbys Men, by John H. Alexander,
The Privateers, by //. B. Marriott Watson.
White Darkness, by Laurence MotU
The Lone Furrow, by IV. A. Fraser.
Sex and Society, by Professor W. T.
Statistical Abstract of the World, by Henry
Gannett.
The Parsons Boys, by Robert Casey:
The Tariff and the Trusts, by Franklin
The Will to Be Well, by Charles Brodie
Westward the Course of Empire, by Mont-
Off t*
Another of Mosby's Men Tells of
That Famous Band
IS the recent and remarkable rush of
Southern literature — much of which
would have a distinctly historical
value - ere It not f«o pronouncedly
partisan — Mosby and his men have flg
tred conspicuously. There have been
tnany books about them, the first ap
pearing immediate]- after the Civil
War. It was by Major John Scott and
was a fantastic and. necessarily, un-
Gependable account. Inasmuch aa the
letails had been -gleaned from the an
ecdotes of the guerrillas and larked the
fcdellty and coherency of accounts
\u2666rrltten by the men themselves*. A re
test book by John W. Mun«on was
among the best of the Mosby n-orks
and did more than any other to show
the real awe which Mosby's •"irregu
lars" Inspired in those stirring times.
Now comes '"Mosby's Men," by John
tL Alexander, a real soldier book, if
Hie was ever written. He says in the
first chapter: "Of course, my firet ob
ject is to entertain you, and I have
lulled from Quite a mass of material
ust those things which I think will
tlease you meet. At the same time I
tope to present facts so as to lead you
o true conceptions of my old com
panions In arms, and to vindicate them
rora the unjust charges under which
hey have rested In some quarters of
telng a band of ruffians and des
teradoes."
The most perfect picture of the char
acter of the men and object of their
operations la In this chapter. The au
thor says: "For three or four hundred
bien to preserve their organization for
rears la aa open country wlthla fifty
biles of their enemy's great capital and
Mcape capture by the armies which
tnrrounded them and constantly
traversed their territory; for them to
depose themselves so as to be at any
given time to all Intents and purposes
it every point on a circle about them,
and keep forty thousand of their
enemies back from the front actively
and anxiously engaged in watching
them;' all this required pretty lively
•questrlan exercise. The most active
tmong them had several horses apiece,
fc.nd their only respite from the saddle
tor days and "days would be at the
bivouac and short halts in the march.
Fifty miles a day was no unusual ride."
fa it surprising that men with such
levere training accomplished such re
sults?
When the men were not under tlie
command of an officer with some spe
tial detail they were absolutely de
bendent upon themselves for their sup
plies and their own safety. This taught
them self-reliance, but it is most sur
prising; how true they were to the
trurt reposed in them, for they were
all youngsters, this author himself but
little past ifi. In describing some of
the men who vpnt toward making up
the company h«- says: "Altogether it
was peculiarly adapted material whirh
Provident" «»ent lo our brilliant young
leader, an<l his wonderful genios mani
fested itPHf a» much in understanding
hla m*?n us in recognizing and rising to
the opportunities -which came to him.
He knew each man personally, and
seemed to read h!m at a glance and
ascertain exactly what sort of fellow
ke was and exartly what use to make of
{dm. He mingled with his men. rode
irlth them, slept with them and fought
side by side with them. Few members
rf the command had a longer list of
wounds and captures than himself, and
(ewer still perhaps were responsible for
more personal execution. His care
against needlessly exposing them; his
great skill In securing them every pos
sible advantage; his cool, quiet courage
and the almost unvarying success of
every enterprise which he personally
conducted secured the perfect conr
Cdence of his men. His ready eyro
toathy with them, which in hour* of re.
taxation or in times of suffering re
pealed his big and -.tender heart,, ln
tpired them •with an affection for him
which has survived the vicissitudes of
the years and is no less strong now be
cause mellowed by the rays of life's
Setting f un."
The mott interesting of the battles
lescrlbed and characteristic .of the
fnerrllles in action is the "Bister fight."
Captain Richard Blazer. r a distin
guished soldier from West Virginia, un-
Certook. with the m notion of General
gherldan, to wipe the Mosby command
tff the map. For a time he seemed on
the road to accomplishing hla object,
trot Mosby was annoyed by him and
Onally determined to get rid of him
•sd almost annihilated Blazer's com
mand. The description of the tactics
employed and the excitement of xhe
flgui U one bl the best chapters in the
book.
Mr. Alexander has culture and educa
tion to help him In writing this book
and he has told his story well.
(Neale Publishing Company, New
Tork. Price >2.) .
Marriott-Watson's "Privateers";
a Rattling Story
Alter a surfeit weeks long," of prob
lem etorles, novels with purposes, Chris
tian science essays, books on socialism,
science, politics and what not. It would
te a thin-blooded reviewer who would
not reach eagerly for a story by_ H. B.
Marrlott Watson. The name is a ffuar-'
anty of flesh and blood narrative with
feo hidden meaning. But "The Privateers'*
must come after and below the remem
bered delights of "Hurricane Island"—
iad wlio that read It -does not remember
the swift rush of it, the savage flrht-
Ing. the romance, made real?
In "The Privateers*; the teller- of
tales 1s quite as generous but net: mo
•onvlndn*. The two, American villains
are not of the flesh, but they are of the
type on which the British novelist In
sists, a rar« combination of etexe
broker, Montana , "holdup" and - rentle
nanlr brigand, the like ef which is not
between our oceans. But convincing-
The Sunday Call's Book Page.
ness Is not an essentic.l In writing of
this kind; amusement is the thing. The
story is ingenious. In barest outline,
two absolutely unscrupulous American
stock manipulators learn: that a young
English srirl Is sole heiress to a large
block of stock in an American railway
and go to- England •with the intent oi
marrying her to "get " control of the
stock. She is very poor and does not
know she has been selected as her un
cle's heir. When the first American
puts in an aprearance. with all the
evidences of wealth and position, she
is forced uy a sordid mother to accept
him. Here the. story opens. Enter th«
upright and honorable hero, who sees
in his first glance that L.ydia is not
pleased to be engaged to the American
and himself fall* In love with her»at
first fight. The other American arrives
and then the rush of incident begina
On every fourth page something hap
pens — something: sensational. Lydia Is
ebducted so often that It becomes al
most a habit, but she. is too bewildered
to talk much and when she does It is
not to much purpose. She is kidnaped
by the second American and taken
away on his yacht to be used as a host
age In driving some sort.of a bargain
with the first American In regard to the
railway stocks. She Is. confined In a
French castle leased for the purpose
by the same villain, carried off. by th<
English hero in her nightdress anc*
made to walk ' miles through bramble
and swamp before she gets other cloth
ing; she Is stolen again by the second
American, placed first on one yacht,
then on another/left in a rave to be
drowned by th« rising tide — enough to
whiten the hair of any ordinary girl.
It Is full of battle, murder and sudden
death; there is a "gun play" every few
lines. A shipwreck finally sends the
villain to his deserts and the other
gives up to the battered but still active
h»ro. IHBBBMMMMnifII
There are sixteen good illustrations
by Cyrus Cuneo. who must have en
joyed the story himself to judge" from
the spirit with which he has pictured
It.
(Doubleday, Page & Cp., New York.
Price $1.50.)
Laurence MottV Fine Tales ,of
the Far Northwest .
A fine collection of tales, r centered
about the Canadian Northwest mounted
police, is the "White Darkness," by
LAurenoe Molt. They are distinctly
better than any stories of the frozen
north -that have appeared lately — bet
ter, even, than "Mooswa of the Bounda.
ries" or "Conjuror's House," which have
rtood as -typical of life In those barren
lands. Mott knows the "blood-and-lron
men of the northland" as if he were one
of them. His tales are realistic, ap
pealingr, wondrously sympathetic The
loves and hates, joys and sorrows of tho
poor trappers of the northland, these
lowly representatives or that large
class of ignorant French Canadians and
half-caste Indians, are told so simply
and with 6uch perfect understanding as
to make the tales intensely Interesting.
The mounted police measure their,
"beats" by the hundred rugged mile?;
their powers are large and their duties
wide of scope, as needs be they must
\u25a0when a handful of men on horseback
keeps the King's peace for a thousand
leagues of wilderness. These duties
take the troopers into strange place?,
and it is about these experiences that
most of the tales are built. , The emo
tional side of the simple natives 1*
strongly developed. Many of them are.
too ignorant to be immoral, their state
being rather unmoral than Immoral.
But the love of wife and child is as
savage as an animal's love and as faith
ful. \u25a0 /.:';.. \u25a0\u25a0\u25a0:
The first story, from which the book
takes its name, in a uniquely pathetic
tale of snow blindness, and of now the
happiness of a little home was saved by
the Intervention of one of the guardi
ans of the peace. The second tale,
"Jaequette," is too fine a story for any
collection. It needs to stand alone to
be Justly valued. It Is of a young wife
who sacrifices her baby and herself and
braves death in the snow that her hus
band be saved from arrest and prison.
Some readers will find Mott's French-
Canadian dialect hard to read and at
times difficult to understand, but it ap
pears to be. the only medium through
which these stories "could, be told. .
(Outing Publishing Company, New
Tork. Price $L 60.)
"The Lone Furrow" Ranks With
W. A. Fraser's Best
Within' the last "few, year* some
stories depicting, rno«f, feelingly, and
faithfully various phases of r Canadian
life appeared from the hand of W. , A.
Fraser. "Mooswa," a ' remarkably fine
native story, was one that received
much appreciation from .discerning
critics; "Thoroughbreds" was a fine,
strong novel; "Thirteen Men,", a.collec
tion of thirteen short stories, was; a
book to', read > and re- read. Now comes
a new novel, "The Lone Furrow," which
Is deserving of no email success. With
out In' the least ;. suggesting .that his
style Is Imitation of any/other writers.
It may be said that he. has. something
of the vigor i and strength of Kipling
and the intimate, understanding '\u25a0-. of
character . and : emotions • that" has been
the charm of Barrie'and lan MacLaren.
This story Is a simple tale of a home
ly Scotch folk settled : in; the tiny vil
lage of lona, in. Canada. iThe'narrow
mlndedness and bigotry '\u25a0 of .the old
fashioned Scotch -Presbyterlanlsm give
the color of the book.*, which turns upon
the disappearance of a young minister
of the little : Scotch church where -he
haa almost . caused a spilt' amonr *th»
members: by preaching a religion of
modern practical ,' sense; V religion . for
week day* -aa '.well* us Sunday*. Hli
ob« tinate con r r egation * look askance
upon a mlnUter \u25a0. who? - approves of
cricket and ! bowling ' and kindred . plea
sures and is even instrumental in get
ting ; an organ • for hU ' church. . 'Thi
romance Itself la anything but \u25a0 old
fashioned ; it < is : only ' the aettln g . and
some ef the characters 'that are rural.
As the i plot . develops the 'Issue* Is seen
to be the - Influence •an < Inherited app«
tlte for ; drlnk"'and",drurs> may, exert
upon hnman character and 'thei,terrlble
misery which* follows In their. w*v»; i«
almost a pr- r-nnent,wer<« it not wovca
so entertainingly into the story.
The beauty of the character, of -the
waiting wife. Jean, her strength and
steadfast belief in her husband, her al
most angelic resignation and her pa
thetic condition make altogether as'..ne
a picture as has been put into a novel
in many a day. \
The teller of the tale himself h** five
charming children., and they are so
woven into the tale that they are "a
very n^cpssary *part»of it. It Is easy
to see that the -autEor > Is a real child
lover. " -41*;; - \u25a0
It is hard to prafie too well a book
with so very many^rood points: if is
one of the best bi£s of fiction of -its
Td. Appleton & Co..' New York. Price
$1.50.). ;\u25a0'- \u25a0\u25a0:'/.-:\u25a0_: '/.-:\u25a0_
A Chicago Professor's Work or
"Sex and Society'"' \u25a0"
One of the notable additions.; to; th<
list of books for the! week comes^fron:
Professor, W. T.T homas. Itls a timelj
and suggestive study in anthropology
"Sex and Society." /The .position an-J
standing of the 1 author -in 'the; depart
ment.'of "sociology -;In; the University oi
Chicago" is enough; .to .'show., the public
the serious" object, of the b00k.,. Pro
fessor Thomas has; the discrimination
rare among 'scientists, to write In ;. a
style easily Intelligible. to the layman
and his. articles published in the Amer r
lean Journal of Sociology were of j Im
mense popular, Interest. \u25a0, These. essay»
he has expanded^ and revised'and;col
lected to make 'this book. To <ruot«
from .the author's note: : • r W^^lle r «.eac^
study 'is complete, in* itself, the general
thesis running {through all . of ! them; li
the same^-that the 'differences! in -bod
ily habit between men and women," par
ticularly the 1 greaterrstrength;,restless
ness andlmotor .aptitude of man, ;an<i
the more stationary > v condition v\u25a0 ol
woman, have had' an f Important'lnflu
ence on. social- forms and activities; an^
on . the ' character j and' mlnd^of the; tw«
sexes."; ".' :*;-".-•*-" '\u25a0:'.*. " \u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 r-I^'-:.'
Developing .that he' writes
nine papers, two'of which, "The Adven
titious i Character of iWomanV ; and -'.The
Mind ' of Woman and the Lower Races,",
are : of • partlenlar/ Interest. : ; Because^ of
Professor Thomas*' .almost- colloquial
handling/of) these'; scientific : themes fhe
was ;* adversely "criticized >" and ,; ( much
maligned when these papers first ap
peared. 'In : the s « first be elucidates \u25a0 his
theory- about : ; the ; lapses • of .-! morality
In - women I by ; showing that they/, were
unknown *la •"primitive, society when
women were •"; on €a f more ; equal ' eco
nomlo' plan* ' with ' ! men. ' ' Slowly ? but
•txrely. m«ni*bsjT««3 deprived* womenVof
commercial | activity and relegated I her
to a' position te thefcpme where she has
nothlnr to : do ' fcntitake ; care >.'6f '\u25a0 her
children and adorn her person. This
condition; 'he ; says, contributes largely
to ' moral < lap*e* \ mxaonK ' the women of
today. . - ,'-"- ' \u25a0 : .'.; ..'*,-,"\u25a0 :":
•The Mrad «f Woman and the \ Lower
Races" . deals I with •-' the ; fact ,. that '•", the
failure ot; modern -.women \u25a0 to; partici
pate more fully " ln .the Intellectual; and
occupational * activities '. is - due ; to Y the
superficial "; social ~ conventions /of ,* tlie
day.' v fAmong" f the /other S subjects dls
cusaed are. •'Psychology of, Modesty"and" and
ity"^and "Sex and ; Primitive Indnatry.*',
\u25a0~; The book .wlir.be 'of; great' lnterest: to
intelligent" ment and .women. ; •> \u25a0;\u25a0\u25a0 ?-• ,t- -S;
\u25a0V (University* of Press.- i Price;
#1.50.)-^ ;; r ;:;V\-''-;:.- \u25a0\u25a0] ;: ; \u25a0 ;' \u25a0 \u25a0\u25a0 " :,' : '<' / -
Information-. Crowided ' Into
-;"\u25a0\u25a0 ; 'V.a/SmaU>Bbbk'v. : ';^ ' : '::'' ;-\
i , Statisticians and those, who delight in,
accurate numerical estimates and com
parisons of the things about them and
;in all i countries) will f find \u25a0? Henryi O*n-"j
nett's <> *;? of j.^ the *
EWorld," the" 7 , first vedltionr: of f .whloh«la>
just i out,'t a* moat j satisfactory /addition \u25a0
.i»tolthelr4book;Bhelyes. ! C : ltils;a^bltfpf;a^
book 5 and 5 has ( not -. been^ lumbered? with t ;
* endless I recapitulations. " \} y/
.- ' T ItlusedUobe: an^axlom that'photo
* graph* | and " statistics Jdid t not I lie.'. " The ;
I fact isl that! they both' do.^but ; that does %
" not f from^ the "genuine; value i of:
-either.?, In^compillng his [book," Gannett
\ has li availed % himself 'i of \ the?, best |and
* latest fobtaihab^le .'facts : and! flguresTand}
,f puts them , in ! a most 'compact | f orm/,.Th« 3
;^ each -i considered £-; relatlvely^wlttif;, the s
: : "-r~"~\u0094- i««^i'-^«iii«»«r of f'i; the-/: world's''
most Important products,; and .with an
enumeration V'of i, the| exports ;. and ':\u25a0 lm
ports^of every, country of j the world.".
f The author, has tabulated his'material
ln«fsuchr"a,;lucidi'form i that ; it t may; be
easily.- 1 understood : and \ instantly^avall>
able i f or • reference. : Yi It i should . haye '. a
place sin every.;; library- and* In : every
school. -•:,'\u25a0';/\u25a0 ' '.". •\u0084 .;. . v^ T;'.: : : J\.*~ ; .--V.V- '.'•\u25a0 '-"\u25a0\u25a0 * '*'\u25a0' \u25a0''\u25a0
:.*i SanlFrancisco;' fighting to come again
Into; Its - own,', may L take \ some? exception
to J, the V placej accorded % it /among . th c
Ottles,':, Its '.population?;* being/glyen. as
855,919/ smaller by^O.OOOithan the most
conservative , Testimate now;, ; But , the
United v States , i; stands \ first?:ln\practi
cally that marks, progress,
dividing honors only ;,with the ; United
Kingdom. .;'. : : ;\u25a0 ; : • :
. John Wiley &; Sons,- New Tork. Price
75 ' cent*: - ~ . . ' - \u25a0 - .'.
"The Parson's Boys" Well Told
\ and^ Wretchedly Pictured .. -,
.' -."Thev Parson's ißoya,'.'.' .written— by
Robert ? Casey,*; will 'jflnd '; Its ; way into
every Sundaj* school? library; in fact. It
might well .have; a place in every juve
nile ' library: 1 Then [while; the -, boys and
the'; girls jas -well are reading it,, many
of , the : fathers and mothers— the boys
and girls "growh;.tall— will find; time to
live again "In- ltn pages'/some of 'the
mischievous merrymaking of their own
young.;days.V ,'\u25a0"- .."';.".;.; -
Tlie; book,- which is said to-be a real
story of real; people, is -clean and^re
freshing; and ''done, in' simple, direct
English::'. It -is :a refutation of the
charge 7 that; "the/parson's boys are the
worst 1 brats i in. the parish"— printed -as
an- indictment 7at .' tho beginning. "Fur
ther/color;and setting, is; given by a
few: 'admonitory quotations .from . the
Btble;.\~Then"th.e t tale" starts out "enter
tainingly, some of i the v.trlcksV of the
parson's boys outdoing those of "Peck's
Bad' Boy." : ..The end \u25a0 is • happy and peni
tent; of course, - the parson living to
nee- the > miracle wrought. ' Interest its
given to the plot by, a Civil War-time
setting.- \u25a0 \u25a0:\u25a0
:'Ths Illustration. . which is profuse, is
nothing slie-rt *of an artistic crime,
the: "marginal embellishments" by Lv-
ITe Kling being beyond pardon. Those
Illustrating .the pathetic : situations are
nothing rshort:of caricatures. ;; w ~- . •
'iTheiParson'Bt'BoysyPublishlng^Com^
pany," Denver, Colo.- ."Price < $2.50. - >;:
New/York f Attorne3^s;pamnation
';'*'^-C:'^V-;.:jof7Ae r^^ff;- : --';i^V^'-'4'
f-:lf -:l Franklin \ Pierced a"; New. Tork >_lawyer,
; has* written', a' bookTon!,z'The\Tariff < and
the* Trusts." 'of "which its \u25a0 publishers
say;j in '\u25a0\u25a0' a J frenzy jof {: Italics .'1 that- it is
readable^ entertaining. /complete, logi
cal.'jfair.tjudicial.ttimely.:. \u25a0' . v
|Mr.i Pierces book
says ithat it)presents >"a clear; statement
of S th c \u25a0' flagrant i wrong ?, of s the l Dingley,
'tariff." \u25a0: Everyidutyiis,'jlnlltslessence,:a
wrong*."7-Every;:paymerit^exacted^is3a
wrongiUnlessiyouSket^hat'you \u25a0pay 4 for;
:Thatfis;abo"utiaHithereTls*toHhettarlff.
It *tls>: a | matter ~ of t trade. v |;The :: raisin
growers V and \ the | wine i men \ of I Calif or?
nia^ f or] lhstance/.are xwllllngJto f pay J a,
hlgherjprice|onj i.Bteel f or « cotton j'manu-"
f actures | inf order| that S the>ishall -i ge t
£: like advantage t br.thelrjpwnproducts.*
Quite "s probablyf; there'* are% abuses i, of
adjustment fsu'ch i' as \u2666 are"' llk'elyjto -grow,
outTof 'any [complicated | business ] trana£
action. : Mr. Pierce thinks . ; that the"
whole :i thing -Is bad business and it
may .'; be": added . that • he writes ' well and
entertainingly.; . .. • ' - • •
* ; ; (The Macmillan Company, New York.
Price?|l.so.) : = . v ; -. ;>':
Will to Be : lWel.lCand \ Dismiss
.-.';, Your Physician
.^••The Will to Be . Well." by, Charles
Brodie Patterson, 'is la 'unique: doctrine
for "ajclean and wholesome life,, but
.whether tocall, it Christian-Science or
mental' science; or any one of the hun
'dred-and-odil.- other "sciences"-^' so
called — to cure all human ills, '..whether
of - mind 'or. body/ it 'is impossible" to
say.-; .;. \u25a0 \u25a0 . . "-'. V-. r "\u25a0' ' ; :
7 In* li is ."preface^ tho author.' says: ;\"ln
the" mind of man..there , ls the dawning
of*a new and. vital fact that the au
thority of law.is .resident in his own
life; that health: strength and happi
ness, . as- conditions of mind and body,
must be 'made manifest \u25a0 through \u0084* cbn
sclous effort; on; his part-by the, use of
spiritual -qualities and mind-faculties;
that through the indwelling spirit his
mind must be quickened and renewed
arid his tiody: strengthened and made
whole." . ; (\u25a0 v .* ' '•;•'
,The work has been. given to the pub
lics-before, . but the author has revised
it .carefully and added four chapters
giving ."his latest thought on the all
important subject of mental and
physical; health."''. .
(Funk , & " Wagnalls Company, New
York. Price $1.20.) Eg£H
Newspaper Man's -I Book About
\-[ ; a' Voyage Westward
. ".Westward- the' Course of Empire.",
by Montgomery 'Schuyler. .'is an admir
able little .book. It accomplishes Its
purpose. : The author's prefatory letter
ln'.which .he -explains ' and excuses his
volume, is worthquoting: am. really
very much obliged to you," he 1 writes,
"for calling my attention to-Bayard
Taylor's 'E! Dorado.' .Itfis distinctly
my -loss, and perhaps, a -little .« to /my.
shame," that I- was not before." in any
detail,' aware of. Its existence. If I had
had specific knowledge- of the book, 1
should surely have availed, myself of
that knowledge when • I arrived upon
that lovely California coast, which Tay
lor visited flfty-slx years before me,
after;'a voyage from New York , that
took him four monthi and a half, and
me ; four' days! His studies were cor
respondingly ' leisurely— whereas . this
booklet which you- are so gracious as
to publish — is clearly the rapid record
of a" 'rush.' "' \u0084
: The little book Is the story of a New
Tork newspaper rfian .who was Invited
to accompany; a* party of railroad-ofll
clals 'and their friends upon, the initial
trip-over the new route of the Union
Pacific, .through 1 Council , Bluffs. Omaha,
Denver, Salt Lake ; City end . Las Vegas
to -Los Angeles and San^ Pedro. r
: ii The ! trip ' was . one ; grand ~ good time,
but "Mr. Schuyler '.found "ample oppor
tunity to note down his impressions. of
the -trip.' : Under^ such .auspices he saw
the" country under' most ; favorable con
ditions. ;3sjp££jgpSE&Sjg|
(E. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.
Price $1.25.) - - \u25a0\u25a0..'••:. [
Gossip of Books and People Who
Make -Them
The publication of, Charlotte Bronte's
hitherto .unprinted poem has;brought to
tnindjthe lukewarm welcome extended
to : her. : first- poetical -efforts. In 184 C
i;he poems'of Currer, 'Ellis and: Acton
Bell .were issued , and, according .; to
Charlotte's;' statement, exactly two
copies- out of ;the. 'edition were Isold.
.The .Bronte sinters; transferred the-rest
of the' edition "to the^trunkmaker."
'.-The ' past season \is > said ' to - have been
the, best In" the' history, of bookselling.
The^outlook for 'good % books of « fiction
seems : .than \u25a0• that -of last • year.
Some's' important " serials \ have ." already
appeared which \will. be dene into books
when th e serial ; publication is \u25a0: finished,
among; them stories by Edith TTharton,
May Sinclair, Mrs. Burnett and Maurice
Hewlett:." . -
Have cheap v come to stay?
This ', is tho question which has aroused
,: much discussion ; in <En gland, according
\u25a0* to a Philadelphia Ledger correspondent,
.since ; Messrs. . Chatto ; & Windus made
I the; surprising; announcement that ' they,
intend \u25a0\u25a0' reducing A;the Z price "of > their
novels •; from ; - 6 : shillings : (about ' $1.50)
4 to half a' crown '< about 62% cents).lThe
publish Ing < firm ' promises 'to'; Issue ; for; 2
;* shillings \ahd'-i6'<.peha6 "new 'novels of
; ordinary;". length «, .by .". well-known:.»au
:;thors, "printed and bound in i the ac
:'cepted!style. V*.
- ' new.'departure Is important not
.1 merely,: because .»lt?lowers the price of
lbooks,^but : for other , reasons -. as - welL
kOf i cotfrae,"s no • publisher can " afford ; to
fibrins: : out small at 1 this i' price."
% 1000 : : copies *if * the S books i were 5 sold *so
[i cheaply. <; Consequently, C if '\u25a0>\u25a0\u25a0 the "half
s crown ' novel ' becomes '\u25a0_ the no
•publisher*, will -accept 'a-,; manuscript
•which"; he , ! does ', not t wlllf have" k"
freallyjlarge'sale. £ . % This means,-; perhaps,:
i that «-<we* shall have ; fewer: mediocre
; noveIaMBHB«HaaH9HHE
.; In replyinsr Tolstoi's recent'atr
tacks * on | Shakespeare \u25a0'_ M." \ Maeterlinck
notes \ that \u25a0- "the r almost' periodical \ crit
icisms ' from .Tolstoi', are,, now _\ without
any' critical "rvalue." He ; addle:
"With all due respect to the author
of 'Anna Karenina.' I confeaf that
since a few years the great old map of
Yasnala-Pollania is giving his admir
ers a heartrending example. ' We who
loved him now. tremble every -time he
thinks,' fit „' to break his. silence, every
time he" sends the worlds one v of these
poorC meager messages of ', morbid'res
ignation." which are nothing "more than
what .one . could . expect from- a monk
living in the. early." centuries. Is no
body with. Tolstoi who takes heed
of his reputation? -Has he no.rela
tives.;.no"friends^who' might- tell him
not that the time-of being" silent ha«
come, for one .mustnot pain a man with
such apast. but merely give him the
consoling Illusion that he Is atlll speak
ing to the world, whlle.taking such
precautions as to suppress- his further
utterances, and thus prevent his ad
mirers from abandoning him?"
Word comes from France, that the
cross of .the Legion of Honor has been
awarded to H. C. Chatfleld-Taylor . in
consideration of his services to French
literature through his recently pub
lished biography 1 of Moliere.
•- • •
Roald Amundsen, to whom belong*
the honor of having passed from the*
Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean In the
only ship that has ever made the North
west Passage In its entirety. Is the hero
of General A. W. Grecly's paper. ln the
February Century, .giving the story 'of
this voyage, and of the observations
secured during many months', sojourn
and work at GJoa Harbor.
-The rumor Is persistent that "The
Fighting Chance" is to be staged, but
Appleton's .: announce that Mr. Cham
bers has made no arrangements as yet.
The book Is still ' at the head of the
column of "best sellers."
• • •
' Harold Blndloss; Is an Englishman
and- lives a. quiet country life at Great
Corby. Carlisle, England, a fact rather
surprising" to one who has read his
novels, which ar? stlrrlns-lr descriptt**
of * the: wildest' part of Western Amer
ica and British Columbia. Mr. Bindlom
writes In a letter to his publishers:. "I
have no literary acquaintances. In fact.
my associates in England are mostly
postmen, and. when possible, railroad
men. One finds them so much more In
teresting." .
Sir A. Conan Doyle, creator of Sher
lock Holmes, lias been doing some real
detective work in behalf of a young
Parsee lawyer .who was imprisoned for
three years— ln Sir Arthur's opinion,
without cause. The long account of hla
investigations; which the novelist has
just published is as Interesting reading
as any story in "The Adventures of
Sherlock Holmes," ; and ou*ht to wo
far toward bringing about a reparation,
to the unfortunate youns Parse*.
Some of the most noted Parisian
artists have contrived to transform Ed
mond Rostand's country [ home, Arraga,
In the south ; of France. Into a fairy
land. The walls of his magnificent
apartments, whose windows look out
over the crests of the • Pyrenees, are
covered with the very delightful tales
which Hans Christian Andersen and th*
Grimm brothers have Immortalized."
Bernard Gradyjs a new poet on .the
horizon^ The few lines selected at
random from his little book of ""Waifs"
are'in minor key, but' his work I* not
at all pessimistic:^
flood-by is the word that com** to reit
Its weight on the brart of th? llarbt^st br«utt
And awaken ,tb« noul t" thought of glooa;
The word of all Words I would entomb.
Marie Corelli... the \ versatile, haa
turned her genius to hymn writing.
She vwas a .- poet 1. before she became a
novelist, and her latest hymn, entitled
"At Eventide," has Just been published
ln'Tne Sunday-school Hymnary."
Kate-Douglas Wiggin— that U
to say. . Mrs. George C. Rl^ks — has
been : spending the- week at Govern
ment House, Ottawa, acting, with
George . W..<" Chadwlck and Langdon
Mitchell, .' as judge > in " the dramatic and
musical - competition for the trophy
given by Earl Grey for the best ama
teur performance. 'Mrs. Riggs is to
award • the i prizes.
Gelett Burgess's l^v -|S$L
'inimitable satire* AT^v^^
Are You a [MM
Bromide? V (I)
or, The Sulphitic Theory' Ex- j ll 7
pounded and Exemplified Ac- <c^ V«d)
cording to the Most Recent Researches
\u25a0'VT^ J^-ss. * J nto . l^~ Psychology,
: *£jS?y^ of Boredom; Including
,/S^/. Many .WeH-known".' Bromi-
"V^*Vm oms ncny in use.
/S)r Fourth printinK boit r*«dj| «1
fjrl all bookaellera, 50 cents, net
MVU B. W. iHUEBSCH
7 X \ Pubiith * r *
j t^fe^ NEW^YOBJC