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The San Francisco Sunday Call BOOK PAGE OF THE SUNDAY CALL “Old Country Inns of England” * By Henry p. Ka_k*H OTtn Edward W. C.rrsorv. Published by la, C. r«S» & Co., Boston. There is something very alluring shout the subject of "Old Country Inns -of England"; it may be because so meny of them mean much In history, lit'erafure and art. However. Henry P. 'JMaskell and Edward W. Gregory have made a book on the subject, and If one ; opens it, it will not be laid aside until the last fascinating page is turned. The 'autnors have divided their book Into 1!> chapters, and every known branch *of the subject la discussed— Inns, monastic Inns, the hospices, the , rise of the towns, the craft guilds and trader*' inns, church inns and church ales, coaching inns, wayside Inns and * ale houses, fanciful signs and'curious signboards," haunted Inns, old inns and their architecture, and many other, chapters, each with a peculiar interest. -In one entitled "Historic Signs and His-; toric inns." many pages are devoted to the "Ried I Ion." an ever popular name ff>r inns from earliest times. tine, pas sage In thla Is worth, quoting: W"Not all Red Lion Inns, however, date tyrom the fourteenth century,' tor.'this ■"as also said to be the favorite badge of Cardinal Wolsev. At Hampton oh Thames the Red L'on came into- exlst epce^ when that great statesman was Hampton Court' palace, and servrd to lodge the better class of , craftsmen engaged in the work. After , toeing for centuries the favorite meeting "; rla'ce" for the royal chase, It became a resort for .literary and dramatic folk. >Dryden. Pope. Collcy Clbber, Addison, • Quirn nnd Kitty Cllve being among the nariiep associated with the house. Tn •JB*'. early part of the nineteenth cen 'iury It'was famous tor Its tulip feasts. '. wVJftfi drew the tulip fanciers of the ' w?rjd .to Hampton. In 1008 the charm •'tpg old Tudor structure was condemned "Aa.:.rpa,ke. way for a street widening '' *r*he.me, and its. list appearance was as •;;tlj* background to a cinematograph ./•picture. In which the house suddenly < burst' l-nto flames, frenzied occupants •appeared at the windows, the heroes of t-Se 'local fire brigade flew to the rescue In* the. nick of time, and the fire was put Out in the most approved manner." Perhaps the chapter over which one lingers longest Is "The Inns of Litera ture and Art." It is with difficulty that we refrain from quoting the chapter “Brazenhead the Great” Pr Maurice Hewlett. PsbUtfesl by Charles • ■ Scrlbner's Pons, New Tart Price, $1.50. When Maurice Hewlett gave us "The " Fool Errant" and "New Canterbury .VTales" and the "Little Novels" (the .. flnrst piece of work from his pen) we fell at his feet. For here was a mas *ter who had so convincing a style that those old extravagant times he 'described seemed real. He made us feel he had been there and seen the things he wrote of and we knew them for truth. Brazenhead does not con vince.* He is interesting just because the Hewlett English and charm make anythlpg he writes Interesting, but wa ,Uo not feel that Solomon Testadirame ' (Brazenhead) has any real place in Mr. Hewlett's gallery of creations. Brazenhead is a joyous liar; he Is such an easy and enthusiastic liar. . He a soldier of fortune, a cutthroat, a mercenary, but also a lover, though not such an admirable lover. He has a big sense of humor, of course, though , It's a kind of crazy humor, too. The Btoty, for all these good pointsreal Hewlett pointsdoesn't seem to get any where. It leaves one with a sense of incompleteness which Is difficult to ■ describe. - , Hewlett's often quaint style Is par ticularly fitting for a tale of this ■character. The following quotation Is a fair samplp: "• * • Romance was a * particular foible of our captain's. “Jack Ballington, Forrester” _, By John Trot wood Moore. Published by The .• ' ..John C. Winston company, Philadelphia. ;" .\ Price, J1.20. ."■. John Trotwood Moore, who wrote \ .. that splendid horse story, "The Gift of the Grass," can not keep his hands off • the pacing horse, even* In a forestry story. It is a detriment to his tale. y however, for the horse doe not fit The "story concerns the fortunes of Jack .Ballington, who, on account of lis gen • , tle life and apparent lack of fighting qualities, seems to be in danger of los " ing both his material heritage and the * girl he loves. But heredity will not be “Farm Dairying” By Laura Rose. Published by A. C. McClurg . & Co.. Chicago. Price, ; $1.23. . "Farm Dairying," by "Laura Rose, tells the reader about all there is to be told on the subject. The author is demonstrator and lecturer on dairying at the Ontario agricultural college, Gifelph, Canada, and has been,'she says, "a-gatherlng this for years, a little at a tlmef'SßSßßmß- There Is no doubt that she knows her subject thoroughly, for the results “The Practical Country Gentleman” • By" Edward K. Parkinson. Published by A. C. McClurg A Co., Chicago. Price. $1.23.' • A subtitle wins our interest at once b/ .ting that this is "a handbooK for.the owner of a country estate;large or.••small," and, having already read the ai&hor's "A Guide to the Country Home," we know what is in store for us. '.This book does not belie its.title. It deals with all the pnases of country life and customs and handles all sorts' of problems. "Water Supply and Pumps" is an early chapter and is clear and illuminating. This is " followed by "Farm Buildings," a chapter, to "i be heartily commendeds to" the beginner : m'°' J"lry life,. for he has nothing fto vtTro and can start a"model'farm at once. The author. then makes a num entire. We read how Sir Walter Scott, when' staying with Wordsworth at Grassmere. usually managed to give his host the slip In order to spend an hour or two In the -'Swan." beyond the vil lage. Addison, too, often fled the state of Holland House for the "Old White Horse" in Kensington road. The au thors My that: "Either this wayside . Inn or the Rod Lion at Hampton was the scene of the historic drinking bout : between Addison and Pope, which so upset the latter's digestion and sense of dignity that he ever afterward de scribed the great essayist as a terrible 1 drunkard." The "Bull and Bush" is supposed to' have once been the country seat'of. Ho garth. Another "Bull" at Woodbridga was the gathering place some SO years ago of George Barrow, the Gipsy wan derer; Edward Fitzgerald, the trans lator of "Omar Khayyam," and Charles Keene, the Punch irtist. The text is' full of anecdotes of these people who helped to. make the inns they fre quented famous. One more passage from this chapter must be quoted: "Many, who 'afterward rose to em inence in the world of art and letters, were, born at Inns. David Garrlck's birthplace was at the Raven at Here ford; at the Garrirk theater, hard by, Kitty Cllva, Mrs. Siddons and Kemble made some of their early successes. William Cobbett was born at the Jolly Farmer at Farnham; while at the little fThaatafeaaf In Kelvedon. now disused, but still retaining the wrought Iro*n basket from which the sign used to swing. Charles Spurgeon, the fa mous preacher, first saw the light Cardinal Wolsey's father is generally described as a. butcher, but he was also a tavern keeper at Ipswich. Like dear old Tom Hughes, who kept the Black Lion at Walslngham a few years ago, he combined with his inn branch shops for the sale of bread and meat. It was at the Black Bear at Devizes, then liept-by his father, that Sir Thomas Lawrence flrst discovered his talent as a painter. We may add that a per sonage with an entirely different kind of reputation-— Turpinwas born at the Crown, Hempstead, Essex." Many inns all over England are dedi cated to Shakespeare's memory, and some are named from his characters." FalstaT Is the most common, three be ing found on the Dover road. Ben Jon There are some whose roving eye Is only to be arrested by distortion, and he was one. If a lady should be par tially undressed when she ought to be dressed, clean when she might have been dirty, dirty when cleanliness were proper; if a young man dis tracted should refuse to trim his nails, hair or behavior, should decide to -wear no stockings or three hats; if on -a lonely heath he. should come upon ' a damsel wounded In the side or see two lovers with bleeding lips, kissing In the snow Captain Brazenhead's heart beat high, and he was the utter serv ant of any such person or pair of persons before they had time or need to invoke his chivalry. There were many like him and have been many since. If sin were not a distortion vice would not'be so exceedingly ro mantic and folks would sin no more. Broadly speaking, every sinner is a poet, but I have no wish to enter upon a discussion." If the boos were not filled with Just such readable lines—and that Is Hew lett's great charm—this work would not hold the reader. He should be in terested In the hero, but he is not real enough; he is too plainly a creation Of Hewlett's, and one which he worked upon in odd hours; and that lack of continuity Is fatal. It is almost heresy to make disparaging remarks about Hewlett, but f with all its charm the book is a distinct disappointment denied, and in the stirring crisis he measures up to the traditions of. his forefathers. • It is a love story with tender senti ment, In which Mr. Moore's writing ex cels, while at the same time there are plenty of dramatic and humorous situa tions. The book makes an appeal to the lovers of nature, but the forestry inter est Is not particularly strong. The girls are not up to the mark set by the author In his former stories, one being an arrant flirt, Who deserves worse things than happen to her, an other being a colorless Individual with no stability of character. she has been able to accomplish are remarkable, and make Interesting read ing, whether one is amateur or profes sional, or simply interested in the great question of milk. Every pros pective farmer should read the book, ana to the man who contemplates going into the dairying business the informa tion is Invaluable. The book Is simply written, filled with illustrations from photographs, and is well printed and bound'AJaggtadraSEßSßJi* •. - ber of suggestions about, the kind- of stock to buy, with hints on beef and winter lamb raising on country estates more applicable to the eastern part of the country than our far and mild west . "Feeds and Feeding," "Crops, Fertiliz ers, How to Use .Them, and the Wood Lot" are then ; described.; 1 and a whole chapter is devoted to "Directions as to Tools." This chapter should be printed in several languages and presented to farmhands Ir^&'^Oßß'' The remaining chapters are "Ways in Which "Farm ; Products May Be Mar keted," "Winter ; Work Within " the Glass House" and "The Cultivation of High Priced Specialties." The book can be read with pleasure and profit by all interested in country life. •on, Garrlek and Dr. Syntax are almost the only other literary or dramatic sjgns that are at all common. • The Three, Pigeons at Brentwood, men tioned by Ben Jonson, Thomas Middle ton and others, has lately been re built The Bell at Edmonton is sup-; posed to be,the Inn where John Gilpin ought to have dined; at any rate, it ; is known that Charles Lamb frequented the place. A quaint poem appears on the window in the Star and Garter at Brighton: '- " 'Wm. Year Slept here October the flrst. Last year.' " • It is difficult indeed to leave off. for to the last page the book is filled with interesting bits. The anecdotes are amusing, the' information is amazing, and the book Use;!", from the stand point of interest, almost Incomparable, v It Is filled with illustrations by tjw v authors, adding much to the interest ot the text '-'■ Brief Reviews of. New Books "British Rights at Sea Under the Declaration of London" is the title of, a pamphlet by F. E. Bray. The author explains in his preface that the book Is Intended for the man In the street who sees a mention of the "Declaration of London," but never having seen the declaration he gathers an entirely er roneous Idea of it from' the equally ignorant newspapers. The subject in-" volves "History, Law and Strategy" and does not lend itself to brief treat ment, but the author has accomplished ; his purpose in a neat and compact lit tle volume which those interested-will ' like to read. (P. S. King & Son, Lon don; Is.) ; ' , The tremendous number of war and peace books Is further augmented by "Captures in War on Land and Sea" by Hans Wehberg. That, unless the growth of militarism can be arrested, civiliza tion must break under the strain/seems to be the opinion of thinkers, and it is to the men who realize the danger, while unable to see their way to re move it, that the work of Doctor Weh berg offers the suggestion "that naval armaments are largely the outcome of the;risks and the consequent fears set up by the continuance of the ..principle that in naval warfare the belligerents are free to capture each other's,'com merce." The book Is a clear statement and; Is an interesting and new light on a subject lof universal concern. (P. S. King & Son, London; 55.) '._..• Edward H. Eppens writes a book which. Is Intended, perhaps, .for com fort to the puzzled millions who can not accept all of modern Christianity as taught The book Is entitled. "The Dilemma of the Modern Christian—How Much Can He Accept of Traditional Christianity?"' •"« The author says in his foreword that "the modern man is ask ing questions. He wants to know," and he adds that "what Is not true will fall of its own weight; what is true and of God will stand forever." The author Is Inclined to quote many old and un satisfactory dogmas, but has much to say,, on the subject which is clear. and sane. The book is well printed and bound. (Sherman, French & Co., I!os ton; $I.2O.) >aSMaWWWMfe "The Passing of the Confederate" is a poem by R. Walter Townsend, which was suggested by the account given.of the decrepit appearance of the confed erate veterans during their march through the streets of Lumberton, N. C, at the 'unveiling of a monument to the.; memory of the - confederate dead from Robeson county. "*May; 10, 1907. The best part of the poem is the Idea, the suggestion. The author has a noble thought, .but it is poorly ex pressed, and the lines are cheap and amateurish. The booklet .is; daintily printed : and bound..'," (Neale ; publishing company, 'j New j York; 60 ', cents.) Alexander Hamilton has called forth more literature : of; a' critical nature than any other citizen of our country since its beginning. The latest book to be written Is ""A Study in ' Alexander. Hamilton,'' by Fontaine T. Fox iof the Louisville .bar, V who has evidently' read muQii and carefully on the subject. One neverftlres of reading of Hamilton, one of , the most remarkable, ; most | romantic and most ; misunderstood; figures' In all history, 'and'this new book about him will be of interest to all history lovers." It is .well written and contains data not before; published, ;„; (Neale ; publishing company,: New-York; |1.00.) 5. Mrs. Augusta Prescott, author of "The Stairway on , the Wall," visited -two years , ago ;a - castle "< in Surrey, where there was! a ; stairway, of ! vines .on > one of the , walls. "That vine staircase is historic," ■; the titled hostess assured her. "It was used by the* soldiers ot her majesty in the days of Queen Eliza beth." The vines, however, looked' so light for the use of heavy footed sol diery, that Mrs. Prescott pulled them aside, disclosing to the surprised owner a staircase of masonry which lay be neath them. The scene recurred to her In plotting and naming her romance. The book Is filled with all sorts of thrilling "incidents, mystery, robbery, strange likenesses— the 'properties of melodrama— one reads on with a real interest to the end. It is fairly written and not marred by illustra tions. (Alice Harriman company, New York. 11.85). 00 a "Thinking for Results" Is the title of the latest volume from the pen of Christian D. Larson, the editor of "Op portunity and . Efficiency.", Like most of this author's, work along these lines it preaches the doctrine that "man is as he thinks he is. and what he does Is the result of the sum' total of his thought." There is much sound sense in this doctrine, but like most enthus iasts the author goes to an extreme In his promise for results. The writing Is In good, clear style and one is repaid for the reading. (The Progress com pany, Chicago.) igßAmWrWm • ■ • '. • , The Book* of "Knowledge" or chil dren's encyclopedia now numbers 12 volumes, four more having been brought out during the last week. The same arrangement is of course in effect In these last volumes as In the previous ones and one can not forbear a word of praise for this unique plan. Com pared to the arrangements usually found in encyclopedias the work would seem to be chopped, but that is only a surface Indication. Arranged in this fashion it is fascinating reading to any child and the knowledge Is absorbed In homeopathic doses unconsciously. No reader will be satisfied with the page of Information which is given him on the subject hut will be forced to turn over to the next installment This is * like* the old Inducement offered in the con tinued story or serial of the old days, which always stopped in the most excit ing place with the legend "Continued In our next" The illustrations, which' are elaborate and remarkable, add ma. terially to the value and Interest of the text' which can not be too highly com mended. (For sale by subscription only by John* H. N. Clausen & Co., San Fran cisco.) W*a**pßßßtr''- "Thoughts on Things Psychic",is the title of a book by Walter Winston Ken llworth, author >of "Psychic Control Through Self-Knowledge," etc. To any reader not interested in things : psychic or ignorant of the ' path popularly supposed, to go with this sort of thing the i book j will; be • unintelligible but the 'elect will "; doubtless i find In It something to Interest or Instruct The book has -no literary 'value, being affected, and stilted In style, the au thor seeming to think that an extrava gance of words outweighs a dearth of ~ ideas. (R -F. Fenno & Co New York. $1.00); ■'... ;': r "From Western China to the Golden Gate" is a narrative of. the experiences of an, American university graduate in the orient. -.■■■'j It is written by Roger Sprague, who spent a year in giving instruction in the Chinese government schools. The narrative Is of.; the I sim plest description, calculated; to inter est; young readers, but full of ; unusual experiences; and -, Incidents not seen i be fore ;In j* any L book on China. . While the style is somewhat • labored, one . soon forgets |lt* in the Interest of the subject' -One \of , the best I articles on China which lave appeared. (Lederer, • Street ;& i Zens company, Berkeley, »85 -■ents). CONDUCTED BY UNA H. H. COOL BOOKS REVIEWED "The Practical Country Gentleman," by Edward K. Parkinson. "Farm Dairying," by Laura Rose. 'I-.., ' ■ ■ '■*'' '■'"' : ' . " "Brazenhead the Great," -by Maurice Hewlett. . PICTURES OF OLD COUNTRY INNS FROM ENGLAND GOSSIP OF BOOKS AND THEIR WRITERS The literary pirate was not the only trouble of the eighteenth century au thor. There were concoctors and pub-i Ushers of spurious works under his name, and; Sterne ; suffered as heavily from these as from the pirates." The publication of the first two vol umes of "Tristram Shandy" was fol lowed as soon as it was apparent that the book was a success by a third, written by^a hack writer and boldly attributed "to Sterne. Several other spurious works appeared 'in -the au thor's lifetime and after his death his Posthumous Works in two volumes were obligingly written for him, as were also three sets of his Original Let ters.. •„" . -•■ ' . '-•"..'-"■ ' • ■ • ' • ' . For some time past Mr. George Moore has been collaborating with a young Irishman on a . dramatization of his "Esther Waters." It is said that in his new book, "Aye, Salve, Vale," the nov elist has • not \ only ; taken •every one 'of his characters from real life,' but that he has not even;changed their names. The scene is laid In Ireland, .the period Is the; present, and the personages In troduced In the book are, it is under stood, John M. Synge, William'; Butler Yeats, Lady Gregory, .George Russell ("A. E."), Sir Horace Plunkett, Dr. Pat rick Joyce, Dr."'. Sigerson, Sir^ Hugh Grant and half a- score of other well known Irish folk. ** It; is authoritatively stated, by the way, that Mr. Moore used Mr. Yeats once before, as Ulrlch Deane In "Evelyn Innes." • • • The child is by. no means the only fortunate .'one who' will; find in "Operas Every Child Should Know," by Dolores Bacon, published In April by Doubleday, Page &'l Co., * a rich ; asset. ■%i There i are thousands who attend opera because they"- love.- music, not ;■ to ■•understand critically the story unfolded Kby ; its power. The story 5 Element *is f subsid iary; A i sufficient' previous knowledge of; It. however, ;to give ■ an j appreciation of the movement upon; the stage ;Is al most essential. This useful introduc tion « to; the "opera 1 furnishes! just this, unfolding the whole story,of 'each opera taken up. In addition fit j includes s bits of the score 'here and there, and?many ■natches^ of ) the libretto, as; well as events!ln. the life; of the composer and > how he rcame ,to write the work. : The book, ; therefore, ; does more ™ than •; de scribe; ;It explains, and by,,. it the,music loving child i learns to love the truly great In music far more, because It Is made easily, understandable. I' Of course the elders know all about it already! »;;,: -p-':''-' ■ "0 i ;' • ■ "a "•' \". Among present day novelists in Eng "Old Country Inns of England," by Henry P. Mas kell and Edward W. ,Gregory. "Jack Ballingion, Forester," by John Trotwood Moore. "The Arrow Maker," by Mary Austin. land few enjoy a more enviable popu larity than W. B. Maxwell. He Is the son of Miss M. E. Braddon, whose meeting with the late John Maxwell was singularly romantic. Maxwell, who was 1 a ; publisher, had determined to start a magazine, which was to be called Robin Goodfellow. By an unfor tunate accident the serial story prom ised for the first issue failed to appear at the appointed time. Editor and pub lishers were at their wits' end.. Miss Braddon ';; heard of the difficulty and went to. i see the editor. There were only 24 hours between her visit and the definite announcement that the maga zine could not appear on the appointed day. The editor explained this '■ to her in declining to accept her offer to write a serial for ItV" "But what Is ; the latest time * you _■ can give me?" asked Miss ■ Braddon. <","If the •, manuscript of the opening " chapters for. the first number were, to be on my breakfast table in the morning," ' said > the editor, "that .would; be in time." When the editor came down to breakfast the next morn ing he found a " package of manuscript among his letters. Vlt was 1 the opening chapters. of "Lady Audley's ; Secret," which Miss ( Braddon had written after leaving the editor's office. The situa tion was saved, the magazine came' out at : the time l appointed ■ and . Miss * Brad don'? name became famous. She is now ,75 years old and is still -working. 1 Her three sons are all writers, but ,W. B. Maxwell is the best known of the three. -' . , ;;:".:: -v _•; ,;:','., ' - \'y ;. f # r M. F. , Mansfield, the American consul at Toulon, France, has I Just arrived In New, York. ; Mansfield will :■ be ' recalled as -the * author.:; of ii a, number." of well i known travel .; covering »Italy' France and other parts of Europe. He Is also' the automobile correspondent for the Paris Hecald. * '■': B_P™*HBBB__HEf-' * • • . %No one ever saw Mark Twain ■ with r out being struck 1 with > his appearance. He was a pleasant-eight on Fifth ave nue, with his white clothes, his mass of silver hair, .the ruddy i face behind a - mist of tobacco ; smoke; .* But :,there",was a 1 time I when a-;; beholder was: not so pleasantly taken with Clemens' appear ; ance. 'In ; his '■/, interesting - new , book "Mark Twain," -; Archibald Henderson •quotes, Senator; William M. Stewart of Nevada las to the senator's 'impression of : Mr. * Clemens ,at' a time when that young writer was .very short of cash " ';, "He; ; . was -- arrayed" in a seedy suit which .? hung ,; upon ; his ; lean ? frame % in 'bunches,,with no style worth mention ing. A sheaf of ; scraggly hair leaked ; ouf. of a battered old slouch " hat, like stuffing j from ' an.: ancient; colonial' sofa, and;an 1: evil ■ smelling cigar butt.* very much frazzled, protruded from the cor "The Arrow Maker" By Mary An*tln. Published by Paffleld & CO.. New York. Price, |1. "The Arrow Maker" by Mary Austin Is a fine piece of literary work. Whether It will make a successful acting play remains to be seen, for it enjoyed but a brief season at the New Theater In New York. Not enough in fact for the critics to cease abusing each other over It. The author. in • clear preface. makes plain her purpose and shows the sources of her knowledge. Readers who know her prose, both long and short stories, will read this with much pleasure, for here we have the author's style "coupled with her knowledge of primitive conditions In the desert, the res-jit of experience as well as study, the whole made into a story, old its the hills, for It is the "eternal 'triangle," but solved In a new sort of way. The first few words of the preface show how the author has studied and what she has observed' on the subject of the Indian: "The greatest difficulty to be met with In the writing of an Indian play Is the extensive misinformation-about Indians. Any real aboriginal of my acquaintance resembles his prototype in the public mind about as much as he does the high nosed wooden sign of a tobacco store, the fact being that among the 63 linguistic groups of American aboriginals, customs, traits, and beliefs 'differ as greatly as among Slavs and Sicilians. .'• • • All that they really have of likeness is an aver age condition of prlmttlveness; they have ; traveled Just so far toward an understanding of the word they live In and no farther. It is this general limi tation of knowledge which makes, in spite of the multiplication of tribal customs," a common attitude of mind which alone affords a basis of Interpre tation." The preface goes on to explain the attitude of the Indian to the various emotions; how nature and their simple living has a profound effect upon them. The "great primitive passions" invent ed by the modern novelist do not exist; at least not in their relation to sex. "The, Arrow Maker" may fail simply for its lack of melodrama. There Is little action, but much simple talking; There Is little or no exhibition of what we call "tact" today; no diplomacy. Straight talk and no mincing of words or meaning. Miss Austin has accom plished a real wonder In that, for It Is the perfect Indian picture. One closes' the book with a feeling of hav ing been with real Indians, breathed an Indian atmosphere for a while. The story of two women loving a man and he loving himself but deceiving one and; marrying the other Is 'as old as the hills, ; but seems fresh and new— as If this were the first time It had ever happened, and all the novels con structed ,on that plot had been <?y --from this one. -HianPVHH This' edition is daintily printed and bound and contains a frontispiece of Edith Wynne Matthison, as theChisera, the medicine woman of the Plutes, the heroine of the play. If some one could speak or read the preface. of the book : to the ignorant and often un sympathetic audience before each per formance, It would rouse their Interest and ; make for the success of the play. It is a literary success, any way, and a pleasure to read. ner of his mouth. He was a man I had known around the Nevada mining camps, and his name was Samuel L. Clemens." '.}^Ba m *Bm*Sa^Sßam\ But Edward Peron Hingston. author of "The Genial Showman," found a more pleasant looking Mark Twain. In "Mark Twain" Mr. Henderson quotes Hingston to the effect that he found In Twain when the latter was a reporter on the Virginia City (Nevada) Enter prise: ; "A young man, strongly built, ruddy in complexion, his hair of a sun ny hue, his eyes light and twinkling, In manner hearty, and nothing of the stu dent, about himone who looked as if he could take his own part In a quarrel, strrke a smart blow as readily as he could say a; telling thing/bluff, jolly, brusquely, cordial, offhandedly good natured. He was a flower of the wil derness, Momus In. a felt hat; where within a. radius of 10 miles Indians camped; among the. sage brush; where a reporter could "not go about his duty wearing light kid gloves." Paul .- Elder & Co., San Francisco, have In press for immediate publica tion a book about books by George Hamlin Fitch entitled "Comfort Found in Good Old Books." Mr. Fitch has served as literary editor of the San Francisco Chronicle for 30 years and his weekly signed articles on the book page have been of wide influence. Recently hie only son died very; sud denly and in his affliction he turned to his beloved books; for earthly consola tion and companionship, and thereupon he told his readers; of the great mis fortune that; had left him lonely and of the cool and refreshing spring of solace that he could turn to through his cultivated * habit of reading good books. This article, written with a most appealing sincerity and frankness that can; not fail to reach the heart of whoever ; has lived through like af fliction,* is the title essay in the volume soon to be published. In the succeeding, chapters Mr. Fitch has tried to give the average and woman some definite i practical sugges tions In regard >to reading .the i great books of the , world. They are ; not bookish. They; do not send the reader to the dictionary,;- to ; look up unusual words. They are simple, plain talks by. a man who has made';books his special study for many years and who believes that through them, culture may be gained without the aid of.teachers and colleges. i^HHB-BpißtßHßlHßttl ;"-. The volume is to be illustrated with an interesting; series • of mezzogravure prints, ; reproducing * portraits, .pictures and; features» of typographic , and ? an tiquarian interest' .""';;' ■' *