The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 9, 1895, Page 24

24 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 1895. A Californian Story~Writer. A most illusive will-o’-the-wisp for the litera: ritic of the hour is “the typical Californian.” We all admire the creations of Bret Harte’s genius, and acknowledge his to be a master hand in presenting the type of character he best loves to portray. “But of course you know,”’ say the critics, “that Bret Harte’s men and women are not typical Californians.” Even Gertrude Atherton, who is conceded to have given us some admirable types of early Spanish- Californians in the days ‘“before the Gringo came” is denied by the critics to have portrayed “the typical Californian,” and when, re- cently, Geraldlne Bonner sketched a sort of girl whom we have all seen and known out here, and called her “‘a Californian,” the critics were at once up in arms. What- ever ali other types might or might not be, this, pre-eminently, was not ‘‘the typical Californian.” It was, therefore, quite in order when, a few weeksago, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. sent out Margaret Colher Graham’'s delightful " that the local ng. tely done. They kill, zood tasteand discrimi- nation, ain of the critics, “but her people are not typical Californians!”’ Just what should tend to produce a impossible for one who has lived many vears in California to return East and not betray, by his whole bearing, that he is a resident of the Golden State. Astute Chicagoans, during the World’s Fair, used stretch of ierritory callea California it would be difficult to seiect a type that could be called representative of the peo- ple of the State. Nevertheless, it is almost “itype” in a locality famed for the cosmo- olitan character of its population might {e difficult to explain. In_all this vast to declare that they could pick out the Californians in any street crowd. : This subtle something that characterizes Californian life and people, that breathes throngh nearly all the literary work pro- duced here, is as intangible as it is unmis- takable. It is particularly pervasive in all Mrs. Graham’s work, and, while no character of her creation can be called a typical Californian, the spirit of Cahifornian life and experience characterizes every one of her stories of the foothilis. Like the vast majority_of Californians— like most of the critics, in fact—who yearn to see the typical Californian im- mortalized in literature, Mrs. Graham is from another State than this. She has, however, been for more than twenty years a resident of California, and is most loy- ally and faithfully a sympathetic inter- preter of those phases of Californian life that have come under her observation. Margaret Coliier Graham comes of good old tch Presbyterian stock on both sides of her family. While she has been, since early girthood, one of the most lib- eral and independent of thinkers, her Scotch-Presbyterian ancestry has left its unmistakable mark on her character. It shows in a certain directness of treatment and an inflexible integrity of purpose and execution—above all in the eloquent re- serves that characterize her work. Mrs. Grabam has given us some exquisite pictures of the lifornia she loves, and has not held back her pen from a recital of its beauties, but, like lan Maclaren’s Scot- tish worthy, “'she will be leavin’ aye word tor the twenty-first chapter of Revela- tions.” Mrs. Graham was born in Illinois, and is a graduate of Monmouth College in that State. Her husband and she were class- wates in the college, They were graduated together, after which she taught for four years, while he studied iaw. His studies rr;m{-lfletl. they were marricd and she en- the office with him, acting as clerk ser for the g young at- % e experience thus gained h: invaluable to her in these later terec years, when a large y v, with all its varied business complications, has manded he ion. In the early of their res: e in California Mrs. Gra- ham wrote a number of sketches for the Overland Monthly, then under the editor- ial management of Charles Phelps, and also for the Argonaut, when Fred Somers was literary editor of that publication. Of late years, however, her work has all gone East, most of it finding a shelter in the comfortable pages of Scribner's Maga- zine and the tlantic Monthly. Mr. Somers was quick to perceive the superior quality of her work, but after a_few years she suddenly disappeared from the literary firmament, and he actually mourned her asdead. He was talking one day in the sanctum of Current Literature of our lack of good short-story writers. *‘There used to be a woman in Pasadena,’ he said, “who wrote good short stories, but—God rest her soul—she is dead.”” Two days later he received a letter from her, asking his advice about literary work, which, after a dozen years of silence, she' now wished to resume, “'if the world needed her.” Home cares, the years-long illness ofa husband to whom ‘she was devoted, his subsequent death and the absorbing neces- sities of Jarge business interests were some of the causes that had kept Mrs. Graham silent. The wourk she has done since again taking up her pen shows how genuine would have been our loss had mnot that silence been broken at last. Sheisa fine and sympathetic rather than a strong writer, and there isa certain restriction about her work that with the casual reader might pass for coldness. She does not exploit the Mexico-Californian of early days, nor even the later argonautand his times, but California and Californians of to-day find in her one of the most artistic and realistic interpreters we have on the coast. She is thoroughly in earnest in her work, and being placed by for- tune far above the needs that so often harass genius she is in a position to wait upon the divine aflatus and devote herself to that which is highest in her art. She is not a believer in the novel with a purpose. “It is not the province of the novelist,” she said recently, *'to elucidate or enforce principles, to establish theories or advance reforms; but it is his province to place our fellow-men before us as they are, throwing upon them such light as only an artist can choose, that through it we may see them without his aid. The Jesson they will teach is their own, not his. Human nature is its own moral; its truthful presentation the sole business of the novelist. But the artist owes it to himself to select such pictures as will ‘make for righteousness.’” To do this he may select unrigihleuumess, crime, vice degradation. All these are his by the di. vine right of art. All that we ask of him is that he use them for our uplifting, not for our degradation."" Mrs. Graham has a stately home in South Pasadena. Wynyate she calls it. The house stands upon ‘the top of a high rounded hill, and sloping away From it to the level are orange trees, making the air fragrant with their exquisite blossoms and the landscape beautiful with their golden fruit and green leafage. She is one of the most gracious entertainers in all that region noted for its gracious hospitality, and Wynyate is a_favorite gathering place of the Yiwrary and artistic clans that an- nually flock to Southern California. The conversation and the congenial spirits gathered on the broad piazza at Wynyate, on a Sunday afternoor, form memories to feed upon in days of dearth. Mrs. Graham is a tall, slender, somewhat reserved woman, with high ideals and a per- sonality that leaves a definite impression upon the circle in which she moves. The world of letters has reason for gratitude that she has been persuaded to break her long silence and give us her recent wel- come additions to fictio: The American Congress. The philosophy of history as developed during the last generation has become so comprehensive in its scope and has sought with such_ eacerness to include all factors of national evolution that the plans of statesmen, the strife of parties and the deeds of heroes in war no longer occupy the dominant place in works on history that they did in former times. Nev- ertheless they continue to be the events which are chiefly interesting to men. Humanity delights to believe that man is master of his fate, and that the des- tinies of nations are made by great men. Moreover, there is a personal interest in the struggles of leaders that is lacking in the narrative of the development of the Eeople at large, and as a consequence those istories which tell us most of great leaders are ever the most popular. & A good example of history exemplified in the actions of statesmen is farnished by a newly published work, ‘“The American Congress, a History of National Legisia- tion” and Political Events from 1774 to 1895,” by Joseph West Moore. The work is not so comprehensive as the title. It is not so much a history of National legisla- tion as a record of the principal political acts of the American people; a summary of the debates on them in Congress, h brief biographical sketches of the leading Senators and Representatives, and extracts trom some of the more notable orations. Even this forms a theme great enough for a notable work, and it has been handled by Mr. Moore with a literary skill and a judgment of selection that render it an interesting and important contribution to our political literature. One of the merits of the book is the per- fect impartiality with which the author records the arguments of both sides on all the great questions which form the con- spicuous features of our Congressional history. This impartiality does not in any way weaken the force and vigor of his conclusions. It serves admirably to make his book a source of information concern- ing the debates on the adoption of the constitution, the enactment of the various tariffs, the United States Bank, Nullifica- tion, Slavery and other large National questions, but does not betray the author into leaving the reader in any doubt as to which side had the weight of argument and the best destiny of the American peco- ple with it. Among the interesting features of the work are the extracts from great orations, which serve to convey to the reader in the language of the leaders them- selves, the arguments by which each sus- tained his cause. These extracts are numerous and illustrate not only the elo- quence of Congress, but also a good deal of its wit and repartee. The biographical sketches of the principal members of each Congress are in some instances expanded to considerable length and afford a fairly good idea of the character and the life of the individual, but as a general rule they are no more than brief records of the birth and important events in his career. The most interesting of these personal sketches are those-of John Randolph and Davy Crockett the two men of our earl: history, who, by their wit, their original- ity, personal force and distinctive Ameri- canism, have perhaps more powerfully im- pressed the popular mind than any of their contemporaries, except Andrew Jackson. Of these two men several anecdotes are told, and, while none of them are new, they are sufliciently good to be always en- tertaining, and serve excellently therefora to lighten the long record of Congressional debates with something of humor and per- sonal interest. As a rule the work throws no new light upon any event of our history, but to this rule there is one notable exception. This relates to the purchase of Alaska, which Mr. Moore says is believed to have been done not to obtain more territory, but for the purpose of paying a war debt to Russia, | contra by President Lincoln and Sec- eward. At one time during the latter part of the war, England and France were thought to have decided to make an attempt to break the blockade of the Southern ports. At this juncture Russia came to our assistance at the earnest quest of the Department of State. One day a splendid fleet of Russian war vessels sailed into the harbor at New York and remained for several we It was a e that Russia would assist the United any attempt were made to break the blockade, and as a consequence Eng- land and France abandoned their scheme. Later on the question of compensation to issia came up and it was jeared Con- gress would resist the payment of the large sum needed, on the ground that the debt was unwisely incurred. It was then sug- not gested by the Russian War Office that the {;nrchfl of Alaska for a round sum would e considered a payment of the obligation and accordingly that plan was adopted and carried out. Mr. Moore does not give his authority for these statements, %ut rests the whole on the someshat unsatis- factory expression, “it is believed.” The American Congress, Joseph West Moore. Harper & Brothers, New York. For sale by Payot, Upham & Co., San Francisco.] Master and Man. Just what Tolstoi has aimed to convey in this little story is a question that different minds will answer in Jifferent ways. Vas- sili Andreeitch Breckhounoff, a land- owner and person of importance in his neighborhood, journeys to another village to negotiate for the purchase of a certain piece of woodland. He is accompanied by a servant, Nikita, and he drives a good horse in a small sledge. It is in winter, and master and man are overtaken by a blinding storm. The character of Vassili Andreeitch is sketched broadly, as Tolstoi sketches his men, but every stroke is from a master hand. One sees the shrewd Russian peasant farmer and store- keeper, a church warden, a man of affairs in a small way, keen at a trade, quick to take advantage, sufficiently hard with his servants to be feared as well as liked, master of his house- hold, and proud of his son. He is less knave than tradesman, but more knave than fool. The pair lose their way. Twice they reach by mistake another village than their objective point. The second time they push on by moonlight, regardless” of warnings. The horse wan- ders from the road and they are tinally forced to camp down for the night in the snow. They blanket the horse and make beds in the straw of the sledge, wrapping themselves up to await dawn. The master rests in the sledge—the man in the snow. At midnigh* the former succumbs to terror —unties the horse, mounts him and rides off. He fears wolves. He fears the death thatlurks in cold, and the terror that stalks by night. After many adventures the horse, traveling in a circle, brings him back to the sledée, and to Nikita, wno has clambered in, and is dying. Then Vassili Andreeitch stretches himself at full length wupon his dying servant and warms him with his body and revives him with his breath. The servant falls asleep, warmed and cheered. Passing peasants find the trio in the morning, the servant warm and alive, but with his toes frozen, the master and the horse frozen stiff and dead. Vassili Andreeitch was lost, when his horse brought him back to that sledge; but he was found, and his soul went out in tri- umph in the night. Itisa strange tale, what the reader gathers from it will depend largely upon wiat he brings to it. [Chicago: ¥. Tennyson Neely. Kor sale at the Popular Bookstore, 10 Post street, San Francisco.] SHSRRAE 4 Brown Studies. Readers of Walden who object to Tho- reau’s evident ‘“‘pose” in that idyl of the woods should read this new volume of “Brown Studies,” by George H. Hep- worth. Here is a new hermit, a fin de siecle Walden, so to speak. He has made a competence in Wall street. He has jostled shoulder to shoulder with his brother man on the highway of life until he is weary of cities and of his '[revious works of a much better sort. y | kind and longs for a lodge in some vast wilderness, where he may put his arms about Mother Nature’s neck and tell her how much he loves her. And so he hies him away to commune with nature. He buys 200 acres of land in the Adirondack woods, with a substantial log house thereon, and with rods and guns and all manner of paraphernalia of sport, a small grocery of canned goods, a 8t. Bernard dog and two men serv- ants he takes his way to the moun- tains. His two servants—he calls them guides—hunt and fish for him, cook his | meals, wait on him while he eats them in solitary state, and he sits by the fire and moralizes in platitudes on men, manners and morals. Occasionally he goes forth to | woo nature with a gun, and wearing a edometer and accompanied by his big gug. He sees visions and dreams dreams. | In the course of the winter he cuts down thirty trees, “his own trees, too,” he boasts, with rather curious triumph. There is a feeble thread of a love story running through the book, as stilted and unnatural as are the ‘“Brown Studies,” and the studies themselves abound in commonplaces of a semi- religious sort. Altogether the book will add nothing to the reputation Mr. Hep- worth has made for himself by some New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. For sale y William Doxey, San Francisco.] “The Talmud.”” Under this title the Jewish Publication Society of America has put out a number of essavs found among the literary re- mains of the late Emanuel Deutsch, the great Talmudist scholar. It is a matter for surprise, perhaps, that this strange book, known by name to every cultivated man or woman in all countries, and allusions to which abound in all literatures, is itself so nearly un- known. Who, even among Jews, has read “The Talmud”? Who among cultivated development of conduct in people whose governing motive in life is one of over- whelming egotism, and whether this de- fense be accepted as valid or not it is cer- tain the book needs ome. [New York: G. W. Dillingham. For sale by the San Francisco News Company.] Aunt Belindy’s Point of View. Aunt Belindy is a character somewhat after the type of Josiah Allen’s Wife, but minus the touch of nature, as the author, Lydia Hoyt Farmer, is minus the touch of genius that has made Josiah Allen’s Wife one of the world’s kith and kin. There is an Ebenezer Homespun, whom the | author aims to make a type of the average man, but who is merely a fool, of which there are already plenty of both sexes. There are other characters in the book, but none worthy of mention. Aunt Belindy herself talks in long, involved | sentences, in which, although she says ‘“hankerin’ *’ ‘“onfortunate” and ‘“pesky,” she never loses sight of subject and predicate, and some- times winds up with a turn that is purely scholastic. Of course, woman sufirage is one of her principal themes, and equally of course she and Uncle fibenezer go to the World’s Fairand she discourses in regulation Samanthy Allen style on all that she sees. [New York: The Merriam Company. For sale by Payot, Upham & Co., San Francisco.] and A Life of Napoleon. ‘What a misfortune it would have been for us all, in this year of grace 1895, if Na- poleon Bonaparte had been ugly of coun- tenance. As it is, it may be questioned whether the exceeding beauty of his fea- tures and the high degree of excellence which our magazines have attained in pic- torial art have not mueh to do with the pleasure all find in the present revival of interest in the great Corsican. Certain it MARGARET COLLIER GRAHAM, AUTHOR OF *“STORIES OF THE FOOTHILLS.” [From a photograph.) Gentiles could state, with any certainty | of being accurate, what “The Talmud’ is? | Dr. Deutsch explains that the Talmud is | the work which embodies the civil and canonical law of the Jewish people; that it | consists of the Mishnah or text, and the | commentary or GGemara; that its contents have reference not merely to religion, but | also to philosophy, medicine, history, ju- risprudence and the various branch f practical duty. It is, in fact, a law civil and criminal, national and international, human and divine, forming a sort of sup- plement to the Pentateuch—a supplement | which it took 1000 vears of a nation’s life | to produce. It abounds in expositions of | the law and of life—in romance and in })octr)n Parable, tale, saga, tradition, all | have a place in this book. In the whole realm of learning, Dr. Deutsch declares, | there is scarcely a single branch of study to be compared for its difficulty to the Talmud. The work under consideration gives an | interesting account of the perils that have i from time to time threatened the Talmud’s | very existence. A fierce storm of dogma- | tismn has ever raged aroundit. Fora thou. | sand years both ihe secular and the spirit- | ual powers—Kings and Emperors, Popes and anti-Popes—vied with each other in | hurling anathemas and bulls and edicts of wholesale confiscation and conflagration against that luckless book. During the latter half of the six‘eenth century it was publicly burned no less than six times, and then not in single copies, but by the wagon load. This compilation from Dr. Deutsch’s notes is exceedingly interesting, inasmuch as while it cannot n the very nature of this a:i.v,e and generation incite to systematic stu {of the Talmud, it gives a large amount of information regarding a very suggestive and fascinating subject. [Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication So- ciety of America.] The Rise of Mrs. Simpson, The author of “Mrs. Harry St. John” achieved so great a success by that book, he has continued to work in the same line ever since, and in his latest story, “The Rise of Mrs. Simpson,” gives us another picture of the seamy side of Boston life. Mrs. Simpson is the young, ambitious and spoiled darling of a self-made millionaire, who finding for himself sufficient pleasure in making money, indulges his wife in the unrestrained pleasure of spending it. Her ambitions are for social success. Her one desire is to win an entrance to the exclu- sive circles of Boston aristocracy, and to achieve that she is willing to incur every expense and sacrifice every duty. The fortunes of business make her hus- band acquainted with Norton, one of the leaders of the exclusive set, who, having lost money in Wall-street speculations, comes to ‘the self-made milmnaire for assistance. Through her husband’s aid given to this man, Mrs. Simpson begins to make her way in society. The husband arranges Norton’s business for him, and while he is doing €0 Norton involves Mrs. Simpson in an intrigue. As usual ruinous consequences follow, but in this case it is not the guilty parties who are ruined. The,| discovery o . Norton’s treachery causes Simpson to die from the sudden shock to a heart already weakened by disease, and 80 the one strong, sincere, manly charac- ter in the book perishes while the wicked goon their way rejoicing. The picture ‘thus given of high society in Boston is not flattering to those who compose it. Without exception both the men and the women of the upper circle are depicted as proud of nothing except their social position and given up to vani- ties and flirtations. The author in the preface defends his book on the that it is round & demonstration of the logical 1 is that the really admirable illustrations constitute the chief value of the **Complete Life of Napoleon’ by Ida M. Tarbell, which McClure has just issued as the first publi- cation in the McClure’s Magazine Library series. The chief source of illustration for the volume, it is explained in the preface, is the reat collec- tion of engravings of Mr. Gardiner T. Hubbard, which contains several hun- ired prints relating to Napoleon, his fam- and his generals. The four distinct periods of Napoleon’s life, wherein he figures as the general, the statesman and law-giver, the Emperor and the exile, are all included in this excellent and interest- ing series of illustrations. There is one unpublished portrait of the Emperor, exe- cuted on a bon-bon box of straw by a Chi- nese artist. It gives him something of a celestial cast of countenance, and is inter- esting rather as a rare and curious docu- ment than as a work of art, and as giving a siznificant hint of the widespreu(ffame of the great Napoleon. The picture dates about 18 bell’s text makes easy, pleasant g, and gives a brief but compre- bensive account of one of the most dramatic and interesting lives in history. New York: 8. 8. McClure, Limited. For sale by the San Francisco News Company, San Francisco.] Readings From Old English Dramatis This work in two volumes is designed by the author, Mrs. Erving Winslow, to illus- trate the stages in the progress of English reading, dramatic literature. In ber preface the author says that she believes her work, the grouping together of carefully made selections, will spare the ordinary reader the time and pains necessary for a research among the old dramatists, filling scores of volumes, and the labor of perusing plays, which, how- ever brilliant in a iiterary sense, are often repugnant to modern taste. The first period considered includes the masques and miracles of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The second period dwells chiefly on Marlowe, with specimens from Lyly, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fietcher. The author then passes to the early Stuart drama, including Webster, Massinger and Ford; and for the Restoration period = Farquhar's In- constant is given. The eighteenth century includes Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Brinsley Sheridan. A large num- ber of carefully selected scenes from these typical authors are presented, with Mrs. Winslow’s comments on the authors, scenes and characters. The work contains much of instruction as well as amusement for the general reader,and. will prove of great value to all students of English literature, especially those in colleges, schools an clubs, much of the material having been used by the compiler in lectures given in several of the higher institutions of learn- ing. [Boston: ]§ee & Shepard. For sale by William Doxey.] A Typical Western Story. The June number of the Cosmopolitan contains a frontier sketch of unusual merit by Dan de Quille. It is entitled, *An In- dian Btory of the Sierra Madre.” In this production De Quille presents a phase of ‘Western life that, while it is passing away. has impressed its characteristics on the country and the people. That the moun- tains and deserts of Aritona and New Mexico have developed a new race of ad- venturers is well known by all who are acquainted with the history of the great West. In the battle for existence they have been confronted by a foe so crafty that the slightest error of judgment or lack of activity would "be equiva- lent fo losing a scalp. The survivors are therefore fit to measure wits and prowess with the sly Aglche wurriors who, man for man, deem themselyes—and not with- out reason—a match for anything that f)”s in moccasins or shoes. Captain Ben enton and his companions, Colrick and Nordine, are representatives of the hardy class of frontiersmen whose intrepidity has made life near the deserts and mountains possible. The story by De Quille is full of thrilling situations that are developed in a masterly way. The illustrations are b Frederic Remington, who is the acknowl- edged leader in_the art world for pictures of this kind. The Cosmopolitan contains many other articles of more than usual interest. After To-morrow. This is a booklet in Merriam’s Violet 8eries, by the author of “A Green Carna- tion.” The author was at one time claimed to be Oscar Wilde, an under- standable error, as the ‘‘Green Carnation” was a veritable blossom of decadence. “After To-morrow” is poor stuff, occupy- ing some forty pages of a very small book. To pad out the balance of the book and hold the covers apart a dialogue by the same author is inserted. “The New Love” gives us a glimpse of an up-to-date proposal. It is carried on with an auditor behind the cur- tain, whose presence is known only to one of the interested parties. The verdict of the auditor is just. ‘‘This may be new, but it is not love.” Like *‘After To-mor row,” “The New Love’ is “flat, stale and all unprofitable.” [New York: The Mer- riam Company. For sale by Payot, Up- ham & Co., San Francisco.] In the Land of Lorna Doone. In this pleasant collection of outing sketches, the author, William H. Ridling, has done a real service 10 the large class of readers who love to know ‘‘the local habi- tation” of great stories. Exmoor and the whole beautiful and romantic coast of Somerset and North Devon is thronged with memories of Blackmore's greatest book. Mr. Ridlizg ¢™e= it ‘‘The Land of Lorna Doone,” and his book has all the charm of literature, while it will be found by those fortunate enough to visit Exmoor a delightful guide to just what they will most desire to see. Other and equally readable papers in the volume are: “In Cornwall With an Umbrella,” “A Bit of the Yorkshire Coast”” and “Amy Robsart, Kenilworth and Warwick.” [New York and Boston: T. Y. Crowell & Co.] The Temple Shakespeare. The latest issues of this admirable edi- tion of the great dramatist includes “King Herry VI,” parts one, two and three. The text used is that of the Cambridye edition. Each volume contains an illuminated title page and an engraving of some scene ap- propriate to the play. The glossary is ample, while the size of the volumes, just fitted for the pocket, makes them desirable for many readers. [New York: Macmillan & Co. Tor sale in San Francisco by Wil- liam Doxey.] Off Lynnport Light. A well-written story by Augusta Camp- bell Watson. The scene is laid in a little New England seacoast village, and the story, which is interesting in itself, is artistically wrought out. The author has a good literary siyle, and the interest throughout is well sustained. [New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. For sale by William Doxey, San Francisco.] THE FRUT INTERESS Horticultural Commissioners Want to Move to the City Hall. A Plan Suggested for Carrying On the Bureau for the Next Two Years. The matter of keeping the California State Board of Horticulture running for the next two years is worrying the Com- missioners at present. This was one of the commissions that Governor Budd hit hard by vetoing a bill appropriating money for its maintenance for the next two years. He held that the bill really specified two appropriations and so was illegal. The horticulturists determined that the usefulness of the commission should not be cripoled for that length of time for the want of money, and several orchardists stated they would pay the current ex- penses rather than have it go out of exist- ence. However, the idea of putting out the necessary money seemed a hardship and the Commissioners have been discuss- ing the situation recently to see if the cost of expenses can be equalized so that the weight will not fall so heavily upon a few. One item practically settled was that the present quarters at 226 Sutter street will have to be abandoned for a cheaper oftice. It was decided that the Board of Horti- culture ask the City Hall Commissioners for temporary quarters in the new City Hall, where their large library, records, samples and stock can be stored. An office will also be asked for. A petition to this effect will be made to the City Hall Commissioners next week. If their wish is not granted the Horticul- tural Commissioners will appeal to the ccunties for help to meet the expenses of the office until the next session of the Leg- islature, when they believe that they will again receive State support. Mr. Filcher of the State Board of Trade has sngfiested a plan to the horticulturists which he believes will bridge over the di- lemma. The Legislature, by a special act passed many years ago, permits the Super- visors of counties toappropriate from $1000 to §7500 a year for the promotion of agricultural industries and the protec- tion of orchards and vineyards, also for ad- vertising the resources of their particular localities. Mr. Filcher's idea 1s for the Governor to call a convention to be com- Eosed of delegates from ail the count: oards of Supervisors. The object of suc! a gathering would be to have the Super- visors, under the legislative act mentioned, appropriate a few hundred dollars each from their treasuries to keep the Horti- cultural Commission alive for two years and to form a nucleus of a fund for 4 fine exhibit of California products at the At- lania (Ga.) International Cotton Exposi- tion. He said that although the Governor vetoed the appropriation bill he did so be- cause it was illegally drawn and not be- cause he is indifferent to the horticultural interests of the State. He would no doubt, if requested, call such a convention. SIMON IN TROUBLE AGAIN. He Was Arrested for Selling Unstamped Chinese Cigars. 8. 8. Simon, better known as the “cow- bqy detective,” is having a hard time of it with the Government officials. Some time ago he was arrested for impersonating a United Btates customs officer in China- town and was held to appear before the Grand Jury by Commissioner Heacock. He got out on bonds, but was no sooner outside the Appraisers’ building than De- tective Gibson arrested him on a warrant charging him with robbing a Chinese store. He again got out on Eonds and while awaiting t started in as a cigar-dealer. Il luck has again overtaken him,as he Was arrested yesterday by a United States Marshal_on a charge of selling unstamped cigars. His bail was fixed at $500 and as he could not procure it on time he was sent to the County Jail, where he will remain until to-morrow morning. Simon says the Federal officials are per- secuting, not Pprosecuting, him, —————— Eleanor of England had a very strong nose and an iron will, and to the latter, no g::g‘t, owed her influence over her hus- | whole [_INCOLN AND THE NEGRO [NSURRECTION. BY JAMES R, GILMORE. One day in May, 1863, I was seated in at his headquarters in Murfreesboro, Tenn., when Charles R. Thompson, one waiting for an answer, Rosecrans opene'd the letter and became at once absorbed in its contents. He then asked, “Tompy, this?"" “A bright-colored mulatto, decently clad, and, I should judge, of more than or- dinary intelligence,” was the answer. “Tell him to wait,” said the gen_ernl. He then reread the letter, and, handing it to me, said, “Read that; tell me what you think of it.” The outside of the letter was worn and leather-stained, indicating that i," had been pressed between the outer and inner soles the private office of General Rosecrans | of his aids, entered the room and handed | him a letter, saying that the bearer was| what sort of a looking man gave you, rection, groviding you do not in any way connect his name with it.”” Before the arrival of this reply from the President, I received another letter from General Garfield, in which he said: “The negro scheme of which we talked has been pressed upon us again, and the letter asserts that five out of our nine de- partment commanders have approved it. Another letter, received yesterday, says one more department has gone into it, and that the scheme is being rapidly and thor- oughly perfected, and the blow will cer- tainly be struck.”” This last letter convinced me that no time was to be lost, and after conferring again with Messrs. Greeley and Gay, I de- cided to go on to shington, to show Mr. Lincoln the necessity for prompt action, and to gain from him such other facts as would be prudent to make public. The President read the two letters of Garfield in his quiet, thoughtful way, and then moving his one leg from where it of a shoe; but the inside startled me. It was written in a round, unpracticed hand, and, though badly spelled, showed tl_mt[ its author was accustomed to the hearing of good English. The date was May 18, ‘ 1863, and it began thus: { “General—A plan has been adopted for | a simultaneous movement or rising to | sever the rebel communications through- out the whole South, which is now dis- | closed to some general in each military de- | partment in the secesh States, in ordf:r; that they may act in concert and thus in- | sure success. f “The plan is for the blacks to makea concerted and simultaneous rising on the night of the 1st of August next, over the hole States in rebellion; to arm them- | selves with any and every kind of weapon that may come to hand, and commence operations by burning all railway and | country bridges, tearing up all railroad | tracks and cutting and destroying tele- | graph wires, and, when this is done, take to the woods, the swamps or the mountains, | whence they may emerge as occasions may | offer for provisions or for further depreda- | tions. No blood i8 to be shed except in | self-defense. “The corn will be in masting ear about the 1st of August, and upon this, and by foraging on the farms at night, we can sub- sist. Concerted movement at the time named would be successful, and the re- | bellion be brought suddenly to an end.” | The letter went on with some other de- tails, and ended as follows: “The plan will be a simultaneous rising over the | whole South, and yet few ‘of all engaged | will know of its fuil extent. Please write ‘I’ and ‘Approved,’ and send _bEr the bearer, that we may know you are with us. el “‘Be assured, general, that a copy of this | letter has been sent to every military de- | partment in the rebel States, that the time of the movement may be general over the | entire South.” As 1 finished the letter the general asked, | “What do you think of it?"” T answered: “It would end the rebel- lion. Co-operated in by our forces it would | certainly succeed; but—the South would | run with blood.” “Innocent blood! dren!” “Yes, women and children. 1f you let the blacks loose. they will rush into car- nage like horses into a burning barn. San Domingo would be multiplied by a mil- | lion.” ‘‘He says no blood is to be shed except in self-defense.” “He says so, and the leaders may mean so, but they could not restrain the rabble. Every slave has some resl or fancied wrong. and he would take such a time to revenge it.” K “Well, 1 must talk with Garfield. Come, g0 with me.” We crossed the street to General Gar- | field’s lodgings, where he was bolstered up in bed, just recovering from a fever. Rose- | crans sat down on the foot of the bed and | handed him the letter. Garfield read it | | over carefully, and then laying it down, | | said: “It would never do, General. We don’t want to whip by such means.” | “1 knew you would say so,” said Rose- | crans, “‘but he speaks of the other depart- | ment commanders—may they not come into it?” “Yes, they may, and that should be looked to. Mr. Giimore tells me that he goes home to-day. Send by him this letter to the President and let him head off the movement. He can do it, restraining the department commanders. Without their support it will soon fall through.” 1t was not thought prudent to intrust the letter to the mails, nor, with the rail- way infested with John Morgan’s men and Confederate guerrillas, was it a safe docu- tment to carry about the person. If I should be captured and searched, and that were_found upon me—with no attending proof to show the use of it that was in- tended—a short shrift and a long rope would be my way to glory. So, ripping open the top of my boot, I stowed itsnugly away in the lining, and then, having a shoemaker soldier restore the broken stitches, I took it with me to Washington. Inacouple of days in a private inter- view, I submitted the insurrectionary let- ter to Mr. Lincoln. He read it over thoughtfully and then asked, “Is not this a hoax?” Tanswered that at first I thought it was; however, it bore so many marks of gen- uineness—its style, just that of an un- educated negro, who had gathered a cer- tain kind of oral culture from intercourse with the whites, but not the ability to ex- ress himself correctly in writiniz. and the Rnther stains upon the envelop—these looked 8o genuine that it seemed to me it ;vould not be safe to treat it as counter- eit. ‘Women and chil-K | *‘Well,” he said, “it does have a genunine look. What do Rosecrans and Garfield think of it?”’ I told him. “,And they want me to put my foot upon it?” ““They do, most decidedly; they urge its having immediate attention. They think the country would be seriously compro- mised if the pruject were for a moment contemplated.” “They are right, and I will give it im- mediate attention. You may write them to that effect.” This was late in May, and early in June I received a letter from Garfield dated the 4th inst., of which the following is an ex- tract: “Iam clearly of the opinion that the mfigro project is every way bad, and should be repudiated, and, if possible, thwarted. If the slaves should, of their own accord, rise and assert their original right to themselves, and cut their way through rebeldom, that is their own affair; but the Government could have no com- plicity with it without outmfiu the sense of justice of the civilized world. We should create great sympathy for the rebels abroad, and God knows they have too much already. I hope you will ventilate the whole thing in the Tribune, and show that the Government and people disavow it.” Iwas at that time an editorial writer on the New York Tribune, and accordin 1y T submitted General Garfield’s letter to ilor— ace Greeley and Sidney Howard Gay, the latter the managing editor. in succession to Hon. Charles A. Dana. This I did, as [ felt in duty bound to give them all import- ant information, but not because I desired to then make the publication. Both urged it, but I said: ‘‘The matter is now in the hands of Mr. Lincoln. It might interfere with his plans, if it should be prematurely publis'hea. However, I will write him at once.’ His reply isnow in the Historical Library of the Johns Hopkins University at Balti- more. It was in a letter from his private secretary, John G. Nicolay, dated June 14, 1863. So much of it as refers to this subject isas follows: ‘The President has no ob- jection whatever to your publishing what Yyou propose concerning the negro insur- | added: | we can’t afford it. dangled across the other, he said, em- phatically: “That Garfield is a trump— there is no discount upon that?’ Not being in a moodpto listen to a eulogy upon Garfield, or any one else, I hastily assented, and was about to ask him what he had done about the negro Emject. when he went on: “Do you know, that job of his on the Big Sandy was the neatest thing that has been done in the war. It's som thing to have been born in _a log shanty. “And to have split rails,” I rejoined, laughing. ““Yes,” he answered; “and I'll bet Gar- field has done that.” - “I don’t know about his having done it, but his motner has. She told me so her- self.” ““Is that so?”’ he said, smiling. “That accounts for Garfield; he had a good mother.” hen, subsiding into a serious mood, he Now, about_that negro business. As Garfield says, it _is bad every way, and Ithink I have put my foot upon it.” And are you disposed to give me any inside facts for publication in the Tribune? I might suppress the names of the six de- partment commanders, if you thought it advisable.” “I’ve been thinking on that sub?ect. I guess we had better say nothing whatever just yet. You see, I have scotched the snake, not actually killed it. When it is dead will be time enough to preach its funeral sermon.” “And you will let me know when you are ready for the sermon?” He promised to do so, and soon the ine terview ended. I do not assert that this lprn]ected insur- rection was not, what Mr. Lincoln_at first surmised it mignt be, a hoax. I simply affirm that Generals Rosecrans and Gar- field—and soon Mr. Lincoln also—believed it to be a real danger, which threatened the South with all the horrors of San Do- mingo. But, whether the danger was real or not, the action of the Presigen( and of | the others who had connection with this projected insurrection has the same char- acter of genuine human kindness toward the South. All know that the insurrection did not take place, and I have always doubted if the conspiracy was so widespread and uni- versal as it was supposed to be by the sub- ordinate leader ¥ho wrote fhe letters to Rosecrans. The uprising was fixed for the 1st of August, and serious outbreaks occurred | among the blacks in Georgia and Alabama in September. May not those have been the work of subordinate leaders who, mad- dened at the miscarriage of the main de- sign, were determined to carry out their part of the programme at all hazards? Mr. Lincoln was disinclined to talk abouat the part he took in the affair. The last he said to me upon the subject was a short time before his death, when he said: “Some time when I have a litt'e leisure I will tell you the whole of that story.” The assassin’s bullet cut short the story. Copyright, 1895, by S. S. McClure, limited. For staving off the hun craving when a meal 1s unavoidably dgg‘ed. it is difficult to find anything better than an apple. “HELP!” " A WOMAN'S DESPAIRING CRY. It is Heard. A Prominent Actress Escapes Great Danger. , [ [SPECLAL TO OUE LADY BEADERS.] How startling is a woman’s cry for help! “What can Ido? Where shal]l I go?” She knows not. This cry goes out today from every city, town, and hamlet in this country. It comes from women who are suffering tortures of body and mind from seme form of female complaint. Many, through natu- ral modesty, do not consult physicians, for many dread their examinations. They know not where to seek for help. This alarming con- dition of things is simply wrong. The peculiar ailments of women are curable, and in most cases 4 very speedily. Lydia E. Pinkham’s genius and liberality have | given tc every woman a sure and consistent means of relief. No woman should suffer when she can obtain free advice. She can state her case fully to Mrs. Pink- ham, woman to wo- man, without reserve, and the answer will come from one of her own sex. Be one of the vast army of women who write to Mrs. Pinkham, at Lynn, Mass., and preserve your health. *‘Only a woman can understand a woman's ills.” A prominent actress, in a letter to Mrs. Pinkham, says: — ¢ ... You cannot imagine the fear. ful condition I was in when I first wrote to you. I was simply of no use to myself or any one else. I had worked hard, and my nervous system ‘was shat- tered from womb trouble and travel. ling constantly, [ &g ran the gauntlet of doctors’ theories, till my healthand money ‘were raj idly vax}; all right now, and am y. 1 {ollow your advice = | ) ishing. . . . I'm gaining flesh dail faithfully in everything, Th: thousand times for whfiz.yon: P and Lydia B. Pinkham's ‘Vegetable Co: pound have done for me.” ..