The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 10, 1895, Page 23

THE SAN FRANUISCO CALL, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 189Y5. 23 A CENTURY OF GERMAN LYRICS One of the daintiest little volumes of the week is that of Kate Freiligrath Kroeker— ““A Century of German Lyrics.”” Itismade up of translations from the writings of the standard and classic poets in the German tongue. The translator’s father was a poet whose fame and name extended far beyona the borders of his own country, and in this work of the daughter the transmission of the divine afflatus from the father is apparent. Not only does she give evi- dence of the poetic gift in the beauty, goh_sh and correctness of her translations, ut in the critical discrimination and ap- &ecutxon of her selections from the great German storebouse of poetic thought. It is only necessary to quoté a few passages to show her poetic insight and careful literary workmanshi The following ‘¢ Karl Beck, one German poets: Methought that already the swallow dreamed Of her own true nest; Methought that already the lark had tried ‘he songs in her breast: Methought that already the blossoms were ki By winds of the west; Methought that already I held thee clasped, Eternally blest. How winterly have you turned overnight, Ye zophyrs mild; How dead and frozen the blossoms o’ hight But yesterday smiled; How the lark has forgotten overnight Her spring-song wild; And ah, how forgotten overnight Thy poor, poor child, One of her prettiest translations is from the Gipsy Song by Germany’s beloved 'signntion” is frem of the most sympathetic of Goethe, in which special interest is now | belqiz taken on account of the Goethe- Schiller Festival: In drizzling fog, in the deep, deep snow, In forest wild, in the winter night, T beard the barking of hungry wolves, 1 heard the ) shrieking of owls? I shot a cat by the garden fence— "Twas ihe pet black cat of Ann, the witch; T'hat night seven were-wolves came to my bed, Sev .‘v;_\ villa; ere they: The following is from one of the short voems of Miss Freiligrath’s father, to whom reference is made above: WILD FLOWEES. Alone I strolled, where the Rhine stream rolled, On each hedge was the wild rose glowing, And through the air the perfume rare Of the blooming vine was blowing. “The poppies red their brilliance spread, The corn to the south wind was bending, Over Roland’s hill a falcon shrill JVith his cry the air was rending. ¢ {1n mine ear there rung the old sweet song: “*Oh, were I wild young falcon,’ thou melos asa falcon shy, nd as bold, 100, con will sing'and the sun on high all the soug on its wings upwave me, Gainst a window s 11, against bars With my pinions A Muller's *‘The Will-o'-the-Wisp’ is well wn to all students of literature, but s scrap furnishes a good idea of Mrs. Kroeker's skill, taste and exactitude in nslation, It may be compared with er translations: To the wilderness you have lured me, Will-o’-the-Wisp, full fair to see; How an egress to discover Does not greatly trouble me, Used am I to stray and wander, To one goal leads every way ; All our j d all our sorrows Are butJ *lanterns’ play. ac Down the mountain stream’s dry channel Calm I wend, through rocks and gioom} Every stream must gain the ocean, Every sorrow finds its tomb. I'hereare fewer shorter poemsor fugitive ications in the German langnage so simpi e one to be quoted, ‘I Asked the Sun,” Ritterhaus. ed to the core of the poet’s thought: 3 love? Ah,tellme!” | gave no answ of gold. sked the flowers hat is love? Ah, tell me!” y shed sweet perfume, but no answer told. | ked the su what 1 asked the Almighty: “What islove? or holy? Or frivolous? To know I would be fame.” | Then G;od gave me a loved and faithfol woman, | 1d never asked I wnat was love again. ished by the Frederick Stokes Company, New York and London. For sale by A. M. Robertson, San Francisco.] BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. Now that Christmas is but a few weeks off, the booksellers’ windows and shelves | filled 1 juvenile literature, and in- i 2ls having young people on tbeirv gift lists are already beginning to make selection from among the leading books | for boys and girls. It is interesting to note the changes that have of late years taken place in this class of literature. Among the new juvenile books there is a noticeable lack of. the nnue-}vopular stuff “‘written down” to the | comprehension of children. Likewise the | pedant has disappeared from the pages.of children’s books. The order of writers | represented by “Aunt Louisa’ at one ex- treme and the author of “The Rollo Books” at the other no longer constitute the sole caterers to youthful taste. We | seem, too, to have bidden permanent fare- well to those insufferable little prigs, “Harry and Lucy” and “Sanford and Merton,” whom we of the present genera- tion hold in common memory as the mentors and exemplars of our_childbood. For the modern boy in particular a fine claes of literature is now provided. Most of the latter-day fiction written for him is of a high order. Travel, adventure, poli- tics and the ranges of classic literature have been attractiyely opened up before him, and the many books on scientific subjects and applied mechanics that have recently been adapted to his wants are of a sort to stimulate and assist, yml;out in- sulting, his mental powers. For informa- tion upon any subject under the sun, from balancing the tail of a kite to constructing an electric motor, the boy of to-day may turn to his own library shelves toierably certain of finding what he wants. The en- tire range of human activities is at his hand in the best of his own literature, and 0 extensive is hie choice that only excep- tional stupidity or exceptioral viciousness need prompt his choice of silly or vicious boo! ; th girls, unfortunately, the case is other than this, While in ‘all things per- taining to their education and deveiop- ment the training and - education of girls is proceeding along lines almost wholly new, the boofis written especially for them seem to run in the same old grooves in ich “books for girls”’ have always run. he principal changes, indeed, seem to be, mainly in the styles of garments worn iul | book of this sort could be written to-|to-day. Nor has any branch of science e in beauty and pure of sentiment as | Mrs. Kroeker has pene- | l receiving much the same sort of education as her brother: Judging from her conver- sation she is interested in much the same subjects.” She rides a wheel, she boatsand hunts and fi!hes,éflays tennis, and even golf, chmps out an goes on long tramps, and, ifj intelligence and atfainment, she'is usuallyquite his equal. = But, as compared with thgt orovided for him, her literature ost justify the belief that she is ly differént order of being. Fancy books of t¥avel and adventure, of mechan- ics and ;dynamo-glectrics written for girls. As rélfiilycnnwe fancy love stories and romances written for boys of 17. The modern girl of that ageis carefully | instructed, il he? mother has any sense, i that she is too youang to tnu_mk_agbout lovers. As a general thing, if she i§ a normal- minded girl she does not think about them. And yet in the bopks written for her, writ- ten, too, by earnest, hizb—gmnded and thoughtful women, who desire above all things the girl’s good, the inevitable lover appears as surely as fate, and the book ends in a wedding, apparently by the same law of nature that decrees it shall end at all. If a girl wishes to read books that deal with the broader human interests of life she must resort to her brother’s book- shelves or to the family library. An ex- amination of the leading girls’ books of the day, the books that may be called the | classics among their type, reveals the fact | that, treat the subject wholesomely, deli- cately, purely as they may, they are one | and nH love stories; that each and all proceed upon the hypothesis that the one story of a girl's life and interests is, inevitnblf‘.a love story. It isa pity that this should beso. Itisa pity that while the rest of the world con- tinues to move our writers for girls, even the best of them, should stand still. But the fact being what it is,"we have small occasion for wonder that so many, even among our modern school girls, continue to think and talk over-much of lovers. A fountain cannot rise higher than its source, | and, after all, each of us draws his concep- | tion'of the realities of life from the litera- ture that we accept as its exponent. In the case of the girl the stuff is usually ac- cepted for her by careful mothers and guardians who are anxious, above all daughters’ hands. There is a broad and profitable field here for the coming school of writers for girls, writers whose books shall 'be live and wholesome and true, who shall deal with life as a whole, and not with the one | phase of it that has heretofore been deemed | the only one likely to interest girls. “sLL MEN ARE LIARS.” When we find a man whose cynacism embraces a depreciation of woman’s con- stancy may- we not infer that that man’s | life has been embittered by an earlier cross |in his love of some woman? Is not the displacement of gallantry and trust- fulness a natural result of blighted affec- tions? A any rate these are the infer- ences that ‘may be drawn from Joseph Hocking’s '“All Men Are Liars.” A youth whose early training has been | molded by the piety and religious influence of an English country clergyman is sud- denly, at his father's death, thrown upon a rich bachelor uncle, who fortified himself | against possible intrusion by securing a neighbor's son as a companion for his | nephew. Slowly but surely the uncle’s creed is impressed upon him; but he is still contident that there is zood and pur- ity and truthfulness in the world, even after his tutorage at college under a man who proclaimed religion an illusion of superstition, enthusiasm foolish, hope al- ways disappointing, man’s honor a mere matter of price, woman’s virtue a myth, morality on the declize, and life generally a failure, with still some human attraction | about it. Then as if the warnings of his uncle had been the truest prophecy, disiilusionment comes to Stephen KEdgcombe when his young married life is blasted by the deser- tion of his wife, who flees to her aristo- | cratic father at the first announcement of the financial failure of the rich jam manu- facturer, whose wealth had been a greater motive thar Jove in her marriage to the nephew. rushed and almost despairing, the | young London lawyer seeks his boyhood companion, who has become a physician in a poorer part of the great metropolis. In one of their visits to the low districts, among the depraved and poverty-stricken, they rescue a little orphan girl from the base influences of a drunken woman. The child is taken to a trainiug-home and given | the name of Hope, a significant indication of the young husband’s fond dreams of the reconcilliation and restoration of his wife. | But the wife does not_return. Ona well- concocted claim of infidelity she institutes divorce proceedings, knowing that she will meet with no opposition. Soon after the | divorce she marries her former husband’s old rival, and her avaricious father is sat- isfied. The publicity of Luke Edgcombe’s fail- ure, followed by his own malignment in the divorce trial, makes Stephen Edg- combe’s name a term of reproach, and its possessor suddenly disappears. After fiuitless inquiry and search for five years the young doctor, now risen to eminence, acts upon an anonymous note in a woman’s handwriting and visits one of the noisome, degraded’ resorts of vilest London. There, at last, among the wreck- age of degenerate humanity he finds in the wild-eyed, dissipated and notorious gam- bler his once manly end moral friend. It is a long fight to win him back to sobriety, and it is only accomplished bv a severe fever brought on by an attempt at suicide, from which he is'saved by a little woman who has given her life to rescue work in the slums. She is Hope Hillyer, the res- cued child and the author of the anony- mous letters that were inspired by her early conceived idealization of the man who had made her new life possible. Of course they are married, but not until after Stephen Edgcombe recklessly imperils his own life in uttem&)tinc to save his former wife and her drunken husband from a terrible death. The revolution is complete, and from a cruelly impressed belief in the pessimistic and _hopeless doctrine of his early school- ing in cynicism the reformed man comes to view life without yellow spectacles and returns to the possibilities ‘of ‘happiness she saw in his boyhood. [Published by Roberts Bros., Boston. For sale by the Popul]ar Bookstore, 10 Post street. Price, $1 50, Z SUCCESSWARD. ‘When, some time ago, one of Edward ‘W. Bok’s most captious critics was asked what he principally objected to in Mr, Bok’s work he replied with a sudden burst of frankness, ‘“Its success.” In truth, whatever may be said of Mr. Bok, from a literary point of view, it is indisputable that he has certainly attained a high measure of business success since his ad- vent in this country from “The Land of Pluck.” This fact, and the further circum- stance of his being yet a very young man, invests this little book of his, written ex- pressly for young men, with an interest and value that might not otherwise attena upon it. *‘Successward” is a volume of essays which the author has from time to time contributed to the Cosmopolitan and other leading magazines. - They are all addressed to young men, and deal directly with that—to most young men—crucial question, success in life. Perhaps no an.active and practical. knowledge of the problems, the perplexities and tempta- -make.” While this may not be putting things else, to put ‘‘good books” in their i est to the reader's mind _Samuel miles, and his famous book Jn Self Help.” “Successward,” however, has the advantage of being written by a young man, who, as he himself says, writes ‘‘not as a patriarch, but with the smoke of the battle all around him and from the very thick of a yonngz man’s' struggle for suc- cess.” " Certainly the writer ought to have tions that assail the modern young man. ‘Within well-defined limitations his book gives eyery evidence of just this knowl- edge. It is written wholly jor the averace young man, and for him_ it will doubtless Kmve practically suggestive. Mr. Bok'de- nes’success as ‘‘the doing of anything to the utmost of one’s ability—making as much of one’s position as it is possible to the subject upon the highest plane, from | the idealist’s standpoint, it still affords the author a wide fiela for discussion of the | ways and means to success as he defines it. In the course of his discussion he treats of the young man’s “Social Life and Amuse- ments,” “Sowing His Wild Oats,”’ *Mat- ters of Dress,” “ihs Religious Life,” “His Attitude Toward Women,” and “The Question of Marriage,” and the chapters abound in good, wholesome common- sense. Mr. Bok’s style is not finished. His English is apt_at times to lapse into | newspaperese, and he nowhere rises to very great intellectual or spiritual height, but his book is practical, sensible and en- tirely feasible. It bears reading, and the class of humanity for which it is intended will find it both helpful and entertaining, which fact must, we presume, be taken as a fair measure of the book’s success. [New York, Chicago and Toronto: F. H. Revell Company.] IN THIS OUR WORLD, AXD OTHER POEHS. This is a reprint, by San Francisco pub- lishers, of the poems of that erratic whilom San Franciscan, Charlotte Perkins Stetson. The book attracted a good deal of well- merited attention when it first appeared, a year or two ago. The present volume is larger by some score or more of poems, which do not, however, fulfill whatseemed ress than has that of “Cld Testament Re- search,”” The present volume,*a series of 1;{00\113:- sketches from *Old Testament istory,” will prove a material addi- tion, from the popular standpoint, to the literature of ~this great subject. The authoris Carl Heinrich Cornill. doctor of theology and professor of old Testament history in_the Uniyersity of Konigsberg. Professor Cornill takes the modern view of the prophet, based upon derivation and the ancient interpretation of the word, and regards him as the preacher and teacher rather than as the seer, and his book is made up of a number of studies of the old Testament prophets as expounders and teachers of the religion of Moses. He writes from the scientific standpoint, but with a real and thoroughly scientific ap- preciation of religious truth, and with a ympathetic understanding of the re- ligious, literary and educational progress of the chosen people. [Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Company, Price $1.] _—— HOW T0 STUDY STRANGERS. A director of California’s now famous railroad monopoly once said to the present writer that he owed all his business success to his ability to study ard read human na- ture. In all probability the statement was overdrawn. However one may under- stand his fellow-man one must still act ac- cording to his own nature, and it is proba- bly not given to _all men to possess or to acquire the particular order of character which goes to the make-up of a successful director of a monopohstic railroad com- any. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt {;ut thata knowlcdée of how to study tem- perament, the head, face and manner of strangers and to understand = some- thing of the nature of the peo- | ple “with whom you come in contact | will often prove of value in every | relation of life. At all events books that treat of this particular branch of study are always of interest. The present vol- ume is by Nelson Sizer, the veteran phrenologist, and is quite an exhaustive work of some fifty chapters. The author makes a comprehensive study of tempera- ment; of what talent consists and what are its differentiations from culture; what capacity signities, and what are the essen- to be the promise of Mrs. Stetson’s earlier tials to success. The work is especially in- teresting in its character analyses and is EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN. work. The time that has elapsed between the earlier and the later poems seems not to have been a period of growth with the poet. It is difficult to think of the writer of ““‘Sim- | ilar Cases,” “The Lesson of Death” and | “The Rock and the Sea” descending to such _witless platitudes as “The Pig and the Pearl,” or the rather commonplace | smartness of the poems by The Satirist. | “In re Andromaniacs” "is the only one in the batch that shows a gleam of the brilliant power that char- acterized the poet’s earlier work (for hard though she has ridden Pegasus, making of him a veritable hobby-of-all- work, Mrs. Stetson has done in the past work that entitles her to be called a poet). | There is feeling, both poetic and artistic, in the ‘‘Songs of San Francisco’’ that are included in the present volume. One can almost forgive the singer’s hysterical shrieking over all things unmentionable for the sake of such lines as these, descrip- tive of San Francisco’s hills: Up and up till you 100k to see Along the cloud-kissed top The great hill-breakers curve and comb In crumbling lines of falling foam Before they settle aud drop. w7 s R e AL e And off to the north and east &nd south, With wildering misis between, They ring us round with wavering hold, With fold on fold of rose and gold, Violet, azure and gree: San Francisco: James H. Barry and John H. Marble, publishers. Price 50 cents.] e THE DELECTABLE DUCHY. No. 7 of Macmillan’s admirable Novel- ist’'s Library is, happily enough, a collec- tion of sketches by “Q”—genial, delight- ful, rambling Quiller-Crouch, whose De- lectable Duchy is the little-known, roman- tic, pu Ise-stirring Cornish land wherein is his home. In his preface the author speaks of a journalist friend who wrote proposing to come for a day of his fort- night’s outing to see what Cornwall is like. “By anticipation he spoke of my | home 23 a ‘nook.’” Its window looks down ugon a harbor wherein, day by day, ves- sels of every nation and men of large ex- perience are forever going and coming; and beyond the harbor, upon leagues of open sea, hig{lway of the vastest traflic in the world. Whereas, from his own far more expensive house my friend sees only a dirty laurel bush, a high green fence and the upper half of a suburban lamppost. Yet he is convinced that I dwell in a nook.” Dwelling there in his nook *Q” has made his own some thirty tales of Cornish life, grave and gay, some full of rich Celtic humor, others full of the Jmthos ana the poetry, the high beauty and fierce tragedy of life with a people to whom life is an earnest and a terrible thing. He has a fine appreciation. of all these, and a quick, reverential sympathy with every phase of experience encountered among this people, and he carries his readers with him, pleas- antly and sympathetically, as he journeys to ana fro among them. [New York: Mac- millan & Co. For sale by the Popular Bookstore, S8an Francisco.] THE ‘PROPHETS OF ISRAEL. = At no time in the history of scholarship have the history of the Semitic race, its traditions, its customs and its literature occupied the popular interest as these do the illustrations. The modern girl of174s | day that would not at once sug- | made greater or more revolutionary prog- easily and attractively written, Whether keptical or credulous regarding the theories laid down by phrenologists there still attends upon the study, as upon the kindred one of palmistry, a certain curious interest that makes a sale for the sort of book of which this is by far the best that has recently appeared. [New York: Fow- ler & Wells Company. Paper, 75 cents.] HOPKINS RAILWAY LIBRARY. The catalogue of the Hopkins Railway Library, compiled by Frederick J. Teggart, B.A., assistant librarian at the Leland Stanford Jr. University, is a valuable addi- tion to the literary department of the university. Mr. Teggart has immediate charge of the Hopkins Railway Library and the catalogue was prepared by him during the past year. This library num- bers 9245 books and pamphlets: A wniter in the Railway Gazette a few years ago, after giving considerable space to the consideration of the large collection of books and publications pertaining to railways in the tatalogue of the library of the Prussian Department of Public Works, deplored the fact that there was then no similar special collection of railway litera- ture in the United States. There is no ground for such deprecation now. . Mr. Teggart’s full and accurate compilation fills the requirements and must be of in- estimable value. Its value and impor- tance is not confined to the university. {}’nblished by the Leland Stanford Jy niversity, Palo Alto, Cal.] THE ENCHANTED ~BUTTERFLIES. “The Enchanted Butterflies” is the title of a sweet little Christmas volume fresh from the press of Frederick A. Stokes & Co., New York and London. Miss Ade- laide Upton Croshy is the authoress, and she tells the story of the enchanted butter- flies in a delightfully fresh and catchy style. The tale is in the nature of a mythical allegory. Two, fairy Princesses are the moving figures,—*‘Sunshine,” so named because she was’the very light of the old Sun-God’s eyes, and “Moonbeam,” only daughter of Lady Moon. They were constant playfellows, and the- story deals with their adventures with the enchanted butterflies and a description of their fairy bowers couched in delicate and- artistic language as sweet as the perfume of the flowers” amidst which the butterflies and fairy Princesses disported themselves, and as pure as the honey extracted thu)agom. Though designed for children, the thinty little volume, ‘exquisite in typographical details, will be read with interest by per- sons of all ages. {Frederick A. gtokes Company. For sale by A, M. Robertson.] KIPLING'S SECOND JUNGLE BOOK. ‘Another jungle-book has appeared. It is printed in fine style by the Century Company. Rudyard Kipling’s first “Jungle Book” has already become a classic in juvenile literature, and it may be doubted whether the larger part of the author’s fame will not rest upon his work in this field. Mr. Kipling addresses him- self to children, but the “grown-ups’ claim an equal interest in the stories with their juniors. It is generally regarded as a perilous venture to attempt a sequel to & ond Jungle Book’” has all of the qualities that marked the first one. The unique and fayorite characters reappear, from Mowgli and the Wolf Pack to Baloo the bear, Bagheera the panther, Hathi the elephant, and Kaa the python. Fach tale is prefaced with a little emblematic verse and is followed by a ballad. Mr. Kipling’s father has drawn a number of head and tail pieces, initials and decora- tions that are in full accord with the text. [“The Second Jungle Book,” by Rudyard Kipling, decorated by J. L. Kipling; 12mo, 324 pages. The Century Company, New York; §1 IEES SCHO0L HISTORY. Mrs. Susan Pendleton Lee has' rendered a valuable service to the South in ber school history, just issued. The history differs from other publications of the kina designed for use in the public schools of the land, in that it devotes more space to history and development of the Southern States. For this she-has been thanked by hundreds of prominent educators of the schools and colleges of the South. Though she hag arrived at giving the South the rominence it is denied in other school istories there is mothing prejudicial in the work. Neither is there anything in the author’s handling of the gravest event in the Nation’s history—namely, the Civil War—to give offense. ~There is every ev dence of care and accuracy in the compi- lation and arrangement in chronological order of the great mass of facts. The volume is larger than other school histo- ries’generally in use, but Mrs. Lee excuses that by saying that ‘“1t has not been found possible or Fracticnbls to compress truths into a smaller compass without reducing it to a compendinum of facts.”” [B.J.John- son Company, Richmond, Va.] “THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT.” This s the title-story of a volume con- taining three of Balzac’s shorter novels, trauslated byCatherine Prescott Wormeley, who has already in some twenty other translations shown an appreciative inter- pretation of that great French writer of fiction whose rapid, picturesque, flowing style she seems so naturally to have caught. Balzac’s writings are not immoral and yet there isan apparently realistic touch about these stories with therr common theme of marital infidelity, tingea occa- sionally with unchasteness tbat gives to the high life they depict a suggestively predominant coloring only slightly modi- fied in its effects by the final touches of right and virtue. ““The Marriage Contract” is the triumph of a secretly antagonistic mother-in-law and the final disillusionment of a loving husband, who finds his own fortune gone and his wife incifferent. *The Double Life’’ and “The Peace of a Home'’’ round out the volume. [Published by Roberts Brothers, 3 Somerset. street, Boston. Forsale by the Popular Bookstore, 10 Post street. Price, $1 THE CENTURY C00K BOOK. Mrs. Mary Ronala’s Century Cook Book, just from the press of the Century Pub- lishing Company, will vrove a valuable household companion. The whole gastron- omic field, ethical, practical and scientific, is covered. Miss Ronald also devotes a chapter to dinner and luncheon etiquette, which Will be read with interest by every | housewife. The authoress has™ been guided by the words of Ruskin. He | says of the cook and cooking: *To be a | good cook means the k fruits, herbs, balms and spices, and of all | that is healing and sweet in fieid and | groves, and savory in meats; means| carefulness, inventiveness, watchfulness, | willingness and readiness of appliance. It means the economy of your great-grand- mothers and the science of modern ceem- | ists. it means much tasting and no wast- ing. It means English thorouzhness, French art and Arabian hospitality. It means, in fine, that you are to be perfectly and always ladies (loaf-givers) and are to see that every one hassomething nice to eat.”’ [The Century Company, New York.] QUARTERDECK AND FOK'SLE. Miss Molly Elliot Seawell needs but little. introduction to Ameriean young people. Her other stories, “Paul Jones,” “Mid- shipman Paulding,” etc., have long since familiarized her name to this important class of readers, who will give this new book of hers a warm welcome. Like all Miss Seawell’s stories those comprised in the present volume are tales of the sea. They are founded, moreover, upan historic exploits of the American navy, and are well calculated to quicken historic interest and patriotic feeling in both boys and girls. The second story of the two is rather the more interesting. It deals with the time of the English occupation of Newport, R. I, during the Revolutionary War, when General Prescott was captured in his own house by a handful of Ameri- cans. An important part in that incident was played by a boy, and the story is of how and where he played it. [Boston, Mass.: W. A. Wilde £ Co. Price, $1 25.] e UP-TO-DATE CRITICISM. About a new book that London has lately become enamored of, to wit: “Im- pressions of Aureole,” Joseph Hatton writes with a paste sparkle not often found in London ink. It says: *‘A painful social document. It is: ‘Dolly dialogues and alcohol; green chartreuse in a beer- house mug; the life of alady with the restrained impulse of a Germinie Lacer- teux’; but it is clever, sparkling and what is called up-to-date; a book to read for its sidelights upon a phase of society that makes a toil of pleasure, and lays up for itself a rickety and melancholy old age.” It makes one curious, to say the least, does that enthusiasm! Can it be that Mr. Hatton is becoming another Jeannette Gilder?—The Chicago Echo. KATHERINE LAUDERDALE, The principal impression received from Mr. Crawford’s story, of which a new edi- tion has been put out by the Macmillans, is one of wearisome detail and vulgarity. We are treated at length to explanations of the Ralston and Lauderdale family trees and made to assist, asit were, at their 'Flantmz and to watch over their growth. he reader is initiated into the various minutie of drunkenness, and participates in such an extraordinary number of “long drinks,” ‘“‘short drinks,” “pilot’s two- fingers,” cocktails and what-not that he might readily be pardoned a little dizzi- ness and bewilderment as he traverses the misty mazes of the volume. [New York: Macmillan & Co. For sale by Doxey, San Francisco. Price §1.] MUSIC OF THE MODERNS. The first number of a to-be twenty-four volume musical publication, called The Music of the Modern World, has just been issued by D. Appleton & Co., New York. Anton Seidl is the editorin-chief ot this beautiful work. It is printed on heavy cream paper, twelve pages to the number, and sides containing several well-written sketches of noted musicians and composers, has a number. of fine en- gravings and two or three musical selec- tions. gfn its entirety it is a work of high- class_typographical art. . Appleton & Co., New York: Dorville by, manager for the Pacific Coast.] CALIFORNIA GOLD MILL PRACTICES. This is a concise and handy little treatise California State Mining Bureau. The author has endeavored to furpish some- thing that should be of practical benefit to actual working millmen, who might not have access to expensive works on the sub- ject, rather than a further contribution to the literature of gold mining. The book is intended for free distribution in this State, and any citizen of California may obtain & copy free by sending a 3-cent stamp to pre- pay postage. The price to those outside the State is 50 cents. [San Francisco: Cali- fornia State Mining Burean, 24 Fourth street.] HY SISTER HENRIETTA. This is a translation by Walter J. C. @ussenrode of Ernest Renan’s tribute to his sister, who died in 1861. Renan him- self said of her that this sister “was the person who had the greatest influence over his life.” He loved her very tenderly and wrote this memoir the year following her death. Only one hundred copies of it were printed and circulated among friends, and it now appears as a .posthumous work of the great Frenchman. Itismainly of value as throwing a strong personal light upon the novelist. ew York: S. Ogilvie, publisher. 5 cents.] e i ; - THE MAGAZINES. The Forum. The November Forum' contains a num- ber of unusually solid and thoughtfdl papers. In the opening article John Bach McMaster handles the proposition of the Presidential third term in a manner that cannot prove other than highly interesting at this time, when the Nation is on the eve of another battle between the two great political factions. Among the many other highly interesting articles that of Dr. W. K. Brooks of Johns Hopkins University, reviewing the essays of Huxley, will ap- peal strongly to the student and scholar. Besides those mentioned, the number con- tains papers by O. D. Ashley on “The General Railroad Situation”; Captain Alfred T. Mahan, U. S. N., on “The Navy as a Career”; Professor Lester F. Ward on “Plutocracy and Paternalism”; H. H. Boyesen writes about *“Woman’s Position in Pagan Times”; Stoyan K. Vatralsky on_ ‘“Studies of Notable Men—Stambou- Joff”; E. W. Bokon “The Modern Literary King”; Anatole France writes on “The Chief Influences on My (bis) Career’; Montgomery Schuyler on “The Cente- nary of John Keats”; Edward I. Adams on ‘Co-operation Among the Farmers'’; and Francis M. Abbott on “A Generation of College Women.” Price North American Review. The opening article in the North Ameri- can Review for November, *Quick Transit Between New York and London,” by Aus- tin Cashin, is bright, breezy and novel in its construction, and the subject is han- dled in a very unique way. There is a highly -interesting and amusing essay by the late Professor H. H. Boyesen on *“The Plague of Jocularity.” It is strictly appli- cable to:the American people. Edward Atkinson writes upon “Jingoes and Silver- ites,” - while Major-General Neison A. Miles treats in another chapter from his forthcoming book “From New England to the Golden Gate” on “Our Acquisition of Territory.” A contribution of interest is that on the “Industrial Development of the South,” by the Hon. W. C. Oates, Gov- ernor of Alabama. An interesting paver is “The Girlhood of an Actress,” by Mary Anderson de Navarro. The St. Nicholas. As the holidays approach a brighter sparkle comes into the eyes of the little folks at the mention of ““St. Nicholas'’—the magazine. They in their simple and abid- ing trust in its editor reason with unerring accuracy that their beloved periodical must contain stories and sketches which | will intensify their anticipation of the Christmas season and give them hap py thoughts in sincere accord with the time of temporal and spiritual rejoicing. The November number of *‘St. Nicholas™ is no excepticn to the custom followed for so many years. It is a veritable treasure- house for the little readers. The stories are carefully selected and not one is to be found therein that will not go to the hearts of the child readers. “Long live St. Nick!" say the little folks. The Monthly Illustrator. A timely article entitled ‘“Senator Alli- son of Iowa—the Rising Presidential Star,” by Joseph W. Kay, in the Monthly Illus- trator and Home and Country, New York, for November, will attract attention. It emphasizes and brings out in bold relief the personality and history of this *‘man of the hour,” who may in time become a “man of destiny” in this Nation. The ar- ticle is carefully prepared—the author of it writes by card evidently—and the subject of the sketch almest speaks to the reader, so faithful is the photograph reproduced in_its likeness to the original of it. Cer- tainly in the political events to come Sen- ator Allison will share largely as an ideal candidate for the Presidency. The maga- zine is issued by the Monthly Illustrator Publishing Company, 149 Leonard street, New York. The New Bohemian. Surely the age and the development of the ten-cent magazine is advancing rap- idly. The cheap magazine, with McClure as the pioneer, is here tostay. Among the latest acquisitions to the list is ihe New Bohemian, published by the Bo- hemian Publishing Company of Cincin- nati, Ohio. The first number was issued in October and its contents promised much for the future. The November number ful- fills that promise to the extent of being an improvement over its predecessor. The arucles are furnished by well-known writers, among them being Helen Chaffee, H. 0. Wise, Edwin C. Fost, Harriet E. cutt, James Knapp Reeve. The stories and sketches are not too short or too long. All are of a high literary cast and most of them are bright, piquant and refreshing. The magazine has every chance of success. The Midland Monthly. The November number of the Midland Monthly is unusually attractive. Besides a long list of high-¢lass contributions, it contains an article on the ‘Midland ‘Women in California,” with twenty por- traits of some of our best-known women. Among them are the portraits of Mrs. Ada Van Pelt, Rose Hartwick Thorpe, Ina D. Coolbrith, Anna Morrison Reed, Virna Woods, Lillian Hinnfan Shuey, Mrs. M. Burton Williamson, Mrs. Elizabeth A. Vora, Mrs. Ella- M. Sexton, Margaret Col- lier Graham, Mabel Clare Craft, Alice Ca- rey Waterman, Miss Gwendolen Overton, Mrs. Tbeodosia B. Shepherd and others. The Midland tor November will prove of exceptional interest to the California readers. gt Lippincott’s Magazine. The November number of Lippincott contains a stirring tale of- Washington life by Harriet Riddle Davis, entitled “In Sight of the Goddess.” Among the other articles are many from the pens of well- known writers. The short novels which appear in Lippincott's Magazine every month continue in their popularity, and the present number is no exception as to the quality and interesting character of the routine contributions. The names of some of our best-known writers are found in the index of contents. American Historical Register. The current number of the American Historical Register, devoted to the interests of patriotic hereditary societies, is full ot historical matter of an interesting and in- structive character. Many of the papers on mining methods in this State, by Ed. successful work of fiction, but “The Sec- | B. Preston, sLE., field assistant to the shed a new light on. the early military exploits of the country and will be pre- served for future reference by students of history. Among the leading articles are an account of Lafayette's visit to the United = States in 1824-25; rural militia of New ‘Netherland, traditions of Fort Jenkins, Pa., “The Regimental Book,” etc. e JATERARY NOTES. “In Defiance of the King,” the new American historical romance by Mr. C. C. Hotchkiss, which has been published, has been received with remarkable favor by the réviewers, who seém agreed that a new literary light has arisen. The publishers, D. Appleton & Co., report that the book is finding a large circle of read “Corruption,” the new novel by Percy White, author of “Mr. Bailey-Martin,” ig said to offer 'a very striking and internal view of political and social life in London. One ot the interesting literary questions of the day is whether dialogue is to b prevailing form of fiction. Sir Walter Besant predicts that novels will shortly be written 1n dialogue, and that descriptions will be almost entirely done away with. He cites Miss Violet Hunt and Anthony Hope as two of the most successful users oi dialogue, and hisargument is re-enforced by the brilliancy of Miss Hunt’s new work of fiction, **A Hard Woman.” Among the attractive novels of the autumn from the press of Lovell, Coryell & Co. of New York is a romantic story entitled *‘As the Wind Blows,” by Miss Eleanor Merron, a graceful exponent of refined light comedy, formerly a member of the New York Lyceum Tfleatet Com- pany and a skilled and fascinating writer. The scene of the story is New England, its motive being the contretemps incident to a concexaled mar . Herbert D. Wa “Dash to the Pole” is the brigntest and liveliest of narratives ever given to the public on that will-o’a the-wisp of the time—an aerial voyage to the pole. The story is skillfully constructed and graphically written, the illstrations udding interest to the book. In ‘‘The Land of Promise” Paul Bourges has taken as his theme the extent to which the author of another’s being is responsible for the proper care and watche fulness over that being’s future. A young Parisian learns, upon the eve of his own marriage, that he isresponsible for the birth of a beautiful little girl, whose mother, while the wife of another, had given heg love to the young man. The struggie be- tween the young man’s desire to make all rcraration possible and his eagerness to follow his love affair to its hflfppy fulfills ment formsa basis for some of the most interesting dissertations upon human duties and inclinations. Max Nordau, whose ‘‘Degeneration’’ re- ly excited so much controversy, hag written a powerful play entitled “The Right to Love.” It is the story of a young and beautiful woman, whose huse< band, a worthy and %m:ctical businesy man of quiet tastes, fails to fill her life with the mental excitement she believes i$ her privilege to obtain. So rapidly has Miss Coolbrith’s new vol« ume of verse sold out here that, with the exception of a few copies, the Pacifig Coast edition is already exhausted. Ans other edition, especially for the holiday trade, will appear the latter part of this month. Miss Coolbrith has dedicated the book to Edmund Clarence Stedman, the banker poet, who has ever been an appresy ciative and encouraging admirer of hey genius. BOOKS RECEIVED. Tre Srcoxp J LE Book; by Rudyard Kipling. Century Company, New Yorkj 12mo.; 324 pages; $1 50. Thue NaBoB oF SINGAPORE; by St. Georga Rathbone, authorof Dr.Jack. Street & Smith, 25 Rose street, New York; 218 pages; paper; 50 cents. PracrIcAL CHRISTIAN SOGIOLOGY. A spes cial series of lectures delivered befora Princeton Theological Seminary, and Mae rietta College, by Rev. Wilbur F. Craits, Ph.D. Cloth, 12mo; illustrated with 23 portraits. New York, London and To- ronto. Funk & Wagnalls Company; 524 pages; $1 50. Tre Cenxtury Cook Book; by Mary Ronald, with 150 illustrations from phoe tographs, 12mo, cloth, 587 pages. New York: The Century Company. Price $2. Lee’s ScHOoL HISTORY OF THE UNITED SraTes, by Susan Pendleton Lee; cloth gilt. B.J. Johnson Publishing Company, Richmond,Va. - CuiLEOWEE Boys 1N War TiMe; by Sarah E. Morrisou. A tale of the war of 1812. 1 volume, 382 pages, three illustrae tions, 12mo, cloth gilt; $1 50. T. Y, Crowell & Co., New York and Boston. Tae HousiNG oF THE WORKING PEOPLE} by E. R. Gould, Ph.D. Government Print- ing Office, Washington, D. C. i’umw BeAuTY; by Marion Martin, Published by Laird & Lee, Chicago; illue minated cover, 43 pages; 50 cents. Patricia; A SEQUELT0 Two BAp Browx Eves; by Marie St. Felix. Published by the Merriam Company, New York; 290 pages, paper, 50 cents. A CENTURY OF GERMAN LyRIcs; transe lated by Kate F.XKroeker. Published by the Frederick A. SBtokes Company, New York. Forsale by A. M. Robertson. TuE ENCHANTED BUTTERFLIES; by Adel- aide Tipton Crosby. [llustrated by Mrs, 8. H. Clark and the author. Frederick A. Stokes Company, 20 West Twenty-third street, New York. Tre Riear 10 LoOVE; by F. Tennyson Neely, Chicago. GIVEN AWAY FREE. 3 5 (ts. Worth of Crockery, Chinaware or Glasswm'e FREE with each $1 'JEAS! COFFEES, SPICES or COLIMA' CUT OUT THIS ADVERTISEMENT, Bring it with you to any of our stores; it is the SAME AS MONEY to you until No- vember 20. We want you to see the im- mense BARGAINS in our CROCKERY DEPARTMENT. Come and see us. Bring your fnends. Great American Importing Tea C0's 140 Sixth st 965 Market st. 333 Hayes 1419 Polk st. 521 Montg'y ave. 2008 Fillmore st. 3006 Sixteenth st. 2510 Mission st. 218 Third st. 104 Second st. 617 Kearny st. 146 Ninth st. 3259 Mission st, 1053 Washington 917 Broadwa 131 San Pabloav. 616 E. Twelfth st Oakland, | Mamela (PRI Headquarters—52 Market St. Operating 100 Stores and Agencies. Max Nordau, New York and City Stores, S.F. CALL. JUST PUBLISHED. THE CONCEPTION OF GOD, BT e JOSIAH ROYCE, Ph.D., Professor in Harvard University. The great lecs ture before the Philosophical Union of the Univer« sity of California. With comments on_itby PRO« FESSORS MEZES, LE CONTE and HOWISON, A bandsome pamphlet of 86 pages, 8vo. Price, 50c, For Sale at all the Leadiog Bookstores,