The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 26, 1896, Page 23

From an Eastern exchange. THE PROSE OF | | LE GALLIENJE| | | A Series of Touchirg Sketches ‘ i | How Love and Beauty Madq Second Heaven on the | Seventh Floor | | al There {s a suggestion of Charles Lamj in | yetartistic use of words constantly brimf to Essays of Elis.” Thde is also at time the deer. feeling of Gven | Meredi e of an ailing world|be- | loved Night,” in “The Wanderer.” Wihal| there 1s & cheerful humor that is as dral es | Mark Twain’s best. 2] Thes admirably intermirfled, al- | s are not uniform, however. lome of the sketches in the present volume sefm to be beneath the level of this euthor’s juse. | ue ot ‘‘The Answer the light of present resdingft ap- s triviel and inconclusive. Yet thi{very nay be seized upon by the mystics if the my priests of literatur that are common to all sges—and made to spear as the very keystone in the arch of Ij Gal- nne’s fame. | Gellienne has enongh wit and jthos in the first sketch of the present series, lled “A Seventh-story Heaven,” to sweeten apuch larger volume. It is almost impossile to transplant a jest from an author’s page » the reviewer's column without losing in- sove de- gree the original flavor. Passages of jentr ment or philosophy are less sensitivé| and, like hardy snrubs, may be potted and ha/dled, exposed or exhibited at will for purpes of entertainment or embellishment. Hercghen, are some thoughts from “A Seventhstory Heaven”; The seventh stofy is at the top of dhign building in the customs-warehouse prt of London, where the shops sell nothing bft ofl- skins, sextants and parrots and whee the taverns do s mighty trade in ram. | It was in this quarter for & brief sweet tine that Love and Beauty made their strange hdpe, as | though a pair of halcyons should choose taffest in | the masthead of acattle-ship. Love and fleauty | chose this quarter, as alas! Love and Beauf] must cnoose s0 many things—for its cheapness| Love and Beauty were poor and oflice rents in thi quar- ter were exceptionally low. But what shoul| Love and Beauty do with an office? Love wash poor! poet in need of a roond 10r his bed and his rimes, | snd Beauty wasa liidle blue-eved girl whdioved | him. Itwas a shabby, forbidding place, glooly and | comfortless asa warehouse on the banks @ Styx. No one but Eove and Beauty wonld have dfed to choose it for their home. But Love and §eauty have a great confidence in themsel ves—aconldence curiously supported by history—aud theynever had a moment’s doubt that this place was s good as another for an earthly Paradise. ¢ Love signed an sgreement for one great room at tje very top, the Very masthead of the building, and peauty with muslin curtains, no{; and made it pretty but chiefy with | dainty makeshifis of furnijure, the light of her own heavenly face. i Even in this celestial eerie these twoyoung people had healthy appetites, end so the fared forth to obtain materials for their mian supper. The péet’s purse was almostpmpty, . but by pawning & book that had been £nt to him for reyiew the exchiequer was replgiished to the extent of six-and-lhree-pence. The suthor admits that ordinaril sum is rathér light for an incursion of § kets, but explains its sufficiency in tHs case | by the reflection that only the poor k art of dining. It gives one a good tas mouth to read of that evening’s shoppilg. You needn’t wish to be hapPier and than those two lovers as they gayly has this | mar- | of the ‘passers-by. Oh, those hams, 'wi honest, shining faces, polished like mahfgany— and the mad fuside so happy all day sliciog then | with those wonderful long knives (whth, of | course, the superior class of reader has|never seen), worn away i0 & veritable thread, 3 men wire, but keen as Excalibur. *. % * An{ whe an artist was the carver! What atrue eye; wha a firm, flexible wrist—never & shaving of,fat tot much—he wss L00 great an artist for that. | Leaving the occupants of the seventh-stor: heaven to enjoy their repast, let us hasten to view of “THie Burial of Romeo :and Juliet” as! presented for the first time in a manni worthy of that tragic event: 4 One morning of all mornings the citizens of the cause of Prince Charles Stuart. Verona wete s'artled by strange news. Tragic forces, to which they had been accustomed to pay |pack to little heed, had been at work in their city during the dark hours, and young Romeo of the Monta- ONE MORE WESTERN BOOK. i The Engaging Story| of “Checkers” In a Year He Spent a Fortune, But Retained a Gharming Personality Here we have the initial work in fiction by another Western author, Henry M. Blossom Jr. of St. Louis.” In “Checkers: a Hard Luck Story.” ibe writer relates the advertures of & youdg man who was ruined by his devotion to the racetrack. The story is ostensibly toid by & sympathizing friend of “Checkers,’ and the friend tells it well. ‘‘Checkers” is first en- countered at the American Derby in Chicago. A few days later he is met on the street and invited to lunch—or rather Checkers invited himseli—at Kinsley's, Chicago’s swell restaur- ant. Checkers mentioned that ‘the last time he had taken & mealin that place was with | His friend wes surprised, | his wife, a year ago. and said: “Your wifel You don’t mean to tell me you had a wife ?” : “Ihad a wife,” he answered, sorrowfully, “I beg your pardon, Checkers,” I said. hope I haven’t hurt your feelings.” “No, you haven’t hurt them,” he replied, “I've got my féelings educated. I've had so many ups and downs I've learned to take my medicine. But I'll bet I've had the toughest luck of any gay that ever lived. A yearagol had money. wife and friends, and was doing the Venderbilt act. In two short weeks I lost them all. I've been ‘on my rollers’ ever since. ““But, say, you wouldn’t have known me if you'd seen me here with my wife that time— my glad rags on, a stovevipe iid, putent leather kicks and a stone on'my front. We came to Chicago to take in the fairand dropped in here 1o eat one might.” This was Checkers; penniless, slangy and illiterate; and yet he possessed a charm which “r made a friend of a business man, whose life | was quite outside the gambiing circle with which Cheakers wes familiar. By degrees this friend drew from Checkers his hard-luck story. Sometimes weeks would pass between the meetings of the friends; then Checkers would drop into the other's of- fice, receive some good advice, tell something | of his life, borrow some money and depart. The story is an ‘interesting ome and, as we have said, it is well told. 8. Stone'& Co. For STORY OF A PIECE OF COAL As the suthor of this wonderful story ob- | serves in his preface, the knowledge of the marvels which & piece of coal possesses within itself, and which, in obedience to processes of man’s invention, it is always willing to ex- hibit to an observant inquirer, is not so wide- spread, perhaps, as it should be, and the aim of this little book—this record of one page of geological history—has been to bring together the principal facts and wonders connected ' with & piece of toal jato the focus of & few pages. In this useful work by Edward A. Mar- tin, F.G.S, there 1s found, side by side, the record of the vegetgble and mineral history of coal, its discovery and early use, its bearings on the great fog problem, its nseful {lluminat- ing g portant and interesting bearings of coal or its products. Originally Mr. Martin's work was distinctively British in its treatment of the subject. In order to adapt the edition of the | book now at hand more closely to the needs of American readers, & few passages that were not applicable to America have been replaced by matter concerning. the cosl of this country; and, at the instance of the American publish- ers, some minor changes in phraseology have- been made. [New York: D. Appleton & Co. For sale by William Doxey; price 40 cents.] — 5 SIR MARK. The Revolutionary War period and the times immediately following are furnishing themes for & host of writers at present. "Interest in Napoleon, which was so widespread a year or two ago, is now eclipsed by the Washington re- vival. In Anna Robeson Brown’s new Story, “Sir Mark,” the “father of his coun try” per forms & part wortlly of his name in connettion with the career of the hero, who is the son of a Scottish nobleman who lost his estates and was driven into exile on account of fealty to “Sir reduced to dire poverty, makes his way his aneestral abode, usurped by under- lings ‘of Prinee George, and after some excit- ark,” gues, handsome. devil-may-care lad as they had |IN8 8dventures, gets possession of some of the known hime and little Juliet of the Capulets. thaj maa-cap, merry. gentle, young mistress, lay dead side by side in the Church of Santa Maria, Three deys the lovers lay in state in thy| church and om the fourth by decree of t Governor 61 the City they were carried throug the streets in the ‘eyes of ail the people end| then buried together in the vault of the Capn| lets. During those days, before the entom: ment, there stole a strange sweetness over thy city, as though the very spirit of love h nested there and was filling the air with i soft breathing. Men once more spoke kinal to their wives, and éven coarse faces wore gentle light—just as sometimes at evening t! setting sun will turn to tenderness even bla¢ rocks and frowning towers. In lighter vein is “The Great Merry. Round.” Another filmy yet entertaini sketch is “The Boom in Yellow.” Cariyle echoed in ““The Fallacy of a Nation,” and t depth of life's philosophy, with a yearning f the life beyond, is voiced in *‘The Greatness Msn.” An uncanny description of deat) morbid enough to meet the requirements the most intense of the decadent sehdol, is ¢ account of thé passing of Jenny ‘given Scriptor in his conversation with Lector. The style of the book, its mechanial duction, deserves s word of praise. It triumph of lh&'bflok-blnder’h , joed to & supreme effdri by the typographer. . " [Prose Fancies (secoud serles). by iigard Le Guilleppe. Published by Herbert 5. Stdje & Chicago; 200 pp.; 81 26.) treasures which his father had secreted in the place. His life in. the Old World has been a [eurse to him and he turns his back upon Europe. He sails for America, and finally, after resisting an attempt to convert him to |'a scheme of empire broached by & secret enemy of the Republiic, casts in his lot with Washington and does good service for the Con- tinental cause. The story contains some very dramaticincidents.and young people especially will enjoy reading it. {New York: D. Appleton & Co. Forsale by William Doxey; price; 75 cents.] - - G © THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU A somewhat weird tale of travel written by H. G. Wells. It professesto be the narrative of one Charles Edward Prendick, whose uncle, Edward Prendick, wes reported lost in the vessel Lady Vain, from- the port of Callao. When he was picked up, however, “He gave such an account of himseli” (says his nephew), “that he was supposed demented. Subse- quently he alleged that his mind wasa blank from the moment of his escape from the Lady Vain. His case wes discussed smong psycholo- gists at the 1ime as & curious instance of the lapee of memory consequent upon physical and mental stress.” The story is based upon certain newspaper reports and can be récommended as & well- written narrative of adventure. - {New York: Stone & Kimball For sale by all booksellers; vrice $1 25.] THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JULY 26, 1896. THE MAN WHO LAID THE ATLANTIC CABLE Life and Work of Gyru s W. Field-- When He First Went to New Vork His Salary Was One Dollar and His Board Two Itis not long since American biography was one of the most barren fields in the whole domain of literature. A few lines of Wash- ington, some strained eulogiums of party leaders, made up most of the quantity, while the autobiography of Franklin and the letters of Wirt constituted about all there wasin it 'of merit. A different condition of affairs pre- vails now. We are rapidly forming a biograph- jcal literature as interesting if not so exten- sive as, those of European nations. We are learning Low to write the lives of our distin- guished men in & way to reveal the humsnity in them instead of portraying them as a set of stiff statues plentifully coated with whitewash. Among the recent contributions to ogr literature of this kind is ‘Cyrus W. Field, His Life and Work,” edited by Isabella Fleld Jud- son. It is not a production of any great literary merit, nor can it be called a compre- hensive account of Field’s life nor ajustap- praisement of his work in the world. Ithas, however, an enecdotical value, and containsa number of letters from distinguished person- ages which will be read with pleasure by all who are interested in the private views of public characters. The chief defect of the book is that so large & portion of it {s taken up in giving the menus ‘ and speeches of the various banquets at which Mr. Field was & guest. Hardly more interest- | ing aTe the pages filled with extracts from newspapers laudatory of Mr. Field and repro- ductions of the headlines that announced the completion of the Atlantic cable. These help | to swell the bulk of the volume, but the reader feels that the space might have been much better filled by giving a tuller and more de- tailed account of Mr. Field’s work. Cyrus West Field, the eighth child and seventh son of David Dudley Field, was born in Stockbridge, Mass., November 13, 1819. It is remembered of him as a child that his deal- ings with his playmates were most exact. He paid punctually all that he owed and re- quired the same punctuality in return. He | was the chosen leader in all the games, and one notable occasion was-a victor in & race sround the village green, one of the stipula- tions of which was that a certain aumber of crackers should be eaten on the way. . In April, 1835, young Field left his village home to seek his fortune in New York, where his brother, David Dudley, had preceded him. A record book, in_which he kept an account of his expenses, affords some curious informa- tion as to the prices that prevatled at that time. His board and lodging in a respectable quarter of the city cost him $2 a week. He paid 1234 cents for one steel pen and the same amount to get his hair cut. For a pair of shoe brushes he patd'25 cents, while & straw hatcost him $1. His first employment was that of an errand boy in the storeof A. T. Stewart at a salary of $50 a year. The second ear his pay was raised to $100. To enable him to live at this time his brother David loaned him money, but the whole sum was re- | paid with interest before Cyrus was 21 years old. ’ \ An anecdote illustrative of Field’s shrewd- | ness and boldness 15 told of this period of his life. It was a rule of Stewart’s that all em- ployes who came to the store a minute late in the morningor were more than an hour at din- ner or three-quarters of an hour at supper and oils, the question of the possible | exhaustion of British supplies,'and other im- j ter that we find Mr. Cahan has been under the | should pay a fine of 25 Cents. The fines thus collected Mr. Stewart promised his clerks | should be paid to any charity they might select. When Field had risen to a position of influence ith his fellow-clerks he induced them one year to sign & petitton that the money should | be paid to him to be éxpended in charity. | The cashier baving refused to do this an ap- | peal was taken to Stewart Limself, who or- | dered the money paid to the boys. The rest of the story can be best told in Field's own words: Dollars a Week. T took the funds, and a1l of the clerks left the store that night in & body and proceeded up Broadway to the corner of Chambers street. ‘We then agreed to go into & large, well-known oyster saloon in the basement. The clerks at once voted unanimously that we should have an oyster supper, and that the treasurer should pay from this fund the expense of the supper, which was done. Then there was a long de- bate as to what charity the balance should be given to. Atlast it was unanimously resolved that there was no such charity in the city or State of New York as the clerks of A. T.Stewart & Co., and that Mr. Field, the treasurer, should return tg each clerk the exact amount of his fines, less his proportion of the supper. This occupied until nearly or quite daylight. “:Some one of the clerks or waiters told Mr. Stewart of what had occurred, and we were all requested to remain at the store the next even- ing after business hours, When Mr. Stewart called me up and asked me to give him an ac- count of what had been done with the tunds paid to me the previous evening. I told him the exact trutn in regard to the matter, when he dismissed us, saying that in the fu- ture he should be careful fhat the firm se- lected the object of charity that this fund was given to.” After working for Stewart for three years Field decided to leave him, having received an offer from his brother Matthew in Lee, Mass., of $250 a year, with board and washing. With this brother he engaged and remained for two years. In 1840, having attained his majority, he set up business for himself at Westfield, Mass., as & paper-maker, butina few months sold out and returned to New York to socept & partnership in the firm of E.Root & Co. In 1841 this firm failed, and Mr. Field then entered into partnership with his broth- er-in-law, Joseph F. Sfome, under the firm name of Cyrus W. Field & Co. Speaking of this period of his life Mr. Field said long after- ward: “In 1844 I was not worth a dollar. What money I had made had all gone to pay the debts of the old firm. My business was conducted on long credit, and we did a gen- eral business all over the country. I built up s first-rate credit everywhere. All business intrusted"to me was done promptly and quick- 1y. Iattended to every detail of the business, and made a point of answering every letter on the day it was received.” As a result of this diligence in business Mr. Fleld on January 1, 1853, was worth $250,000, being then 34 years of age and having made that fortune in nine years. He atonce turned to the old claims which he had settled by compromising ten years before, and pleased and astonished his creditors by paying all that Dhe owed them in full with 7 per cent interest. In an incomplete autobiography which he be- gan just before his death he states that he in- tended at that time to retire from business, but was persuaded by his junicr partmer to leave his name at the head of the firm and $100,000 of his capital in the business on the express understanding that he was not ex- pected to devote any time to it. It was the expectation of Mr. Field on retir- ing from business 1o find enjoyment and occu- pation in travel, and he did make an extensive tour through South America. On hie return to New York he tried to interest himself in mat- ter: outside of business, but did not succeed in doing so. One of his brothers wrote of him at this time: “I never saw Cyrusso uneasy as when he was trying to keep still” It was this testlessness that led him to take an interest) in an attempt to lay a telegraph cable from St, | Johns, New Brunswick, to Newfoundland. Atonce the boid design was formed to lay a labors of Mr. Field in carrying out his great work nor to trace the steps by which it was accomplished, in the face of so many obstacles d amid so many vicissitudes of fortune. What he achieved was in no wise.aided by luck. Again and again his efforts were baffled, and it wes only by a perseverance amounting 10 heroism that he at last succeeded. He was lergely endowed with the quality of inspiring others with confidence in his plans and in his leadership, and was thus enabled 10 obtain money at all times for the object he had in view. His own fortune he venturea unhesi- tatingly, and at one time lost it all. Against his indomitable will and.fertjlity of resources, however, misfortune was powerless. From the time he first went to England to get men of capital to interest themselvesin the work until the task was finally completed by the laying of a cable which yielded perma- nent results, ten years lacking one month were employed. Many men were of course allied with him in the undertaking, but the triumph was everywhere recognized being mainly due to him. Justin McCarthy, in his “History of Our Own Times,” says: ‘“He was not a scientific man; he was not the inventor of the principle of transoceanic telegraphy; he was not even the first man to propose, thata com- pany should be formed for the purpose of lay- ing a cable beneath the Atlantic. * * * But the achievement of the Atlantic cable was none the less as distinetly the work of Cyrus W. Field as the discovery of America was that of Columbus. It was not he who first thought of doing the thing, but it was he who first made up his mind that it could be done, showed the world how to do it,and diditin the end. The history of human invention has not a more inspiriting example of patience living down discouragement and perseverance triumphing over defeat.” Having completed this great work Mr. Field, with tireless energy, entered upon other labors. He simply could not be idle. Among other notable enterprises that occupied his Tlater years was that of constructing the system of elevated raiizoads in New York City. He also attracted & good deal of sttention and some severe criticism at this period by erect- ing & monument to Major Andre. This monu- ment was twice blown up by dynamite, and after the second destruction was not raised sgain. It was intended by Field as a symbot of restored amity between England and America, but the people living in the vicinity resented what seemed a condénation of the offense of Benedict Arnold,and Field wisely yieldea the point after the second assault upon the memorial. Of the work of Mr. Field in his later years the biography gives us but scant memorials. In December, 1890, he celebrated his golden wedding, but that was atout the last gleam of brightress in his life. His wife died in the following year and then disasters came thick upon him., His fortune rapidly vanished in unfortunate speculations, and we are told it was only through the kindness of Pierpont Morgan that he was able to obtain the money to keep in force the premium on his life insurance poli- cies. On July 12, 1892, he died in the seventy- first year of his age. Hiz best eu- logium was pronounced at & meeting of the New York Chamber of Com- merce by his life-long "friend,* William E. Dodge, who in conclusion sad: “All the disap- pointment and sadness of his later life will be forgotten and history will remember only the great loyal American whose intense power and large faith enabled him to carry through one éable ncross the ocean. The man hed found | the work for which he of ail men on earth was | best ftted, ana thereafter his biography is the history of‘the Atlantic cable. Weshall not undertake to review the arduous of the greatest and most beneficial enterprises the world has ever known." JoEN MCNAUGHT. [For sale by William Doxey, Palace Hatel; price $2.] NOT LIKE THE REAL GHETTO An Untrue Story of Low Life Jhe Tale Is Sordid and Gains Nothing From Its Manner . of Publication “Yexl” is the title of & recent book by A. Ca- han, published by D. Appleton & Co. ( Mr. Cahan started out with the object of pre- city. To a writer desirous of treating such a subject there would occur but two previously exhibited models—Sir Walter Besant’s “Rebel Queen” and Israel Zangwill’s “Children of the Ghetto.” The author of the book under re- view has chosen Mr. Zangwill for his Gamaliel, and to such an extent has he studied his mas- § necessity of appropriating one of Zangwill's | jokes. Here, however, the resemblance of the work of the pupil to that of the master ends. In “Children of the Ghetto” we have a veritable study of the doings of the peculiar people. We find described their maumnerisms, their cus- toms, their vices, their vanities. Mr. Cahan in his work tells us nothing of these. So far from being ‘‘A Tale of the Ghetto,” his work might, with equal accuracy, have been sub- captioned “A Tale of Csnal Street” or *A Chronicle of the Bowery.”” -But the cardinal defect of “Yekl” is the flimsy foundation upon which the story is built. “Yekl,” we learn, is the Russo-Polish equivalent for Jake, which 1n turn is the cog- nomen of & young man working at the press- er's trade in a ‘‘sweater's” den. He is a mar- ried man, having left a wife and child in Poland. This fact he conceals from his fellows in the sweatshops and from his feminine as- scciates. One of these latter forms an attach- ment for Jake, and love's young dream fe progressing favorably when bis Polish wife ar- rives at Ellis Island. Her semi-barbarous manners do not appeal to Jake as of old, so, with the aid of an old Tabbi, he gives his wife the scriptural *gett,” or bill of divorcement. He is then free to marry a factory hand nsmed Mamie, and the story leaves him at a point where he is driving to the City Hall to procure a license. The ‘story is mean and sordid, and it gains nothing in the manner of telling. The author isnot particularly well versed in the use of qualifying adjectives, nor does he appreciate | the shades of meaning expressed by the perfect and pluperfect tenses. His moods are varying and irregular, too. Typographically the book is not all that could be wished. We. notice three errors in almost as many paragraphs. On the whole, neither the author nor the publishers can be complimented on this very unsatisfactory pro- duction. [New York: D. Appleton & Co. For by William, Doxey; price $1.] When he was in England last spring, J, Pier- pont Morgan purchased a Mazarin Bible, in two volumes, published in 1450 and 1455, printed on vellum, with lluminated margins; & set of the Polyglotta Bible, six volumes, aiso published in 1450-5i nd 3 set ot the first four folio editions of Shakespeare, published in 1623-32-64-85. The books, which were invoicea at $18,000, have just been received 4n this country. Messts. Chrtto & Windus of London will, | in the early sutumn, publish an edition of Stevenson’s “Songs of Travel,” with an intro- auctiog by S8ydney Colvin. Thomas Slater has & message or every man on page 28. Don't fall to read it. senting to his readers s picture of life in the | poverty-stricken Jewish quarter of a great | ! THE “RIDDLE . OF THE RING" 'Ends as Happily as ' Novels Gan McGarthy That Needs No Expurgation Justin McCarthy’s name Is in itself & com- mendation of the work that comes under it. In style he has no superior among the novelists of the day. A treat may be expected from each new work that comes from his pen, and his works are not of thecharacter to demand ex- purgated editions for the young fireside read- ers. His “Riddle of the Ring,” published in Appleton’s Town and Country Library, is & story of peculiar interest, charmingly told. The hero of the story—a young Englishman, in Paris in search of material for & novel—finds | ring, which he at once assumes to have a mys- | tery connected with it. All stories of rings had | & curious fascination for him—the ring of | Polycrates, Aladdin’s ring, the ring of Amasis | | of Venus and suddenly clasped and clutched by the enchanted marble. There was the ring with which the Doge used to wed the Adriatic. There was the ring that Pharaoh ve to Joseph, and there was the ring' of Solomon—and Portia’s ring and the ring of Posthumus in “*Cymbeline”’—and the hero de- lighted in all of these, and .he could not avoid the impressiorr that the ring he had found encircled an apparently mysterious story. It turns out that he wasn't far amiss. The ring is old-fashioned and has carvings and initials onit. He tried to think out & story in con- nection with it, and while he was thinking new friends came into his life. From them he learns the story of a besutiful woman’s unhap- piness. She is the wife of & nobleman, but they have separated and are misergble. The hero loves this woman the first time he sets eyeson her. Finally, it Turns out that she had thrown her wedding-ring away in despair, ana it came back to her by the hand of a man she admired most among men. The nobleman opportunely dies, and the finder of the ring, when he weds its owner, thinks of writinga novel founded on experiences that ended as happily as any novel can. [New York: D. Ap- pleton & Co., publishers. For-sale by William Doxey; price 50 cents.] g b SR THE POET'S' DOOR. Within the circle of the light We sat alone, and all the room Beyond the lamp was full of night And bung about with shadowed gloom. With love and masic in his voice He read me from his Iyric page The sweetest numbers of his cholce— Songs of a blended youth and age. ‘Then telling forth snother's song Music and Jove rang doubly clear; ‘The same soft cadence on his tongue Brought distant miustrelsy so near. And to the doorway strange and dim 1 ihought a mysti¢ presence came ‘With glowing mien and gazed at him That read and gently spoke his name . Andsaid: “Hail, fellow-soul of man, For here thy kindred voice at last Fuifilis the song I once began,” Then back into the darkness passed.- M. A. DeWolfe Howe Jr. In New York Crit ————p——— The second volume of the playsof Maurice Maeterlinck translated by Richard Harvey, which Stone & Kimbsll have just issued in their Green Tree Library, contains the “Three Dramas for Marionettes,” and now all the ‘most notable works of Maeterlinck can be had in English. | Another Well-Told Tale by dJustin | and the ring put upon the finger of the statue | A TRAGEDY OF NEW ENGLAND The Hard Life of an Honest Girl A Forceful Novel, Dark, but Full of Human Interest, by Maria Louise Pool This is quite & strong story of New England life by Maria Louise Pool, wherein some scrong elements of tragedy are introduced. It takes up the hard life of a poor high-spirited girl, Judith Grover, who toils terribly in order to keep her family trom want. Her father is an idie good-for-nothing, who lives off her earnings, spending what little she makes in quack medicines for his liver. The father, en- raged that his daughter would noi take charity front the neightors, drove her from the house. Shortly after he disappeared, and Judith was suspected of killing him. She refused to marry Lucian Eldredge, whom | she loved, fearing to disgrace him, and, in | order to support her mother, married Richard Gerald, Lucian’s uncle, who was very rich. In iime Mr. Gerald came to love his wife, knowing she loved Lucian and that he loved her. Judith was absolutely honest with her husband, but the strain became too much ‘when Mr. Gerald insisted that Lucian should accompany them on s trip to Algiers.” The ‘madness hereditary in his family developed in Mr. Gerald and he killed himself, hoping to be reincarnated in a form Judith would love. Judith went home, and at last discovered that her husbend had been insane and that she ‘was innocent of injuring him. The story ends with a prospect of Lucian’s return 1o her. The character of Judith Grover is dc'ineated in forceful style. Her martyrdom for the sake of her wretched family is also admirably described. In short, this is certainly an ad- ‘mirable tale 6f New England life and a fit suc- cessor to the half-dozen other works Ly the rumo authoress. [New York: Harper & Bros. For sale by A. M. Robertson; price $1 50.] dhlgag i LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPL This is a reprint of one of Mark Twain’s best books, issued in Harper & Bros.’ New Library Edition. The work will always be regarded as an interesting contribution to the history of the country, and, seeing that Mr. Clemens be- gan life as & “cub” pilot on the river, he may naturally be supposed to know whereof he speaks. Even in treating matters historical the spirit of the humorist crops out. For in- stance, here isa liltle contrast drawn by the clerk on & river steamer between the time when there were no railroads to compete for river traffic and the present: ¢ “Boat used to land—captain on hurricane roof—mighty stiff and straight—iron ramrod for a spine—kid gloves, plug tile, hair parted behind—man on shore takes off hat.and says: «'Got twenty-eight tons of wheat, cap’n—it'll ‘e great favor if you can take them.’ “Captain says: “«'ll take two of them,’ descend to look at him. “But nowadays the captain takes off his old slouch and smiles all the way around to the back of his ears, and gets off a bow which he hasn’t got any ramrod to interfere with, and says ind don’t even con- 1ad to see you, Smith, glad to see you— you're looking well—haven’t seen you looking 80 well for years—what have you got for us?" _#*Nuth'n’," says Smith, and keeps his hat on aud just turns his back and goes on talking with somebody else. 2 “Oh, yes, eight years ago the captain was on top; but it’s Smith’s turn now.” [New York: Harper & Bros. For sale in this city by A. M. Robertson; price $1 75.] | { JOURNALSOF | DEGADENCE Liondon’s Talk of San| Francisco Doxey's “Decadent” Show Win- dow TJreated at Great Length by the Sketch Some few weeks ago William Doxey of this City conceived the bright idea of making an | exhibition in his bookstore of the prominent symptoms of deeadence as evidenced in the most recent of latter-day literature. From the | Chap Book to the Lotus, from the Philistine to the Lark, here illustrations of the decadent | tendency were assembled, eloquent and ag- | gressive witnesses to the testimony of M. Max | Nordau. A recent issue of the London Sketch (June 17) devotes two and a half pages to a descrip- tion of Mr. Doxey’s “decadent” window. Of | the “Lark,” which hails from (his City, the | writer of the article in the London paper says: | “Itis the reductio ad absurdum of decadent literature.” This ambitious effort in deca- | dence has received full notice in these col- umns, by the way. That such a creditable exhibition should have been made in San Francisco—tar from the centers of literature as it is—seems to be | matter for marvel to the Sketch writer. If the publicity accorded to it serves no other pur- pose than that-of correcting existing English. | impressions of California, Mr. Doxey will have | earned the gratitude of citizens of this City and State. PR AR B0 LITERARY NOTES. M. Francis de Pressense, the well-known writer on international politics, and one of the most distinguished of French jourualists, has almost ready & volume on Cardinal Manning. M. de Pressense is & quite recent convert to Roman Catholicism. Rey.P.T. Carew of Newark, N.J., has for- | warded us a copy of his ‘‘three-act patriotic | drama for schools and academies,” entitled | “The Angel of Peace, or the Story of Vene- | zuela.”” It is just about the ciyle of a drama that the average schoolteacher would write in & few hours for ‘s children’s-class enter- tainment. Its merit lies in the fact thatitis short. “Reds of the Midi” puolished®by Messrs. Appleton, was the first book ever translated from a Provencal MS., and the first to appear in America before its publication in the original tongue. It is now about to be issued by Mme. Roumanill libraire-editeur, at Avignon, under the title of ‘“Li Rouge dou Miejour, Rouman Istouri,” with a transiation in French. The titles of the very latest French novels are: “Ame Fleurie,” by Jean Ramean; “His- toire d’un Homme,” by Paul Perret; “Pour Un Mari,” by Marc de Chandplaix; “Les Res- sources Secretes,” by Daniel Riche; “Sa Femme,” by Paul Guiraud; ‘Petit Ange,” by Plerre Mael; ‘‘La Crise,” by Jean Reibrach; “Ceeur @’Or,” by Flagy, and & novel by Gyp, «Bijou.” « Zola’s “Rome” has called forth a number of pamphlets and even one or two volumes from fervent Roman Catholics of opinion that the novelist has misrepresented and attacked their religion. Yet another publication of this kind is on the eve of appearing. Its author, Dr. Moncoq, claims to have written a complete refutation of & book which he describes as aussi immoral que monsonger. A short time ago Professor Flinders Petrie discovered at Thebes a granite tablet contain- ing the first known Egyptian mention of the | people of Israel. It was erected by Merenptah, ‘whose portrait bust was recovered at the same time. Professor Petrie has written for the Au- gust Century a full account of the finding of the tablet and of the character and reign of Merenptah. This King has been supposed by scholars to be the Pharaoh who released the Children of Isrsel from the bondage imposed by his father, Rameses II, but this table records that he himself conquered the Israelites, prob- ably in Syria. A new edition of Washington Irving's com- plete works is about to be issued in forty volumes by Messrs. Putnam. Over 400 illus- trations, mainly phetogravures, are promised, and the publishers have secured, in the prep; aration of tne designs, the services of a num- ber of distinguished artists. The edition, to be known as “The Holly,” will also contain “Irving’s Life and Letters,” as compiled by his nephew. Messrs. Putnam have nearly ready “The Stories and Legends from Washington Irving,” a book containing the most popular tales told by the “Addison of American litera* ture.” & The Critic of July 18, aproposof the cen- tenary of Robert Burns’ death, reviews several recent volumes bearing upon the life and writings of the poet, whom it rates among the worid’s greatest lyric writers. Mr. Zangwill’s monthly essay is devoted to a reportof his one-sided conversation with the Young Fogey, a type for which he professes little admira- tioni. Some “Talks With Tennyson’ are inter- estingly summarized; and among the 1llustra- tions are an excellent portrait of Mr. Glad- stone, with quotations from his essay on “Man- making and Verse-making”; and reproduc- tions of designs from Mr. Beardsley's edition of “The Rape of the Lock” and Mr. Le Gal- lienpe's edition of *“The Complete Angler.” =Shortly after the appearance of Dr. Oscar Hertwig’s “Praformation oder Epigenise” a detailed abstract was published by P. Chalmers Mitchell in one of the scientific journals. The momentous issues involved -in the problem of heredity and the great interest excited by Dr. Weissmann’s theories made it desirable that s | {ull translation of the work should be issued. Helnemann, the London publisher, has under- taken to publish the book, which is entitled “The Biologicat Problem of To-day: Preforma- tion or Epigenesis?” and the volume will con- tain a nineteen-page introduction by the translator and an index and glossary. Pro- fessor Hertwig is director of the Second Ana- |- tomical Institute of the University of Berlin. THE GHAFF OF CLYDE FITCH Bright Sketches and Keen Wit “Some Gorrespondence and Six Gonversations” That Are Well Worth Reading Of the summer suitable-to-read-in-hammock er of literature, these little sketches by de Fitch make interesting and amusing reading. They can be compered to nothing so Dearly as sharp, snap-shot photographs, anie mated, lively, and possessing human interest. More particularly js this the case with the x Conversations” In these their force arises largely from a certain epigrammatic way Mr. Fitch’s characters have of saying things. Here are one or two samples, taken at random: “I don’t know why it is, but women of the world always think painters, and writers and musicians never have any- thing to do.” PR “Iam glad you are not going to bemice to me to-day.” “Why not?” “Because when you tease me I know you care for me.”’ P From “Some Correspondence” we extract two letters, published under the caption “Childhood (Eighteen ninety-six).” The first from Susie of Albany, ®tat eleven. The sece ond is from Beatrice of New York, same age: ““My Darling Beatrice; Awfully funny tbings have happened at our house. Papa hasgone away all of a sudden and taken dll his clothes with him, and they won’t tell me where he is gone to nor when he is coming back. Dear grandma has come all at once to visit us, and for adreadfuliy long time, I guess, for she has brought lots of trunks, but didn’t bring me any present. * * * Mr. Roberts, who made Uncle Ned's will, who left mamsa all his money, comesnearly every day. * * * .Writa soon. Your loving little friend, Svusie. “P.8.—I have just been told that we are going far away to a place called Dakota to live for six months.” “My Dearest Susic: What a child you srel Don’t you know what it is about your papa and mama? They are going to be DIVORCED, * * * Mama's maid told me all she knew. * * » Your papa hasbeen very naughty. I don’t kuow what he's done, but mame. doesn’t blame your mema st all. Papa sympathizes with your paps, which mama says she can’t understand, but I suspect maybe papa’s been naughty too. * * * With love and kisses, ) BEATRICE. [New York: Stone & Kimball. For sale by booksellers; price $1.] Soa i THE SENTIMENTAL SEX. A fool of & man reads some fool poetry of & foolishly sentimental sort and is straightway over his ears in love with the poetess, whom he longs to marry. The fellow travels from Australia to England to find the writer of the verses that touched his very touchable soul. The poetess has a husband on her hands when the Antipodean begins this journey, butby the time the Australian fetches up in London the poeiess has become & widow. She doesn’t don “weeds,” as she believes that immedi« ately after a husband’s demise is the very time when the widow should.set forth to advantage such charms as are 16ft to her, “if not to at- tract other men, at least to justify her late husband’s taste.”” Well, the poetess marries the fool of & man, who shortly awakens to the fact that his hopes in the premises are not re- alized by a large majority. The poetess is a flirt—a woman of the world. The husband goes nearly dait, but recovers and evens up things by eloping with the servant girl. This kind of trash makes up the novel, “The Sentis mental Sex,” by Gertrude Warren. [New York: D. Appleton & Co., publishers, For sale by Doxey; price $1.] s e A UNCHAPERONED. This is an old story told over again with new variations. The principal scene of eventsisa small summer resort by the sea.. Amorg'the boarding-house guests are a wealthy maiden (chapercned by her aunt), a girl from the poor class (who is without an attendant) and a young doctor, whose business in the story is to spend & number of chapters in the effort to find out which one of the girls he really loves. The rich girl and her aunt snub the poor girl repeatedly. The young doctor, however, finally takes up the poor girl’s cause, and. just as the couple have about decided to link their hopes and desires for better or worse an uncle of the poor girl dies and leaves her a fortune of stupendous size, embracing the most pro- ductive gold mines in Nevada. The girl with the chaperone was green with envy—but what could she do? She just contented herseli by saying that sne wouldn’t have a husband like that young doctor even if a whole kingdom were thrown in with him. [New York: R. Fs¢ Fenno & Co. Paper; price 50 cents.} S LOVE IS A SPIRIT. This is & novel by Julian Hawthorne, which’ has about it much of the eerie subtlery that marked the work of his distinguished father, Angus Hugh Strathspey, a married man, sepe arated-from his wife—they hate each other— meets a girl, Yolande, on an island in the tropics, and the two fall in love. He conceals irom her the fact that he is married, and she confesses her love. Leaving her, he struggles with himself whether he will mary her, know- ing it will be no ‘marriage, and, in revolt at the idea, determines to kill himself. He receives a letter from his wife, written a day or two before her death, and bes lieves he can marry Yolande. Then the mem- ory that he had kissed her when he thought he was & married man makes him understand he i3 too vile. After & shprt iliness he rides toward Yolande’s house in order to tell her the tiuth. He meefs her on horseback and they talk. After a few hours she vanishes, and he Tealizes that he has been talking tc her spirit, and that she is dead. The book ¢loses with Angus on nis knees beside Yolande's body. [New York: Harper & Bro. Forsale by A J Robertson; pflce&e 25.]