The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 1, 1896, Page 23

. THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1896. 23 BRANDER MATTHEWS ESSAYS They Sustain His Reputation as One of the Leading Gritics of the Day. «The Penalty of Humor™ Presents Some Striking Liessons and Able Gomments That May Be the World of Vdlue to Aspirants in of Letters. ASPECTS OF FIGTION aAND OTHER VEN- TURLS IN CRITICISM. By Brander Mat- thews. New York, Harper & Bros. For sale by A. M. Robertson, 126 Post street, City; price 81 25. 1his is a collection of critical essays by Brander Matthews, written or delivered by him at various periods and now issued in book form for the firsi time. A study of the con- tents page will give the reader some idea of the scope of the work: American Literature, Two Studies of the South, The Penalty of Humor, On Pleasing the Taste oi the Public, On Certain Parallelisms Between the Ancient Drams and the Modern, Two Stotsmen of Let- ters (Andrew Lang and Robert Louis Steven- son), Aspects of Fiction, L The Gift of Story telling; IL Cervantes, Zols, Kipling & Co.; 111, The Prose Tales of M. Fruncois Coppee; 1V. The Short Stories of Ludovie Halevy; V. Mr. Charles Dudley Warner as a Writer of Fic- tion: VI, Text Books of Fiction. Whiie some of these essays are necessarily of a fugitive or evanescent character, there are several in this collection which amply serve to sustain Mr. Matthews’ reputation as one of the foremost critics of theday. One of these is that entitled “The Penalty of Humor,” where- in have been set forth the disadvantages at- tendant upon the writer of & humorous work. That the author of such a book is handicapped in his future efforts is an axiom not to be dis- puted. We took occasion several weeks ago, in these columns, to instance a case in point— that of Mark Twain, whose *“Joan of Arc” was a financial failure simply on account of the fact that Mr. Clemens’ reputation was made as the producer of humorous books, and an un- appreciative public deelined to recognize him. in the capscity of a competitor with William Harrison Ainsworth. Mr. Matthews advances the theory that the writing of the Declaration of Independence was intrusted to Thomas Jefferson rather than to Benjamin Franklin because the latter was known 1o be possessed of & luxuriant sense of humeor. Notwithstanding the fact thatFrank- lin’s reputation was worid-wide, not merely local, as was that of Jefferson, it was feared that, to use a colloquiaiism, he might “make a break,” and 5o §he bonor was accorded tothe Virginian.' The American lack of reverence. Doted by Matthew Arnold when he visited this country, was largely present in the composi- tion of the author of “Poor Richard’s Alma- nack,” and it wes not accounted a virtue in him by the leaders of the Continental Con- ress. 7351t was with Franklin so was it with Ltn- coln. Says Mr. Matthews: “Because Lincoln was swift to seize upon an incongruity and because he sought relief for his abiaing melancholy in playfulness there were not & few who refused to take him seri- ously. Even aiter his death there were hon- est folk who held the shrewdest and loftiest of our statesmen to have been little better than & buffoon. Of the three greatest Americans, Franklin, Washington and Lincoln, two were humorists, and it is, perhaps, his deficiency of humor which makes Washington seem more remote from us and less friendly than either of the others.” Of autnors who have to pay the penalty of humor Mr. Mafthews cites the case of James Russell Lowell. It will doubtless appear strange to Americans to learn that before he was appointed Minister to the Court of St. James Lowell was known to the English read- ing public, not as the student, the critic and the scholar, but “rather as the rival of Josh Bilkings!” ~And this little misunderstending simply srose from the fact thatin the Biglow Papers “the dialect of Hosea was phonetically represented with artistic feeling and scientific precision.” The thor of the present ‘‘Ventures in Criticism’’ endeavors to find an explanation for that feeling of eondescension menifested toward the humorist. Admitting that there is no feeling of amimosity in this attitude of conscious superiority he utters a note of warning against ‘‘a certain kind of wit, ot which it is well to be distrustful, for it is dan- gerous.” This he calls the “scoffing, girding wit,” and touching it he makes a remark that will doubtless strike a home-thrust to some American journalists. “The persifiage of Voltaire was often inspired by honest convic- tions; but there are writers cn the newspapers ot New York who have cultivated a wit not unlike Voltaire’s, but with even less of sin- cerity in it, soiling whatever it touches—cor- roding and disintegrating.” In his essay entitled “Two Scotsmen of Let- ters” Mr. Matthews has chosen for consdera- tion two literary notabilities—Andrew Lang and Robert Louis Stevenson. For the first he appears in the character of apologist and, to speak the truth, the subject of hissketch is sadiy in need of interpretation to readers on tuis side of the Atlantic, where he has, upon numerous oceasions, been endowed with the attributes of a spitfire, Comparing the two, Lang and Stevenson, Mr. Matthews says: «In differing degrees esch was a poetand each was master of a prose than which no better was written in our langnage nowadays. Mr. Lang’s style has not the tortured felieity of Steyenson’s; its happiness is easier and less willful. The author of ‘Leuters to Dead Au- thors’ is not en artificer of cunuming phrase like the suthor of ‘Memoirsand Portraite’; hisstyleis not handmeade nor the resultof taking thought: it grows more of its own accord. The style of each is transparent, but while Stevenson’s is as hard as crystal, Mr. Laog’s is fluid like water; it flows and some- times it ‘sings as it flows, like the beautiful brooks he longs to linger beside, changing with the sky and the rocks and the irees, but always limpid snd delightful.” We bave said that among American journal- ists Andrew Lang is generally recognized as the spitfire of the British press. His antipathy to American literature and to its makers is wefl known both bere snd in England. Tn treating of these matters, the author of the work under review is good enough to censure Leng in & milk and watery way for his “doubtfully courteous attack on Professor Boyeson,” and remarks that “‘a more careful understanding of American literary nistory would have saved Mr. Lang from that farewell to Poe in the ‘Letters to Dead Authors,’ in which the author of the ‘Raven’is hailed as 'a. gentleman among canailie!’ "—surely as strange an opinion as one can find in all the long annals of criticism. Affer this it is satis- factory to note in the study of Stevenson that be, being a Scotsman, possessed a keener ap- preciation of American literature and charac- ter; in fact, ““was nearer to the American than the Englishman can be.” Stevenson’s love of colfaboration is noted in the sketch of his lifework. For some reason or other the author of *‘The Master of Ballantras” seems to have taken to himself more literary partners than any man of letters of our day. “But,” remarks Mr. Matthews in conclusion, «“gs those only know who have themselves collaborated in good faith, it is always impos- sible to disentangle the contribution of one partner from that of the other, if, indeed, there has been not & mere mechanical mix- ture, but & true chemical union. Whatever associates Stevenson had now and again, he was the senior partner always, and it was his trademark that warranted the gogds of the firm.” EMANUEL ELZaAS. READ AND BE SOOTHED. BIBLE SELECTIONS FOR DAILY DEVO- TION. Compiled by Sylvanus Siall, D.D. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Compsny’; price $1. Any one who has felt the need of u volume that can be opened st any point with the as- surance of finding & well-selected passage of Scripture, suited in length and character for devotional reading or for use at family wor- ship, will greatly apprectate this helpful book. Omitting such historical, abstruse and other portions of Seripture as are not intended for devotional reading, the choicest passages from Genesis to Revelation are arranged in 365 consecutive readings of about twenty-five verses each, and printed in clear type, without note or comment. Difficult names are pro- nounced, the ipoetical parts are in verse, the text is from the Authorized Version, printed in paragraphs in the Revised Version, and the Four Gospels are arranged in one con- tinuous narrative. It is adapted also for the use of Christian Endeavorers and members of other young people’'s societies who have cov- enanted to read & portion of the Scriptures daily, and it will be found valuable in the chapel services of colleges and universities and by teachers for use in the opening services of the public schools. Desiring to secure the re-establishment of family worship, Dr. Stall could not have devoted himsell more effect- ively than in thus using his spare time for & period of three years in the selection and com- pilation of this volume, which is the only book of its kind published, and which will prove of great value by collecting such pas- sages of Scripture as are best suited for pri- vate, family or public worship. HERE IS WEIRDNESS FOR YOU IRAS, A MYSTERY— By Theodore Couglas. New York: Harper & Bros. For saie by A. M. Rob- ertson, 126 Post street, City; price $1. A weird book, powerfully wriften and clev- erly put together. It narrates the adventure of one Ralph Levenham, an Egyptolegist, who hashad considerable experience in explora tion work on the Upper Nile. He receives in London from a friend in Luxor & sarcophagus which when opened proves to contain a beau- tiful maiden, Iras, who has been in s hyp- potic trance for 3000 years and is recalled to life by Lavenham’s touch. They leaye the Egyptologist’s lodgings in London and go to Edinburgh, where they are married. They are hencelorth pursued by the spirit, or astral body, of Savak, the priest who loved Irasin her former existence at Luxor, The power of Savak is greater than that of Lavenham and Ires, or of their mutual love, and finally over- comes them in the hills of Northern Scotland. Lavenham is found half-dead in a snowdrift, embracing a mummy. Upon recovering from the ensuing iliness he endeavors 1o prove to his friend Knollys that the living Iras was a reality, and he succeeds in adducing much testimony, but the general opinion rests that Lavenham has suffered from hallucinations brought on by overwork and sunstroke and a fever contracted several years before in Egypt. HAWTHORNE AND HACK-WRITING THE GOLDEN FLEECE—By Julian Ilawthorne. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippineott Company. For sale in this City by Joseph A. Hoffman, 120 Sut- ter street; price 75 cents. 'This is by no means & sample of Julian Haw- thorne’s best work. It is 4 somewhat common- plece story, having for its chief incident the search for and discovery of a hidden treasure buried by the Aztec Indians. Around this the author has woven & rather siender romance culminating in the marriage of the searchers to their lady loves, who assisted in the quest for the treasure. Readers of some of Mr. Hawthorne’s earlier books will regret to see bis name attached to such & poor piece of work as “The Golden Fleece,” in which there exists strong evidence that he is degenerating into something dangerously like a hack-writer of fiction. THE CONUNDRUM OF LOVE. THE END OF THE BEGINNING. Boston: Brown & Co. ¥or saleat all bookstores; price 81 25. “The End of the Beginning” is the problem- atic title of a new story that may claim for itself a place somewhat aside from the thou- sand and one novels of the day. ItisaNew Lines From the “Breton Beggar.” 8o touching are thine eyes, which cannot see, S0 great a resignation haunts thy face; 1 often think that T behold in thee The symbol of thy race; Not as 1t was when bards Armorican Song the high pageant of their Age of Gold; | But ssit s, a long-tressed, somber man, Exceding poor and old; With symewhat in his eyes for some o read, Albelt dimmed with tears and scarcely felt; The raystery of the antique deathless Creed, ‘Tue glamour of the Celt. VICTOR PLABE. Secret of the Sea. "Tls years since the faint nooatide beam ‘That filters to the chartroom floor Last rested where, as in a dream, Thedrowned chief mutineer would pore With orbits vold and bony hands Upon the chart, which, day by day, Into new shapes of seas and ia; The exploring seaworms fret and fray— Years since that semblance of a man, That relic of unknown despair, That symbol of pust crime, began Obscurely to be no miore there! VICTOR PLARR. Love Song From “The Sisters.” There's nae lark loves thetift, my dear, There’s nae ship loves ihe sea, There's nae bee loves the heather-bells, That loves as I love thee, my love, That loves as I love thee. The whin shines fair upon the fell, The biitue broom on the leaj The muirside wind Is merry at heart; ! for the love of thee, my love, Iv's &' for the love of thee. A. C. SWINBURNE. : Constancy. ‘When the ringdove is calling Down the woodiand, little darling, q ‘When the hills have turned green And all nature Is new; When the genue raio, falling O'er this good land, little darling, Makes the old earth grow glad, Then my heart yearns for you. ‘When the brown birds are winging O’er the moorland, little dariing, And the gray gulls are blown With the mist o’er the blue, Then I long for the warm cl Of your hand, littTe darling When this old eafth grows sad, Then my heart yearns for you. Oy WaRYAN in New York Sun. SOME OF THE SWEET FANGIES FLOWING FROM POETIG SOULS Light of Their Day. An idle poet, here and there, z Looks round him, but for all the rest, The world unfathomably fair, Is duller than a witiing’s jest. Love wakes men once & lifetime each, They 1ift their heavy 1ids and look, And lo! what one sweet page can teach ‘They read with joy, then shut the book. And some give thanks, and some blaspheme, And most forget: but either way That and the child’s unheeded dream all the 1ight of all their day. COVENTRY PATMORE. Pride and Wofll\. A weed and a rose and a violet grew In & garden, side by side. As the rose iooked down on the lowller two She biushed in her queenly pride. And once, as her red 1ips drank the dew, The rose, in & whisper, said: It 1 were as worthless as each of yon 1'd rather that I were dead.” But the weed that night made a cooling cup For the 1ips of a fevered child; And one who had mourned for years looked ap And, Kissing the violet, smiled. Frask 8. Prxuey. England romance; but the broad New Eng- landism of this taleof e little town is more for the episodes of the novel range from the idyllic to the semsational, while the girl Amoret is forced to answer the question, ““What is love ?” Of other important characters a pleasant sour old bookseller, with his «“Philosophy of Life,” and &n sgnostic heir of the Puritan ages will, perhaps, attract the most attention. Art, mind and spirit make up the undertone of twelve chapters that may be read either for their story or their tnought. The author of “The End of the Beginning” prefers to remain anonymous, NEW CHART OF THE HEAVENS. A complete series of star charts, by a mem- ber ot the California Academy of Sciences, the work of some years of study and application, is about ip be offered to the public. It con- sists of a series of six star charts for the use of schools, amateurs, non-professional astrono- mers and observers. There are four equa- torial charts, containing all the stars visible to the naked eye from the fifty-filth degree north to the fifty-fifth degree south declina- tion, and two charts of the hemispheres from the poles to the equator. The equatorial charts overlap two hours right ascension each, showing every constella- tion entire. Every star is named, lettered or numbered in accordance with the star cata- logues. The path of the sun, moon and planets are from the American Ephemeris and Nau- tical Almanac, showing the loops in the track of the planets as they appear to wander among the stars. There are selections of the most in- teresting clusters, double stars, variables and nebul®; also a list of the brightest stars in the constellations, with their Hebrew and Arabic names and meanings, from the writings of Uluh Beigh, an astronomer of the fifteenth century (A. D. 1420). The charts are made from the star cata- logues of the United States Observers, the B. A. C. and other standard works on as- tronomy. The charts are blue prints, showing the stars clear and white on a dark bsckground, easily seen by moonlight, extremely conven- ient for amateur observers who do not care to burden themselves with the larger works and the confused mass of stars of Lhe lesser magni- tudes. Any person with these charts and the help of Lockyer's Elementary Astronomy and a few evenings’ study can easily distinguish the constellations and point out all the principal stars visible and realize the bemuty and sub- limity of the study of astronomy. Astronomy is not so difficult a study es is generally sup- It1sas easy to comprehend the dis- tance of millions of miles as the millions of dollars of & capitalist, or the thousands of stars as the thousands of houses or inhabitants in a large city, where each one has aname and location; or the numbers of birds, ani- mals and otber thiugs we are familiar with, And we can remember the names of the prin- cipal stars as well as the names of our inti- mates and great men and women of this and other countries. This work will be sold at a very low price compared with other publica- tions on the same subject. ATHIRTEENTH CENTURY ROMANCE TP KING'S REVENGE. Crauds 3 ew York: U. A) o, ot Loay & Co. Townand Coun- tey Library No. 199; price 50 cents. : The above is & story of the daysof King Edward in the thirteenth century. A page of the Earl of Pembroke tells of his career in the than a matter of dialect and hard eccentricity, | service of his lord, of his efforts to save the life of one who was in the way of Lancaster, and of how King Edward avenged the death of that individual, the Earl of Cornwall. There is something of historical fact, much of the page’s daring and narrow escapes from death, and some love-making. Those who are fond of court intrigues can find much to interest them in this novel. HISTORY IN JINGLES. RHYMES o:f‘rm: STATES. By Garrett New- kirk. Tl ed by Harry Fenn. New York: The Century Company: price $1. Dr. Newkirk has put into verse the important facts concerning the various States of the Union, their great features of natural scenery, their products and leading manufactures, and often facts concerning their settlement, ete. Itis not a mere dry enumeration, for the jingle of the verse will impress the salient feat- ures of the different States upon the memory of the reader. Mr. Fenn’s illustrations will also aid the memory, for he shows the like- ness of the cutlines of the States tofamiliar objects—Indiana to the head of an Indian with a head-dress of eagie feathersand New Mexico to an adobe house, for instance. There is also a page contaihing silhouettes of the States all drawn to the same scale, showing the relative sizes. and one showing the rank of the several States and Territories according to produc:s and industries. A PATRIOTIC POEM. THE MARCH TO THE SEA. By Major 8, H. M. Byers. Boston: Arena Publishing Company. For sale by booksellers; price, cloth, $1 25; paper, 50 cents. Here we have a patriotic, narrative poem by Major 8 H. M. Byers, author of the famous “gherman’s March 10 the Sea.” A fine poetical compound is made by the simplicity of these war stories told in bold, martial verse, soft- ened, as it often is, by the slower heartbeats of a soldier in reverie. The whole poem fis charged with the action of battlefields, but modernized by & spirit free from hateful bitter- pess. Humanity in 1ts noblest rage eries aloud from its lines. It is far from common- place, and yet the universal life is everywhere disclosed in it. Wit, humer, pathos, martyrdom, heroic conquests, mag- nanimity—sll the finest war thoughts and on the great Sherman monument which is to be erected at Washington the following lines from Major Byer’s poem, ‘‘Sherman’s March to the Sea,” will appear: And the stars in our banner shone brighter ‘When Eherman marched down to the sea. OPENS UP NEW FIELDS ; GOLD. By Annle . Centory Company. A novelist who can cerry his readers to new flelds is somewhat of a ravity in these days, when so much of the world has been parcele out among the writers of fiction. This is what Miss Linden has accomplished, however, in her Dutch-Indian novel. The story opens with a picture of the gquiet life in Holland in the family of a retired East Indian merehant, who lives only among his books. His son, the hero of the story, whose mind is somewhat unsettled by the religious unrest of the day,is sent to Java to take charge of business in- terests, At Genos he meets a young lady bound for the same destination. During the long sea voyage they are thrown into close intimacy, and {riendship gradually ripens into love. To test the depth and permanence of this affection the hero plunges into the Linden. New York: The Price §1 25. potencies—are in it. It is worthy of note that /| ‘wilds of Java in search of & mountain of gold described in the traditions of the natives. LITERARY NOTES. Laird & Lee announce the immediate publi- cation of Opie Read’s new story, entitled “My Young Master.” The Frederick A. Stokes Company of New York has just published ‘‘Sweetheart Travel- ers,” by 8. R. Crockett. One hundred and fifty copies of the new Thistle Edition of J. M. Barrie’s works were printed on Japan paper and every copy had been subscribed for before a single volume ‘was ready for delivery. The American Publishers’ Corporation has published & cheap edition of Edward W. Townsend’s “Daughter of the Tene- ments,” with all of Mr. Kemble's illustrations. It is announced, by the way, that the story has been dramatized and will be produced on the stage in November. A book thatsinee its publication & year ago has been steadily growing in favor witn the American public is “The Sowers,” by Henry Seton Merriman (H. 8. Scott). In England it is regarded as one of the best and at the same time one of the most successiul novels of the season, Messrs, Charles Beribner’s SBons announce that through the eourtesy of Rudyard Kip- lirg’s publisners—Messrs. Macmillan, Messrs. Appleton and the Century Company—they have arranged to issue a collected edition of the author’s works, to be sold only by sub- scription. A few coples will be printed on paper made specially for the set in Japan, each leat bearing Mr. Kipling’s autograph int. tials in water-mark. Kenyon West’'s book on “The Laureates of ‘England” has attracted considerableattention 1n England, where it bas had a vary good sale. Mr. Gladstone wrote & personal letter in regard to it, as follows: “I appreciate the honor you do the ‘old country’ in taking literary notice of the curious subject of the laureateship. There is much history connected with it. It seems always to have been a difficulty. Ide- clined to advise filling it up. Yet, Salisbury has done otherwise. Kenyon West's seloctions from the works of the laureates, and pasing them 1n memories, are of muen interest and value.” Alfred Austin has also written s let- ter of appreciation and congratulation to the author. Among the books which the Century Com- pany will issue in November *Quotations for Oceasions’’ is perhaps the most unique. The custom of using appropriate quotstions on dinner menus, programmes, etc., and the fact that not every one knows justwhere to turn to find a citation for a particular purpose has inspired Miss Katherine B. Wood, who had charge of gathering the quotations for the Century Dictionary, to make it. The readeris ‘warned in the preface not to be too sure that the author of any guotation had in mind the subject to which it is applied in the book. When Ben Jomson wrote of “a dozea of di- vine points” he little thought how appropriate it would be in connection with oysters; nor did Marlowe intend “infinite riches in a little Toom" to refer to terrapin; mnor haa Shake- speare a bicycle meet in view when he wrote: ‘Will gusrd your person while you take your rest, Ana watch your safety in “The Tempest.” The book will prove of in- terest to the appreciative reader, whether he has a dinner menu to prepare or not. ITHE NOVEMBER MAGAZINES Gurrent Monthly Publications Have a Strong A Election-Time Flavor. / But They Are Ne\)erti\.zless Rich in Literary Gontents—* The Gen- tury” GCelebrates lts Entry Upon the Twenty-Seventh Year of- Its Successful Career. The Century for November ovens the twenty- seventh year of the magazine with & seriesof papers by General Horace Porter, entitled “Campaigning With Grant,” embodying recol- lections of Grant during the period of his su- preme command over the Union army. From the first paper it will be seen tHat General Porter’s work will give an intimate revelation of Grant’s nature, and that1t will be enlivened by abundant anecdote. Two serial novels are begun in this number: “Hugh Wynne, Free Quaker,” by Dr. 8, Weir Mitchell, is a story in which Wynne, ‘‘sometime officer on the staff of General Washington,” tells, in the first per- son, the story of his life. The first install- ments give graphic pictures of life in Philadel- phia just before the Revolution. The other serial, by Marion Crawford, is entitled “A Rose of Yesterday'’; the opening scene is in Lucerne, and the characters are all Americans. “Election Day in New York” is described in much detail by Ernest Ingersoll, and is ac- companied by pictures by Jay Hambldge. “The Olympic Games of 1896” is the subject of & paper by their founder, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, now the presidentof the interna- tional committee, and hi article is {llustrated by Andre Castaigne, wholwas sent to Athens {or the express purpose of making the pictures. A suggestive and timely article is contributed by Duncan Rose, son of & Confederate officer, on the topic, **Why the Confederacy Failed,” the three reasons given being, “The excessive use of paper money,” ‘‘The policy of dis- |i persion” and “The neglect of the cavalry.” “The National Hero of France, Joan of Are,” written and illustrated by Boutet de Monvel; “The Chinese of New York,” by Helen F. Clark, with illustrations by Lungren and Drake, and “After Brer Rabbitin the Blue Grass,” by John Fox Jr.; are other papers in the number. There are also shortstories by Chester Bailey Fernald, Lucy S. Furman and | Harry Stillwell Edwards. Harper’s Magazine for November js an ex- ceptionally strong number. It contains as its special features *Jameson’s Raid,’” by Poultney Bigelo “The First President of the United States” (fourteen illustrations by Howard Pyle and others), byWoodrow Wilson; “The Literary Landmarks of Florence,” by Laurence Hutton ; “The Dominant Ideaof American Democracy.” by Professor Francis N. Thorpe; *‘The Cuekoos and the Outwitted Cowbird,” by William Ham- ilton Gibson, and five short storics. The second installment of George du Maurier’s “Tke Mar- tian” gives some delightful piatures of school- boy life in Paris in the last generation, with the author’s own illustrations. The other fic- tion {nciudes short stories by Thomas A. Jan- vier, John Kendrick Bangs, E. A. Alexander: Octave Thanet and by a writer new to the magazines, Misg Victoria Clement. The poems of the number include *‘Feet of Clay” by Louise Betts Edwards, “The Interruption’” by Ella W. Peattie, and “Outward Bound,” by Edward N. Pomeroy. The November Forum contains, among other articles: ‘As Maine Goes, So Goes the Union,” & trenchant article by the Hon. Thomas B. Reed, whose drift is perhaps sufficiently in- dicated by its title. Edward P. Clark under the | title “The Solid South Dissolving,” contributes an interesting study of the way in which the | Bouth grew from normal divisions into;solid- ity, and the way in which that solidity is now disappearing—a very timely and suggestive paper. E. W. Codiington,a business man of Flor- ida, suggests a plan for placing our financial system upon & sound basis. Dr., W. K. Brooks of Jonns Hopkins University, an eminent zool- ogist, writes on “Woman from the Standpoint of a Naturalist,” discussing in particular the zoological aspects of female suffrage. W.K. Stride in gn article entitied “The Immediate Future of Armenia,” advances a very original plan for solving the Eastern question. Under the caption of Christendom be Maintained?”’ Mrs. Julia Ward Howe discusses the same probiem. J. Gennadius, the distinguished Greek diplomat, whose admirable series of articles in The Forum, on recent archmological discoveries in Greece has aroused so much interest, con- tinues his recital with a brilliant and in- tensely {nteresting account of the exploration of the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, and of the discovery—the most rmportant yet made— of original specimens of Greek music. Henry D. Lloyd, in & study entitled “Emerson’s Wit and Humor,” shows the Sage of Concord in an entirely new light—thet of a wit of the highest order. The srticle fairly bristles with Emer- son’s rare bumor. William Ferrero, a rising young Italian criminologist, and the author, with Proiessor Lombroso, of “The Female Of- fender,” contributes a thoughtful and sug- gestive paper, entitled “Work and Morality.” Professor Ferrero contends that the capacity for methodical work is the very essence of morality—the quality upon which all others depend. Professor Taussig, who occupies the chair of economics at Harvard, writes very plain-spokenly about “Bond Sales and the Gold Standard.” ‘Godey's Magazine for November has a strong election-time flavor, which will commend the. number to those even who are so much inter- ested in the campaign as to nfiect magazine reading thisfall. Rufus R, Willon’s illustrated article on “Conducting a Nationel Campaign’ presents in a highly interesting way facts that it is the duty of all citizens to befamiliar with, “Shall the Frontier | | and answers the important question so often ssked: ‘“‘What becomes of the large sums col- lected every four years by the national Cope mittees?” Under the title of *‘We,’ the Edi- tor,” Frank C. Bray tells a lively story about running a newspaper in a small city. This glimpse behind the scenes makes ‘‘mighty in- teresting reading,” and the’ iact that the climax comes during an election adds timeli- ness. “In Quaint old Zoar” describes the charming little Ohio settlement to which Major McKinley has betaken himself for rest during the campaign; and Mr. Lay's “Life of Franklin.” which has met with a very cordial reception, is continued in a very profusely , ilinstrated installment entitled ‘‘Frankiin, the Politicien and the Statesman.” The November number of St. Nicholas be- gins a new volume of this magazine. The leading feature 1s & serial, *Master Skylark,” by John Bennett. This is a story of Shakes- peare’s time, and the great poet figures asone of the leading characters in it, aithough the hero end heroine are a girl and a boy. The opening scene is at Stratford during a visit of the Lord High Admiral's players. The story isfull of action and of the romance of the Elizabethen age. Another serial is also begun in the number, “The Last Three Soldiers,” by Willard H. Shelton. Stories that are specially addressed to giris are hard to fing, but the first chapter of a short serial of this natufe is printed. This is “June Garden,” by Marion Hill. Miss Hill is a youug San Francisco woman, who has written acceptably for St. Nicholas before, and she is a daughter of Bar- ton Hil, the Shakespearean actor and stage- manager. The followirg stories appear in Harper’s Round Table for November: “Mr. Parke’ Obstreperous Sign,” by Hayden Carruth (this is a Halloween story and is full of humor); ““Texas,” a tale of the early war troubles with Mexico, by A. G. Canfield; “My Adventures With Dacolts,” by David Gilmore; “The Boy in War,” by C. E. Sears; installments of Mollie Elliot Seawell’s serial story entitled “A Virginia Cavalier,”” and of Hayden Car- ruth’s serial story entitled “The Voyage of the Rattletrap.” There are the usual departments of interscholastic sport, photography, bi- eycling, stamps, etc. The number also con- tains a sixteen-page supplement devoted to descriptions of small select libraries which | are offered by the Round Table. The Ladies’ Home Jourasl for November contains, among, other good things, “Thanks- giving Time in the Colonies”; “Conquering Race in Music,” Mme. Emma Calve; “The Vocal Stadent,” Mme. Nelife Melba; “When Jennie Lind Sang in Castle Garden,” A. Oakey Hall; “The Assistant Lirarian Pro Tem.,” Robert C. V. Meyers; “From & Girl's Stand. peint” (VI, “Other Girls”), Lilian Bell; “This Country of Ours” (XI, the Indians, pensions and agriculture), Hon. Benjamin Harrison; “The Minister ot St. Bede's,” Ian Maclare “A Bookshelf in the Kitchen,” Thomas W. Higginson; *“The Truth About Marriage,” Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney; “Origin of Our Names,” Cliffora Howard; “Two_Silhouettes,” Alice Lena Cole; “The Picnic Tea” (a poem), Laura E. Richards, Lilian Whiting writes in the November Arens on Kate Field. Although within the past few months much has been written and said about that gifted woman Miss Whiting's article is full of fresh interest. Being a life- long friend of Kate Field and knowing her soul to soul, Miss Whiting, apart from ner rare qualities as journalist and suthor, was singularly fitted to write her life and work. A beautiful picture of Kate Field, never be- fore printed, forms the frontispiece for the article. The Arena closesits sixteenth volume with the November number. In McClure’s Magazine for November the reader’s first curiosity will be for the widely announced long story ot American life by Rudyard Kipling. It opens on an Atlantic “liner,” passes dramatically to a Gloucester fishing schooner on the Grand Banks of New- founaland and begins a portrayal of the strange romantic life of the Yankee fisher- men, in the midst of their perilous employ- ment, that promises to be as streng and fine as anything Kipling has done. Every whist-player will want to read tne article by Cavendish, the great English whist expert, whose authority is & law unto so many devotees of the game. In “What America Has Done for Whist,” in the November Serib- ner’s, he acknowledges that from our siae ot the water have come several of the leading principles of the modern game. It is a popular paper in every sense. . The article on “Woman Bachelors in New York,” in the November Scribner’s, by Mary Gay Humphreys, is written from the inside, and describes the many ways in which liter- ary and artistic women get along in big cities, where rents are so high and comforts few. The illustrations show some typical bachelor-girls’ quarters. Chester Bailey Fernald’s stories in the Cen- tury Magazine have begun to attract wide at- tention. Several of them have been on Chi- nese subjeots; but a New England story, which he will contribute to the November Century, shows that he is as clever in down-east dialect as he has proved himself in Pidgin-English. Decoration Composition Drawn for the Pittsburg Dispatch by E. H. Blashfield.