The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 7, 1897, Page 23

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7 1897 23 ZJFERMANN SUDERMANN fs one of the | # most distinguished of the young Ger- VAN man novelists and dramatists, and in both these fields he has made a great name for himselt. His work is comparatively Tecent. Though he was born in 1857 he did | not begin writing until his mind had been matured by years of study, as well as by the discipline of life. His parents wers poor and his school days were interrupted by the ne- cessity for earning money. Like Henrik Ibsen, be was apprenticed to a chemist and passed some weary and heartsick years in an urncon- genial employment. It would be interesting toknow how much of the strong m_hoth these men have toward * lism" was 1be result of having had to conform to some- and profitless, and ave that only afte s and followed the | s did success thing so utterly d the realization both S stefu must tem their own ann, after a fow years, went to Ber- 1 bn as tutor, and thisen- | to carry on his own studies. We > informed that after six yearsspent study: re, philosophy and the | be turned his attention to | &n equipment for & pro- | more often, like Topsy, ltrecalls Eugene Field's re- stion asked him just sfter his re- ad as to what he had found to atest difference between writersin World and the New. Mr. Field said the Oid that what struck him particularly was the tof training men had over there. A thor- dge of the classics and the mod- 2 literature of all countries gave them the perfection of form, the mastery of style which our writers so often lack. Yet, on the other hand, our men were apt to have greater fresh- s and origiuality of expression. We m stretch this consolation further by recollect- ing that part of Pierre Loti's marvelous charm and vividness is ascribed to his having been | such & small reader. He takes his impressions | of life and nature at first hand, and the result i s singular] ed. udermann, however, has not onlya pro- t, but also & mastery over mere echnique which no but years of train- found insig ing will give. He is a iree lance and holds | with no particular school; part of his work is | T 1tic and part harshly realistic in treai- ment. For examples, contrast his “Dame Care” with “‘The Wish.”” The former is an ex- | quisitely written story. The atmosphere of | the book 15 the mystic haze of romance rather | than the sharp light of realism. The picture of the hero, Paul, through the care-burdened childhood, boyhood, young man- h00d; of his love for his mother and his de- £ire 10 shield her from the effects of the selfish- s and incompetence of the domineering | father, is drawn with so tender and sympa- thetic & touch tnat one fancies it a memory out of Sudermann’s own life. We see his hero followed always by that gray, shadowy figure ©of “Deme Care,” wno had presided at his birth. Inspiteof his toil, his selt-denial, his faithfulness, we see his desires frustrated, his hopes brought to naught until the final re- lease-comes in the love of the beautiful girl | toward whom, in his hopelessness, he had so | long cosed his heart and who at last brings { intoh fe the light of joy before which all ows venish. The whole isan idyl, a sort } of prose poem. | “The Wish,” on the other hand, 1s a terribly realistic study of the influence upon character of asingle evil wish unuttered nd unacted upon. The treatment is psychological. The story opens with the closing sct of the tragedy, end later the author goes back and traces all the infiuences which led (o the final catastro- Considering the theme the story is re- ably free from morbidness. In fact, Sud- r, like the French realists, dwells 1g detaiil. Neitheris | that traditfonal Frenchman who had le tosey, butsaid that little long. He is essentislly dramatic. The turn of a phrase s a character, an exclamation shows | ation. S0 thatitisasadramatistthat no fsathis best, and in the ethics of ramatic work it is easy to trace the influ- dermann’s boyhood that the glan playwright left his native land; and shook, as he said, the dust of thatcoun- er from his feet. A voluntary exile, < refuge first in Italy, where he wrote | e great poetical dramas—‘Brand,” | Gynt” and “Emperor and Galilean,” ed in Ger where he has ever since Temained. There, by means of his pure dramas, he has carried on an unfaltering | sade against social and political evils. All | g Germany became fired with the re- ectionary epirit. “The divine rightc the *“freedom of personalit fes. The conflict was between the nd the younger. The older | the war older generation &100d for the established order, the respect for tradi 1, the enforcement of parental author- ity. The younger contended for liberty, for theright of self-expression. It is this con- | flict which Sudermann has portrayed in jhis | “‘Heimat,” and which has been rendered into | English under the name of “Magda.” It seems singuisr that the German title, ‘which is so significant, was not retained. This, however, was not Budermann’s first dramatic work. His ‘Honor,” published a few years earligr, made him & famous man. | He was as much talked about as Ibsen him- seif, and his work became the subject of many | discussions. It is & scathing satire on the false +1andards of the day, on the aristocratic sense ot honor, which the author contrasts with the ylebeian sense of duty. This work still re- | mains Sudermanu’s greatest success, but it is léss familiar to American audiences than his “Magds,” which has frequently been given in this country. The latter is a favorite part with Modjesks, with Bernhardt and with the Ttalian, Duse. “Honor” was followed by *‘The Destruction of Sodom,” another satirical drams, still more pronounced in tone. It was | 50 plain-spoken that it was expurgated by the | Berliu censorship, and has never, to my KRowl- edge, been staged for an English-speaking “sudience. In this Sudermann lashes the fol- lies and vices of fashionable life, The strength of “Magdn” scems to me to lie in its moderation. We are shown both sides of tneguestion. Our sympathy is notall for Magda even in her first_triumphant assertion of her own individuelity; nor all for the sather in hishonest clinging to the old ways. We feel poignantly thac he end the ideas he | represents are noi all in the wrong; noris Megda and this new gospel of frecdom wholly the right. A strong apveal is made on both wides. Our sympathy shifts from one to the other of these terrible contending forces. As watch the tndividuals we are conscious, so great is the drama,of mighty questions at stake—not merely of one passionate daughter end one domineering father, butof the ua. ending struggle petween the old and the new. The opening act, with i1 picture of a stifiing Provincial atmosphere, all commonplace nar: Towness and cent, induces our sympathy for Megda's rebellion. It is probably only in reading the drama that we realize how great is Sudermann’s skill in portraying with so few touehes the envi- ronment which Magda has broken away from. Good acting makes any situation expressive, butin a dispassionate reading we discover the strength or the weakuess of the dramatist, and this test Sudermenn stands triumphantly. Msgde's father, the 0ld colonel, speaks of the #good 0ld patriarchal order.”” He scorns mod- ‘ern ideas. “Modern ideas! Oh, pshaw! Iknow them. But come into the quiet homes where are bred brave soldiers snd virtuous wives. There you'll hear no taik about heredity, no srguments about individusality, no scandslous | Boings on—all this fuss about & singer!” | is amazed at hay | the outlook. | rifice of it, is the question answered and the gossip. There modern ideas have mo foot- hold.” Again, he says: “In this house rulen] old-fashioned paternal authority; and it snall rule as long s I live.”” And this same *‘pater- ‘ | nal authority” had ten years before, meeting with & will as strong. as his own, driven from her home the rebellious daughter who refused to marry at her father's bidding. In the discussion by the gentlemen of the | card club we ate further enlightened as to the | point of view held by these worthy people. | General von Klebe is fuming at having been detained by the crowd—¢“such a crush of | people gaping as if there were a princess at | the least. And what do you suppose it was? A | singer! These are really what one may call He | ng seen the pastor in the | rowd. “Now, I ask you what did he want | there, and wbat good is this whole lesll\'.!,j and all this so-called art—what good does it do? Bockmann, the professor, answers with a | trite commonplace, “‘Art raises the moral tone | of the people,” and the general replies, “I tell | you, art is & mere invention of those who are | afraid to be soldiers to gain an important posi- tion for themselve This {s the atmosphere into which Magds, brilliant, triumphant—a queen in the realm he had won for herseli—returned for the mo- ment. No wonder sll the efforts to detain her are unavailing until the pastor she has scoffed at—the man whom her father years before had commanded her to marry—obtains the influ- ence over her which springs from the un- s 01 his own motives. { e resents the least suspicion of constraint suthority. She says to him: ~Here I was | parched and stified—it’s all 5o far behind me. | If you oniy knew how far! You have sat here dey after day in the heavy, close air, while I | have felt the storm breaking about my head. Pastor, if you had & suspicion of what lif is1” " His standards seem narrow to her. She doubts his sincerity, but gradually his | earnestness, his self-effacement, compel her wonder—almost her awe. She is persuaded to | remain for s few days at least, but she chafes at her position. She says to him: “Here I must bend my will. I am not accustomed to that. I must conquer. I sing or Ilive—for both are one and the same—so that men must willasIdo, I force them—I compel them—to love and mourn and exultand lamentas I do, and woe to him who resists. I sing them down—I sing and sing until they become slaves and playthingsin my nands. Iknow I'm confused, but you understand what 1 mean.” And the pastor answers: “To w the impress of one’s own personality—that's what you mean, isn't it, Magd: *“Yes, ves. Ob, I could tell you everything. Your heart has tendrils which twine about other nearts and draw them out. And you don’t do it selfishly. You don’t know how mighty you are. The men outside there are beasts, whether Inlove or hate. Butyou are & man. Just think! Yesterday you seemed to me so small; but something grows out from you and become aiways greater. What shallIcall it? Self-sacrifice—self-abnegation? It is something with self, or, rather, the re- verse. Thatis what impresses me and that is why you can doso much with me.” And what atouch of nature is that which makes the pastor confess that the sight of this triumph- ant, dominant personality has awaked old | desires at war with sell-effacement. 1 “lhave had to stifie much in my nature. My peace is the peace of the deed. And asyou stood before me yesterday in your freshuess, your nstural strength, your greatness, I said to myself, ‘That is what you might have been if at the right moment joy had entered into your life.”” And when, as the consequence of the old sin, shame and sorrow overtake this househola it is the pastor who prevails upon Magda to make the suprema sacrifice of herself for the sake of | Ber child. | “There comes an hour to almost every man when he collects the broken pieces of his life to form them together into & new design. I have found it so with mysell. And now itis your turn.” | And when she has consented and then re- iused because she sees that the sacrifice would be in vain, her father isstricken by death, and Magda in her anguish begs to be allowed to remain in this home she bas shattered. But the reader feels that no real solution of the problem is here, and that the Magda Suder- mann draws would chafe, when the sharp edge of remorse was worn away, at the old restric- tions. Mme, Modjesks, In accenting the womanly side of Magda’s character, has given usa very noble interpretation of the part, and has helped to smooth away the difficuities of 4 | | i 1fancy itis not without mesning that Su- dermann gives the last words to the pastor. And by this he may imply that, not through the assertion of individuality, but by the sac- problem solved. GraCE HOYT'S QUOTATION s. A_CYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL QUOTA- T —By J. K. Hoyt. New York: Tue Funk &nalls Company. Forsalesat all bookstores. Yrices: Buckram £6, law sheep $8, half morocco #10, full morocco $12. The merest glance directed at this the latest of aseries of useful works of reference issued by the Funk & Wagnalls Company will show the reader that immense pains have been taken to render it of permanent valueyto all who have occasion to use a book of qu tations, and who has not st one time or another ? The original edition was published in 1882, and since that time has proved 1o be & strong rival of even so well established a favorite as Bartlett’s famous work. Perhaps the most striking characteristic of this new, revised and eularged Hoyt isits mar- velous thoroughness. It is claimed, and ap- parently with good reason, that “every famil- iar phrase and santence that has currency in the English lenguage will be fcund among the 80,000 quotations in this book.” Another good and prominent feature of the work un- der review is 10 be found in the fact that an unusually large number of facilities are afford- ed for quickly turning to any desired quota- tion. Alter the name of each author in the appendix are the numbers of the pages where quotations from him occur. The quotations of eight of the most prominent suthors—such as Shakespeare, Milton and Longfellow—are des- ignated In the index by special symbols so as to be recogniz:d at aglance. Three distinet keys are afforded to gain access to quotations. They are: The toplc; ihe entry of each sige nificant word or phrase in the concordance; the name of the suthor. Equally easy refer. ences are afforded for finding foreign proverbs end quotations, Latin law terms, etc. They may be found by turning to: The topio; the author; some word of the original; some word of the translation. The Funk & Wagnalls Company are to be congratulated upon their enterprise in plac- ing <o valuable a work of reference tostudents, clergymen and writers on the market at what is really & moderate price. MISMAED. MgLEOD OF THE CAMERONS - By . Hamilton. D. Appleton & Co, New York, Paper 50 cents. For sale by William Doxe; Palace Hotel, City. Christina, the heroine of this story, s in love with McLeod, who is a thorough gentle- man. She has married by mistake & man she supposed was a gentleman, but who she finds out when too late has not the polish and the manners to make a suitable companion for her. Her husband is very kind-hearted and £00d, however. Christina has a little wonder to herself if she would heve preferred her . MUSSER. HERMANN SUDERMANN. | GLEVER BITS My Mother's Prayer. My mother's prayer, whene'er at even She lit or quenched a household light— ‘Grant us, O Lord, the light of Heaven, And gusrd us through the night.” The prayer my mother used to pray— I breathe it from a tired, faint heart, For one light quenched upon my way, Of my joy chiefest part. 0 God, in loneliness and fear Remembered—other time forgot! O heaven, a vision sweet and dear, When earth delighteth notl Lord, let me, for my truth forgiven, And for thy mercy’s sake prevailed, Pray—ere 1 see the light of Heaven, Relignt the light that fatied! KATHRINE E. CONWAY in Donahoe’s. It Never Gomes Again. There are gains for all our losses, There are balms for all our pain; But when youth, the dream, departs, It takes something from our near; And 1t never comes again. We are stronger, and are better, Under manhood’s sterner reign; 11 we feel that something sweet Followed youth, with flying feet, And will never come sgain. Something beautiful is vanished, And we sigh for it in vain; We behold it everywhere, On the earth, and in the air; But it never comes again, RY STODDARD. A Secret. Sunk deep 1n & sea, A sea of the dead, Lies & book, that shall be Never opened or read. Its sibylline pages A secret enclose— The flower of the ages, Arose, a red rose. That sea of the dead Is my soul; and the book Is my heart; and tne red Rose, the love you forsook. JULIAN HAWTHORNE. in February Lippincott's. Matilda Ann. Iknew a charming little girl, Wno'd say, “Oh, see that;flower! Whenever in the garden Or woods she spent an hour. And sometimes she would listen And say, “Oh, hear that bird!” Whenever in the forest 1ts clear, sweet note she heard, But then I knew another— Much wiser, don’t you think?— Who never called the bird a “bird,” But said, “the bobolink,” Or “oriole,” or *“robin,” Or “wren,” as It might be; called them all by their first name, 80 intimate was she. And in the woods or garden She never picked ‘‘a flower,” But ““anemones,” “‘hepaticas,” Or *“crocus” by the hour. Both little girls loved birds and flowers, Butone love was the best; I need not point the moral; I'm sure you see the rest. . For wouldZit not be very queer, If when, perhaps, you came, Your parents had not thought worth while To give you any name? 1 think you would be quite upset, And feel your brain a-whirl 1f you were not **Matilda Ann,” But just *a litle girl.” ALICE W. ROLLINS in the Independent, husband to be thoroughly wicked and a gen- tleman, or as he was—quite particularly kind, worthy, aud contented with himsell. Was she to make the rest of her life purely a sacri- fice to him? Was she to try and amalgamate herself with him and his friends, so that in time she too, perhaps, might learn to drop her h's, smack her lips when eating, and be content with her fot in life? She winds up by deciding to virtuously make the sacrifice. The subject was not & very happy choice to make & novel out of. ERIEF AND ERIGHT. URBAN DIALOGUES—By Louls Evan Shipman, Stone & Bhipman. New York. Price $1 26, For sale by Wiiiam Doxey. Paiace Hotel. These brief accounts of the talks and doiugs of a thoroughly good-hearted as well as cleyer young society man in New York are very en, tertaining, whether read singly es complete short sketches or straight through the book a & continued story. One of ihe best is “An In- ternationsl Complication,” wherein the young New Yorker by a combination of brillant tact, aaring and whole-souled sympathetic inter- est, saves & young woman friend from a false step that might have wrecked the happiness of two lives. Another good one is where Jack Oliver goes to an old doctor for medicel ad- vice about a heart trouble. The heart trouble 1s Jack’s love for the doctor’s daughter, but he Xkeeps this carefully concealed until the doctor gives him the sort of encouraging advice for which he hoped. LOVE FOR AN ACROBAT. MADEMOISELLE BLANCHE—By John D. Barry. Btone & Kimball, New York. Price $1 50. For sale by William Doxey, Palace Ho- tel, City. Madamolselle Blanche was a beautiful girl who has inherited wonderful gymnastic talent from her father. While performing in Paris a fascinating and danng feat of leaping back- ward through a distance of hundreds of feet she attracted the attention of a Parisian bach- elor, Jules Le Baron, who took a special de- 1ight in such feats of skill, grace and courage. This performance so far surpassed anything he had seen before and the beauty of the girl | their youth. with her. He found her so superior to other women of hier class that love rapidly followed admiration and marriage love. The reader is made to feel that there can be sentimentof the finer kind among that class of people who are supposed to be interesting only for the excel- lence of their muscles. ABOUT REFORMATORIES. JUVENILE OFFENDERS — By W, Douglass Morrison. D. Appleton & Co., New York. Price 81 50. For saie by Willlam Doxey, Palace Ho- tel, Clty. This book is the third of a eriminology series edited by Mr. Morrison, and is writien by a man who hes had a greatdeal of ex- perlence with youthful offenders. He deals with the -extent, character and causes of juvenile crime, and points out the best meth- ods of reclaiming the offenders. He lays con- siderable stress on the amountand rapid in- crease of habitual crime and says that nearly all of theso habitual criminals became so in He thinks that the efforts of Christisn charity, which in the past have been mainly directed to the alleviation of in- dividual miseries. should in the future aim more at the removal of the causes that pro- duced these miseries. CUBA LIBRE DON BALABCO OF KEY WEST—By Archi- bala Clavering Gunter. New York: The Home :"uh:l hing Company. Paper, 00 cents. Forsale y street. Tne great interest which is now centered on Cuba because of the fight for liberty which being made there will make this a timely book, for it is & story of adventurous incidents connected with the struggle, Don Estrabon Balasco is one of the most outspoken of the Cu- ban sympathizers in the nest of Cuban patriots on the Florida coast. The tale is of filibustering expeditions, well mixed with happy love affairs. One of the best samples of the author's entertaining style is in the playiul chapier headed, “Idemand long dresses.”. The story ends with the prediction by one of the hot- headed young Cuban sympathizers that some day the people will take the bitin their teeth San Francisco News Company, Post { 1 OF VERSE BY GURRENT RHYMSTERS. The Growth of the Critic. i Ho painted first a picture, but he made s wretched daub of it, And long he sought for further jobs—but got o other job of it. And then the man he tried to sing, but madela noisy screech of it; And every one who heard his voice ran off be- yond the reach of it. And then he played the violin, but made such wretched mess of it That all who heard his music wished sincerely there was less of it. And then he wrote a novel next, but made such fearful bore of it That al! who read to chapter two declared they wished no more of it. IL And now when he had tired of life, because of the distress of it, He was hired as acritic, and made s great suc- cess of it. L] 1L And ho told the gifted painter that his plcture had no life in it, And with an ugly-looking stab he thrust his critic knife in it. He showed the great musician how his music had no soul in it; And he toid the mighty poet that his meter had no roll in it. And he told the heavenly singer that his voice had no upliftin it: And he told the novel writer that his novel had nogiftin it. Iv. All bowed before the critic, and they trembled at the nod of him, And knelt to his almightiness, and made & lit- tle god of him. “Twinkles.” “Husb, my boy,” replied his father with the shiver of the financier, “you'il frighten Wall street.” CONQUEST EY A COUNTRY GIRL MISS AYR OF VIRGINIA, AND OTHER S1ORILE—By Juis Magruder. Hertert S. Stone & Co,, Chicago. Price §1 25, Those who have read “The Violet” and “The Princess Sonia” will be glad that there are now some more pretty stories from the same pen to be entertained with, “Miss Ayr of Vir- ginla” is & charming country girl who visits her stylish cousins in New York, and is mildly snubbed by them because of her ignorance of polite conventionalities current in the big city. The Virginia girlis pretty and clever, and rapidly gains admira- tion from the men, and then the stylish cou- sins es rapidly chauge their tone. Miss Ayr attracts chivalrous attention 1o herseli “with_| 85 1ittle volition and consciousness as & mag- net.’” She quickly earns to change her country dresses for tasty city costumes, and then her conquest is complete. She gets a proposal from & millionaire, but refuses because she loves a plain Virginia farmer. PICTURES THAT llPfiBSS THE MEMORY. TALES OF SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS—By ‘Ambrose Bierce. American Publishing Cor- poration, New York. This is & new edition of a book which on its previous issue met with a deserved meed of praise. The first story in the collection, which tells of the sentincl who, from a sense of duty, sends a fatal bullet into the harse upon which the sentinel's father is sitting at the top of & steep cliff, and describes how horse and horseman fell from that great height as though some spirit were flying from the sky, is a plece of picturesque word-painting finely done. The suthor's descriptions make a vivid impression on the memory, and in such pictures as that of the hero on the white horse, who volunteered to gallop into self- sacrifice in order that the fire of the enemy drawn upon himself might disclose their po- sition, will return many times 1o the mind’s was 80 raze that ho pleoned to getacquainied | and Americsn diplomacy will go kitng. | eve of the reader more like to the recollection | forthe American reader are also treated in | friend indeed. This plan of instructing the | to us a particularly happy one. | of Mr. Baldwin’s work is devoted to such por- | third is set apart for the general reader. The | I measure of success may | “Guide to the Perplexed | to be derived from protective tariff laws it is ] of some fascinating scene he has viewed on | | the walls of an art gallery than of the printed | pages of & book. ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA. (1) A NEW AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT TO THE LATEST EDITION OF THE ENCYCLO- PEDIA BRITANNICA. In 5 volumes. Vol I, A-BYZ (2) A GUIDE TO SYSTEMATIC KEADINGS "IN ~THiS KNCYOLOPEDIA BRITANNICA. By James Baldwin, ‘Ihe Werner Company, Akron, Ohio. | In this new suppiement (1) to the latest | edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica we havea work that will commena itself to all who have felt the deficiencies on the score of & | 1ack of completeness which characterize the | | parent work and the appendices to the same | | which have been issued from time to time. | | Inaddition to naving given the new supple- | ment blographical enlargements to cover those persons whose names have been made famous in literature, science and art during rocent years, we note that other depertments | of no less importance have been thoroughly covered. Thus, the heading *Bible Distribu- | tion” is brought down to so recent a date as the last months of 1896. Subjects essentially American or which possess especial interest | Ph.D. | their latest phases, while matters sctentific are shown 10 the last word. In the latter connec- tion we note the caption *“Argon”—proof posi- | tive that the supplement is up to date. In the “Guide to Systematic Reaaings'’ (2) | the student who is desirous of using Encyclo- pedia Britannica to supplement the work of s | teacher, or to take the place of one, will find a seeker after knowledge as to the best way of | culling the same from the masterly volumes | comprised in the original Encyclopedia, seems The first part tions as interest boys and girls; the second is particularly designed for students, while the author has done his work well, and a good be predicted for this FROM A NON-PARTISAN VIEW. NATIONAL AND MUNICIPAL, QUESTIONS— | "By 0. A. Myers. O.A. Myers Los Angeles, Cal. | | Paper, 50 cents. | The main purpose of this little yolume is to try to convince the people from & non-parti- san standpoint; that if any true benefits are equaliy necessary to have stringent immigra- tion laws. In addition to his arguments on the subject of tariff and immigration laws the writer has some lengthy ones in favor of Goy- ernment banking and Government ownership of railways and telegraph lines. He holds that in times of loss of confidence financial panic and consequent hardshipare caused by people withdrawing their money from the banks, but if their money had been deposited with & Goy- ernment bank they would not have lost con- | fidence and prosperity would not have been interrupted. CHARMING CANINES. | BOSS AND OTHER DOGS—Ey Marie Lonise Peel. Stone & Kimball, New York. Price 21 55, For sale by Willlam Doxey, Palsce Hoel, City. Nearly all of us at some time or other have nad a dear irfend in & qog, the memory of which will make us feel a sympathy with the affection for interesting canines shown by the author of these little storfes. Boss was & noble friend to the poor old woman who owned him, and the last act of his life was a heroic effort 1o save her from danger. The story coucern- ing the Scotch collie Laddie is told in such a WAy as to make us unaerstand how natural it was for his mistress to value him so highly and pay the bills incurred by his propensity for playing havoe with poultry. FROM THE FRENCH. MME. TELLIER'S GIRLS—By Guy_de Mau- passant. G. W. Dillingnam & Co., New York. Paper 80 cents. Guy de Maupassant is considered one of the most artistic of short-story writers, and this book contains a translation of three tales that aro selected as fine examples of his skill. His translator and critics say: ““To the little group of English writers who regard art as an essen- tial element of modern fiction Guy de Mau- passant is, without doubt, if not the faultless artist at least the artistic master.” The ubjects introduced are unconventional, according to English code, and perhaps only to one whoisa master of fiction could such | license be allowed as Maupassant takes. The risque features of his work must be redeemed by exceeding cleverness or they couid not be | tolerated. MYSTERY AND CRIME. HIS FOSTER SISTER—Bv Albert Ross. G. W. Dillingham & Co., New York. Paper 50 cents. For sale by the Francisco News Company, Post street, City. This is a story of murder, and the mystery of the perpetrators of itisso cleverly con cealed as to keep the reader curious and guessing till the last chapter in the book. For those who like tales of horror and the mental exercise of trying to unravel a mystery that baffles the shrewdest of detectives this tale will be very interesting. It is a very disagree- abte story, though, to those who do not like that style of fiction. The horrible tale starts thus: “There was a great deal more blood about the room than any one would have ex- pected. Not to speak of the pools on the car- petand the quantity that soaked through the clothing, more than a score of spots could be counted on the walipaper, half as many on the pictures and several on the furniture.”” SOCIE1Y BLUEBOOK. OUR SOCIETY BLUEBOOK. Published by Charles C. Hosg. For sale by lartwell, Mitche. & Willis, Post street, City; brice $5, The 1896-97 edition ot this work has just been published, an is fully equal to former issues. In one or two respects it is not quite up 10 aate—for instance in the division head- ed “Personnel of the Press,” which is incom- plete and in more than one respect positively erroneous. This will doubtless be remedied by the publisher in future editions. Typo- graphically the “Biuebook” is & work of art. LITERARY NOTES. Queen Victoria’s book will be published in America by the Century Company. Thewe will be 100 copies on Japanese paper at850 &nd 600 on fine paper at§15. Both editions are sirictly limited and no more will be printed. McClure's Magazine for February con- taing a sea poem by Rudyard Kipling, illus trated by Oliver Herford. Since the publica- tion of Kipling’s new book of poems, “The Beven Seas,” there is a special interestin him poet, and particularly as the poet of the sen. Mrs. Lanier has prepared a new edition of her husband’s, Sidney Lanier’s, ““The English Novel,” and there will be in it passages not included in the first issue. The Messrs. Serib- ner will publish it shortly, The same house has ready Professor Charles F. Kent's second v(l'lluma of the “History of the Hebrew Péo- ple.” Since retiring in large measure from edi- torial duties in Atlanta Joel ndler Harris hasbeen busily engaged in several literary en- i | | | Wood, London, will be glad to hear of ported, will occupy his time sor a considerab period. Dr. Weir Mitchell, suthor of “Hugh Wynne, Free Quaker,” now appearing in the Century, is hearing much from Friends regarding his novel. Itis felt by them that for the first time the Quaker is having justice in fiction— usually he is caricatured and made untruthiul or ridiculous. Even the stern father is life- like in Dr. Mitchell's story, and the gradusl emancipation of the hero from the bonds of his faith is well and naturally told. Joseph Jefferson, the actor, is also an artist and is greatly interestea in the revival of an old-time method of picture-making—painting upon copper, from which a single print is taken on paper. In the February Century there s an article by William A. Cofin on these onotypes.” Among the monotypes reproduced in the article Is one by Jefferson | himsel, the original of which is in the Play- ers’ Club in New York; another shows him at work in his studfo. Announcements of books deaing with the life or work, or both, of William Morris follow each other in quick succession, says the Lon- don Westminster Gazette. The latest is that Buxton Forman is preparing a volume which will bear the title “The Books of Wilham Mor- ris: an Essay in Bibliography.” It will set forth in a connected narrative “the public ap- Dpearances of the author in a way calculated to | give the student and collector such exact bibliographical knowledge of the whole of tho printed works as the present age requires con- cerning not only great men like Morris, but many minor literati”” Mr. Forman, whose address is 46 Marlborough Hill, St. John's “any out-of-the-way items cognate to the subject of a work atonce narrative and bibliographical.” A series which will be most cordially wel- comed is that which the Macmillan Company 18 preparing to issue under the title ‘*Heart of Natuze Series.” The derivation of the titleis from that exceptionally populsr juvenile, “Tommy-Anne and the Three Hearts,” by Mabel Osgood Wright, who very appropriately 1s one of the authors of the first volume of the new series, ““A Bird Book for Beginners.” The second volume will probably be some “Native Animals,” edited by Frank M. Chap- man, who writes of “Four-footed Americans’; & third, “From Moss to Tree,” will not be & systematic botany, but a book on plant life for beginners, giving a concise story of a hundred or more species that are either beau- tiful or useful. The “Insect Brotherhood,” edited by Samuel H. Scudder, will describe arious kinds of stings, wings and things. ‘When the Earth Was Young,” edited by Raiph S. Tarr, will be a general introduction to nature siudy. “The Making of Home,” sanitation, etc., outdoors and in, entitled “The House People,” will be edited by Dr. John S. Billings. It will be & book of stories of home life, showing how all study of animal and vegetable lite, physical science, etc., has a very close and practical bearing on the building up of the home, ete. The February Forum opens with an_import- ant article by Senator David B. Hill on the “Future of the Democratic Organization.” Mr. Hill severely eriticizes the Chicago con- vention, wherein, he says, Democratic usages and principles were ignored from the outser, old and well-established Democratic principles repudiated and new and dangerous doctrines substituted. Fidel G. Plerrs, chairman of the Cuban press delegation, in “The Present and Future of Cuba” presents an suthoritative account of the actual condition of affairs in the island. He is confident of the nitimate success of the revolution, and emphatically declares that no compromise between Spain and the revolutionists is now possible. There are now but two issues: Incessant warfare or independence. The Hon. William Woodville Rockhill, Assistant Secretary of State, reviews the status of our consular system and points outsome evils yet to be remedied before it can reach its highest efficiency. “Ladies’ Clubs in London,” by Miss Alice Zimmern, describes the aims @end objects, comforts and advantages of the leading London clubs for women. “The Results of Cardinal Satolif’s Mission” are told in an interesting article by the Rev. Dr. Edward McGlynn, The forthcoming publication of the “Autobi- ographies and Letters” of Gibbon the his. torian, in their original form, aiter being sealed up for 100 years, is an event of rare interest. Mr. Frederic Harrison, the distin- guished English critic, reviews these volumes inan article entitled “The New Memoirs of Edivard Gibbon.” Dr. J. M. Rice contributes a third article in his series on the Probiem of Elementary Education, entitied “Economy of Time in Teaching,” directing attention to the limits of incldental instruction, the influence of fatigue, and the question of mental ma- turity. Among other interesting articles in the February Forum are: *Speedy Financial and Currency Reform Imperative” by the Hon. Cherles N. Fowler; “The Cure for a Vicious Monetary System,” by Eenator W. A. Peffer; “Poe’s Opinion of ‘The Raven,’” by Joel Benton; “The Criminal in the Open,” by Josiah Flynt. Messrs. Harper & Brothers’ announcements of new publications during February snd March include the following books: Dr. Fridtjof Nansen’s ‘‘Farthest North”: Be- ing the narrative of the voyage of the Fram, 189396, and tne fifteen months’ sledge expedition by Dr. Nansen and Lieu- tenant Johansen, with an appendix by Otto BSverdrup, an etched portralt of the suthor, about 120 full-page and numerous smaller fllustrations, sixteen col- ored plates in iac-simile {from Dr. Nausen's own sketches and several photogravures and maps. “The Landlord at Lion’s Head,” a novel by W. D. Howells, illustrated by W. T. Smedley; “A Previous Engage- ment” s comedy, by W. D. Howells; “The Green Book, or Frcedom Un- der the Snow,” & novel, by Msuris Jokai, author of “Black Diamonds,” transiated by Mrs. Waugh; “The Last Recruit of Clare's”: Being Passages from the Memoirs of Arthur Dillon, Chevalier of St. Louis and late colonel of Clare’s Regiment in the service of France, by S. R. Keightley; ©Literary Land- marks of Rome” by Laurence Hut- ton; “Literary Landmarks of Florence,” by Laurence Hutton; “The Descend- ant,” a novel; “Beauty and Hygiene”; Cups of Chocolate” ; A Piece of Gossip in One Act, frecly Englished from 8 Kaffeeklatsch of E. Schmithof by Edith V. B. Matthews; “Theory of Physics,” by Joseph S. Ames, Ph.D., essociate professor of physics and sub-director of the physical laboratory of Johns Hopkins University; “Bound in Shallows,” & novel by Eva Wilder Brodhead, illustrated by W. A. Rogers; “In the 014 Herrick House,” and Other Stories, by Ellen Douglas Deland, author of “*Oskleigh”; ““The Mistress of the Ranch,” a novel by Fred- erick Triekstun Clark, author of “On Cloud Mountain”; “Tne Well-Beloved,” a novel by Thomas Hardy (in the new uniform edition); “The Voyage of tho Rattletrap,” by Hayden Carruth, illustrated Dy H. M.Wilder; “The American Claimant, and Other Stories and Sketches,” by Mark Twain (uniform edition); “Easter Bells,” poems, by Margaret E. Sangster; “Book and Heart: Es. says on Literature and Life,” by Thomas Went- worth Higginson (Harper’s Contemporary Essayists); and “How to Tell a Story, and terprises. Hitherto “Uncle Remus” alone has Deen assoctated with his name, but indicatio are that the great fame of his first snccess may be shared by his mew novel, “Sister Jane.” Mr. Harris' juvenile books,'it is re Other Essays,” by Mark Twain (Harper's Con- temporary Essayists). —————— 1000 pairs ladies’ b ack hose will be shown at the City ot Paris. Three pairs 50c. * e A