The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 21, 1897, Page 23

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1897 23 ANTHONY HOPE’S NEW NOVEL. PHROSO, A Romance—By Anthony Hops. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company. For sale by Wiam Doxey, Pa'ace Hotel, City. Price, Of all the romances published seriaiiy du ing the year 1896—and there were man Temarkable character—*Phroso, Hope, was conceded by hare been the most pop: Clure’s Magez ne were Whom was accordea the y this of Me- ge of perusiug prince among 8tory-tellers. Itsissuein book form has been anxiousiy ewaited, and it comes to us at last from the press of the Frederick A. Stokes Com- pany. There is 2 current among Amer- fean c e eulogistic and “prai b to the (ffect that, “When have once started to read this book you not lsy it down untii you have finished it." This sentence been so often misap- plied as to have an i1l savor to the mind of person who 1o to his favo: dance in matiers per. A carefu ver to cover, by book notes, sh s literally true of work. That it has t such small errors thing from the in- Whea you sit in ub and listen to & mber and a .f z ved to pick h¥les sfonal *whopper” 1 not, and what, nfter due ae- seem an impsssible stiuation, f the story, the balance of both in g 80,” from c ws e’s intest 5 e. An o several im- e two-shiiling 1in this class blance to that avering C Yor There ® adth escapes; thi and fair be It hant composed by t scex Cors stead of Neopalia pu anonymously we ve to say th ot ten readers would have credited follows: Lord palia from its ale is con der wh rmed srmer members anean pas- nis search sceret of the un- standing that it make good 1 the isiand by e concealed place 50 are about 10 do Whestley ar en t Wheetley g the same w to Con- was the | ave been exe- “ last card against d, the English- at Neopalia of ounces the e of Constantine, concealed. before the Greek g! er love for Wheat 0 had three comp made good | cir escape, afier arrowing exp capture & boat &nd row out futo the where they providen encounter ng to the Turkish fleet, with @ « . e Governor of Neopalia on boerd. To him they tell thelr tale, and the Government ves- ecl makes for the island, where itarri tjme to find Wheatley set iree and the isi- &na transferred to Euphrosyue Here, one would think, is material enough Jor a first-class novel. The reader of this out line will remark, “Ard so Phroso mars Wheatley and they lived hap af We!l, they did; butnot at this stage of the proceedings. Following the fashion set by Dumas the Elder, Mr. Hope likes to tantalize his reader. Heving brought his reader thus 1ar, our author makes Mouraki Pasha,Governor of Neopalis, fall in love with Euphrosyne. Mouraki, by his picture, is 60, fat and schem- g He isa widower and thinks of making roso Mrs. Mouraki IL With this object he contrives to release Constantine, hoping that that worthy Greek will take memsures to pre- vent Wheatley leaving the island alive. As g immediate resultof his release, his wife is | ‘found dead. Wheatley charges Mourakl with being accessory to the crime and is kept pris- oner in the house with the secret passage. Through this comes Constantine, prepared to murder the Englishman, whose Greek body- guard wrestles with the assassin, throws him down the cliff in the tunnel, and loses his own life in so doing. Phroso and her protector make their way 10 the end of the cave, only to stumble upon their Turkish enemy, the Gov- ernor, Who, after bandying words with his prisoner, is himself killed by one Demetr],who had 6worn to avenge the death of his brother, executed by order of the Governor. 8till their adventures are not over,and be- tween the last-mentioned incident and their final arrival in London there is incident suffi- clent to stock an independent romance, as TOmANCes O nowaaays. Mr. Hope's method of telling a story is an admirable one. He mansges to end each chapter with a thrilling climax, leaving the reader to wonder what is coming next: - When it comes, it turns out to be something quite unexpected. There may exist carping critics to deride this style of composition as sugges- tive of the dime novel, but it cannot be doubted that Hope’s manner adds much to the attractiveness of the romance. His style is fluent and full of action and keeps the reader both absorbed and ou the qui vive. Occasjonaily, however, we come across a £lip or two, either in composition or in setting, For instance, the author of *Phroso” is describ- iug the predicament of Wheatley when ac- cused by Constantine. The Englishman fs threatened with deajh. A thousand sturdy Neopalians are ready at the bidding of their ruler to inoculate him with the germs of Neopalian fever, which is & polite euphemism for murdering him. The danger is imminent, and Lord Wheatley thus describes bis condi- tion: “I belteve I turned a little pale” (1) In form “Phroso” is autoblographical, is, Lord Wheatley himself s teiling the 0 most of his chapters Mr. Hops prefixes Wwhat the immortal Sam Weller would call “‘moral obserwations.” Without ady desire to be hypercritical, the suggestion is made tnat the omission of some of these copybook axioms would have been an improvement, as wonld also & litile more attention vaid to the prob- ability of situations. This is the worst that could be seid of Mr. Hope’s last work by the | ate people to | | cal laboratory in the Johns Hopkins Univer- [ most exacting of critics. Since the “Prisoner | of Zenda.” we have read nothing from his pen that we liked as much as “Phroso,” and had | its author written nothing but these lwo‘ capital romances he would be entitled to take rank with Kipling as a story-teller. As for his | last book, we predict for it a remarkable | measure of popularity as the work of an ac- | | complished raconteur and & master in the art of writing exciting fiction. EMANUEL ELZAS, IN THE DAYS OF NERO. THE BIGN OF THE CKOSS—By Wilson Bar- | rett. J. B. Lippincott Comvany, Philadelphia® | For sale by William Doxey, Palace Lotel, City u the usual order of things when thereisa | play and a book on the same story the book | precedes the play, but in the case of this book | the process of evoiution was reversed. “The | Sign of the Cross” made its first success asa drama and wes subsequently, so to speak, | novelized.” Itisastory of the first century, showing in sharp contrast the purity of the new-born Christianity and the base debauch- ery and cruelty of old Rome. Nero and the Empress Poppsea ars described, and Acte, the beautiful favorite of the Emperor. The hero- ine, Mercia, is a Christian and is beloved and sought in marriage by a God-fearing Christian youth who has loved her from her childhood. | Mercia refuses her Christian lover and can 81ve him only friendship. | She is pictured as being unable to under- | stand such a feeling as passionate love at ail A little later in her life Marcus, a noble and pagan of Rome, awakes her slumbering pas- sion, and their mutual love is the main fea- ture of the story. At the last Marcus becomes a Christian and he and Marcis are martyred her for their faith. The story is a pretty one and fairly well written, but itis open 10 the criticism of be- ing one of those lesser novels which follow in | the wake of & great one—as & sort of feeble imitation to reap the fruits of = taste aroused the work of some great writer. The famous | novel “Quo Vedis” iy clearly the prototyps from which is modeled this “Sign of the Cross.” Camon Farrar has also written a great story of early Christianity aud the days of Nero so like to tbis that it might weil have been used as a model. When asubject has been dealt with by & master hand lesser writers | would be wise to leave it alone. Itisan ap- rosca to the absurdity of writing smother drame of “Hamlet, the Dage.” A RARE GIRL THIS, 10US ENGAGEMENT —By W. D. Harper Bros.. New York. Price 50 cents. For sale by A. M.’ Robertsor, Post street, iy, This little brochure of sixty-five pages is a comedy of a very high-minded young lady | named Phillipa snd her lover, Mr. Camp. | Phiilipa fs sbout to become engaged to Cemp | when her sensitive conscience forces her to confess to him that she has been engaged be- | fore. periorms this act as if it were a matter of very grave importance indeed, and seems to expect that her lover will withdraw his proposal when he knows of her vious love. After breaki momentous to him she tells k. he may neve him again and kisses him. Serious complica- tions then arise, becanse Camp has been him- self guilty of & previous engagement; but, un- | like Phillipa, ho has not been conscientious, brave and bonest enough to tell her about it. Something she says he misconstrues into a demnation, and his heart sinks so low in npt that he is about to go away and | He thinks her ideals are so much | higher than his that he s no fit mate for her. The warm and loving way in which she pre vents that impulse from being carried into | action is exquisite. The bappy ending is said 10 be & reconciliation, but not a solution. VOLUME FOR STUDENTS. ORY OF PHYSICS—By Joseph Hacper & Brothers, .New Yor: For sale oy A. M, Rober ews | leave her. "author of this work is the associate pro- fessor of physics and sub-director of the physi- sity. Especial prominence is given in the work 10 mechanics, because on & thorough xnowledge of this all theories of physics rest. The fundamental properties of matter—in- ertia, gravilation, elasticity—are discussed. Special sections are given to energy and to wave motion, Electricity and magnetism are discussed from the modern standpoint. In light the wave theory is the basis of the inves- tigations, and “rays” are not considered. The professor says that he has constantly tried to show the connections between different phe- nonona, and to reduce the general laws of nature to as small a number as possible. STORIES OF BATILE. THE TAST Keightiey. $1 50. Chuy. e The title of the first in this coliection of five | iort stories s given to the book. Each story s complete in itsell, but they all purport to be the memoirs of an old soldier of fortune, Colonel Anthony Dillon, who has the blood of Irish kings in his veins. It is a story of com- panionship with brave, rough, dare-devil men, in whose eyes was & gleamn that shome “like the glint of suniight on & sword blade.” The | fascination of the book is the prominence with | which courage is put before us. We are made | 1o 8ee brave men leaping up the glacis to as- | ult fiercely defended positions, black-lipped cannon behind which is the gleam of threaten- ing steel, and to heer the roar of gunsand victorious cheers. In the first story we are told en incident of the capture of Rayouville, when the soldiers were mad with excitement and the sight of blood and slaughtered the women and children. The roughest soldier in the regiment picks up a lovely child from the dead breast of its bayoneied mother and de- | fends it from his savage comrades. The child | becomes his pet and he dies with itin h’s arms. RECRUIT OF CLARE’S—By S. E. Hurper & Bros., New York. Price Iorsaie by A. M. Hobertson, Post street, GAY COLLEGIAN AND SIX GIRLS. CUPS OF CHOCOLATF—Trapsl v B2 or sale by A. M. Kobe: 3 | “York. Xorssie by A-M. Koverison, Fost strest, The scene of thislittle comeay in one act s & New England college town. The characters are six young ladies, & New Englander, a Bos. tonian, a Southerner, & German and & French girl. They have notaing to do but todrink chocolate and chat. They each receive a love letter from some college youth and each falls in love with the sender and in confidence describes to the others the romantic gooa looks of her lover. Greatis thelr indignation when they discover that one man has written all the six letters. They put their heads to- gether and plan revenge. The broken English of the French girl is very amusing. WORTHY WOMAN, WORTHLESS MAN. BOUN D IN SHALLOWS—Dy Eva Wilder Brod- head. Harper & Brothers, New York, Price $1 25, ¥or sale by A. M. Kobertsou, Iost strect, city. One of the leading charecters in this book is Dilion, a young man with a disgraceful pest. Through the Influence of his uncle he secures a good position and has a chance to redeem himself. He fallsin love with Lucy Morrow and she with him. He is found out in another swindle and Lucy gives him up. Later she makes up her mind to marry him in spite of everything and is only saved from this rash resolve by proof of his having marrfed another woman, The story emphasizes the truth that Uncle Seth on the Modern Nove they Them® novelists who write to-day, w'y hain’t got the tra There ain’t a one that knows jest how a story ghould be made; Not one who urderstands the thing—not one who does the job, An’ not a one who slings himselt like ol’ vanus Cobb. ol Sylvanus Cobb, my boy, w'en he was on the deck, | We had & story-telier then of giant intelleck. | Ah! The hero of a story now he don’t git in no row; No Injuns, an’ no piruts, an’ no villains, any how The hero of to-day is tame; hain’t got no whiz an’ whirl; Sets still an’ lets some other chap go in an’ court his girl! The novelists who write to-day have all mis. took their jo! Not one has got th Cobb. e glor'us gift of ol’ § Iranus Sylvanus took his hero where allhero ought 1o go, In scrapes an’ awful dangers where he seemed to have no show; | He drowned him, shot him, scalped him, but every reader knew lvanus knew his business well and he woula pull bim through. He bruised him, banged him, buried him, an’ did & han’some job, But still we knew the chap was safe with ol’ Sylvanus Cobb. He'd git the chep in dungeons deep, with sol- diers all abou To fill his body full of shot if he should once gitont; % Sylvanus was too shrewd for that, an’ allus had in stock A subterranean passageway through which the chap could walk. Au’ though he slashed an’ slaughtered him, he understood his job; We knowed that we could trust the mdn with ol Eylvanus Cob We'd see the hero’s funeral, we'd hear the par- son pray, We'd see his coffin in the tomb, all neatly packed away, But that didn’ worry usabit. Above the yawn- in’ grave We knowed Sylvanus still was there, an’ he had power to save. We'd leave himin the grave content, an’ we didn’t care & pin, We knowed Sylvanus knowed the trick to git him out ag'in. While Sylvanus led his hero we were not a bit afraid, ANTHONY HOPE. Y2 I, 1) o // y | Though he marched ag'n an army an’ he faced a cannonade Though & mine should cave in on him, though a whirlpool sucked him in, We all trusted 10 Sylvanus to produce him sa e job; We knowed that we could trust the man with ol Sylvanus Cobb. 1sdone it. Oh, he understood Gtve me them good ol’ days of guns, of snakes, an’ gaping jaws, Of wolves an’ ragin’ catamounts, with blood upon thelr paws; W’en six-foot heroes courted girls that they had snatched away From out a bloody bandit's clasp, and tramped him into clay. Iwish we had some writers now who under- stood the job, Some writers who could sling themselves like ol Sylvanus Cobb! Sax WALTER Foss, S, The Drummer Boy at Marengo. Marengo's plain ran red with blood Ot Victor’s veterans slain Against that fierce and fiery flood Lannes’ legions strove in vain. Napoleon, with that old' gray cloak Drawn round his meager form, Dashed madiy through the blinding smoke, The genius of the storm. A drummer-boy had tramped all day To keep his piace among The flying columus of Desalx, On whom the battle hung. The chieftain marked the weary lad With torn and bleeding feet, And at the sight his heart grew sad, “Up, boy; sound the retreat!” y, sire,” a fl Upon that boy h brow, “That beat I never yet havelearned, Desaix ne'er taught us how. “But, sire,” his ardent eye grew large With courage half divine, “They say that when I beat the charg The dead fall into line. “ I'beat on old Tabor's slopes 7ill the atabals grow dumb; At the Pyramids the Frenchmen’s hopes Rose with my rattling drum | * I've beaten it when lips that bled Gasped out a parting cheer; A, I can almost wake the dead; Sire, may I beat it here?” Napoleon’s piercing glance was bent Full on the duntless boy, A FRESH BOUQUET OF VERSE BY RHYMESTERS OF THE DAY And flashed there through his wonderment A gleam of pride and joy. ‘“Go, beatit, then! Advance, advance!” The clarion call rang out, And the gallant grenadiers of France Took up the battle shout. * Beat on, brave boy!"” and long and loud The warlike music dinned Till fled the Austrians like a cloud Before the wrathful wind, The battling hosts that met that day Figments of fancy seem; Napoleon, Victor, Lannes, Desaix, Mere phantoms of a dream. But still in Piedmont and Savoy, When booms the sunset gun, "Tis told that by a drummer-boy Marengo's field was wor MONTGOMERY M. Forso. New York Sun. Ashes to Ashes. The smoker is soothed by the weed And minds not the ash or its fall, But others are there for his heed — The ashes which lie like & pall, The ashes of roses are there; The ashes ot hopes and of dreams; The ashes of castles in air; The ashes of beautiful themes. Kunee-deep in the ashes he stands; Soul-deep in the dust and the gray; His heart is an urn, and his hands Are brushing the ashes away. The world kens it not as 1t goes; Mankind does not dream of the truth; Yet ashes are his and he knows— They deaden the flame of his youth. FRANKLYN W. LER, —— A Lenten Episode. How could Ihelpit? They wondered, (The tenor, soprano and bass) Why 180 helplessly blundered And sang full a page out of place. But had they seen him as I did, Or noted his glances at Sue— Sue, whom he oit had derided— They, too, would have sung 1t askew, How could Ihelp it? He teased m And I, though I thought him s dear, Yielded to anger that seized me And sent bim away with s sneer. *Twas but a girl’s petty notion, S0 now there's & lump in my throat, Crowding out Lenten devotion And spoiling each once perfect note. FRANKLYN W. Lan. 15 order to 1ift up those who have fallen we are not bound to sacrifice ourselves. Lucy isa besutiful character. She sees how deep down in the hearts of the worst of men there are germs of good and she thinksnothing is so surprisingly pleasaut as to watch these kinaly impulses creeping out in bad lives. In trylng to reform Dillon she impressed him with how | implicitly she believed in the radical goodness of every human heart acd the invincible power of evers human will. “How amused she looked that he should question these things. How ciear her gaze wag, how blessedly fallacious her young wisdom.” FOR THE LADIES. BEAUTY AND HYGIENE — Harper & Bros., New York. Price 75 cents. Forsale by A. M. Robertson, Post street, City. This treatise on the subject of the cultiva- tion and the preservation of physical beauty. | It has seventeen chapters, each one telling | how 1o take cap of some particular feature -or to deal with some defect. Itis not an adver- tising scheme for nostrums, but the beauty to be gained or taken care of is to have that sort of ratfonal attention that the florist gives 1o | his flowers to bring them to fullness of bloom and perfection. Itis poimted out how to avoid excessive thinness as well as corpulence, and how to attain grace of carrisge and & sweet well-modulated voice. There are also recipes for pure cosmetics and for the cure of minor maladies, AN INDIAN MAID THE HEROINE. WHEN HEAR1S AR Ostiranaer. cents; TRUE—By Fannle luird & Lee, Chicago. (loth, aper, 25 cents. This is a story full of mystery and heart- trying suspenses, but in the end all the ciouds are banished and happiness is aitained by heroand herofne. The heroine, Al much other saduess, is put to a severs test through her love jor a man she belicves free to | marry her, but who she finds out has s wife he does not love. This man, Lawrence Arling. ton, also supposed himself free at the time he makes love to Althes. Both puzgle over the | problem of the binaing gacredness of marriage when there is no love ifi the union, but decide on a renunciation of each other. At the end ofthestory the unloved wife dies, and Law- rence, rejoicing {0 his freedom, makes Althes his bride: DUTIFUL RENUNCIATION. AN AMERICAN IDYL—B; Brazza. The Arena mfiu‘u".!..‘"’?o"f.f;‘.n?f Boston. This authoress was a New Orleans girl, Miss Cora Slicomb before her marriage to the Count di Brazza, the head of one of the oldest fami- lies in Italy. She is an authority bn iaces, and wrote some years ago a book called uide to the Old and New Lace in Italy.”” At the World’s Fairin Chicago shewas in charge of the beautiful exhibit of Italian laces that wi sent here under the patronage of Queen Mas gherita of Italy. She basstarted a campaign for the abolition of all duties on foreign hand- made laces imported in1o the United States. “An American Idyl” is her first purely liter- ary work. Itrelateso a young scientist who goes out among the Indians of Northorn Mexico to study them and the fauna and flora of tneir habitat. The heroine of the story, an Indian girl, Ampharita, who sssists him in his zootogical and botanical - studies, becoms very much attached to him. When he leaves her she wanders away into the wilderne: broken-hearted, and a searching party finds her dead. The chiefsaid: “A white snake she fondied stung her heart.” The Indian maid is pletured as very sweet and poetical, and the young sclentist did her no intentional wrong. She simply misunderstood his affectionate in- terest in her. . Bergen's Botany fof secondary schools, which has been so widely adopied as & textbook on botany in the Eastern States, has been adspted t0 the States of the Pacific Const by & flora rep- resenting her commonest and most widely dis- wributed plants underall the important orders, This has been prepared by Miss Alice East. wood, curator of the herbaritm of the Califor. nia Academy of Belences. In it she has fol- lowed, as far as possible, the same plan which Professor Bergen has used in his systematic flora, the object being to give pupilsdriil in determining the relationships of plants rather than to enable them to find out the names of any plants that they may chance to pick up, The arrangement of the orders is that of Eng. ler and Prantl, the most natural so far de- vised, and the nomenclature is in the main that of the Botany of California, Geological Survey. Gina & Co. of Bosion will be the pub- lishers, Ex-President Harrison has written of “A Day With the Presidentat His Desk" for the March Ladies’ Home Journal. The article is said to besingularly interesting in the details with which it describes the wearisome routine of the Fresident. Itis sald that General Harri. son in this article has delivered himself with great directness and vigor relative to the an- noyances that are visited upon a Chief Execu- tive by persistent office-seekers, and he sug- gests a unique plan by which the Presi- dent’s. burdens in that direction ecould be greatly lightened and he be enabled to devote more attention to more important matters. A feature of the articie that will have a timely interest to those ambitious to serve the country under the incoming ad- ministration deseribes very fully how the President makes appointments to office. “A Day With the President at His Desk” is unique in being the first time that the daily life of the President has been described by one who has filled the exelted office. Articles npon the social and domestic life of the President by General Harrison will follow in successive issues of he Journal. | tions from the Pi SCINTILLATIONS OF GENIUS. WITHOUT PREJUDIC: By I. Zangwill. Century Company, New York. Price $1 50. For sale by W illiam Doxey, Palace Hotel, City. Tosay that these selections from the writ- ings of this brilliant Jew falrly flash with cleverness is not to use exaggerating langnage. They are slightly revised irom the work done during the last four or five years by the author for the Pall Mall Magezine. All his eritical writings have been excluded, with the ides that these may be collected in arother vol- ume, The list of subjects upon which he bas some- thing sparkiing to ssy in this volume might almost be said to be multitudinous. Besides twenty-seven papers of considersble length— covering interesting themes all the way from that subject of initial aud immense impor- tance, ‘“The Cholco of Parents,” on to “Love in Life and Literature” and ‘Desth and Mar- riage,” in all of which the versatile genius has something wise and witty to say—there are fourteen ‘‘Philosophic Excursions” and forty- two ““Bundles of Brevities." The mystically The makes one wonder if 1t was acefdent or uncon- scious inherited preference, or intentional use of a number that has some properties of occult potency. some kind the reader will soon discover. but he ix a trifie too flippant for us to suppose that the charm s due to the employment of some sacred number. Some of his remarks will probably read like blasphemous lightness to orthodoxy, while to another school of thought they will seem words of wisdom brought in so opportunely s to get brilliance from their setting. For instance, after telling in bis peculiar bright, terse way how men great in any art must be takers of infinite pains and are even then not infallible—that genius can Do more safeguard & man against his own ignorance than it can find a rhyme for *'sil ver,” he says: *The fact, of course, is that in- spiration 18 no guarantee of perf:ction. The limitations of inspiration vary with the limita- | tions of the writer—a proposition that may be commended to the theologians.” Scarcely less flippant :o those who are con- servative in their belfefs will seem this plece of astounding heresy, ““The danger of drowning arises mainly from being able to swim.” The book is fuil of such staggering surprises, and he often maintains his position with skiliful logfc and sound reasoning, and always with such diamond brightness that even when we differ with him he delights us. There are few writers on whose pages are crowded so many quotable phrases. Even when he gives us old commonplace truths they seem 5o Ireshly poliched by their pass- age through his brain and attractive in the way he puts them that the iteration does not tire. There will, perhaps, be many people who will think that Zsngwill should not have risked his fame by republishing these selec- Mall Magazine, but have let that rest upon the much-admired book, “The Master.” What he has to say in this recent volume on the subject of “Cholce of Parents” {s 10 be very earnestly commended to all such spirits as are seriously contemplat- ing becoming incarnate. LITERARY NOTES. A new monthly has made its appearance in this City which will be devoted to tne interest of the Japanese clement. The magazine is named the Japanese-American Voice, and 1s well printed and illustrated. Its editor is K. Sano, 305 Larkin street. “The Art of Travel,” as discussed by Lewis Morris Iddings in the March Scribner’s, is made a matter for intelligent precaution and rational preparation. There must be annoy- ances in the best kind of travel, but Mr. Id- ings’ article shows how many of them may be avoided. Mr. Gladstone has almost completed the task of rearranging his correspondence for bio- graphical purposes. A vast number of letters has been weeded out, but there still remain about 60,000 missives, all of which are care- fully tied up in bundles and docketed for the use of their recipient’s fucure biographer. The current issue of the New York Phono- graphic World contains a portrait and char- acter sketch of Lucius E. Greene of San Fran- cisco. Mr. Greene I8 reported to be one of the most prominent stenographers and law re- porters inthe United States, his forte being technical reporting. A fac-simile of his notes is sppended to the sketch. 1t is proposed to erect in Parls a monument of Paul Verlaine. A bust by Niederhausern is 10 be placed in the Luxembourg Gardens, near the statue of Henri Murger. The money is to be raised by international subscription. Stephane Mallarme {s president of the com- mittee and the Chap-Book has been appointed 10 receive subscriptions in America. ‘Lenten Verses’ is the caption of the second group of the pamphlet series being issuea by Franklyn W. Lee, now editor of the Rush City, Minn., Post. The book contains the author's thymes, grave and gay, anent the lenten sea. som, and will be shortly followed by “A Bundie of Rushes,” which will be a collection of dia- lect verses. The immense difference between a sea story told at second hand, however ably, and the story of the life and exploits of s saflor who is spinning nis own yarn is demonstrated in s most telling way by the reception given to “On Many Seas,” published & few days since by the Mac- millan Company. The book was sent out in it second edition within a week of publication, and there is every indication that a third will be speedily called for. To Mr. Laurence Hutton's knowledge of the value of the anecdote, together with his wide sympathy with everything sssociated with literature, and his conversational style, may be attributed the popularity of his books on the literary landmarks of London, Jerusalem, Edinburgh and Venice. Readers of these books will be Interested in the puslication by the Harpers, early in the present month, of two new books of Mr. Hutton's on the literary landmsrks of Florence and Rome. The second (February) number of The Month contains an artistic curiosity in the form of a frontisplece arawn by Rudyard Kipling, this being the famous storsteller’s first appear- ance as & draughtsman, It is a pictorial dec- lination of an 1nvitation to a dinner at the Aldine Club and accompanies an article on that cozy home of New York authors, artists and publishers, by William W. Elisworth, one of its most active members, The soldier is receiving at the present time more attention from writers than he has haa since the days of the elder Dumas. Anthony Hope, Conan Doyle, in fact nearly all the more successful of tne younger writers, have pald him homage, and the list of their military heroes is soon to have an addition through “The Last Recruit of Clare’s,” the new book by 8. R. Keightley, which the Harpers are shortly to bring out The hero is said to be & gallant Irishman in the service of France, who passes gloriousiy through a series of exciting adventures. “The Epic of Paul,” by Willlam Cleaver Wilkinson, will be published in the early spring by Funk & Wagnalls Company. It will be & companion yolume to “The Epic of Saul,” by the same author. of which Professor Frank- lin Johoson. D.L.. af tha diviniiy schoal in tha red number seven and i's | combinations is apparent in each list, and That Zangwill has used s epell of | University of Chicago writes: * I have repeat edly spoken to my classes of ‘The Epic of Saul” 43 one of the finest pieces of sacred poetry in our language.” All who have enjoyed this | noble piece of sacred poetry will welcome the | new epic dealing with the life of Paul, | The North American Review for February gives space to a most timely and interesting paper on uth Africa and Its Future,” by John Hays Hammond, whose counection witi | recent stirring events in the Trensvanl 1s well remembered. Mr. Hammond enters fluently 1uto a description of the country, particularly | of its vast mineral resources, and predicts for | it a general prosperity that will be further en- hanced by the establishment of customs unions, and a confederation of the South African States, | _‘“Christian Citizenship” is & fiew manual by Carlos Martyn soon to be published by Funk | & Wagnalls Company, New York. Christian Citizenship s a new name, representative of a new thing. There is a widespread interest in the moyement, and in its origin and purposes. Hence this new volume by Dr. Carlos Martyn, the ablest exponent of the cause. whether with the pen or on the platform, is assured before- hand of a welcome. Itraisesand answers the | most vital questions of the day; and crowds within 200 pages an unprecedented number of icant facts and suggestions, | Every woman has natural curlosity to see "naw other women furnish their homes. To satisfy this the Ladles’ Home Journal will | publish during the year interior photographic " views of a hundred of the most artistic, cheer- | ful and comiortable homes in America. These will show in detafl the construction, fitting and furnishing of parlors, halls, reception, music, sitting, dining, bed | and bath rooms, kitch porches, piazzas, | ete. Thisunique scries will be full of excel- lent ideas for every housekeeper or home- | maker. Itwill present views of the interiors ot houses of moderate cost, which are fitted and furnished with conspicuous good taste, and at comparatively small expense. drawing-rooms, The frontispiece of the February Review of Reviews is a magnificent portrait of King Oscer of Sweden and Norway, who has boen proposed as umpire under the general arbitras tion treaty between the United States and Great Britain. The principal topics treated | editerially {n this number are the Anglo- American arbitration treaty, the Cuban situa- tion, the prospects of the N icaragua canal, the recent elections of United States Senators in the different States and the relation of the great corporations to political campaign funds, There is aiso the customary resume of the sig- nificant foreign eveuts of the past monih. The editorial pages, like the other parts of the magazine, are fvlly and suitably illustrated. Among the season’s snnouncements we note that Professor Edward B. Tichener, M. A. | (Oxom.), Ph.D. (Leipzig), Soge professor ot i psychology in the Cornell University, has in | preparation a work entitied “A Primer of Psychology.” This volume {s intended as a first book in psychology. It will, therefore, seek to accom- plish the 1o main ends of a sclentific primer of the subject; to outline, with as lite tle of technical detail as is compatible with accuracy of statement, the methods and most important results of modern psychology, and to furnish the reader with references for further stuay. It will be written with direct regard to the courses of psychological instruc- tion offered in normal schools and high schools, but will at the ssme time be made sufficiently comprehensive to give the general student A fair idea of the present status of psychology in its various branches. Lord Acton, whose “Le cture on the Study ot History” atiracted international attention soon after its delivery in Cambridge and sub- sequent publication in this country by the Macmillan Company, has undertaken to edit for the Cambridge University Press & compre- hensive history of modern times under & general title. The Cambridge Modern History will appear in twelve volumes of about 700 pages each, &nd will cover the pariod from the end of the Middle Ages to the present day. It s expected that the first volume, dealing with the Renaise sance, will be published in from two to thres years hence, to be followed by two volumes in each succeeding year. In order that each part may be the work of & man who has already made the period covered an object of special study, the best historians in England and America will be invited to contribute, A few names from the author'’s list are as follows: Jumes Bryce, Professor Bury, Dr. Cunninghsm, Principal Fairbairn, Professor Flint, Frederick Harrison, R. H. Hutton, Professor Jebb, Mr, Lecky, Sidney Lee, John Morley, Mr. Oman, E. J. Payne, Sir F. Poliock, Professor Prothero, Dr. Sidgwick and Viscount Wolseley. The Nation hasgrown since Washington’s day. For instance, in 1790, the first tull year of his administration, there were seventy-five postofiices in the United States. Now there are more than 70,000, and the revenue of the Postoffice Department is 2000 times as great as it was then. Scores of unfamiliar facts like these, together with many curious anecdotes of *‘old times,” are broughtout in an article on the “Early Days of the American Post- office,” which Postmaster- General Wil- son contributes to the Washington's birthday special number of the Youth's Com- panion.” Of course the usual editorial “fea- tures” are found in the same number, and there are many attractive stories, poems and sketches, by Louise Chandler Moulton, Sophie Swett, Hayden Carruth, Charles F. Lummis and others. Especially appropriate to the sea- sonisa charming engraving, “When George Washington was Young,” by Frank T. Merrill; and the colored cover, designed by the well- known Boston artist, Sears Gallagher, shows the father of his country arrayed in Continen- tal buff and blue. The bound volume of The Critic for July- December, 1896, contains the record of 2815 | new books published during that period, and reviews of 1635 of the more important—among them being Mrs. Humphry Ward's “Sir George | Tressady,” Rudyard Kipling’s “Seven Seas,” | Barrie’s “Margaret Ogilvy’’ and “Sentimental | Tommy,” Shorter's ‘‘Emily Bronte and Her | Circle,” the first volume of Professor Sloane's | “Life of Napoleon” and Dr. Hirsch’s “Genius and Degeneration,” to mention but a few. Added to this are a number ot essays and sketches — among them Mr. Zangwill's papers on literary criticism; au sccount of the sesqui-centennial of Princefon, | with portraits of the receivers of hon. orary degrees; Gerald Sianley Lee's account of lan Maclaren as a lecturer, and records of the dramatic, artistic and musical happen- ings of the perfod covered. Biographical sketcnes and estimates are given of the work of the writers who have died—Harriet Beecher Stowe, George du Maurier, William Morris and others. The Critic, aside from its value as the only weekly record of American literature, is of continucus interest on account of itg portraits of contemporary celebrities in the fields of lterature and the arts. The present | volume completes the paper's sixteenth year. Cloth, lettered, price $250. The Critic Come pany, 287 Fourth avenue, New York. ————— Mr. J. H. Plummer, publisher of Wouax's WorLD AND JENNESS Miunem MoxTHLY, offers $100 in prizes 10 the per- sons making the largest number of words from the word “Endeavors.” See his ade i vertisement in another column,