The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 29, 1897, Page 23

THE SAN FRA JISCO CALL, SUNDAY, AUGUST 29 23 'NOTES AND NEWS OF THE LITERARY WORLD )7 HAT may with truth be de- scribed as an event in the literary history of the Stats will occur next month with the publication from the T of \. J. BStone & C 809 Market street. of the fourth and last volume of the History of California, by Theodore H. Hittell. The third volume of ‘this remarxable work has jusc been issued, and a careful perusal of the first three suffices to indicate that, as was said of Voltaire, Mr. Hittell has *‘created” his- tory, using the verb in the sense of a pro- 1 from vague, crude or scattered ever point of view it is regs son with Bancroft’s histo 11, if for T ) smoothness of W of diction in dealing with the mi i Of course it must be Bancroft collect: vast which furnished, inue furni rians, mz ters of Cal t aint of the stude: that B ft lacked two of tia's of a capable historian, ation and othing else for a le, or rhythm o ad- material nerc f L be added the even to laud se faults must of a dam tende tion is th 3 represent the together with the counsels and the cbservations upon to the liberty V's judgment. tipg himselt inimized his teven Of 1he le mentio do not come even:s them to and concl and the jury rec here ¢ of d, o pictured the its oc- within refe the e how- we!ll View"”; of various Joun T. bor notice wrote Soule, or. e subject of two be California aced above them a ation of the fourth volume of ’ next month will mar twenty-five years ot those acquainted with by s of California can ap- uliies of the task and ually aris 0 wh the early Gov- es couti f the conscientious hist n, will nd capable of delving into the mass al authorities; occasionally in well nigh he accomplished scholir was in 1870 that Mr. Hittell com- menced gatbering the material for his v Hist California.” He first pro- ceeaed to read he books upon the s Careful notning of ne d nced him that hat 1 convi cc nd I ¢ value existed in pr efe to any of the interesting or importa tween 178¢ and 1846. Nothin periods ad Mexican Governors, who e names were inted in lists, as were those of some of the missionaries who exercised so great ence upon their contemporaries in rnia. Then arose the question where to look for information of value with regard to the missing period. There existed one pessibility—the so-called *“Ualifornia srchives,” which had been collected by the American military authorities in 1846 and were preserved in the off Uaited States Surveyor-General Fr £c0. A ( a spirit of Thomas Carlyle himself, anxious | as he is known to have been to seek original sources of information. Mr. Hit- tell found in the local office of the Sur- veyor-General more than a quarier of a miilion pages of written manuscript, every page of which it would be neces<ary to tcan. Lettheamateur historian—the man possessed of plenty access to the best libraries of printed works, with the use of compeient orthand writers and type-writing ma- think of what this Two hundred and fifty and thee mainly ar ines and expert imp p 1 la and in h. o his credit be it recorded Theodore ittell went at the work single-handed, tthe aid of clerk or amanuensis, d every word of his notes and tran- pts was in his own handwriting. The gathering up of him two years, and at the end of that time he found himself in possession of a quantity of valuable moatter. Some pa- vers were missing, and tneir loss is un- rtunately irreparable, but from those that were left it was found possible to truct a reliable history oi the early times in California. And here arose one of the dangers of the work in which Mr. Hittell was engaged. He had culled too much material, but he realized the defects of his predecessors in the same line and lopped off with un- sparing hand anything that could becalled superfluous. Then, in the search for fur- ther information, he availed himself o1 transecripts of testimony in old lawsui: legal records, government documents thort, of every source within bis reach to add to and elucidate what he had-gleaned from the archives. The manuscript of the first two volumes was placed in the printer’s hands in 1885. In the writing of cor the third and fourth volumes the worx | has of course been somewhat simplified through the mass of printea matter deal- | ing with this State sirvce the date of the Mexican war, to the end of which the reader was taken in volumesI and II cf Hittell’s History. "Nevertheless ten years nave been required to make the two volumes with their copious indices and references which will complete the work, A short biographical aketcb of Mr. Hit- tell may prove of interest. He was born in Lancaster County, Pa., in 1830. Two years later his family moved west and settled in Ohio, where he spent his boyhood. His brothers preceded him to Calfornia, The younger died at San Francisco in 1872; the older is the well- known Jobn 8. Hittell, author of “The Resources of California,” **A Short His- tory of Cu ture,” **A History of San Fran- cisco,” and “A History of the Mental Growth of Mankind. 1n 1845 Theodore Hittell, the second son of the family, entered Miami Uoiversity, Ohio; thence he went for some time ot the | tut of ready cash, with | these extracts alone took | | Center College, Kentucky, and from there to Yale, from which last he was graduated in 1849. For some time after his gradua- tion ne practiced law in Cincinnati, sup- | porting himself largsly by his income as | & notary public. After afew years he re- | solved to give up the practice of law and | “move West.” His brother John had al- | ready been in California for upward of | five vears, and Theodore made up his mind to follow him and dig for gold. Soon after his arrival in this State, how- ever, he was offered and accepted the as- sistant editorship of the San Francisco Bulletin, which position he held for over five years. In 1850 he married, and since that time has continuously resided in this City. In 1861 Mr. Hittell decided to return to the practice of law. The connection ted until 1865, when he took charge of of Alfred Rix, who had been elected to the pench. In 1867 he asso- ated himself with John B. Felton, who diei in’1878, since which time he basdone | he oft iness alone. Among the other works of our author published before his latest and best his- | tory may rentioned *The Adventures ot James Capen Adams, Mountaineer and 2ly-Bear Hunter of California’’ (Bos- ton, 1860); ““Tne General Laws of Califor- (more generally known as “Eittell’s )., a standard authority on the es of California; “The Civil Prac- tice Act of California’ (the first attempt in the country of a pocket edition of a law- k), and Goethe’s *“Faust,” (a critical view of the German poet’s masterpiece). | In 1876 Mr. Hittell published *Hittell’s Codes and Statutes of Californis,” and in | 1850 a rupplement to the work. In 1879 | was clected from his district in San | sco to the State Senate and served the three terms of Governor Per- | T dministration. It was at this time at he redrafied the entire Code of Civil cedure so as 10 make it fit the new nstilution. On account of his familiar- h ard sedulous care over the statutes he was familiarly known in Sac- ramento as “Father of the Codes.’’ From the details given it will have been seen that Theodore H. Hittell is a man eminently qualified to write a hisiory of this State—qualified by long re:idence here and by the painstaking reearch and scholarly acumen he has | | brou; to, bear on the subject. One can- | not but entertain the bignest respect for this old man, struggling through a mass | of undigested (we had almost said indi- gestible) matter, whose aspect at first‘ ance merely suggsested the confusion of | Babel. That from this hodge-podge of ct. fiction and romance he should have | evolved a history that is plain, direct and | unprejudiced, pesides possessing an un- | deniable charm, regarded as a purely lit- | erary effort, is little short of marvelous. | Whether we regard Mr. Hittell’s work anding alone or in comparison with that others who preceded him we are | bound to admit that here is at last what for some time to come will be regarded as | the standard history of California, better | deserving of that characterization than the voluminous work of Bancroft or the less complete and fragmentary volumes | of other historians. ExaNvEL Erzas. Prescorr’'s works; edition de luxe, | | Doxey IN THE DATS OF HENRY {V. gent. THE CHEVALIER D'AURIAC—By S. Levett | | Yeats New York: Longmans,Green & Co. | Price $1 50. | ritten in the style of Dumas’ fa- | stories mou aree Guardsmen’’ will probably be r acceptable to the public when the work as cleverly performed es it isin thisin- stance. There are many who are so fond of perusing e adventures of bold hearts and | ready hends tuat they can use such fiction as | & steady diet, and there are many more who ke it as a pleasant change from more pur- | poseful reading. It is good for a tonic to read of bold soldiers with hand ever on sword hilt, ready to avenge an fnsult or to | protect & woman; of man who can love so hear:ily and fight so fearlessly. The account of their deeds stirs the blood like wine, and avho knows what help it may afford to rouse n our littie !ife battles of less bioody char- { | ev is | acter. The Chevalier &’ Auriac is & young soldier of novle birth and meager fortune, who deperds upon his courage and his blade to make his | way in the world. The ilme of the story is the | reign of Hénry IV, and that heroic personage | is graphically portrayed. D'Aurfacis in love | with one of the ladies of the court far above | him in rapk and fortune, but who has become | interested in him Lecause he once saved her from butal insult by striking his superior officr and calling off his attention with im- mediate arrangemen's for a duel With oyal love for this woman aud an | equal'y hearty hate for a man who persits in being his « enemy, the young hero has sirings strong enough to pull him into many wdventurous scrapes from 2 only nerves of steel will permit his He is one of those reckless, brave char- | acters wrom we could not tolerate in modern | society, yet love to read about and admire as part of the days of old. He is ever ready to give challenge, meet an opponent in fair | fight, run him through with deadly thrust, | and feel no compunction of conscience. Mr. | Yeats' manner of writing is well adapted to the portrayal of such characters and scenes. Itcauses the inner ear to hear the ring of steel, the inner eye to see the stern lighton a | naked sword blade, and the pulse to beat in sympathy with that daring which is promptea by a generous heart. AN HUMBLE HERO. JEROME, A POOR MAN—By Mary E. Wilkins. New York: Harper Bros. Price $150. Miss Mary Wilkins has herein given a most interesting study of New England life, and in the character of Jerome the stern, self-denying { heroism handed down from Puritan ancestry | is depicted in a way to draw forth our | admiration. When we are first introduced { 10 the boy he is in such poverty as 10 be { more hungry than the proverbial wolf, but | his pride makes him refuse an offer of a fresh | ginger cake from a well-fed liitle girl | who had more than she could eat. In the { excess of this virtue of courageous endurance he overlooks the fact that he is cruelly at | fanitin the hurt he hasgiven the little girl, who hastens away to cry about her rucely repelled kindness. He carries this trait of pride in poveriy into his manhood, and will not confess his love for the rich squire's daughter because he thought her fortune placed her above him. There is not much plot to thestory. It is simply the récord of the strugglesof a poor boy who-has great ambitions. After he has at last succeeded in making & fortune he ful- fills his resolution in giving it away. The por- trayal of character is very well done, and the | anthor has & very forceful way of expressing | herself. The illustrations to the book by A. I, Keller are worthy of 50 good a novel, WELL WORTH READING. THE GREY LADY—By Henry Seton Merriman. New York: The Macmillan Compan -, For sale in this City by William Doxey. Price $1 50. Thoroughly deserving of commendation s this story of & chivalric Spanish gegtieman, of three interesting British seamen and of the power of women for good and evil over the lives of mex It s per- fectly wholesome without ever being dull Thé style is original and so laconic the reader never feels that a page of paading is belng im- posed upon him. There ere some exquisite love-scenes de- THEODORE H. HITTELL. which add greatly to their effectiveness. There is a deal of passion in them the author makes us feel withous even an approach to tearing a passion to tatters. The way in which the young naval officer, Fi'z, conquers his desire to make love to the Spanish girl, Eve, who is too innocent and in- experienced to understand the situation,1s | prettily told. She is in trouble and has been begging this friend not to leave her. “You see.” sald Fritz, *1 must get bick to the ship.” “You sald she wou d not be eady to sail till next montl “No, but there Is discipline to be thought of.” Helooked past her, up to the stars, witn a scra- tinizing maritime eye, recognizing them ani nam- ing them to himself. He did not meet her eyes— daagerous, tear-laden. “There 1s something the matter with you,” she a4, “yon are differen Then Fitz tola his first delfberate lle. “1 have bad news,” he sad, ‘“‘abont your brother Luke. I am awfully anxious about him.” Among the many fine bits of work in “The Grey Lady” 1s a description of & cyclone at sen. The conversations are admirsbly done— brief and life-like. The mottoes are aptly chosen, and forcibly fix in the mind the main points made in each chapter, “MANY CARGOES. ey's. INDEX LIBRORUM PROHIBITORUM. New supply at Dox- * The “Index Librorum Prohibitornm,” often contused with the “Index Librornm Expurgan- dorum” or Expurgatorius (that catalogues the works that may be read after the deletion of | specified passages), is & large volume of 419 | pages. It contains the titles of 20,000 vol- umes which, on doctrinal or moral grounds, the Roman Catholic church, uuder penalty of ecclesiastical censures, authori- tatively forbids the members of her com- munion to possess or to read. ht thou- sand suthors are mamed in it. Eversthing that Reuau wrote iscondemned, but only the more profane, from a Romen Catholic stand- point, of Voltaire's works appeer in the index. Taine’s “History of English Literature” is un- der the ban,bul his studies on the French Revolution are omitted from the list of pro-. hiblted books by the wish of Leo XIIL All of Cousin’s works are condemned, but only four of Lamartine’s. For obvious rea- sons Eugene Sue’s “Wandering Jew” and the «Mysieries of Paris” are both forbidden read- ing. The Index contains & complete catalogue of the works of both the elder ana the younger Dumas, but only two of Victor Hugo's books are found in it—“Les Miserables” and «Notre Dame de Paris.” There are two Zolas in the Index—one i8 the author of *‘Rome,” the other is a theologian of the lest century. The business of correcting the Jndex to date is now in the bands of an ecclestastical board known as the Congre- gation of the Index, which con of a pre- fect (who is always & Cardinal) and other Cardinals, with whom are associated the wconsulters” and “examiners of books” (qual- ificatores). The Roman Index is far from being an exhaustive catalogue of works in- consistent with Catholic orthodoxy, and, therefore, lacks the interest and importance it would otherwise have for the bibliog- rapher. The Christian church began its system of prohibiting books when the Council of Nicea condemned to the flames the writing of Arius. Constantine himself threat- ened with death those who should harbor any copies. Thesame fate befell the works of Nes- torius at the Council of Ephesusand those of Eutyches at Chalcedon. Pagan works were prohibited by the Council of Car- thage in 400, Aristotle wes forbidden by the church in the thirteenth century. A list of prohibited books is found in a decree of a council at Rome as early as 494. In 1515 the Council, of Lateran at Rome appointed clerical censors 10 examine all works before publication. In 1543 Pope Paul 1V issued an order that no book should be printed without leave from the In- quisition, and booksellers were re- quired to send in catalogues. Brunet men- tions, however, & list of prohibiied authors, prepared by order of Charles V, which was printed at Brusseis in 1540 and is the earliest of its kind. The first index of the Court ot Rome appeared in 1558. The subject was dis- cussed at the Council of Trent, which delegated the right o supervision to the Pope, and the result was the “Index Tridentius of Pius IV’— scribed with & paturalpess and simplicity the tirst strictly Papal Index—which was | | | | October 15 at Doxey’ printed by Aldus in Rome in 1564, Thence began a long serles of literary proscriptions, which is continucd by the Congregation of the Inaex. The bibliography of prohibited literature has been covered to a great exient in Klotz’s “Dé Libris Auctoribus Snis Fatali- bus,” 1761; Struvius’ “Bibliotheca Hist. Litter.,,” vol. iii, chapter 9; Schelhorn’s Amaenitates Literariz,” vol. 7, which contamns much curious information; Brunet’s “Livres Supprimes et Con- damnes” and in Peignot’s *‘Dictionnaire Critique et Bibliographiy Livres Condamnes au F sures,” 2 vols., Paris, 1806. Petzholdt, in his “Bibliotheca Bibliographica” (1866), gives a complete list of the catalogues of the Congre- gation of the Index. WORDS POPULARIZED BY CYCLISTS. The bicycle, bound to stay, is now coining words. 1t wanted & nomenciature ot its own end is now manufacturing it. Wheeling is to be thanked for making a “scorches’’ (French, “chauffeur”) and an idiot mean one ana the same thing. The tireis inflated, but the un- fortunate puncture comes and the wheeiman then says: “My lire is deflated,” and the purist winces There is a verb “to flate’’ which is never used, but 15 discoversble in the dictionary. “To flate” is aerivable from the Latin “flatus,” and to flate means *‘to produce with flatus or with simple unintonated breath” (Century Dictionary). If ‘“inflate,” then, isat once understandable, why not *deflate”? The “de” is an approved verb prefix meaning from, away, down from, and has a separative sense, “Deflate” s, then, a periect.y feasible word, with countless analogies. 1f you look up the opposite words to “in: flate” in Roget's *‘Thessurus,” you will find nothing as handy as “dcflate,” and so there is no reason why itshould not be at once ac- ceptea, for it fills the long-felt want. It 13 curious to note, too, in combination with wheeling topics, bow common are the words “resilient’’ and “resiliency,” and used in their proper sense. Formerly “resilient” Supprimes, ou Cen- | belonged to the purely technical language of the lecture-room. 1 “WILDFLOWERS OF CALIFORNIA.” Ready * SOME ORIENTAL PROVERBS. When in Venice a short time ago, 1 took a gondola to the Cathollc Armenian Monastery, which lies on an island in the lagoon over agninst the Lido, says & writer in the London Westminster Gazette. The Catholic Arme- nians are a smallsect, but they do an excel- lent work, and the island is the center of their provaganda. If there is & cloister and a _church on it, there Is also a scminary, and, still more important, a printing-press, from which are issued no small part of the printea books which the Turkish authorities will per- mit to ¢irculate among the Armenians, Here, also, translations are made of important European books which the community thinks it useful tp make known to their brethren in bondage. A vast mass of this literature was shown me before I left, but knowing nothing of the language aud being unable to read the char- scters I could form no judgmenton it. What did interest me, however, very much were two little books of Armenisn and Turkish proverbs translated into Epglish which my guide put into my hands as [stepped back into my gon- dola. 1 read these allthe way to Venice and seemed at the end to know a little more both of Turks and Armenians. It was said of old that it takes two Jews and a Greek to get the betier of one Armenian, and by a judicious selection of these proverbs one might infer that the Armenian deservea a reputation for shrewdness. Thus: The world Is & pot; man a spoon in it. Birds are caught with ebaff, and man with money. The Turk said: Eat first and speak afterward; The Armenlan said: Eatand speak at the same time. Look first at the ford and then pass the river. Prepare first the yoke, and then you will hold your violent ox by the e.rs. He who has well eaten gives tut small pleces to him who is hungry. The eyes of him who buys arein the hands of him who sells. Dine with thy friend, but do no business wtth him, 1o des Principaux | I} | i | comes down from the hors Eat a friend’s bread as If it were an enemy’s. Give & horse to him who tells the (ruth, that he may escape afier telling it. 1t von fina money on the ground count It first and then put it In your pocket. Ie learned, but be taken for & fool. This selection, however, let us hasten to add, is rather malicious. There are a great many others along with these which are more ele- vatin, The lie runs, but goes not far. Should the fear of the wol? make us forget our village? The lion does not catch flies. It is better to be sshamed below the mountain than on the top. Words draw the nails from the heart. I am not jealous elther of thy honey or of thy buzzing, He who asks has one shame; but he who refuses has two Rozten straw does not Injure the sound ox. The stones of my pative country are warmer than the oven of Babylon. ‘Fears are a language, he only who weeps under- stands them. In others there 1s a great deal of shrewdness and worldly wisdom: Youth carves on stone, old age on ice. Choese your wife with eyes of an old man, choose your Lorse with the eyes of a young man. ‘10 a bald head a golden comb. Riches give beauty to the ugly, feet to the crip- ple, eyes to the blind and interest to tears. A fish Tooks bigzer in the water than it 1s. He that eats does not know how much is con- sumed, bat he that cuts kuows very well. The water in which 1 diown I call an ocean. Little minds have great dreams. When yon open the mouth open also the eyes. When one’s fortune augmenis the columns of one’s house appear o be crooked. The fish was asked: ‘“Iave you news from the sea? He answered: ¢ Very much, but my mouth | 1s full of watec” When he rides a horse he forgets God: when he be forgets the horse. One cannot applaud with one hand only. The butterfly seaied ou a branch fears i wiil break. Fvery one's graln grows siralght; mine grows crooked. L'wo hands are for the defense of one head. A letter written after dinner Is read in he 1. The camel went in search of horns aud lost its ears. Take bread from the baker and meat from the butcher. Kvery one for himself and God for us all, Many ot the Turkish proverbs are identical with the Armenien. One clearly has bor- rowed from the other. 1 have only space for a very brief selection from the Turkish book: The nestof & blind bird is made by God. Kiss ardently the hand which you cannot cnt off. Kovery fish that escapes appears larger than it Is. Au idie dog Is never tired of running. Can a well be aug with a needle? There is one proverb which appears with a. slight difference in the Turkish and Arme- ninn pooks. “The eyes of the greataredim,” says the Turk; “The eyes of the rich are dim,” says the Armenian. The meaning is somewhat obscure. Isit that the rich man does not ob- serve the poor of the great man the humble, or shall we take it as meening that the great mau has no eyes for little things? It is well known that the Queen has a great dislike of smoke, 0 much so that she does not allow smoking in her immediate neighbor- hood. And yet the cigar bill for her guests is a very heavy one. The principal item is the thousand of the finest Havana clgars, which are specially made for her and sent to Wind- sor in glass tubes hermetically sealed. Ac- cording to the Phrenclogical Magazine Queen Victoria’s eigars could not be had even in Cuba at wholesale prices undera dollar aplece, The men who make them receive thirty cents for each cigar, and none but the oidest and most skiliful workmen are entrusted with their manufacture. Atthisrate they can earn quite & small foriune, for 300 cigars 8 day can be turned out by the most expert. Mr. William Le Queux, who for a long time past bas been living on the Continent and visiting London periodically, has at last de- cided to take up permanent quarters in Italy, He has selected for residence the little Tuscan seaside village of Ardenza. —————————— BisLEs at half price at Doxey’s, * HERE AND THERE. Anywhere in Scotland—Tourist (who bas been reading Ian Maciaren): “Excuse ma speirin’, ma guid mon, but gin ye ken whaur Jock Maclacnlan bides hereabout, I'll gie ye (wa bawbees tae yersel” Rustic: “I am sorry, sir, but I do not understand French.” A famous 0ld London inn 18 to be torn down— the Magpio and Stump, in Fetter lane. A house in the lane bears this inscription: Here liv'd John Dryden, Ye Poet. Born 1631—Died 1700. Glorious John! The London Globe, commenting upon George Moore's recent article on Stevenson, which has given high offense to Stevenson lovers, says that one of tnese persons in offering se- vere criticism of George Moore's standard finished his strictures by remarking: “But, after all, I have no right to talk about Mr. Moore, for 1 have not read anyihing he has written, not even his ‘Laila Rookh’l” Grorge Moore, writes The Bookman, in his articie on Stevenson incidentally makes the admission that he cannot say anytLing about Montaigne because he has never read him; and Edmund Gosse, afier Writing at some length on the Pol- ish novelist, Sienkiewicz, winds up by admit- ting that he bas not yet read *Quo Vadis.” Colonel Noble D. Preston of Pniladelphia bas just completed a remarkable book. Ex- ceptior some photographs and one ortwo lithographs the entire book is the work of the auihor's pen. It took Colonel Preston most of his leisure time of eight years to com- plete it. It is all pen-work, done with a Very fine-pointed pen. Each letier is separate. | At the heads of the chapters are bits of scroll- | work, done in inks of various colors. Under the heading of “Preface,” which 1s in itsef an exquisite bit of penmanship, the uuthor says: *I made this novel volume with pen and ink for my ebildren, ‘by special request’ It possesses no literary merit and litile of any other. The edition is limited to one volume andis not copyrighted.”” The main body of the volume is taken up by reminiscences and | incidents of the author’s career as a member of | the Tenth New York Cavalry. The supporters of that well-worn fad, an in- ternational language, have determined to make a last and desperate attempt to persuade an unsympathetic worla to listen to the claims of Volapuk. Mr. Samenhof, the Rus- sian linguist, who started an improved form of Volapuk in a lenguage of hisown inven- tion, called Esperanto, has hit upon & happy plan of a congress of intellects to settle the question. Circular letters are being sent from the headquarters of the Volapuk committee toall the principal newspavers in the world asking for an opinion from the vast army of many tongued readers in the form of an essay on the question of an international language. All these essays are to be carefully considered and finally, without exception, printed and published in book form. But thisis not the end of this novel convention by post. Every ovne who has written on the subject will be asked to vote on the principsl solutions for the creation of an international language. And after that? Those who need turther in- formation had better apply to Mr. Samenhoft, Grodno, Russia. In the March Pall Mall A. T. Quiller-Couch offered a prize of one guinea to that reader of his department *From a Cornish Window” who should aivine the name of the man or woman *‘wko is (or has been during the past ten years) master (or mistress) of the best style in English prose.” It was in reality a guessing contest, for Mr. Quiller-Couch had made his choice, and his guinea was to be awarded to the person or persons who agreed with bim. The result of the voting was: Wal- ter Pater 31, Thomas Hardy 13, Robert Louis Stevenson 12, John Ruskin 11, Andrew Lang 9, James Anthony Froude and Mr. Barrie 7 each, George Meredith and Rudyard Kipling (amszing coincidence) 6 each; Henry James 4 and—this is lovely!—iatthew Arnold and Marie Corelll 3 each, likewise Sir Walter Besantand Dr. Doyle. Among those who re- ceived only two votes each were: Huxley, Bierell, Caine; and among those receiving only one: Mrs. Humphry Ward, O ive Schrefner, Cardinal Newman, Dr. Jowett, James Russell Lowell, Dr. Holmes, P. G. Hammerton, John Addington Symonds, Wil- liem Morris, Leslie Stephen, Mr. Zangwili, Mr. Giadstone and Mr. Balfour. Mr. Quiller- Couch’s choice was Andrew Lang, so the guinea was divided among niue admirers— two and fourpence per admirer. It has been bruitea abroadthat Mr. Thomas | Hardy has talked of returning to the pastoral and idyllic manner of his earlier novels. Whether on his behalf or not, but certainly with a tone of assurance, the English journals speak of this as ‘‘some concession to that sec- tion of the pubiic which is opposed to the treatment of sex problems in fiction.” If this means that Mr, Hardy fears to continue in the vemn of “Tess” and ‘Jude,” it is pitiful in- deed, but itis to be hoped that the rumor is no more than the familiar thing—i. e., a thing as baseless as it is impertinent. Why should Mr. Hardy turn his back upon the secret of making masterpieces? Let him be as pastoral 8s he likes, of course, and let him turn twenty times to the manoer of his earlier books. If he wants o give us another “Far From the Madding Crowd,” the world will re- joice. But if he tells us at the same time thathe is doing it for any other reason than that he wishes to please himsell, if he con- fesses that he is afraid to write apother *Jude,” then he will go down to posierity asa moral weakling and one unworthy of his noblest gifts. Mr. Hardy has done things as | beautiful as ‘Jude” or “Tess,” but nothing nobler or more nspiring. They mark his highest level, give him the rank of s great uragic poet, and it is difficult to imagine any- | thing more unedifying than that the novelist should abandon this high plane of his at the | behest of any portion of the reading public. Let him follow Lamb's example, if it comes to | the worst. Let him bid the public go hang while he writes for posterity. But, after all, | it may be that there is no occasion for alarm. Mr. Hardy may have uttered no such senti- ments are attributed to him. At any rate, we will bzlieve that he fs his own master un- til he himself announces that he is ruled by the public. Very little is heatrd nowadays of John Rus- kin, but the venerable sage is still living in retirement at Brantwood, while the years pass on and art increases without his heed. He is dreaming away the last days of his life peacefully, planning always for more work to be done “to-morrow.” His twilight time is passed by & wide window looking out irom his Jibrary across the English landscape, so beau- tiful always in his sight. Ie receives no visit- ors excepting & few old iriends, and these come but rarely. His hair and long beard are white, but his features scarcely show his great age, while his eyes are as keen and brilliant as when they gazed upon the beauties of Italy or the {resh canvasesof Turner. The public has known but little of Ruskin’s private life, and there has always prevailed an idea that it was filled with sorrow, from the fact that he was divorced from his wife because ot her hay- ing fallen in love withSir John Millais, his friend. The story is really asad one, and yet it was not taken to heart by Ruskin. It should be remembered that the youug Mrs. Ruskin was not his first love, the obj=ct of the ardent passiou of his youth having married another. That was when the heartbresk came. Years after his divorce Ruskin met another woman whom he loved and to whom he was engaged .or several years but the engagement was broken because of Ruskin's unorthodox reli- gious beliefs. She was resolute, bus it is said the grief of it all killed her. When she was dying Ruskin came to her, but was not admit- ted, for she sent out this message, ‘Can you say you love God better than you love me?" and when his asswer came, ‘No,” the door was closed upon him forever. Ruskin’s early life was not one of great enjoyment, yet in no way particularly sad. He was born in Bloomsbury in 1819. He was reared on Puritanieal princi- ples, bhis mother having been a stern woman with little affection, while his father was ten- der, loving and sensitive, with high prineiples, but devold of ambition. He was a wine mer- chani ofjmeans, LITERARY NOTES. Mark Twain has been asked by an English publisher to write his autobiography, the Bookman says. James Payn has for several years been suf- fering under great physical disability, but his courage and energy never fail him, and he is about to issue & new novel, ‘‘Another’s Burthen,” Doubleday & McClure Co., New York, have just issued the first of a series entitled ‘‘Tales From McClure’s.” The series is made up of short stories selected for their intrinsic in- terest among the best published in McClure's Magazine. At the request of Messrs. Harmsworth and Messrs. Eyre and Spottiswoode of London, Lord Charles Beresford has consented to cole laborate with Mr. H. W. Wilson in writing & new Life of Nelson, the first part of which, it is hoped, will appear on Trafalgar day in Octo- ber next. Harper & Bros. wi.l publish September 3: “Certain Accepted Heroes,” by Henry Cabot Lodge; “From a Girl's Point of View,” by Lilian Bell; ‘Paste Jewels,” by John Kendrick Bang: 'he Painted Desert,”’ by Kirk Mun- Toe; “Mrs. Keith’s Crime” (new edition), by M W. K. Clifford; “Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast” (new edition), by Samuel Adams Drake, and *‘An Open-Eyed Conspiracy,” by W. D. Howells. 2. Meredith’s volume of selected poems is almost ready for publication, and will in all likelihood be issued about the middle of the montn. As a representative work the volume will contain more than one notable poem written in recent years,and Mr. Meredith's sonnet on the death of Robert Browning, as well as the fine “Trafalgar Day” poem in ex- altation of Nelson—¢ For he is Britain's ad- miral till setting of her sun”—will each find a place. Stanley Waterloo’s new book, “The Story of Ab; A Tale of the Time of the Cave Men,” will appear probably next month and simul- taneously in the United States and England. will be published in this country by Way & Williams of Chicago and in Loudon by A. & C. Black, publishers of the Encyclopedia Brit- annica. The delay in publication is caused by the necessity of an arrangement between the two firms for first issue on the same day, in order to preserve the international copyright. Messrs. L. C. Page & Co. of Boston have in preparation & revised edition of ine variorum “Rubalyat,” edited by Nathan Haskell Dole. It wil coutain Danish and Italian transl tions of the famous poem, in addition to the English, German and French variants, ex- tracts from Mr. Le Galllenne’s version, addi- tional notes,a biography, bibliography, etc. It will be fllustrated by a number of drawings by E. H. Garrett and with & number of por- traits of various foreign translators. Lee & Shepard will publish shortly a curious book prepared by the late Queen of the Ha- waiian Islands, who signs ner introduction, “Lilinokalani, of Hawali, Patron of the Poly- nesian Historical Society.” The work is a translation of an ancient Hawailan chant, the “yery chant which was sung by Puou, the high priest of our ancient worshiv, to Captain Cook, whom they had surnamed Lono, one of the four chief gods, dwelling high in th heavens, but at times appearing on the earth.” Itis a descrip tion of the creation of the world, together with a genealogy of the ancestors of the dynasty to which King Kalakaua and the Queen belonged. Well suited to the use of high schools and college preparatory schools is the “Short His- tory ot Rome,” by E. 8 Shuckburgh, whose larger work on “The History of Rome to the Battle of Actium’’ 18 already well known. The Short History is supplied with maps, plans aad a few illustrations. Each chapter is pre- ceded by a brief topical outline which is car- ried through the chapter alsoin paragraph headings. The last chapter contains a notice- able summary of the condition of the Roman empire under Augustus, with a brief sketch of the study of literature and art under his pro- tection, and the influence he extended over his wide dominfon. The Macmillan Company is about to publish a new ‘‘Handbook of European History” by Arthur Hassall, general editor of the Periods of European History series. It is gotten up somewhat after the plan of “Nichols’ Histor- ical Tables” or the “Chronological Outlines of Literature’” by Ryland and Whitcomb. Par- allel columns show what events of importance were taking place in dif- ferent countries at or about the same time. Germany, Eastern and Southern Eu- rope, Engiand and France are the divisions under which the entries are made. The book cannot fail 10 be of great value, helping one to do away with some of the misconceptions which arise from the too common practice of reading the history of each nation by itself, with only occasional refersnce to what is go- ing on in other countriesat thesame time. Following these comparative tables are tables of genealogies, lists of sovereigns, etc. The autumn publishing season will be dis- tinguished by the issue of two biographical voiumes of first-class importance. Both will come from the houseof Macmillan. in several respects the Lives will have points of resem- blance; each is the work of a son of the sub- ject of the biography, and im both the autobiographic element will have a place. In each blography likewise there will be embodied a considerable number of letters. In the later years of his life Lord Tennyson was extremely reticent with his pen. Professor Huxley, on the other hand, was an industrious epistolary writer to the very last; not seldom, indeed, he put himself to inconvenience in order to per- sonally answer numerous inquiries and ad- vice sought from him by various conditions of people. The Life of the professor is likely to appesra few weeks earlier than that of the poet. In the Book Buyer for this month is a review by Hamlin Garland of Miss Ellen Glasgow’s “The Descendant,” recently published by the Harpers. Mr. Gerlend writes: 'he principal thing to be ouserved is tnat, in a time of lath swords and tin armor, here is a young girl who sets herseif to the difficult task of dealing with the life of a man ‘whose hand is against organ- ized society and whose brilliant and splendid powers seem to produce only evil while he strives with his whole will to reform and purify. That she has been only partly successful in this great work 1s not to be won- dered at. The courage of the attempt was superb, the achievement is worthy of gener- ous praise, and entitles tbe suthor to very high rank among the novelists of America, I consider ‘The Descendant’ one of the mostre- markable first books produced within the last ten years.” Charles Scribner’s Sons announce ‘London: As Seen by C. D. Gibson,” the first book in which this artist’s drawings will be accom- panied by his own text. Text and illustra- tions will present portraits of the most striking figures in London life, of royal- ties, the celebrities of art, literature and the army, types of street singers, flower girls, etc. They have also in press John R. Spears’ “Historv of Our Nayy,” to be issued in four volumes, with about 300 illustrations; & new and cheaper edition of “The American Railway.” Among the fine editions of standard authors which they will 1ssue in conjunction with Eanglish publishing houses, Lord Byron's works will be in twelve volumes, edited by his grandson, the Earl of Lovelace; George Meredith will appear in thirty-two volumes, Charles Dickens in thirty- two volumes, the Centenary edition of Thomas Carlyle in thirty-two volumes, and the Home- stead edition of James Whitcomb Riley will be sold by subseription. The Outward Bound edition of Kipling bas reacned its seventh vol- ume and the Thistle editions of Robert Louis Stovenson and James M. Barrie will be com- pleted during the fall. Among fietion of note R41l be Mrs. Burnett’s companion story to her ady of Quality,” to be eniitled “His Grace of Osmonde”; Stevenson’s “St. Ives,” anda new novel by Benjemin Swift of “Nlnc, Noon” fame, 10 be known as “The Tormentor.” - ———— «rae CHRISTIAN,” by Hall Caine, Doxey’s, at s