The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 16, 1898, Page 22

rnanuv ADUY ULy DU L, vAaNNUAINL 1Uy 10J0. other person has inflicted on a long-suf- fering public an account of their voyvag- ing. There is no room for mediocrity in this direction, and it is only such men as | Mark Twain who may be allowed to write | of the ordinary tourist routes with im- punity. The author takes us across the Pacific to Honolulu, thence to Samoaandso on to New Zealand, Australidand Java. Though his style is pleasant enough, and his in- formation fairly correct, there {s noth tng new in it all, and the element of per- sonal adventure being lacking, the book is tame reading. Any cyclopedia or geo- graphical handbook will furnish much mation Mr. Shoemaker gives after a cur- sory survey of a country. He spent, for instance, exactly two hours in Samoa, and yet he gives us a chapter on this most interesting group. The frontisplece is a finely engraved picture of Steven- son’s tomb. HISTORY IN POPULAR FORM. TH]]% STORY OF MARIE-ANTOINETTE l more concisely and accurately the infor- | AN AMERICAN POET. THE POEMS AND PROSE SKETCHES OF JAMES WHITCOMB RII Vol- ume I ghborly P Sketches. Scribners. New York. MERICAN readers need no intro- duction to James Whitcomb Riley recognized on both sides of the lantic as the foremost writer of that dlalect verse which in the United States embodies the hu- mor, pathos and tragedy of rural life. In the final article of the volume before us the author, terse English, ool of lterature necessity in strong, vindicates the new and insists on the , scholarly dialect. Y found in his own p universal human vearnings cry with him— I want plane fcation is to be s, which appeal to while expressing the s of the soil who facts and I want plane foned ways e as the s gs of When spe is Way back in the In those ear been not only 1 must hav s musical a bird song, if we are to ju y Mr. Ri- ley, who sings like another Bt the poetry and grace of farm life. Could anything be more enticing than the pic- ture brought before us in “Wortermelon Time”? Has the glory of the field ever been sung more sweetly than in “The Clover”— And T pray to Him still for the strength when I dle, To go out in the clover and tell it good- by, And lovin; ‘While my v nestle my face in its bloom oul slips away on a breath of perfume. Or, again, has been more tende of loss ever d than in the wavin’ leaves of And sorrow in the harvest sheaves, and sorrow in the breeze; And sorrow in the twitter of the swal- lers 'round the shed; And all the song her redbird sings is ‘Little Haly's dead.'” But Mr. Riley’s humor lies very close to his pathos: he has a fellow-feeling for the fiddler whose ‘‘pla; only mid- dnn’,” but who loves his instrument with the passion of a born artist, for From her strings across her middle to the screechin’ keys above— From her “apern.” over “bridge,” and to the ribbon round her throat, She’'s a wooin’, cooin’ pigeon, singing “Love me,” ev'ry note. And there is a sly touch worthy of old Lafontaine in the parable of the Tree Toad, who has been “hollerin’' " all day for rain: But T fetched her—O I fetched her Cause a little while ago, As I kind o’ set, With one eye shet, And a singin’ soft and low, A volce drapped down on my fevered brain, A-sayin’, “Ef you'll jest hush I'll rain.” Perhaps Mr. Riley's refined mastery of dialect is most fully shown In his prose, and the one sketch in this volume, “An Old Settler's Stor: is, in its way, an admirable plece literary workman- ship. Led on by unaffected stvle, homely language and illustrative detall, the reader unexpectedly lives through a vil- | lage tragedy, while the accompanying undercurrent of unsatisfled romance is indicated in a few subtle touches. In this, the first complete edition of the author's works, Messrs. Scribner will include the contents of the two volumes formerly published under the titles of “An Old Sweetheart of Mine” and “Old-fashioned Roses.” The present volume opens with a quaintly graceful salutation to Benja- min F. Johnson, the “Hoosier author,” in whose personality Mr. Riley at first merged his own. A life-like portrait also deserves mention. POETRY WORTH READING. THE CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT—By Edwin Arlington Robinson. Boston: Richard G. Badger & Co. Price $1 25. Mr. Robinson’s poetry is far superior to much that is foisted upon the public to-day. His verse is not the whining of a gickly poetaster, neither is it so full of egolsm as to be merely a rhymed record of his own moods, a word picture of an unpleasing personality. The trouble with the majority of our minor poets is that they chirrup about themselves and their little sorrows instead of singing about God's sunshine, the world and the joys and griefs of their fellows. Mr. Robinson appears to be an exception to this rule, as his verse is decidedly healthy, and, except In a few places, metrical and even. The sonnets are particularly good pieces of workmanship, and the thought contained in them is on a far higher plane than that of the average verse- writer. One of the best of these is worth reprinting: Oh for a poet—for a beacon bright To rift this changeless glimmer of dead gray; To spirit back the muses, long astray, And flush Parnassus with a newer light; To put these little sonnet men to flight ‘Who fashion, in a shrewd, mechanic way, Songs without souls, that filcker for a Dialect { eatment of | —By Anna L. Bicknell. New York: The Century Company. Price $3. Miss Bicknell’'s “Life in the Tulleries | Under the Second Empire” marked her out as a writer capable of retelling in | popular form the pathetic story of Marie- | Antoinette, one of the most unfortunate characters in history. The daughter of the Emperor of Austria, wedded at 15 to the Dauphin, Queen of France in her nineteenth year—if ever career opened auspiciously it was that of this beautiful woman. Yet history records no sadder or more tragic fate than that which lay in store for her. The happiness of the early years of her reign gave wa ery, humiliation and p! cal followed by violent death. The lights and shadows of this unhappy life are vividly brought out in Miss Bicknell’s fluent nar- rative, and one lays down the book with the feeling that he has been an eye- witness of the gayeties and griefs of the g court of Louls XV It is a happy circumstance that Mme. Vigee ILebrun flourished contemporane- ously with Marie-Antoinette, for her charming portraits of the Queen and other members of the court circle add greatly to the embellishment of a vol- ume which, even without them, would be one of the handsomest of the year. TWO NEW PAPER COVERS. | ours? flowers, The s 1c What doe arise To wrench it mean? LIFE ON THE‘ ROAD. er, New York: Clure Company. For Upham & C sale by Payot storles are dramatic and vivid and pel vaded throughout by an ‘‘out-of-doors quality that is as healthful and invigor- ating as it is unique. MARK TWAIN'S LATEST. FOLLOWING THE EQUATOR—By Mark Twain. Hartford Conn.: The American Company. John J. Newbegin, agent for the Pacific Coast. Price, cloth, $4. That wit, like good wine, improves with age, {8 made clearly manifest by Mark Twain's latest story, “Following the The humeor in this new vol if anything, even keener than that hich appeared in this popular writer's books when he was a quarter of a century younger. The writer's style is also decidedly more even. Mark Twain is as much an American institution as the circus and the peanut vender. Two generations have laughed with him, and others will continue to do 80 as long as the English language is spoken. His humor is spontaneous and clean; its quality, like that of mercy, is never strained. To those who cannot afford the luxury of traveling around the giobe, this book can safely be recommended as a substi- tute. Moreover, by taking this route, the globe-trotter will see all the sights and | will not have to put up with’ the insults of overbearing custom-house officials. The present work consists of over 700 pages and is profusely illustrated by such well-known artists as Frost, Dan Beard, T. Fogarty and F. M. Seinor. ANOTHER GLOBE-TROTTER. ISLANDS OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS— By Michael Myers Shoemaker. G. P. Putnam’s Sous, New York. It seems a pity that Mr. Shoemaker should have taken the trouble to write, and Messrs, Putnam to publish, this claborately got up volume. In all that concerns the printer and binder the book js an admirable specimen of its class, and numerous finely executed lllustra- tions are scattered through its pages. The only trouble is that the globe-trot- day, To vanish in {rrevocable night. ting business has been overdone; every- body nowadays has traveled, and every What does it mean, this barren age of | Here are the men, the women and the asons, and the sunsets, as be- Shall not one bard | one banner from the western it with his name for ever- S OF THE REAL GIPSY—By Paul Doubleday & Mc- JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY. At one time she got plenty of it. he saw it slipping away from her, and as men receded she advanced, till she | went too fa The immediate con: quences of that fatal step was a divorce Sngland, where the plot of the story is ral inc dents of s ndary importanc work- | ed out to a satisfactory conclusion, and the story is entertainingly written, “Miss Providence” is a romance of a very popular order, wherein a man's | | youthful lapses turn evidence against | him as he is about to be married, and cause trouble with his flancee, The story | changes from England to Aubtralla, and | contains the usual amount of mischief | making and match making and ends with ev | means of the wages system, and seeks to demonstirate that it tends to establish | working people in a state of independence | rather than subjection; to promote “in- | dustrial freedom” and not to produce “in- | | dustrial slavery.” He shows how inti- | mately the welfare of workmen is con- nected with that of their employers, and | how the attempts to diminish the wealth of corporations may diminish the fund of capital out of which the wages of workmen are paid. Change may be brought about by compulsory measures, | | or lasting and hence the failure of social- | ism. [ FOR SOCIETY’S SERVICE. |OUR SOCIETY BLUE BOOK. Charles G. Hoag, San Francisco. This is the tenth vearly edition of this most useful handbook of information | about San Francisco and the people who | |live in it. An alphabetically arranged list | of all the peopie who are anybody (that | is, from a social point of view, worth | | knowing) is given, together with thelr | addresses, days of reception, etc. Then | | there is a street directory, list of club | members, permanent hotel residents, members of the press, and much other in- | | formation of value. The book is clearly | printed and handsomely bound, and 1s | issued at the price of $5. BOOKS FOR JUVENILES. WASHINGTON'S YOUNG AIDS—By Ev- erett T. Tomlinson. “THE BEACH PATROL"—By William Drysdale. Bos- | ton: W. A. Wilde & Co. Price $150 | each. | The first of these two volumes is the | third in the “War of the Revolution” series, of which the others were “Three | Colonial Boys” and “Three Young Con- tinentals.” 1In it Dr. Tomlinson draws a | graphic and stirring pen picture of the | | actual conditions which existed during the early part of the revolution, includ- ing accounts of life on the prison ships and in the prison houses of New York, | the tempting of the Hessians and the ‘end of Fagan and his band. Such a story ‘cannot fail to appeal to a large number of young Americans, as it will both inter- | est and instruct them in matters not usu- | ally dealt with in school histories. | The second volume is the third of the “Brain and Brawn" series, the preceding | ones being “The Young Reporter” and | “The Fast Mail.” A young lad gets a po- | sition In the life-saving service, en- counters numerous dangers and éxclting adventures and is finally well rewarded for his bravery and integrity. Both books are substantially bound and contain numerous striking illustrations. SERMON STORTES B; ul Banks. New Yorl Company. Price $1. | In his “Sermon Stories for Boys and | Girls” the author has mastered the prob- | lem of presenting great truths to chil- | dren In a pleasant and at the same time | impressive manner. Strong character | lessons are interwoven with captivating | storfes, and the little ones are trained | while being amused. Simple sketches ot | animal life, features of nature and events | of daily occurrence convey helpful mes- | sages. The work is a cnaracter guide- book which should-be of assistance to mothers, teachers and pastors. HARPER'S ROUND TABLE FOR 1897— For sale by A. M. Robertson. Fortunate indeed will be the voungster into whose hands falls the bound volume of Harper's Round Table for 1887. The book contains enough fiction to keep him busy during the greater part of 188. In glancing over the contents that the majority of the stories are not only amusing but also instructive, and that they are selected with the idea of strengthening in the hearts of the young readers a love of country, healthy out-of- door sports, mechanical invention and travel. The contents are most varied. | the Rev. L. A. nk & Wagnalls There are stories about our own war of | the rebellion and about the war in Cuba; | stories of adventure with Indlans, sav- ages and wild beasts, battles by land and by sea and stories about every country on the face of the globe. Among the contributors one sees the names of nearly ccupy prominent positions to-day, and the illus- ork of the most com- their line. By Hezekiah Bu D. Appleton & SIR ADY LION—By R. Crockett. | “'New York: Frederick A. Stokes Com- THE_FREEDOM OF HENRY pany. Price §1.50. DYTH—By Hamilton. The first of these tales is the seventh 2 I\urnHanil]Ir&:d. volume of the *‘Creators of Liberty’ Co. FOT | geries of books of historical fiction, based % for the most part on al even the The first of these tales is the old. old| yurpose being to acquaint young readers s y a woman desperate for admira- with the biographies of gr men in an tion. entertaining manner. is devoted to Benjamin present work one notices | lin, and his { | : \v{’;‘?n /‘fé_‘il,f;u\w:;wm\ i’ ) - e W\\W 7 e SN \\.LMM! Npad, L /7 1N PSS Ox ATYOUTHFUL TORTRAIT OF ‘i?\osr.v\\'homs SYEVENSON A race Ped g A the re liation of the lovers. | These tales of the road and open coun- | 5 | wan, & N Canp e e SOCIALISM CRITICIZED. Skw ~atl= an entirely new n in literature., The | wild, free gypsy life as it rea xists | INDUSTRIAL FR [7().\[—“}' David 0 5 among the 5000000 or more of these Ish-| M egor Means. New York 'D:pz\‘l."‘ maelites now wandering over the face | pleton & Co. For sale by Doxey. Price o e obe, their turesque, open-air = | g Ir\fd(‘-;:wm'i:ln(‘o. the! {ir} 1rd.q 11!1(‘)\.‘.1:\:“1;: It is the aim of the author in this essay | —m ) an government and e, their romance, | to shew that no good can come of lhs] deceit, loyalty, prid tv of | numerous soclalistic schemes for improv- t‘\ feeling are depicted by has | ing the present condition of the poor. He studicd them closely while temporarily | considers the existing method of distrib- | traveling and living with them. The |uting the products of human activity by | HhXa FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT. COURTESY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS. life is graphically described from its commencement to its close. In the text will be found the recital of how he sur- mounted every obstacle In his path and, although of humble origin, became one of the greatest men of the age. The nar- rative also includes the most interesting and picturesque episodes in Franklin's home life and is just the thing to place in the hands of boy or girl. The second story has been looked for- ward to for some time past. It is a companion tale to “Sweetheart Travel- ers” and is dedicated to “Old Boys, Young Boys, Good Boys, Bad Boys, Big Bo: Little Boys, Cow Boys and Tom Boy: It should therefore not o beg- ging for readers. In it are related the numerous adventures at home and school | of one Hugh John Smith, a lad whose | father owned several farms on the bor- derland between England and Scotland. Master Smith is a pugnacious individual, of the kind likely to appear heroic in the s of boys of his own age. A few el- personages enter into the tale, but it is dominated by the younger element from beginning to end. The charming illustrations by Gordon Browne are fully in keeping with the movement of the nar- rative. SMALL TALK A LA MODE. It is permissible to wonder who reads | the guldebooks to conversation and eti- quette which are turned out by arbiters of fashion every year. There must be a demand on the part of people who are rerfously in quest of enlightenment; for, | although these works are occasionally amusing to the general reader, they can- not depend mainly on his patronage. Moreover, they are not written by the practitioners of ‘‘comic copy”; they have a gravity of tone which befits the social importance of the theme; and they are distinguished, as a rule, by Intimate knowledge of the usages of “society.” It is this knowledge which produces the ef- fect of unconscious satire. called “The Art of Conversin has no literary merit; the author does not pos- sess even an elementary sense of humor; and yet we have a picture of life which might almost be described as more subtle and searching in its irony than the “Book of Snobs.” The vapid Inanity of what passes for conversation in polite circles, the small subterfuges of the social mis- cellany which is “at home,” gives dinners anddances and runsdownintothecountry for a couple of days, could not be better portrayed by a consummate artist. In one of Mr. Pinero's farces some of the dra- matis personae are driven by a fire in the dead of the night to the house of a neighbor; and in the morning one of the refugees, with a broken ornament under her arm, plaintively remarks, “How awk- ward it is to break a bust in the house of a comparative stranger!” This agony of etiquette must be the dread of every serious student of ““The Art of Convers- ing.” He or she is doomed to spend much of the day, and not a little of the night, among comparative strangers; for peo- ple “in society” rarely have the time or inclination to know one another well, and ba‘."&-'twv.\am rmtowéakt LaTe! A new volume | n:t‘ stee witl-a geul ictesl. . . . veal, Apourid” | the whole scheme of intercourse depends upon the exchange of the smalliest ideas in the thinnest of verbal artifices. Lack of intelligence, says our autho blandly,is the chief reason why *‘society™ finds conversaton so difficult. Apparently J”’ W s I \‘ / O\ i e | 7 % Ay > IR i) 020000 e Y AR {0y it 4 Z LA N 5 WHEN THE GREEN GITS BACK IN THE TREES. In spring, when the green gits back in the' trees, And the sun comes out and stays, And ver boots pulls on with a good tight squeeze, And you think of yer barefoot days; ‘When you “ort” to work and you want to not, And you and yer wife agrees It's time to spade up the garden lot, ‘When the green gits back in the trees— Well! work is the least of my idees ‘When the green, you know, gits back in the trees. % When the green gits back in the trees, and bees Is a-buzzin' aroun’ ag'in In that kind of a lazy go-as-you-please Old gait they bum roun’ in; When _the groun's all hay-rick stood, And the crick’s riz, and the breeze Coaxes the bloom in the old dogwood, Ana the green gits back in the trees— T like, as'I say, in sich scenes as these, The time when the green gits back in the trees. bald where the ‘When ttlhe whole tail-feathers of winter- me Is all pulled Sut and gone! And the sap it thaws and begins to climb, And the swet it starts out on A feller's forred, a-gettin’ down At the old spring on his knees— 1 kindo' like jest a-loaferin’ roun’ When the green gits back in the trees— Jest a-potterin’ roun’ as I—durn— please— When the green, you know, gits back in the trees! —James Whitcomb Riley. there are people who need to be told that a certain kind of address should be | met with *“Really " and “Oh, ves!” You might suppose that any talk- | ing animal above the intelligence of a | parrot would make these valuable ob- | but it is clear | | » of study, many will find themselves “in soclety” speechless. Take the case of a hostess in a new house receiving a ceremonious call from a neighbor. You might think that she would start upon the tempera- ture by instinct. People have discussed the heat and cold for so many genera- tions that even a baby lisping its first syllable ought not to be considered a prodigy if it were to hazard this entranc- ing subject to another baby at their first meeting. But the hostess will probably be dumb unless she has pondered the text-book, which gives her this inspir- ing lead: “I am afraid you find it rather | warm here; perhaps you would like to sit a little way from the fire?” Why should not every visitor and every lady “at home” be openly armed with copies of “The Art of Conversing,” like tour- ists with Baedeker, and begin the con- versation with, “Let me see; what is the dialogue for this act? Oh, here we are— page 33'? This frankness would rub off the edges of strangeness and kindle any spark of humor that by rare chance happened to be handy and combustible. But this would never do “in society,” | that wilderness where the natives dwell | in shuddering dread of ‘‘vulgarity.” There may be confidences in the drawing- room about the milliner, though the hostess may not say, “Where did you get that hat?” because the phrase might be reminiscent to somebody of a comic song. But no self-respecting woman could confess that her Innocent commen- taries on the weather were laboriously modeled on “The Art of Conversing.” A certain “sprinkling of science may season your small talk. The oracle has thoughtfully recognized the X rays. *I am very much interested in hearing about the rays. I had my hand put under them. The bones appeared to be enor- mously large. was that, do you think?” This question is said to “put an almost ready reply into the mouth of the companion of the moment.” The bewildering student may wonder what it is. If the “bones” are feminine he ought to reply that the X rays are ey- idently capable of malicious exaggera- tion. But even if this obvious compli- ment came to hand “ready-made” would it not be regarded by the lady as a trans- gression of the rules of the game? She might be tempted to retort, “You are for- getting the copy-book!™ LONDON’S FORTY INMORTALS., The London Academy has made up a jlist of Forty Immortals, selected with y one exception from the ranks of Brl(}sh authors, upon which it invites criticism and suggestions. The list is as follows: John Ruskin | W. E. Lecky Duke of Argyll Bishop Stubbs John_Moriey. | Andrew Lang Bir G. O. Trevelyan| Edmund Gosse R. Blackmore Francis Thompson Rudyard Kipling Austin Dobson Dr. almon W. 5. Gllbert W. P. Ker | Herbert _Spencer Bishop Crelghton George Meredith W. E. Henley 1 s Bryce H. D. Traill | @ Mrs. Humphry Ward Jebb Henry James A. H. Murray A. W. Pinero . Gardiner W. Gladstone Adian Gasjuet A Swinburne llam Archer Mrs. Meynell W. B. Yeats J. M. Barrie *‘Lewts Carroll, Skeat The Academy also announces “that | are now in progress by arrangements which of Letters a book of signal merit shall be ‘crowned’ each year. The author of the work will receive an award from this journal of 100 guineas. We have also in contemplation the ‘crowning’ of a book each year by an author of vounger reputation, to whom we shall make an award of 50 guineas.” Punch has been having some fun with the Academy’s Forty Immortals, as witness the following letters there- anent: The Summit, Hindhead. Dear Mr. Punch: “The mountain sheep are sweeter, But the vailey sheep are fatter.” You follow me? Yours, till Plsgah. GR-NT ALL- At the Sign of the Aerial Triplets. Sir: Man is a bestial, if necessary, blot upon creation. Could I and similar | matrons have our way, he should be soundly smacked. Sexual Jjealousy, I| take it, has kept my name from this | arbitrary list. Yet I'have just written | ““The Beth Book in the World"! It s not | for me to say who has written the necth beth. Yours indignantly, S-R-H GR-ND. P. §.—I exempt you, Mr. Punch, from | the spanking assertion with which my letter opens. Care of Clio, Parnassus. Dear Mr. Punch: I am glad to observe my name among the Forty. however, altogether subscribe to the other thirty-nine articles. Yours skep- tically, W. E. H. L-CKY. The Morgue, Pari Sir Punch—Mister: Hope deferred—as makes the core bilious. Here 1 not have me at any price, try a But you, you have the nose fine for merit. Albeit, in_effect. not of Anglo- xon provenance, I am traveler. 1 have made the grand voyage of the Sleeve. See there, then, I speak the English. O yes! Alright. Agree, etc. EM-L-Z-L-. A COURTING CALL. Him! He dressed himself from top to toe Ter give the lates’ fashion, He give his boots an extra glow, His dickey glistened like the snow, He slicked his hair exactly so, An’ all ter indicate “his passion."” He tied his hull three ties afore He kep' the one on that he wore. Her! All afternoon she lald abed Ter make her features brighter. She tried on ev'ry geoun she hed, She rasped her nails until they bled, A dozen times she fuzzed her head, And put on stuff to make her whiter, An’ fussed till sh'd a-cried, she said But that 'ld make her eyes so red. Them! They sot together in the dark, "Ithout a light, excep’ thelr spark, An’ nelther could have told or guessed What way the other un was dressed. Mr. Robert Barr’s next book titled “Medlaeval Tales.” e Lieutenant Peary’s book on his various expeditions is expected to a = ppear in Feb- Houghton, Mifflin & Co. will soon issue a new novel by Virna Woods - il of Sacra- The title of J. M. Barrie's forthco arrie’s mi novel, a sequel to “Sentimental Tommy o+ is called ““Celebrated Tommy." 2 Mr. Baring-Gould will publish shortly “Bladys of the Slewpony,” a romanc:':l}f the close of the last century. The detective stories in which Sherlock Holmes figures so prominently have been strung into a drama by Dr. Conan Doyle. Henry Holt & Co. report the thirty- first thousand for “The Prisoner of Zenda,” and the thirty-seventh for the ‘“‘Honorable Peter Stirling.”” Dodd, Mead & Co. announce a book of children’s stories, by the late Dr. Henry Drummond. The book will bear the somewhat curious title of “The Monkey That Would Not Kiil. The publishing season that is just clos- ing has been a prolific one, the number of in connection with the Academy | I do not,| X one-quarter were novels. Probably by the end of the year these figures will be in- creased by nearly one-half. Archibald Forbes' “Life of Louis Napo- leon” will be published early next year by the Messrs. Chatto. The volume will be profusely llustrated. An effort is to be made to adant for the stage W. W. Jacob’s delightful book of sea stories, ‘‘Many Cargoes.” The one thing that is to be said for this scheme | 1s that there will be plenty of characters to select from. Where the unity of action is to be found is another matter. Mr. Henry 8. Pancoast has followed up his recent “Introduction to English Literature” by a similar work on Ameri- can literature, where he intends to show the glose relation of both countries In | the matter of letters. The work will be | publishéd shortly by Henry Holt & Co. A new book of stories by David Starr | Jordan is announced for early publication. | President Jordan is a capital story-telle: and this new volume is to be a book of queer storfes told by children; selected, corrected and illustrated by children. It is to be called “The Book of Knight and Barbara.” “Stxty and Six” is the unique’ttie of a collection of “Chips From Literary ‘Workshops,” issued by the New Amster- dam Book Company and edited by Will M. Clemens. The selections cover the whole literary field, from the humorous to the tragic, the book being bound a handsome ‘“poster cover.” emblemati- cal of the art of the day. Price, 7 cents. It s announced by the Frederick A. Stokes Company that it will issue the earlier books of John Oliver Hobbs (Mrs. Craigle) in a single volume. Hitherto “Some Emotions and a Moral,” “The Sinner's Comedy,” “A Study in Tempta- tlons” and A Bundle of Life” have only appeared in small separate editions. To- gether they will form a volume about the size of “The School for Saints.” The third and fourth volumes of *“Gos- announced for cmillan Com- vy, under the title of “Social Hours With Celebrities,”” by the late Mrs. W. Pitt Byrne. These two volumes are ed- ited by the author’s sister, Miss R. H. Busk, and contain sixty-six illustrations, whose range from Renan to Zola, and from Louis Philippe to Cartouche, gives some idea of the scope of the text. People interested in the lumber indus- try of California, redwood especially, will find much interesting information in a handsome souvenir prepared by Mr. Gray of the firm of Gray & Mitchell, lumber dealers of this city. The lumber is traced from the forest to the mills, and the treatment it receives is de- scribed by one who is not only convers- ant with the handling of timber, but is also a writer of no mean ability and de- scriptive power. Numerous beautiful half-tones are scattered throughout the book. Fifteen of the cholcest poems in Stev- enson’'s “A Child's Garden of Verses have been set to music by Willlam Arms Fisher, and the booklet has been pub- lished by the Oliver Ditson Comp: Boston and New York. The d is a veritable poem in prose, and reads as follows: “To the singing children and those who love them; to those whose bairns are only ‘Dream Children,’ and to all who, in spite of time, have kept the child heart.” The songs will un- doubtedly become popular. The success of Paul -aurence Dun- bar's poems is not to be gainsald. Al- though the book has been published but a short while, Dodd, Mead & Co., the publisiers, announce that the fourth thousand nearly exhausted. This book by the young negro poet has probably attalned a wider circulation than falls to the lot of most of the better known poets of the day. We understand that, not content with his work in verse, Mr. Dunbar is at present engaged in writing 2 novel, which is to be issued shortly. It is described as a realis..c picture of liie in a small Ohio town, in which State, it will be remembered, Dunbar was born and educated. It isannounced, as though it were of im- portance to any one, that Ira Nelson Mor- ris, son of a Chicago millionaire pork- packer, has abandoned literature to enter his father's firm. “A million men can write books,” declared the elder Morris, “but few have the opportunity my son enjoys to become great in the business world. A book is read by few; a large commercial or manufacturing enterprise, well conducted, is a blessing ta the world at large.”” Wise elder Morris! There are Indeed more people who eat than read. When he says that a book is read by few he speaks by the card, for I will venture to say that his son’s book, “With the Trade Winds: a Jaunt in Venezuela and the West Ins ;' was read by very few. Mr. Morris Jr. stayed In literature long enough to find out that there is more money in pork-packing. To work in the line of one's sympathies is its own re- ward. Very often it has no other; but there are those who prefer the joys of literature, unremunerative though they new books issued up to the end of last month being just under 2000, of - which may be, to the emoluments of the pack- ing-house