The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 6, 1898, Page 22

FRANCISCO CALL, SUN AY, FEBRUARY 6, 1898. RO RO R O SRR Vateve DHOHRCOHOCHIOFOC RO LRORORCRORORORDAORCHOROHCRORC CROFFOCFOOOO0 QOO0 LROCHOROROCECHD DOOTTOTO LROHOPOOHORPOTH LROORFOOOT BOOKS. ous looms whirring and ellectual fam- of last necessity for real occa NEW UNNECESSARY e the ishers have continuously tions sug- r no one m of the mse one knows book e a vulgar cc ift to n. Even | e read for| e fails, for the| w books are far from being | sense that great master- | and absorb. | n for the in- | | of n and-new books, no ir nature may be, for of “nothing to read” Miss Flora Ma scriminate read- ire is the fashion— 1 se < ion to which who go out in the world are umb. It is the sacrifice people feel they must 1l exigencies of mod- of persons re genuinely for | t are literature; know read b “new book” su i them fund of table talk. Society with ecome more and more of any kind | 1t effort. mation d its “o the sort that ‘can be d mind. is, therefore, in T the ¢ with I S of d out with un- n ourselves with | of modern litera- best in the fluently at nov- | among the | one of the ca we | books pour fi publishing houses, ed to-day in a sea ture that is & vexation and a What everyone needs is not ntance with new books, but an acquaintance . with the books that have already been written and whose worth has already been proved. When books have begun to be read for their own sake, instead of for the sake of so- ciety, people will develop a sense of dis- crimination in their election. Then, perhaps, good old books will again come in for their share of atte! Many publishers will tless, I 1 era dawn; re will any buyers of any kind of | But it will be, however, the mis- | ne of the few for the benefit of the many. HISTORY IN POPULAR FORM.? POPULAR HISTORY OF' ED STAT. 5 umes. Ud York: Char r sale in this pscription t 128, Claus Spreckels building. | This is a notable series of volumes, | dealing in a careful and comprehensive manner with the history of the United | States. The original plan of the work | was laid before the late William Cullen | Bryant in 187, and, with his approval, work was begun on it in the following Unfortunately, howeyer, Mr. Bry- only lived long enough to read and the proofs of the first and second rev volumes. His place was ably filled by | Howard Gray, who had long been ant in the conduct of the New ening Post. This gentleman con- tinued the work on the lines indicated in a strongly worded preface contributed to the history by Mr. Eryant, wherein h was particular to call attention to the plan upon which a popular history should be built. The volumes before us tes! to the care with which Mr. Gra; lowed out the ideas of his eminent asso- ciate. To those of limited leisure who must perforce their courses of instruc- tion in letters at odd intervals who have little time or inclination for the perusal | of wordy treatises and erudite osi- | tions of the events which have gone to | make history in this country, Scribner’s work should prove a boon and a bless- ing. What has been wanted, and the de- sire has on more than one occasion been expressed in these columns, is a history | that should occupy approximately the | same position among text-books that | Green's' notable “Shorter History” holds in England. It may be said that the book under review does this. 1t is gratifying to note, too, that Scrib- | ner's Popular History is no mere com- pilation from those already published. The editors, wisely appreciating the wide difference that exists between research in books and the same at original sources, went to the latter for their material. Hence the qualities of reliability and im- partiality which distinguish the work. | Originally published in four volumes, it| was decided a year or two ago to remake | the history beyond the chapters in the fourth volume, which treat of the be-| ginning of the war, and to complete the work by adding a fitth, which should | bring the history down to almost the date | of publication. This has been done under | the superviston of Mr. Noah Brooks. A feature of Scribner's History that will appeal to many is found in the illus- trations, of which there are over 1600 in the completed work. It is interesting to| compare the pictures and sketches in the | BOOK MAKERS but for some |, i DO RO O : H ORI : BOOKS AND DI IR PRI ORI ier volumes with those in the last. They form in themselves a record of the mprovements made in reproduction pro- cesses during the last twenty vears, and as such should be of value to the thoughtful reader. Finally, the History is clearly printed on good paper, sub. tially bound, and should find a place in many a reference library. SOME TRICKS OF THE TYPES. exc dership shortly “Sermons, books in the running brooks.' ble! He means, of cout ‘Ser- mons in books and stones in the running ¥ | wife desires the prayers of the congrega- | 2 | cannot be beates COOHOOLROSTOHOONOTHORCROT OO | —_— | O SOOSOOOOEHGOY | THE ROCK OF THE LION—By Molly | xpecting to be promoted to a | tion,” became, “‘A sailor going to see his rves the prayers of the corgre- ,” was rather vitiated as | an .advertisement by the omission of *'b™ in the last word. Innocently gay was the newspaper re- | port which-said that the London express | had knocked down a cow and cut it into | | “calves.”"—Gesta Typographica. MISLEADING OUR YOUTH. | "7 Eliot Seawell. New York: Harper & | Brothers. | There is plenty of exciting adventure, | of the kind boys like, in this volume, but if the author intended it to have an ele- vating or refining influence on our Ameri- can youth, we are afraid her ideals must be rather low. Also, though great lati- tude is allowed one who writes for boys, her story verges in places so closely on the impossible as to appear ridiculous, The hero, Archy Baskerville, who is set | | up as a misleading example for our grow- ing sons, is a nobleman of high rank, | heir to an English title and lordly manor. | Yet because his father, as many other younger sons have done, emigrated to the | fes, the boy, born in the new coun- upposed to have changed entirely | ndein fact, to have lost all trace of inherited breeding. You cannot | turn an English gentleman into a bump- | | tious prig in one generation. We can | | unde; nd the boy's patriotism for the | | 1and of his birth; that is good wholesome | Q ° And so the boy, his mouth full of lan- guage which might fitly have been used | by the patriot statesmen of the revolu- tion, goes on all through the book. But the authoress has the grace to make him repent at the end, for after passing through many thrilling adventures, tak- ing part in the defense of Gibraltar, and several sanguinary naval engagements, he apologizes to his grandfather, Lord Bellingham: “After I went back to Am- erica and experienced your generosity in providing for ‘'me, I recalled all your kindness while I was here, and I won- dered how you put up with such a pre- sumptuous little beggar as I was.”” The amende, however, comes rather late in the day, and we fear its point will be missed by most of the boys who will eagerly devour this exelting narrative. By the by, the authoress, if she intenas to write of naval engagements, ought to get a nautical coach. She might then avoid such a blunder as putting a bridge, a creation of modern steamship days, on the old three-decker Royal George. “The first lleutenant, who was on the bridge,” and a few pages further on she puts the Admiral in the same position. HOSPITAL HEROINES. THE SINNER—By “Rita.” Chlcago: Rand, McNally & Co. “Rita’s” latest story is equal in every | respect to the best this prolific writer has produced. It may be classified under the heading of “Hospital Romances,” as the leading female characters are nurses. The story is hardly of an inspiring or- der, but it is clean, intensely tragie, and NEW ILLUSTRATIONS TO PILGRIMW’S PROGRESS MADE BY AMERICAN ARTISTS. “GIANT DESPAIR." From the Drawing by Louis Rhead. There are, we belleve, mo less than | thirty illustrated editions of Bunyan’ great work. Of these not one has sur- vived as a really vitalized work of art. In producing, therefore, the set of il- lustrations which may be seen at the | Wunderlich gallery, the three brothers, Louis, George and Frederick Rhead, may indulge in the comforting reflec- tion that they have done something to | give a new lease of life to a neglected classic. Z'We say “neglected,” for in spite of the frequent references to “The Pilgrim’s Progress” in contemporary letters we doubt if the book is often read outside the library of the special- ist. Yet Bumnyan is anything but a “precious” writer; he is the last man in literature to be abandoned to mere scholars. The whole value of his work springs from its almest rough strength, from its adaptation of a homely mode of speech to the development of a pro- foundly imaginative and poetic inspira- | tion. We have already touched upon the strictly artistic merits of the Rhead drawings. They are striking illustra- tions of what modern hands can do with the lines of the old German en- gravers, employing it with a less bril- liant precision, with -less distinction than you will find in Durer, for in- stance, but with flexibility, force, and a | keen sense for the color that can be | extorted from pure black and white. | As interpretations of Bunyan these pic- tures must take high rank. Their at- { mosphere, to begin with, is that of Bunyan’s England and Bunyan’s im-| agination. That is not a hybrid'atmos- | phere. It is cne simply of tangible quaintness, picturesquesness and intan- gible feeling. There is one of these | pictures that represents Christian and | the lions, there is another that shows the Pilgrim escaping from hurtling ar- rows into a thoroughly English house, and in both designs the flavor of En- gland is in the last degree obvious. Yet | in these, as much as in the more fan- tastic compositions, like that of Giant | Pope and Pagan, it seems to us that the artists have evoked just that| strange air which belongs®to their text. | The frankness with which they have | over and over again put English models | and backgrounds into their illustrations | has not resulted in anything banal or ! prosaic. On the contrary, it only helps to make this a more vivid and more helpful accompaniment to the book. It is an accompaniment, moreover, that is full of life and movement, again carry- «N ' THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH. ing out the idea of the author, which was far from being one of mere dream and oddity. Bunyan was a practical man, and no matter how high he soared he remembered that his readers needed something firm on which to rest. to the kindred points of heaven and home,” he mingled spirituality and the facts of nature with a daring that Wordsworth himself never surpassed, if, indeed, he ever equaled it. A good example of the manner in which the present illustrators have struck the right key is shown in the powerful rep- “True | ume, in which the wealth and resources of Alaska are depicted in glowing terms. Much of the descriptive matter is writ- ten from personal observation, but the author also deals, in more serious vein, with the political problems which the sudden increase in the value of the terri- tory have brought into prominence. He has made a careful study of the inter- national law relating to the Bering Sea seal fisheries and the boundary question, and urges strongly on the Government the necessity of properly surveying and fixing the boundary line, of establishing an efficient’ territorial administration and of taking active measures to develop the commerce of the country In an eloquent passage the author voices the cry of Alask: “From the mines of silver, gold and coal, from the mighty forests of cedar and pine, from the beautiful furs of seal and otter, from the great fisheries of seal, whale, salmon and cod, from the enormous inexhausti- ble supply voice, ‘Give us the protection of an inter- ested Government and we will not only support ourselves, but will return to the United States a revenue many times mul- tiplying the amount of her investment by the purchase of the District of Alas- ka.’” The value of the book to the stu- dent is enhanced by the addition of sta- | tistical data and a complete bibliography of Alaska. HEALTH AND WEALTH. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HEALTH AND HAPPINESS—By La Forest Potter, M. D. Boston: The Philosophical Publishing Company. PARASITIC WEALTH, OR MONEY REFORM—By John Brown. Chicag: C. H. Kerr Co. In the first of these works the author, who deals with his subject from a very advanced standpoint, endeavors to show that the road to health can be discovered only through the pro- per control of our mental faculties. disease, he urges, is subjective, to be con- trolled by thought power, the highest ex- pression of force which can be exercised by man. To maintain perfect health it is nece nature undisturbed, a task somewhat difficult in these modern days of hurry and scurry. The argument is stated in rather technical and involved language, but the student of strange and little known doctrines, if he takes pains to un- ravél the doctor’s meaning, will find his reward. With equal energy Mr. John Brown at- tacks another form of social disease, which he styles “Parasitic Wealth.” He does not mince matters, for when at- tacking our present financial methods he From the Diawing by Georga W. Rhead. resentation of Giant Despair. It is a fearsome image, one .of fairly Gothic ugliness, yet there is a note of realism in the thing which we find positively stirring. In such guise as this, we think, Bunyan desired his figures to strike the vision of his readers, grim, awful, but unspeakably real. The designers of these compositions have not been content to set forth the salient episodes in the allegory, some of them, by the way, episodes which have not been illustrated .before, but have enriched their pages with decorative of pure ice, comes the one | .| a drop, and happiness | All | Ty to preserve the balance of | offers a collection of aphorisms which she terms “‘Stones that pave the path to suc- cess.” We leave her admirers to decide whether any have stepped higher on such a pebble as this: ‘‘Success secures us friends and enables us to live without burdening them.” Mr. Biddle's “Flowers of Life’” are on a minute scale; tiny verselets, tiny essays, tiny allegories and tiny remarks, am.ong which we select the following for its lit- erary acumen: ‘Elegant paper and a tasty binding are as necessary to the serving of a good book as a clean and pretty dish is to the serving of a delicate sweetmeat.” AN EXPERIMENT IN PROFANITY. Readers of Mr. Wyckoff's interesting experiences as one of the proletariat had a surprise in store for them in the perusal of the installment in the December Scrib- ner's. Hitherto these experiences have | been marked by a seriousness whose ten- sion has known no relief—and very natur- | ally, too. But in the December install- ment Mr. Wyckoff appears In a new role, | as a translator of profanity, with which, of course, literally transcribed; he cannot soil his page. curfous way, reminds one of translations of those rolling. compounded, descriptive adjectives in Homer. cound of its usual words, comes out oddly. | The effect produced is very humorous. | The scene is laid in a lumber camp near | Williamsport, Penn. One evening a man | who has been away drops in on a group | of lumbermen, seated around the fire after their day’s work is over. Amid a | tumult of voices he is thus welcomed: “I'm eternally lost if it Dick the | Kid. Dickie, my boy, you God-forsaken | whelp, are ye drunk? You ain't spent it | all in two days, have ye, Dick? Shut that | 1ost door and sit down by this condemned fire, you ill-begotten cur, and eternal tor- ment be your lot. Tell us what hellish thing brings you here, you blessed boy, why—ripe for endless misery as you are— why ain’t you in ‘Willilamsport?” The smile did not fade from Dick’s face | as with easy deliberation he took a seat on a beer keg and looked at the crew with answering affection in his eyes. “I'm forever lost if I've been to Wil- llamsport,” he began. *“And I ain’t drunk you perjured hell-hounds of | shameless begetting. I've got all my Tep- | robate stuff with me except the two God- | condemned dollars_that it cost to live | at the Temperance House in English Cen- ter, where you can get for a quarter the | best meal that any of you unveracious | ones, you food for unquenchable fire, ever ate.” God help us! It was like that, only a | a great deal worse, until the blessed still- ness of night fell upon the camp. THE HORRORS OF WAR. THE WOUND ‘DRESSER—By Wait itman. Boston: Small, Maynard For sale by D. P. Elder. | With all his well-known realism, with I all the force and emphasis of his peculiar | style, the “Good Gray Poet” paints, in this little volume, the worst side of war. | His experience amongst the Washington | hospitals was large, he visited and | brought relief to many of the sick and | suffering, and in his letters to his mother, | written between 1862 and 1864, he records Wi & | borders and have adorned the book | with a brilliant study of the author | himself. They have arranged, as the title page shows, to publish it in Lon- don. We hope there will also be an American edition. Certainly no more artistic enterprise than this has ever been carried through in this country. On every count the three brothers have acquitted themselves in a way that speaks at once for their artistic powers | and their understanding of their au- | thor, and their achievement should not lack cordial recognition. brooks.’ ”’ And the new reading of Shakes- peare appeared next morning. A sporting compositor thought “Cricket on the Hearth” must be a slip of the pen. He made it “Cricket on the Heath.” A writer on angling had the joy of see- ing his sentence, ‘‘The young salmon are beginning to run,” printed, “The young salmon are beginning to swim,” another thoughtful compositor having been at work. Happier was the transformation of the sentence, “Bring me my toga” into, *“Bring me my togs.” There is a less subtle vein of humor in the story of the editor who wrote during an election, “The battle is now opened.” The compositor spelled “baitle” with ar “0,” and the other side sald, of course, that they had suspected it from the first. It was by a similar mistake that the late Baker Pasha, who might falrly be described as a “battle-scarred veteran,” was called a “battle-scared veteran,” the libel being by no means purged when the newspaper called the gallant officer a “bottle-scarred veteran.” Owing to.an error in printing the an- nouncement, “A sailor going to sea, lis teaching, but what we cannot understand is the way Mrs. Seawell allows him to 80 swaggering through the pages of her romance, at an age when his mother’'s slipper would have proved the best cor- rective for his faults. Archy is but 15 years of age, and serves as midshipman with Paul Jones, when that famous commander captured the Serapis. The boy, however, has the mis- fortune to be taken a prisoner of war, and is passed or from one English ves- sel to another, until, when the story opens, he is transferred to Admiral Kem- penfelt’s charge on board the three-deck- er Thunderer. The old Admiral receives the boy very kindly, and tries to make him realize the fact that he is an Eng- lish nobleman. And this i{s the way the insufferable young prig replies: “Sir,” he said, straightening up his boyish figure, “a prisoner of war is subject to many temptations to betray his cause; but I did not think that Admiral Kempenfelt would suggest that I should turn traitor, and what is harder to bear, should insult my late commander, Commodore Paul Jones, when I am not in a position to resent it.” will hold the reader’s attention from the first page to the last. One feels that something terrible is” taking place, and the tension increases untfl the climax is reached and the poisoner fs left in his cell to awalt his awful doom. Then, lest the reader have the night- mare,one’s thoughts are skillfullyled into a more pleasing direction by the sugges- tion of wedding bells. FOR GOLD-SEEKERS. ALASKA: ITS NEGLECTED PAST, ITS BRILLIANT FUTURE—By Bush- rod Washington James. Philadelphia: The Sunshine Publishing Company- The rush of gold-seekers to the Kion- dike has naturally stimulated the pro- duction of Alaska literature. A couple of years ago no one thought the country worthy even of a brief article; to-day we have handbooks, pamphlets, descrip- tive guides innumerable, and, if the Klon- dike prospector does not strike it rich it will not be for want of published advice. Mr. James has gone further than the average gold-book compiler and has pro- duced 3 handsome, well ulustr,.ted vol- speaks of demolishing *“a deeply rooted economic fallacy and a monstrous social crime.” The keynote of Mr. Brown's scheme of reform is land emancipation by purchase; present holders of land to receive certificates to the full appraised value of their holdings. Also the nation- alization by purchase of railroads, water- ways and telegraphs by the issue of sim- ilar certificates. These certificates are to be declared lawful and constitutional money of the nation, and the increased circulation of wealth thus created is to bring prosperity to MODERN PROVER OPH BIAL PHILOS- Y. GILGAL—By Mrs. Calvin Kryder Reif- snider. St. Louis, Mo.: The Anna Reifsnider Book Compal THE FLOWERS OF LIFE—By Anthony J. Drexel Biddle. Philadelphia: Drexel Biddle. ‘Whether the wise words of Buddha and other ancient sages can be improved upon is a moot question, answered in the af- firmative by divers moderns, from Tupper to Carmen Sylva. Mrs. Reifsnider bas thought fit ‘o ~1d !o ‘heir ~umber and his impressions whilst they were fresh. By way of introduction to the letters Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke, one of Whit- man’s literary executors, and the editor of this volume, has included three of ‘Whitman’s contributions to the press dealing with the same period. These are “The Great Army of the Wounded,” “Life Among Fifty Thousand Soldiers,” -and “Hospital Visits,” and. their inclusion in the book serves to illustrates the condi- tions under which Whitman carried on his noble work amidst the 400,000 sick and wounded who passed through the Wash- ington hospitals. FOR HOME READING. UNCLE ROBERT'S VISIT—By Francis W. Parker. New York: D. Appleton & Co. For sale by Doxey. Price 50 cents. This is one of a comprehensive series of books presenting upon a symmetrical plan the best available literature in the various flelds of human learning, se- lected with a view to the needs of stu- dents of all grades. Each chapter in the book is a lesson in itself, interesting the young reader in matters connected with out-of-door life such as flowers, sun- light and shadows, the thérmometer, ba- “rometer, natural phenomena, etc. The translation, in a rather | The absurdity of | blasphemy, robbed of the short, emphatic | 0000000000000 00S NOTES. 0006000000006 006006060 Rudyard Kipling has given permission to Miss Olga Nethersole to dramatize his novel, ‘The Light That Falled.” The series of papers on “The Unquiet Sex,” by Helen Watterson Moody, will be concluded in the February Scribner's with a discussion of the domestic service prob- lem. “Rupert of Hentzau,” which is now ap- pearing serially in McClure’s and the Pall Mall, will be published in book form, probably some time in April, by Messrs. Henry Holt & Co. Mr. Zangwill's “Dreamers of the Ghet- to” will be published during the present month. Some of the stories have not ap- peared anywhere, and those that have are revised and changed. ® b4 * L4 °® 4 & @ & @ @ @ A volume of short storles by Mr. | Thomas Hardy may be expected from the | press of Messrs. Harper & Bros. in the spring. Mr. Hardy is said to be well ad- vanced with a novel. Dr. Thomas Dunn English, besides working occasionally at “His Memories of Men and Things During Sixty Years | of Active Life,” has been writing a new Irish play in conjunction with another dramatist. Miss Adeline Knapp, whose “Upland Pastures’” has been so faverably recefved, is preparing for publication another vo! ume along the same line. She is also editing a version of some of the Arabian Nights Entertainments for children. R. F. Fenno & Co., New York, have ready W. T. Stead’s *“Satan’s Invisible World Display or, Despairing De- mocracy.” Curiosity exists as to the “Despairing Democracy’’ _which the editor of the Review of Reviews de« scribes. Messrs. Appleton will publish immedi- ately Mr. Edmund Gosse's “‘Short History of Modern English Literature,”” from Chaucer to Walter Pater. But few living writers are mentioned in this book, the aim of which is to show the movement of English letters. Mark Twain's new humorous story, which he is now writing in Vienna, is to go to the Ladies’ Home Journal, which magazine has also secured F. Marion Crawford’s new story, which is a tale of the unreal, with the strikingly uncanny title of “The Dead Smile.” Little, Brown & Co., Boston, will pub- lish the entire series of Dumas’ romances. They have now ready ‘“The Horoscope,” “Monsieur de Chauvelin’s Will,” and “The Woman with the Velvet Necklace,” and there will appear very shortly “Age- nor de Mauleon,” “The Brigand,” and “Sylvandire.” £ Colonel Richard Malcolm Johnston's “Old Times in Middle Georgia'” seems to be pleasing English readers and is at- tracting’ considerable notice in their re- views. A second English edition has just been announced by the publishers, and the Macmillan Company also are now putting a second American edition through the press. One of the latest modes of illustrating novels is by the simple process of pho- tography. This can hardly be agreeable to the “black-and-white men,” and is not likely to further the cause of art; but it is welcomed by authors who have suffered at the hands of faulty illustrators—more common ten years ago than they are to- day. As a soclal satirist said of a fash- ionable class of song, “It's very inartistic, but the public like it best,” and we shall probably see more of it in the future. Three monthly parts of ‘“Progress” is- sued by the University Assoglation in the interests of ‘University and World’s Con- gress extension, give respectively courses in universal history, universal religion, and universal literature. They should be of great value to the student. The same educational body has also issued, in book form, a lengthy course of lessons on'the literature of the world, prepared for the asociation by a corps of specialists in Eu- rope and America. The volume is finely illustrated and has been carefully edited by Samuel Fellows, D. D., and Elizabeth A. Reed, A. M. The sixth part of “Fifty Years of Ma- sonry in California,” just issued by Messrs. G. Spaulding & Co. of this city, is fully up to the high standard set by previous numbers of this publication. The part gives ‘the history of subordinate lodges founded after the organization of the Grand ‘Lodge of California. Amongst the lodges dealt with is the well-known Golden Gate, No. 30, of this city. There is also a sympathetic biographical notice of the late C. F. Crocker, who was a Mason of high degree. His portrait, which occu- pies a whole page of the volume, is a beautifully executed piece of artistic work. Messrs. Houghton,- Mifflin & Co. recent- 1y received a communication of interest from Miss Alice M. Longfellow, with re- gard to the correct pronunciation of Hi- :.iwalhfi.. which they furnish for publica- on: < CRAIGIE HOUSE, Cambridge, Nov. 12, 1897. Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co.: Dear Sirs: The pronunciation used by my father was “He-a-wa-tha,” the ac- cent on the first syllable being slighter than on the ‘‘wa;” the “a’” in “mar,” not “war,” as sometimes used. I should be glad to have this impressed on the pub- lic. Yours sincerely, ALICE M. LONGFELLOW. Mrs. Annie Fields, the author of the admirable “Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe,” just published by Houghton, Mif- flin & Co., says concerning her new book: ‘““My personal friendship and sym- pathetic relation with Mrs. Stowe dur- ing many years caused her publishers and some members of her family to feel that I was the proper person to do this work. I hope this confidence will not be misplaced. Possibly the world will begin to recognize the true greatness of ihe woman when they see the story at last unfolded. I trust the book will be one our people will like to read. It is made as brief as is consistent with tell- ing the whole story and telling it without adding too much to her own words.” ¢ Messrs. D. Appleton & Co.’s announce- ments for January include & new volume by Herbert Spencer, entitled “Various Fragments”; “H. R. H. the Prince of ‘Wales,” an account of his life, etc., illus- trated; “Bimetallism,” by Major Leonard Darwin; ‘‘Modern English Literature,” by Edmund Gosse; ‘“Evolutional Ethics and Animal Psychology,” by E. P. Evans; “The Psychology of Suggestion,” by Bo- ris Sidis, with an introduction by Profes- sor William James; “The Story of Animal Life in the Sea,” illustrated, a new vol- ume in the Concise Knowledge Library; ‘“/Crusoe’s Island,” a bird-hunicr's story, by Frederick A. Ober; ‘Sui.:t,” a novel, by Beatrice Whitby; and “A Fiery Or- deal,” a novel, by Tasma. Jules Verne is about to publish a new book addressed more or less directly to American readers. In a recent letter the French writer said: “There will soon appear the first volume of my story, ‘Le Sphinx des Glaces,” which is, perhaps, of a nature to interest Americans, because it is the continuation of the ‘Adventures of A. Gordon Pym,’ of their grand poet, Edgar A. Poe; in fact it is not only the continuation of that story, but it brings it to an end. I have dedicated it to my American friends. . I have also on the stocks a two-volume tale, whose scene will be laid throughout the whole United States. It will not be ready, however, for two years to come. And finally, I have finished some other volumes which belong to the series of ‘Voyages Extraor- | dinaires.’ "