The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 21, 1901, Page 4

'THE SUNDAY CALL. S/ ET a copy of “The Abandoned ( ¢ Farm by Sydney H. Preston, \W_J| and read it. After the purpose and the historical novels, ks on the Boer war, and the ese trouble and all the ou will find this beok as a cold Arl a large fan and 2 2 hot day. wrl humor pure und is no effort at horseplay, ny effects, no “iaugh is zood. whole- 1 ay through. He an expounds. He gets n on the right course and h fun between the lines mu mat 12h progression in the little ves through the whole to k well above the order of con- ches ané vet there is no lowing. Jt is a good lazy a quiet, jazy day. cters there :re not many. n ot first writer of mu: Jater editor of a page on Ag- tells his tronbles himself. His plays an advisory part, his small boy, helps cut at either *“howlirg” or wrong sentiment at the and in the presence of “‘com- enc wea rion ts by ton is vity man who has the craze to try farm life. An ex- mes through the legitimate chan- a jan’s advice. The doctor T ven a few years in eager to take all of the bank at once and a large supply of farming machinery live stock. but his wife limits “hoe. rake and shovel.” irton is firm and succeeds be- ring him to time she has only nel of a ph to a is lost a_few hundred on Moreover, she quotes what has to say: * . that ail men ‘who haven't a farm are attacked By an e period of their lives, money by farming. She ng stocks nt Sophy business when he retired and bought = e implored him not to do it. but he ng there was heaps of money erly managed. and he could ness principles and make 3ut when he died she found he had only $40,000 for her to live on, and she is if he hadn't been taken away v she would have been altogether Poor Aunt Sophy! She weeps more money than over Uncle Philip, and is that some semi-religious pennilecs over thet the worst of it novel she has read has uneettied her old-fash- ioned ideas about heaven so that she is afraid that when her turn comes she will find him at it again. The thought that T ehouldn’t be surprised if she married old Mr. Fairman and renounced Uncle Philip. Haying settlzd the gquestion as to how sive their farming operations shall be, they hie them forth to the courtry to Jook up a farm. They find a place for rent that is just the one to suit them, and meet with an a2édventure at the same time. The introduction to their future landiord is startling: We had stopped has hardened her so 5 look down the entrance to a large derground roothouse, the door of which was open, when from the inside came a succession of feeble groans. There was a heap of bags in the doorway, and in an instant T realized wh; had bhappened: that some man had been overcome by the poisonous gases that gather in pits where vegetables are stored. I am not one who rashly plunges into dan- ger without weighing the consequences, =0 I 4idn’t bravely lose my life by rushing into the pit in the vain attempt to carry another man out, for I saw there were several good reasons against such a course. First, I knew that I couldn’t carry a man anywhere even under the most favorable conditions; second, I couldn’t bear to think of the shock to Marion if she #hould become a widow: third, it was perfectly clear to me that if I remained In the roothouse Marion would attempt to save me, then Paul would remain outside and become an orphan, & howling orphan. Further, T was not justi- fied in risking an undoubtedly valuable life for one that was probably 4f no account. A long pole with a hook on the end would have been useful, or a niece of rope, but neither was to be found, and the groans of the mi in the roothouse were becoming still more alerming, so. noticg the heavy chain which held the well bucket, T hurriedly tried to de- tach it, but to my despair I found it was se- curely spiked to the well-sweep. It was then that Marion made one of the most brilllant euggestions that I have known her to make: that by swinging the sweep to one side the chein would hang directly over the pit. I dom't know that she saw the full utility of this move, but I did. Holding my breath I stood in the doorway until T could dimly see the prostrate figure of the man on the floor, then T darted inside, looped the chain about him and dragged him to the entrance. He was a heavily built, sharp-featured man, past mid- dle age, and although he lay ‘on the ground and gasped for breath there was a slight con- tortion of his features that suggested repressed mirth. Marion wanted me to go for help, but 1 told her that he was recovering and only needed to be moved from the entrance where he lay to the level ground ‘where the air was fresher. Fhe said T would never be able to get him up the incline, so I hastened to complete my task, my only fear being that help would arrive too soon. I tenderly arranged a pad of potato bags across his chest and back. then ehortening the chain 1 passed it under his arms and again looped it around his bodr. All being ready, I climbed up on the weighted end of the well-sweep, but finding there was not encugk weight I persuaded Marion to take my place, then I sprang up beside her. The effect was amazing to us. unaccustomed as We were to this primitive contrivance, for cur end de- ecended to the ground with a bump. and, like a hooked fish, high in the air dangled the man whom T had gone to o much trouble to save. He emerged from vnoensefovensss more v nidly than a butterfiy from ite chrysalis, and his remarks as he gyrated from the end of ihe chain were most- ahusive. The epithets were evidently intended for me. and my anzer was arcused to such an extent that I felt inclined to let him stay where he was. ‘‘Keep cool.”” T chouted, ““and T'll see Ahout getting you down Pemember,” 1 admonished him. ‘‘that—that there are ladies In the yoom. If* you behave yourself and tell me where to find a ladder I'ii try to help vou.” . His face grew crimson and he struggled for speech. ‘A ladder? he burst forth, at last. “Get off this darn’ see-saw.’’ : 1 got off. €0 Aid Marion: but I dom't think we understood the proper way to get off, for there was a surprising thud, end 1 saw that my patient was sprawling on the ground under the beam. I hastened to his relief, reminding him as I vnwound the chain that he ehould bave taken my advice and waited for the lad- He stood up unsteadily, wiping the dirt his face with his sleeve, then he took off his coat, folded it with ceremony, laid it on the ground and squared up to me 3 ow.” he sald. with vicious determination, ‘I'm going to settle with you The matter 's arranged. however. with- out blows and Carton succeeds in renting the house and immediate yard for a year for $100 more than is asked for the whole piace, which includes all this and in ad- dition fifty acres of farming land. This i= explained by the landlord with farmer- like logic: “Certainly. ma'am,” he responded: “but how tar'd a hundred dollars go in wages for hired help? If T wasn't throwing in my work free I couldn’t afford to take them fifty acres off Your hands at that figure. Of course. I'd sooner You took the hull place at three hundred, then 2s much more would hire you a man, and if Mr. Carton looked after him pretty sharp there might be enough crop to feed your horses and cow, and he wouldn't have to spend more than a thousand dollars in stock and implements to start with."” They take the place with: acres and with the one hundred dolla extra. Their next trouble comes in mov- ing. Carton is an inventive genius and works out an elaborate system of num- bering his boxes to match a diagram of rooms and similar numbers that he gives to the expressman. The expressman is £0 nleased with the arrangement that he says he will set up the kitchen stove and all the beds free of charge. der. the fifty Carton, wife and child arrive at the ranch after dark. Here is what they find: We had missed the first afternoon train, and after a dreary wait for the next onme we ar- rived at the little country station just at dusk. and before we reached Wavdean darkness had fallen. We groped our way around to the back door and stumbled into the kitchen, where I lit a candle 1 had brought. My heart sank at the first glance about the room, for it was quite empty and I feared that our goods had not arrived, but iwhen I peered fearfully into the next room T saw that what looked at first likea Pailroad box car was a rectangu- lar erection of all our household belongings. We stared incredulously by the light of the flickering candle, walking around the structure in despair. Next the ceiling, like a statue on its massive base, our cooking stove perched giddily—Blizgs had set it up with a venge- ancel—on the very hottom lay all our be and bedding. hopelessly buried, for if I at- tempted to disturb the pile down would plunge that threatening mass of metal. Bliggs was a fiend! A strip of torn wall paper hung down like a banner from a projecting curtain pole; it w covered with rude pencilings. which we de- ciphered toget after Paul had - dropped asleep on my overcoat, with this resuit: Mister Carton. heluv a rode. hosses nere ded. men kickt basht em fur emtin botel basht em fur mutinin bout histin stov. tadark to ce chok marks. done nex bes stile. heluv a gob wel dun. wilyum bliges. The descriptions that follow of a city mar’s live in the country; his first feel- ings of chagrin when he heags the old farmers criticizing him because He has no implements and stock and is not a ‘“real farmer”; his tall lies to an acquaintance in town on the extent of his ranch are all very cleverly presented and not a bit overdone. There is none of the rough burlesque of the comic artist order. The humor is most genuine and entertainihg. Thelr chickens are pets for Paul, the son and heir, and therefore cannot be sac- rificed, not even when the rich old aunt comes for a visit and expressly states how dearly she loves a chicken as a table delicacy when she knows just what that chicken has been eating. Their hired man is & gem—a character with a lop- sided stomach that cannot be balanced with any amount of wholesome food. but must receive a certain quota of raspberry pie to be put in a perfect state of equi- librium. Later this hired jewel becomes a man of wrath for a day and then “jumps his job” to go to town and find the editor of the agricultural stuff that Mr. Carton has been writing incognito. This transforma- tion is brought about through the perver- sity of the landlord—Peter Waydean. Peter catches a Carton chicken In the ‘Waydean green pea patch, plucks the bird and then allows it to return home with- out even the dignity of a tail feather to its name. This so enrages the hired man that he in turn makes captive a maraud- ing Waydean pig and decorates it with bonret, pants, boots, wax and chicken feathers. Carton is driving Aunt Sophy's prospective bridegroom home in the best family rig and with the best family horse when they bump into the procession of Waydean cursing and chasing this ap- parition of a hog. The family horse runs away and breaks from the shafts just as the buggy is in the middle of a river. Carton has to wade ashore and carry his guest in his arms. That is enough for the hired man; especially as the pig runs into a funeral farther down the road and the mourners are looking for the cos- tumer. He does not think that he can stand further mental strain and leaves. Another characteristic bit is the descrip- tion of Carton, the writer of agricultural articles and wise man; when he goes forth to buy a cow. He has brought his pur- chase home; has tried to milk the cow and failed: has tried to feed the calf and had his fingers chewed; has finally turned the calf and cow out together and then been obliged to chase them as they flee down the road. His friend, the butcher, with whom he has only that morning had long discussions on cowology, helps him stop the bovine flight. Then comes the denouement: ““You might be able to milk a cow that had milk,” he said with a chuckle, after listening to my tale, “but it'd take old Nick to raise a calf on a dry one.” ““A dry one!” I shouted. ‘Do you mean—" “Did the old man tell you it was this cow's caif?" he interrupted. ““Well, no—1 ean’t remember that he did. He id I'd better take the calf, too, and I sup- “Exactiy—then he’ salted you right enough! You've paid forty dollars for a beef cow that be offered to give me for a twenty-dollar ac- count he owes me; I'm sorry—dashed sorry that you'¥e heen took in, but—he, he! ha, ha, ha!—but you let on you knowed all about cal tle, and I told you to keep your weather el can stand heing swindled!” T shouted, in wrath, “but T won't stand any told-you-so busi- ness. Yon ought to have more sense than to talk that way when— “There, there,”” he interjected, soothingly, “T know just how vou feel. The other day my missis told me I'd smash my hand if T went hammerin' nails with an ax. Well, sir, it wasn't three minutes till I did. Of course 1 swore a hit, but when I went into the kitchen and the missis asked nie first how I done it, and then said she knowed I would, T jest went clean out of my head with rage. I'd sooner haye gone out and smashed the other thumb than have been snoke to that way.” My heart warmed to the butcher: he is a man of fine feelinzs. He not only gave me twenty dollors for the cow, but promised to frighten John Waydean into silence by representing that T was preparing evidence for a criminal prosecution. a “And now.” T said, in conclusion, “I'd like your candid opinion about the calf. If I de- cided to raise it would it be likely to grow into a valuable cow?" “Well.” he answered. gulping in a pecullar, hesitating way, as if he were reluctant to answer, “vou mostly can't tell what kind of a cow a calf will make when it's a week old, but if vou—if you wanted to raise a cow, you—you—— . s face became suffused with a dull purple flush, as if he were struggling with a mighty spasmodic sneeze; he turned his face away. his body shaking convulsively, then with obvious difficulty he contlnued: “If you wanted to raise a cow you'd ought to have bought a—a—ha, ha, ha!—"" ‘“Have bought what?"’ I crled, In exaspera- tio He stopped laughing and lcoked up and down the road. then leaned over the edge of the wagen seet with his whip hand shielding one side of his mouth. I hung breathless on his words. ‘A—cow-calf,” he whispered. There is a cheerful bit of muddle about the ultimate purchase of the farm. The Cartons finally come into nossession, but only after they find that they have been bidd:ng against each other and old skin- flint Waydean has wen out by selling at an advanced rate to a third party. The third party. fortunately, turns out to be the husband of Aunt Sophy. He. was so touched by Carton having carried him out of the river that he at once determined to buy the farm secretly. no matter what the cost. and make it a present to his life- saver. (Published hy Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Price 81 25.) B. G. LATHROP. Anting-Anting Stories. For the greater part Sargent Kayme has some good stories to tell in his re- cent book just published by Small. May- nard & Co., Bosten. The name ‘“‘Anting- Anting” will appear as Greek to most people, but it is really quite simple when you understand. The editors have this to say in explanation—though the meaning of the term becomes perfectly clear, as it plays its part in the stories which follow the. foreword. ‘“‘Strangest, perhaps, of all these possi- bilities for fictlon is the anting-anting, at once a mysterious power to protect its possessor and the outward symbol of the protection. No more curious fetich can be found in the history of folk-lore. A button. a coin. a bit of paper with unin- telligible words scribbled upon it, a bone, a stone, a garment, anything, almost— often a thing of no intrinsic value—its owner has been known to walk up to the muzzle of a loaded musket or rush upon the point of a bayonet with a confidence so sublime as to silence ridicule and to command admiration, if not respect.” The book comprises eleven short stories of life among the Filipinos. All of them have a certain dash of adventure; some of them border on the mystical, and from cach there can be derived, unconsciously, a certain amount of romantic informa- tion; that is, from the pictures of the pi- rates, the natives. the pearl fishers, the queer animals. These stories are good reading in two different lights: First, as romance for the excitement of a good story; second, as a glimpse through the eyes of one wno has seen into the life of this most interesting and unreal country. Mr. Kayme writes. for example, in the “Pearls of Sulu” of the ‘“macasla” fes- tival—the remarkable fishing expedition when a concoction of weeds and herbs is thrown into the water and the fish become £o stupefied that they can be caught by hand. He tells of a whole meal served, sufficient and palatable, and. yet nothing hut bamboo is used in the doing. He brings out constantly bits of interesting customs and all without sacrificing the dramatic Interest of his story. Several of the stories are particularly noteworthy. ‘“The Fifteenth Wife” is one of the most powerful, although its ending may prove a shock to delicate nerves. An- other good one is “The Spirit of Mount Apo,” which recounts the adventure of the writer upon attempting to climb a mountain said, by the superstitious na- tives, to be haunted. ‘“Told at the Club” is the best ome of the ‘“anting-anting” stories. In it is given an account of a clubman’s conversion to a faith, in the powers of an “anting-anting” stone to foretell coming disaster. One of the tales recifes the desertion of an American from the ranks of his coun- trymen to those of the Filipinos and his subsequént return, through his mother’s influence, to sacrifice himself that he may save his countrymen and redeem his sul- lied honor. This seems to be a favorite theme among writers of island fiction, for Frederick Palmer, in “The Ways of the Service,” had a similar story. It must be said, moreover, that Mr, Palmer's was the better of the two. This book has more of the Filipino in it than any other work of fiction that has as yet come to our notice. It is well worth buying and deserves a place on any list of approved books for summer read- ing. (Price $1 %.) The Dowden Shakespeare. The Bowen-Merrill Company of Indian- apolis are issuing an annotated 'and com- parative edition of Shakespeare under the editorial supervision of Edward Dowden, Litt. D. Two volumes are already from the press, “The Tragedy of Hamlet” and “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.” Judging from these this edition is one that should appeal to all lovers of Shakespeare and to every one who appre- clates the best that can be done in mod- ern publishing. Each play is to appear in a volume by itself. The letter press is exceptionally good and the binding is a rich red and gold; in fact, as far as the publisher's work is concerned, nothing could be more in taste for books that will occupyea per- manent place in the library.. The editing and annotating have been most carefully and learnedly done. The idea has been to meet the requirements of three classes of readers, and in this connection the publishers state in their prospectus of the edition: 2 “There are those who care only to en- Joy the play without retardation or the disturbance of notes; for them a trust- worthy text is printed in a type which imposes little fatigue upon the eye; such reagers may wholly disregard the notes or may refer to them on rare occasions. “There are, secondly, readers who re- cognize the fact that many difficulties exist in what Shakespeare has written and that labor of editors from Roe to the most recent annotators has done much to make clear what was obscure and tu render easy what was difiicult; for these readers a body of explanatory notes in which a mean is attempted between par- simony and superfluity has been pro- vided. “Thirdly, there are scholarly readers who have a legitimate desire to check or control the work of the editor in the formation of his text. No previous edi- tion of Shakespeare appears to give at once explanatory notes and adequate tex- tual collations. Here an attempt is to be made to exhibit the variations from the editor's text which are found in the pri- mary scurces in so far as those varia- tions are of importance for the ascertain- ment of the text. Every variation 1s not recorded, butithe editor has chosen to err on the side of excess rather than on that of defect.” It might not be out of place, consider- ing the issuance of this new edition, to call attention to one point in reference to the Bowen-Merrill Company. They are one of the few, few publishing houses that seem to pay particular regard to native in various stages of civilization, gradating from the cannibalistic Ilon- gottes to that tvpe of Filipino represented by Agoncillo (Aguinaldo’s Embassador to foreign courts). The curious love making of the native, marriage ceremonies, man- ner of dress, fondness for pleasure, primitive but ingenfous mode of cul- tivating the soil, and everything pertain- ing to the native and his island are told in a charming, interesting manner. He tells of the wild animals and their haunts. Of the wonderful beauty of the interior, around which is woven a mysticism, as to the possibilities of vast wealth in gold and silver and precious stones, only walt- ing to feel the magic touch of American enterprise to yield up their treasure. He describes in thrilling style the ad- ventures of the party while pushing their way through almost impenetrable jungles or crossing raging streams augmented in thelr fury by descending torrents from mountain sides. The author tells with pleasant feelings of appreciation of the graceful courtesies extended to him by the wealthy people of the island, and in no less appreclative manner of a similar welcome by the poor natives. He alludes to the past splendor of Manila whén under control of the gorge- ous officials of Spain, who lived in a state of barbaric riches, while natives ground out their lives in hideous dungeons or toiled beneath the tropic sun to meet the rapacious demands of the greedy power. Accompanying the book is a large map 5 4 Barold MacGrath. HE young men of America are making large contributions to the day’s literature. The author of “The Puppet Crown” is one of them. He has written much and he has Yet he is not an infant prodigy. lived much. Mr. MacGrath was born in Syracuse, N. Y. His father was an Irish- man, his mother of English parentage. The son inherited the dominant traits of both races—wit and the love of a “scrap” from his father, and an imperturbable determination from his mother. He began to write be- fore he could read.: Versificationriade its early appeal to him, and many magazine editors became familiar with Harold MacGrath’sname.if their subscribers did not. After his school days he traveled and for a year or two contemplated various professions, hesitating which one to enliven with his presence. However, fate had him well in hand and there was no escape. It was foreordained that he must scratch for a living. Which should it be—a novelist, a journalist, a humorist, or just a rhymester? TUnable to choose, he became all four. For years he was a reporter, contributing occasional verse. Then the Syracuse Herald gave him a column every day in which to be both poet and humorist. While at this easy job he wrote his first long story. Every one that read it liked it, but unfortunately only a comparatively few read it. His English blood served him well in this crisis. Calm and unafraid, he sat down to write another. “The Puppet Crown” was the result. missed. It is finding that great army of readers which his first book Mr. MacGrath’s friends rejoice with him in his success, for he is a very popular young man. He is a good story-teller, an entertaining talk- er and an expert listener, though a little deaf. He is modest and unas- suming, simple in his tastes and unaffected in his dress and bearing. He knows a sweet briar pipe when he sees it and a good “cup of sack” when he tastes it. He has another novel in his head, but declines to talk shop. L “quality” and not to ‘“quantity.” Dur- ing the last year they have issued not many books, but all good books; in fact, many of them, in fiction, have been the best books of the day. It is plain to be seen from these two plays of Shaies- peare that mark the beginning of this contemplated series that Bowen-Merrill are preparing to add another laurel tu those already gained. They could not have done better than tq choose Mr. Dow- den as editor of this edition. Edward Dowden was born in Cork, May 3, 1843; was educated by private teachers and at Trinity College, Dublin; obtained in Trinity College the vice charncellor's prizes in English verse and English prose; was elected president of the University Philosophical Soclety and gained the first senior moderatorship in mental and moral philosophy 1863. He studied during two years in the Divinity School, but did not take orders: gained by examination the professorship of oratory and was elected professor of English literature at the age of 23. Always much attracted by the study of Shakespeare, Professor Dowden published in 187 his first book on thé sub- ject, entitled ‘“‘Shakespeare, His Mind and Art,” which is now in its twelfth edi- tion and has been translated into Itallan and German. He was vice president of the new Shakespearean: Society and was awarded the Cunningham gold medal for his Shakespearean studles. He condensed the results of much of his research into his Shakespeare primer, of which over 100,000 coples have been circulated, and editad “Shakespeare’'s Sonnets” with notes and a preliminary study. The next play to appear will be “King Lear,” and the subsequent volumes will be issued at short {ntervals. (Demi 8vo, cloth; price, per volume, $1 25.) Through Luzon on Highways and L] Byways. “Through Luzon on Highways and By- ways,”” by Willis Bliss Wilcox, paymaster United States navy, is a careful study of the people and topography of the Philip- pines by an officer who was afforded every assistance by .army and navy officials. He also succeeded in obtaining a verbal promise from the ‘famous Filipino leader, ‘Aguinaldo. Paymaster Wilcox and his little party made a circuit of the island, visiting na- tves In their homes and savages amidst thelr haunts, so that he had ample oppor- tunity to make a careful observation of Just those things which are of vast in- terest. He gives a graphic character sketch of Agu‘naldo and his surroundings; tells of the fierce tribes of savage, including the Ifugaos, Gaddanes, Apayoas, Tagolas and the fierce Ilongottes, the most cruel and warlike of all savages in the archipelago. Most interesting is the description of the = 3 of Luzon, outlining the route of Pay- master Wilcox, and designating all im- portant points in that land where thou- sands of the soldiers of the United States are gathering In the stubborn, insurrec- tionary Filipino. The value of the work has been recog- nized by Admiral Dewey, who states in a letter to the Navy Department that he considers it the most complete and valu- able information obtainable in regard to the northern part of Luzon Island. (Pub- lished by the Franklin Book Company, Philadelphia. Price $1 25.) Some Pacific Coast Announcements. A. M. Robertson, the San Francisco publisher, will publish some books this season that are sure to take their place among the best literature of the day. The first one to be issued will be “The Dead Calypso and Other Verses,” by Louls A. Robertson. About the same time will ap- pear a book of verses with stunning*Jap- anese illustrations in red and black by Miss Helen Hyde. Miss Hyde's work in this line is so well and favorably known it is safe to prophesy that unless Mr. Rob- ertsorn has a very large first edition in contemplation he would better arrange forthwith for the immediate issuance of a second to follow this first. Charles Keeler, so well known as a student of bird life and a writer of remarkably sympa- thetic verses, is also to have a book of poems published by Mr. Robertson. Prob- ably the most rémarkable poem of the vear was one reviewed in The Call of re- cent date, “The Lion at the Well.” by Lionel Josephare. Mr. Josephare will also issue a small volume of poems. Some of these are said to be even superior to “The Lion at the Well.” One volume of excep- tional and unique interest to be issued later by Mr. Robertson is a book by Charles Warren Stoddard of reminiscences of his boyvhood in San Francisco. It is a compliment to us of the Pacific Coast that Mr. Stoddard wished his book to sec the light of day through a San Francisco pub- lishing house—once a \Californian always a Californian. . General Meade. “‘General Meade,” by Isaac R. Penny- packer, is a new volume in the Great Commanders Series, edited by General James Grant Wilson. This discriminat- ing, compact and interesting study of the victor of Gettysburg forms one of the most important volumes in this success- ful series of military biographies. The career which the author traces is one of singular consequence, including, as it did. the experiences of the Mexican war and service as brigade commander in 1861, the vicissitudes of the Peninsular campaign and the arduous responsibilities of divi- sion commander at Antfetam, corps com- mander at Fredericksburg and the com- mand of the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg and afterward. Th this blography has been found in the offi- clal records of the Union and Confederate armies. A forcible argument is presented to show that General Meade was under- rated by the commander in chief, and that he was entitled to-the promotion glvan_m another. The aid of the Gettysburg Na- tional Park Commission and of Colonels Nicholson and Cope has resulted in secur- ing many maps, measurements and other information relative to the battlefield of Gettysburg. In the account of this tre- mendous conflict, as in other portions of his succinet and instructive volume; the author's clear, discriminating and foreible treatment enhances the Interest of the great themes pletured in this important book: There are numerous maps and {llis- trations. (Published by D. Appleton & Co.; New York. Price, $1350.) 4 et Literary Notes. One of the last literary undertakings .of the late Sir Walter Besant was g?; completion of a popular wnr‘.chfnr Wh“v he had spectal qualifications— The Story of King Alfred.” The American righ have been secured by D. Appleton & Ce.. and the book will be published by (hr:n in July or August. Its mtrinsic interest and value, and its timeliness in view of the approaching anniversary. will doubt- less secure for the work an exceptional popularity. The editor of the Western Magazine has a good sound plank In_the platform of his policy. He says: “The mission of the Western Magazine is to spread abroad the story of the glory of Edenic California, and the most ambitious desire of its pub- lisher is that its success shall be com- mensurate with its value to the State and the benefits it yields to its patrons.” In this connection there is an article on “Summer Days Along Shore in Califor- nia” in the current issue that shows he is in earnest. Another paper of merit and interest is one describing “A Soclety Function in Alta California,” wherein is given an account of the marriage of Gov- ernor Alvarado to Senorita Martina Cas- tro at Santa Clara Mission in 1839. The next issue promises to be of special inter- est to our Eastern visitors, for it will have an elaborately illustrated article on “Country Life in Californfa.” Brentano's have for early publication a work by H. B. Irving, entitled “Studies of French Criminals of tne Nineteenth Cen- tury.” The author of this book will be remembered as having written “The Life of Judge Jeffries,” which attracted un- eusual attention about two years since. Mr. Irving (son of Sir Henry Irving, the famous tragedian) has given several years’ close study to the annals of crim- inal jurisprudence. This collection has been gathered from the French criminal records, and are studies of real culprits whose guilt in almost every Instance was beyond suspicion of doubt; they are pre- sented as studies of character as well as examples of the administration of erim- inal justice in France. The author thinks they might be of interest or value to those who look up human documents for speci- mens of character as it actually is. The book will doubtless recelve great atten- tion both in England and America. Edwin Asa Dix, whose new novel, “Old Bowen's Legacy,” is proving reminiscent of his “Deacon Bradbury” to so many readers, has lately been drawn aside for a few months from the paths of fiction by the preparation of an elaborate book to commemorate the twentleth anniver- sary of the graduation of his college class, the class of 1881 at Princeton. The bock, which was printed privately for the class, is a costly volume of over 400 pages, coplously {llustrated, and with biographi- cal or autobiographical accounts of every cne of the class’s 148 members and ex- members. Work on a book of this nature is purely a labor of love, as of course no financial profit attaches to'it. At the re- cent_reunion and dinner held in Prince- ton, the class showed its appreciation of Mr. Dix's labors by presenting him with a magnificent silver loving cup, over ten inches high, bearing a cordial inscription, and with a picture of Old Nassau Hall finely etched upon the silver. As this is essentially the vacation time of the year, The Delineator for August is the vacation number. The spirit of midsummer breathes over its pages from the fashions down to the household notes. The daintiest dresses and dress acces- sories are gathered into this number, just suitable in their materials and their make-up for the temporary use to which midsummer clothing is put. The dressmaking article by Mrs. Gor- man deals with lace stock-collars and open work of various kinds, boleros, ete., which appear to be more popular than ever this season. The kitchen article for the month de- scribes various cold tomato dishes, sum- mer drinks and fruit salads. Three short stories also appear in the August number—one by Francis Lynde, entitled “A Vacation Conscience”; an- other by Arabella Kenealy, daughter of the famous Dr. Kenealy, entitled *“Dr. Fordham’s Daughter,” and third, a col- lege story written by a college girl en- titled “The Impressionist Picture.” The August number of Scribner’s will be its thirteenth annual Fiction Number, this magazine having been the first to in- stitute that feature wkich has been so widely copled. Many unknown writers have made their first successes in the Fic- tion Number, as it has always been the policy to mingle the best fiction of the old and the new writers in that issue. There will be seven short stories by such authors as Richard Harding Davis, Quil- ler-Couch, “Zack,” Octave Thanet, and {l- Justrations by Christy, Clark, Parrish, Shinn, Yohn, McCarter and others. James B. Connolly, the new writer of sea stories, will have a tale describing a great race from Iceland to Gloucester between a schooner and a yacht. M. J. Burns has made illustrations for it from careful studies of the Gloucester fleet. J. A. Mitchell, the editor of Life, made his first serious effort kn fiction a few years ago when he published “Amos Judd.” of wh'ch more than 30,000 copies have been sold. He has just completed a short novel which will begin In this number and run through the fall months. The title is “The Pines of Lory,” and the scene is a promontory in the St. Lawrence. The Saalfield Publishing Company. Akron. O.. will soon publish a new novel entitled “The Sign of the Prophet.” by Dr. James Ball Naylor, author of “Ralph Marlowe.” It is a tale of the war of 1812, of the times of Tecumseh and the up- rising of the Shawnee Indians in the Maumee Valley. The story deals thrill- ingly with events preceding and during the war, and chiefly with the effort made by General William Henry Harrison to restrain the uprising in the Maumee Val- ley and on the upper waters of the ‘Wabash, under the great Shawnee chief, Tecumseh, and his one-eyed brotjer, Tenskwatawa, the prophet. The noval deals with an important era in American history. with events preceding the settle- ment of the Middie West. It is the era of Tecumseh. who, with his brother, the prophet, sought to unite all the Western tribes in a confederacy that should pro- tect them from the intruding whites. The project was defeated by the battle of Tip- pecance, though it brought about an alli- ance between the Shawnee chief and his warriors and the English in Canada, which alliance, however, cost Tecumseh his life at the battle of the Thames. “The favorite author with young Rus- sfa,” writes Christian Brinton in the Critic, “is Maxime Gorky, ex-baker's ap- prentice and tramp, who in his wander- ings over the face of Russia has seen and has remembered. The Mjestyanin is his hero, the itinerant shoemaker or tinsmith the Boslaky or bare footed. “‘His largest and most pretentious work is ‘Foma Gordeyev,’ and is being trans- lated from the original Russian by He: man Bernstein, one of the best—if not the best—Russian scholar In this eountry, and it will be issued in the early fall by the J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company of New York. “Tt is the most distinguished of the stories Gorky has had time to write with- in his brief period of fame: it has made him his reputation both in Russia and Frdnee.” His father was an upholsterer and die? when the boy was five years old. Th» voung author is about 32 now. by the way He was hired out in a shoe shop. ran away, apprenticed to a draughtsman, rs away, put at the ' making of wooden saints, hired out as a cook’s boy on a steamer and then made gardener's aseist- ant. He also peddled apples, worked on a dock., sawed wood and acted as porter Then he went to Tzaritzyn and was watchman on a railroad. He tried to go into the army, but they refused to accept a tramo. He sold beer for a while, then was hired by a lawyer, but tramped off to Tiflis, where he worked in a railroad shop and published his first novel in a local paper. Then he wandered back to the Volga. and at Nizhni-Novgorod lived by <elling sketches to the newspapers. In this way he met the writer Viadimir Korolenko, one of Russia’s most.brilliant men of let- ters. and developed very rapidly under his gulding hand. He attracted no attention until he so suddenly sprang into promt- nence. Louis Dyer ovens the July Atlantic with a timely article calling attention to tha salient facts of the life and’ character of King Alfred the Great, called into promi- nence at this time by the approaching thousandth anniversary of his relgn. A. P. Winston describes sixteenth cemtury trusts, showing that such combinations are no new thing under the sun and ex- plaining in detall how they originated, spread and finally fell—generally by their own sheer weight. H. D. Sedgwick Jr. sends a letter from Italy, - deseribing graphically the present conditions and dealing especially with some soclal and Socialistic features. In New Orleans and Reconstruction, Albert Phelps arraigns the North for its treatment of that city. He describes the unique culture and re- finement of the ante-bellum city; “the weary period of oppression, robbery aad ruin,” that fell upon it from the “Butler Yankees” and their successors, “the Car pet-Baggers,” down to the time when President Hayes withdrew the “Federal™ troops and the long struggle was- over, closing with a sketch of the city to-day. T. J. J. See describes in popular vein the limits of the stellar universe—the probable size, number and distribution of the stars. Kate Stephens analyzes the typical New England woman, while Caro- line Ticknor draws an amusing contrast between the modern Gibson gfrl and her old-fashioned steel engraving predecessor. L. P. Smith in “An Old Diary” and Row- land E. Robinson in “A Quaker Boyhood™ give cuaint and curfous pictures of tho character and habits of Quakers In two far separated generations. Miss John- ston’s “Audrey” quickens fits pace and begins to glow with romantic interest, while Miss Jewett's “Tory Lo r.”" ap- proaching its end, enters upon Scenes of touching pathos and intense action. Eu- gene K. White treats some aspects of the Pan-American Exposition. with espe- cial reference to the marvelous electric display there shown. G. 8. Wasson and others contribute short stories. The num- ber also contains a notable group of out- door poems by favorite and prominent authors, and the entertaining Contribu- ters’ Club. The Observer in The Literary Era for July has something to say about newly adopted words. “A curious speculation might be started as to what words now in current use, but unknown to the dictionary of to-day, will force acceptance from the dictionary of to-morrow. The accident of the Transvaal ‘war brought into our daily speech amum- ‘ber of South ‘African words of Dutch or- igin, sueh as ‘kopje’ and ‘veldt) which previously had found meager tolerance only in books of travel. The latest sup- plement to Webster’s Dictionary, issued about six months ago, opened wide its doors to a large number of these. The Century, the Standard and other diction- aries, of course, do not contain the major- ity of them. The popularization of golf and of bridge whist has Invited lexico- graphical sanction to a number of verbal barbarities. Science almost daily spawns novelties of nomenclature which may or may not be fecundated through the gen- eral lust for exact expression. Slang, the garbage of speech, often possesses the fer- tilizing qualities of the manure heap. So it will be seen there are innumerable av- enues of all sorts through which new words may arrive to knock at the portal of the dictionary. “Talking of slang. here is an American word that is something like half a century old—it occurs in Haltburton, If T am not mistaken—and is of widespread use among Uncle Sam’s nieces, yet has received no recognition from any authoritative dic- tionary issued in America. I refer to ‘conniption fit.” Bartlett's ‘Dictionary of Americanisms’ has a short entry under this head. So has Murray’s great Eng- lish Dictionary, the latter classing it as ‘“vulgar U. S’ Now, although the term ba slang and an Americanism, it has passed out of the province of the merely vulgar. Sure am I that T have heard it from lips whose dainty refinement would stir dell- cious tremors ‘n the blood of the dullest pedant. Neither Bartlett, by the way, nor Professor Murray has made any attempt to trace the word to its origin. Full well do I know that the path of the amateur etymologist, though rosy to the eve, is thorny to the feet. Nevertheless, with barefaced and barefooted effrontery, rush- ing in where Bartlett and Murray ha feared to tread, I shall make the amateur- ish suggestion that conniption is a corrup- tion of catnipian, and results from femi- nine observation of the way of a cat with the catnip leaf. Any thorns which good friends of keener acumen may choose t strew before me will be howlingly acqui- esced In as righteous retribution for un- rightedus presumption. Look you, I put my best foot foremost and challenge the world, the age and the Literary Era.” Books Received. TWO COUSINS AND A CASTLE—By Mrs. H. Lovett Cameron. F. M. Buckles & Co.. New York. Price $125. THE MYSTERIOUS BURGLAR—By George E. Walsh. F. M. Buckles & Co., New York. Price $125. AN AFFAIR IN THE SOUTH SEAS— By Leigh H. Irvine. Payot, Upham & Co.. San Francisco. THE SEAL OF SILENCE—By Arthur R. Conder. D. Appleton & Co., New York. Price $1. WINSLOW'S NATURAL_ ARITHME- TIC—By Isaac O. Winslow, M. A. Ameri- can Book Company, New York. Book [ 30 cents: book II, 40 cents; book III, 3 cents. The Books Reviewed ON THIS PAGE Can Be Obtained at ROBERTSON'S, | 126 FOST STREET, SAN FRANCISCO. | i , Prices are always in the Reading Notices. A. M. ROBERTSON,