The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 28, 1902, Page 12

12 THE SUNDAY CALL WEESES X% Louts has been lald up morrhage and is not cruel blow just when well with ‘“‘Anne. n to his bedside this morning te, “Allow me to introduce to h mbiey!” He was leaning ::lflt Au‘ndml to which he called my at- ten It was the ome Sir Percy Shelloy jve him; my mother had taken all the up- “‘“1 ‘ut il bet: too warm for this ur- e putting in Intlek of woven COCOAN! which is very neat and pret le besides. He cannot spesk Dor forward to write for fear of starting & emorrhage, and yet he does not look Il at all. Hg is tanned a good brown, hes & % color and very ).lght eves. In iliness he pever pale; as he lles back against the rest in bhis blue and white Japanese kimono, with & wide red sash so fresh and bright. looking &t you with such & pleasant, smiling face, it is hard to realiza he Is In great da i He has a slate by bis side and writes non- sense on it m a rose-garden invalld wreathed In weak smiles.”” To & visitor who asked “How are you?' he wrote. *'Mr Dumbley 18 no better and be hanged to h To pass the time I showed him how to ma a b and c on the hands, we ware Ket- ting some entertainment out of It whea sud- denly the brilliant idea struck us both to @ictate “"Anne’’ in the deaf and dumb aipha- bot! It was siow work, and I often made mistakes, but we got on jretty well to the cxtert of five pages. A man whe could compose and dictate a story under such circumstances as those could hardly fall of success. But then Stevenson threw his heart and soul into his writing. To him It was life. It is & fact that Balzac, the great French novelist, would often become 50 engrossed in his work that even after he had left his desk his oharacters and their doings would haunt him and as he walked down a public street he would be seen carrying on an animated conversation with some imaginary character of h story, some character that to him had be- come #0 real that his mind’s eye had pro- nounced it an actuality. That Stevenson also conjured his dream-figures into ma- terial form is evident from the following: I have been writing to Louls’ dictation the story of “Anne de St Ives.'' (This story Was finished, except the iast three chapters, and CONDUCTED BY B. G. LATHROP published under the name of St. Ives—a young Frenchman in the time of Napoleon) Some . days we have worked from 8 o'clock until 4, that is not counting the hours when Louls HOSE who are at all familiar with rils “snd Takes hotes In the early morn: any of the works of Robert Louls ing by lamplight. He dictates with great Btevenson will take keen enjoyment earnestness and when particularly Intere:ted in & book that has just appeared ubconsclously acts the part of his characters. from the press of Charles Scrib- When he came to the description of the sup 3 Anne has with Flora and Ronald he bowed a3 mer's Sons, New York, undér the title of ), dictated the hero's speeches and twirlel “Memories of Vallima." This is the joint his mustache. When he described the inte:- work of Isobel Strong and Lloyd Os- View between the old lady and the drover he bourne, the stepchildren of Robert Louis. It will be rememberéd that Mrs. Strong spoke in & high voice for the one and a deep growl for the other, and all in broad Scotch was the wife of the late popular club- man and artist, so well known here in even to “coma” (comma). isco, Joe Strong. When Louls was writing “Ballantrae” my mother said he once came into her room to look in the glass as he wished to describe a Both Mrs. Strong and Mr. Osbourne certain haughty,' disagreeable expression of participated in the delightful life of Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson at thelr Samoan home, “Vallima"—that rthly paradise— his hero's. He told her he ectually sxpactel to which Robert Louls, the invalld, was 1o soe the master's clean-shaven face and ed head, and was quite disconcerted at obliged to exile himself that he might breaking that slender thread Percicing only nis own refiection What Stevenson thouxnt of literature as a profession is interesting and may prove some &onsolation to the struggling aspi- ch for so many years had but raent who would fain reach the heights of ed to hold him to the earth. guccess but must content himself with the nt volume has some very thought that his work has a broadening ses written in 1§22 by Mr. jnfluence even if it is not rewarded with itz man interest centers the monetary returns that ¢ attend cle by Lioyd Osbourne desctid- popular approval. What he has to say of fe at Vailima, and more writing in general could be digested to in that part of the book, gdvantage by any of our knights or la- er the heading of “Vailima dies of the pen: Mrs. Btrong gives parts of | asked Louls why painters, kept during those delightful days much tae e was acting as Mr. Stevenson assisting him in the novels. n to these two sections of the is & pretty description of Sa- e and customs to be found in about “Pola,” the little native ) Strong adopted during her the island. Also Mrs. Strong's rein she tells of the “Samoan how and why they are written ue significance and great im- part of Samoan life and ¥ worth several readings. But the charm of “Memories of Vai- keep from of life wi who Iive et least thet had been my experfence. He offered an explanation that & enough. The study of paintin not expand the mind in any direction save one. Literature, with its study of human _nature, events and history, is a col nt “education, and in that career a man cannot stick at invariably does. He studles his one of a talent, enlarging that, perha: ening 1t but in no other direct mind work. The bank clerk, is spent in in's point and deep- his vote his lelsure to study &nd Improvement: but the painter belleves his work to be a culture, and thinks he needs no more. 1 asked Louis, in the course of a conversa- lima # in the intimate and personal (i this evening, how he defined the word lit- character, so far as it concerns Steven- erature. son; In those sections of Mrs Strong’ \3t 1a cavable of explanation, I think." he - - g said; “when you see words used to the best flazy, ~Veillms Tabls Talks’ whereln We Sort FUmt o8 o oing (bt Around & sab &et glimpses of the true Btevenson, the Jeof Also they must be true. My stories man as well as the author. Through its are mot the truth. but I try to make my lines we read the pitiful struggle of ge- nius against the advanoce of disease. We catch the kindly light that radiated from Btevenson to all those about him, not only his care and regard for his immediate characters act as they would act in life. No detall 1a too small te study for truth. Liloyd and I spent five days weighing money and making ca ons for the treasure found in ‘The Wrecker.' " 1 ssked him why Charles Reads was not famil ts kindiiness toward all the :(nnm. though his writing answered to the : scription. members of that great household of re- “MGERMIL L. oy said; “he 18 & good tainers and servants, only possible in Such writer, and 1 take off my bat to him with respect. And yet it was In oontinuity that he falled. In the 'Ebd Tide,' that Is now his foster coun- UBder way, we started on a high key, and oh, haven't we resretted it. If I wanted to say ‘he kicked his and he winked his eye’ it would be perfectly flat if I wrote it so. d, entirely disin- for the inhabitants of that war-stricken land is & matter of his- I must plle the colors on to bring it up to tory the kay, et T am wrong to liken literature 1l 3 t more like music—whic] s The diffculties that this man labored ng In music you wind under, and yet partially conquered by his indomitable pluck and epiritual energy, are well 1 rated in the following pas- Strong’s dlary, in which the sudden clutch of iliness, which comes 2s no stranger, to block thelr us: dally @ictation. This time it eccurs during the writing of the story, keep in the key: that hearer to the end without Tt winds around and keeps on. S0 must words wind around. Organized and packed In a mass, it _were, tight “with words. Not too short—phrases rather—no word to spare. “There are two kinds of style, the plastic, such as I have just described: the other, the stmple vlacing of words together for harmony. The words should come off the tongue like but in and out, is, you carry thy letting him drop by the way. i HOLIDAY SUGGESTIONS in thc Rooms of Elder and Shepard, 238 Post Street. MAIN ROOM —Books of all kinds—General Literature, Holiday Editions, Fiction and Current Publications. A discount of 20 per cent from published price save on net books. ART ROOM-—Objects of Art for the collector and lover of the beautitul. Ceramics, Erocades, Brasses, J. L S Photographs, Leather Work of Miss A. C. Crane. CHILDREN'S ROOM-—Gay with a host of bright books and pictures for the little ones. Usual 20 per cent discount. QLD BOOK ROOM —rFine Books for the Private Library In leather bindings. PUBLICATIONS of Elder and Shepard. Distinctive—Original—Important Cescriptive llustrated Catalogues upon application. Elder and Shepard, 238 Post Street,S: F —__ i R Ry S g g g e B U S ILLUSTRATED EDITION JOAQUIN MILLER'S § plete Poems ] re, an 4 ement upon his earlier But he refused that. criticise his own work h. Hut in others he had a4 the writers who began with sweetness often developed In later work rusQueness and ruggedness. do it well ™ 1 asked did!" sald Louls. *Both hakespeare are good exampies R for § Christmas i Gifts! Peych Price . We Sel! Baoks Whel:sale end 8 I were good for the youns ahesnglers emotions. coMPLETE CATA PRl mist maxe can't spend an The Whitaker & HI_V Company, § afternoon turning a single phrase he'd better 8 PUBLISHERS AND BOOKSELLERs, §§ 5''® UP the profession of Mterature. 4 785 Market st., San Franc 8 The following are some excerpts from $ R} *“Vaillma Table-Talk™ that give an excel- WOS00000550 350 22000 lent idea of the character of this particu- lar section of the Dook and Its Interesung detalls concerning life at Stevenson's isi- and home, and also show how highly he was regarded by the natives: * birthday fs the 13th of November, Was fnot well, so we postponed .- fo the 2ist. 'It was purely native, s uRual. We had sixteen pigs roasted whols round, - three enormous fish (smull s, Lioyd called them), 406 pounds af galt ditto of pork, 200 heads of taro, great banches of bananas, native delicacies done up in burdles of “'ti'" leaves, 800 pineapples, many weighing fifteen pounds, all from Lioyd's patc) oranges, tinned salmon, sugarcane and ship's biscuit in proportion. Among the pres- ents to Tusitala (this neme, meaning “'story- teller,” was given Mr. Stevenson by the na- tives); besides flowers and wreaths, were fens, native baskets, rolls of tapa, ava bowls, cocoanut cups beautifully polished, and a talking-man s staff; and one pretty girl from Tanugamanono appeared in & fine mat (the dianionds and plate of Samoa), which she wore over her simple tapa kilt, and laid at Tusi.a- la's feet when she departed. Seumanu, tho high chief .of Apia, presented Louls with the title of *‘Au-mal-taus-i-manu-vao." Yesterday and to-day we wrote steadily at ‘* Anne,” while wer news and rumors flew thick and fast around us. The captain brought us word that the s were baril- cading their h with mattresses and many natives are ta g their valuable r Mission for on the out- k Ap‘'a they woods are are occasion of drums as to the ating a war party crosses our lawn. But nothlig stops the cheerful flow of “Anne.” I put In k., between sentenaes ouis, have v pistol in the house that will to which he cheerfully a s, *No, ve have friends on both sld and on we go with the dlctation. To-cay we were in the middle.of the chap- about e claret-colored chaise (in Anne”), when we were Interrupted by the f eight chiefs. They proved to be rated poiiticalt prisoners that we had e freedom ertained t on_the e. Their | of gen- T the his ad done they of- wide con- s the Isl- Lou! painted on a boa; roads, Vedanta Philosophy. Of all the Hindoo missionaries who ha deavored to inculcate the dogmas and doctrines of the anclent Hindoo phil- osor ern ion throughout the west- world Swaml Vivekananda was at once t est orator and most pro- fuse ene! was sufficient to put an end to the bellef that the Hin- doos are b ndolent and exhausted raveled as extensively, and wrote about as any American or Eu- ime. His last contrbution ure of Hi m was the book form a serles of i ivered in London, together h two others delivered in India. The people, for of serie: by a central thought runn them <0 that they form a genuine book and not & mere com- ation of papers having no logical re- lation to one another. The purpose of the lectures is to ex- piain Vedanta phil 3 persons of stic alytical m o must have the s of logic and reason for ev- ery belief That thod of attainihg truth is kn Jnana Yoga,” and it the elucidation of that yoga, or method, of realizing divine Jnana, or wis- that the ml directs himself from first to that make up t western world talk of the bravery the you ca Eociety e series of lectures course. To the “What Is it to of your muscles, of institutions, {f square with your ot build up a society into he highest truth will fit. That so is greatest where the highest truths become practical. * * * There s a tend: n es to talk too much of works decry all thought. Doing 1s ve even that comes from think! re is no thought there w be no work. Fill the brain, therefore, with high thoughts, highest tdeals; place them day and night before you and out of work." “Lectures on Jnana Yoga,” by the Swa- mi Vivekananda. Published by the Ve- danta Seociet: ew Yorl them will come great Funds and Their Uses. A book that comes near to realizing the hackneyed saying about *“filling a long felt want” is Professor Cléveland's essay con and Their Uses.” The philosophy ance as it affects the monetary of natlons has beer elaba! 1, but we have hither- explanation of the relations of to private business, #nd the various methods in which they are made use of In time and count Professor Cleve! who holds a chat in the Wharton School of Finance and Econom; University of Pennsylvania, has undertaken to supply the lack by the n of this w . which ‘is de- to describe the methods, Instru- and i utions employed in mod- er: ncial transactions. The materials of the work are grouped three central ' ideas—What are how funds are obtained; the in- lons and agenciessemployed in fund- ing operations. The essay Is general in its nature, it being the intention of ths suthor to write Wuture essays dealing with the technical details of financial op- ns in the several departments ot anciering. In the first part of the work the various forms of money and credit used as funds and the means of. the to lacked transfer of credit funds are discussed, as a clear understanding of the nature of funds is regarded as fundamental. The second part deals with the question, “Mow Funds are Obtained,” and divides modern funding methods into two classes —those of the industrially and socia .y dependent and those of the industriaily and socially independent. The funding niethods of the first class are simple, as they can obtain funds only by gift or in- ance. The second class, however, Is engaged- in business operations and their funding methods make up the raechanism of exchar The work is profusely lliustrated with engravings of checks, notes, scrip, drafts, bonds, ete. Speciai chapters are devoted to the na- tional treasury, savings banks, building ind loan associations, trust companies, brokers and insurance companies. bie o and Their U by F. A Cleveland, Ph. D. D. Appleton & Co., New York. Frice, $125 net. The Ascent of the Soul. Psychology holds almost an €quai rank with sociology in pcpular interest iy these da so it is not surprising that we have n the subject books of every class of merit, representinrg about ever thought. prove grade of One of the kind which will popular and find a_wide circle of Ascent of the Soul,” by ord. In his preface the have ends=avored simply soul of man with something of the care that one reads the book eon- tainirg a ch he believes to be of importance. * * * My work is in to read no sense new in kind, byt it is such s one whose whoie time is devoted to dealing with the inner life wouid naturally give to the s * * * 1 have also sought e of the prophecies of the soul d them ail pointing toeward of its being beyond the death and toward the full- to rehd sc and have f a contin event call ness of C ave found ed even ed ist as the goal of humanity. I rs for the de- Protestants of the t A study of the soul, like a stidy of history, inspires optimism. It is hard to believe it could have been in- tended first for perfection and then for extinction. It is equally difficuit ‘to be- Heve that any soul will in the end be cast as rubbish to the void.” place for pray among Concerning the ascent of the soul, he . says: “The growth of the indlvidual soul is mirrored in the progress of the race. When we have learned to read aright the bistory of the world we are informed as to the interior forces that have made civ- flization. Events are the expressions of thoughts; titutlons are manifestations of soul. If there has been progress of in- stitutions there must have been equal progress in the souls which are the real forces by which progress is won." “The Ascent of the Soul.” Ry Amory T Bradford. The Outlook Company, Ne York. Price, § net. 1 George Franecis Train. George Francis Train has added another to his many speed records by dictating an account of his life at such a rate as to make up a book of mora than 100,000 words In thirty-five hours. The feat, how- ever, was not accomplished in a contin- uoys performance. He says in his pre- face: *It has been dictated In the morn- ings of July and August of the past sum- mer, one or two hours being glven to It during two or three days of each weak™ Even on that method of work the feat is one of note, and the result is a volume hat is In many respects a most interest- R Train compacted the story of his Ife into 200 words to serve him as a guide in his dictation and then went ahead. Even the brlef summary shows how r markable a career he has had . and will suggest a regret that he did not take time and patience to tell it more fully than he has done in this flying attempt at auto- Liography, which he has published under the title, “My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands." Though he no longer helds the conspicious place in the public a did during the years of his railroad building and his campaign for the Presidency, he is still -an interesting ¥ of human passibilities in the United States during the nineteenth century. He ys of himself: “Born, 4-'29. Orphaned New Orleans '33. Came North alone, four years old, to grandmother, Wa tham, Mass. Supported self since babyhood. Farmer till 14 Grocer boy two years. Shipping clerk 16. Manager 18 Partner, Train & Co. M, (Income, $10.000). Boston £2. (315.000). Established G. F. T. & Co.. Melbourne '53. Agent, Barings, Duncan & Sherman, White Star Line, (income, $95,000). Started forty clippers for Califor- nia '43. Built A. & G. W, connecting Erle with Ohio and Mississippl, 40 miles. Pioneered the first street railroad in Europe '60. Built first Paéific Rallroad, (U. P). "62-'83. Through the first trust, Credit Mobilier. Owned 5000 lots in Omaha, worth $30,00,00. Been in fiftecn Jjalls without a crime.” It is in that slap dash way Train tells his story. It is by no means a clever plece of work. The material for a gen- uinely romatic bit of autobiography that cwerld’s would have been as frankly full and egotistic as that of Rousseau or Cellini has been wasted in this effort, but still it remains a notable story. There has been just one George Francis Train known to history and he startled altke American democracy and some of the monarchs of Europe. For thirty years he has been re- garded as insane, but there is no doubt in the minds of the public that his kind of insanity is very rare and has never pre- vented him from displaying talents and energies of extraordinary vivacity and versatility. “My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands,” by George Francis Train. D. Appleton & Co. Price, $1 25 net. Lawson History of the America’s Cup There has recently been published for private distribution probably the best his- tory of international yacht racing in ex- istence. It is called ““The Lawson His- tory of the America’s Cup,” and is a rec- ord covering fifty vears of international yachting, by Winfield M. Thompson and Thomas W. Lawson. The volume shows {that neither care nor expense has been spared upon it to make it complete in every way, both as a pictoriai and writ- ten record of the cup's history. Mr, Lawson is the owner of the Inde- pendence, and the reason why he has gone to so much time and expense in pre- paring and having prepared so elaborate 2 history is brought out in the introduc- tion,-of which we quote tie following: “The America’s cup, won-at Cowes from an English fleet August 2, 1851, by the schooner America; presented as an in- ternational challenge tdophy to the American people in 1857 and ten fimes frutlessly salied for by foreign challeng- ers hefore the close of the century which gave it birth as the world-conceded blue ribbon in yachting, in the vachting sea- son of 191 was made the subject of In- ternational discussion such as never be- fore had risen in its history—a discussion touching not only the vital principles of ir ternational sport, but dealing with the very existence of the cup as tne premier emblem of sea supremacy between the two greatest maritime nations; for the custodians of the cup—trustees whese responstbility had ever sat ligntly upon them—then ruled that no ship Dbe- louging to ary American other than a member of a certain yacht club (their own) would:be permitted to defend the on's troph s owner of the American- Luiit and American-manned yacht Inde- pendence, to recognize the right of the custocians of the.America’s cup to com- pel me, or any Ameérican, to jomn dny club in order to compete for the honor of de- fending the American national trophy led to this extracrdinary ruling, which dazed the yachting world and at once brought into asking the question: ‘Has one of the great sports of America, yacht- ing, been syndicatea? *'* * *So much was demonstrated by the ‘In- episode,’” by which an epoch marked in the history of the Amer- cup, and so important did the reve- that I resolved to jea's lation appear to me, cclleet and collate not only the facts and fancies that were coming to me regard- ing the various phases of the incident in which I figured, but all other data ob- tainable about the cup, its inception as a trophy, its known history and the um-. written annals of its defense, in order that its modern status might, in my own mind, be given a proper relaton to the cvents of its past.’ The history as npw presented by Mr. Lawson will be found of the greatest vulue to those who are fortpnate enough 1o become the possessors of a copy. In order that the work might be considered in no way biased, he has devoted his own pen simply to the arduous labor of giving only the cup's histery with which he was directly connected and to a de- scription of the various conditions which at different periods surrounded it—condi- tions which made possibie the men and areumsiances centroliirg the cup from its creation to the end of the “‘Independence €pisode.” The compilation of the chrono- logical history of the cup he placed in the able hands of Winfield M. Thomp- son, a writer well known iIn yacht- irg circies. This volume as it now stands 15 a great credit to its authors, and for thoroughness and fairness will stand as an authority., It is published only for private distributicn in an edition of 3000 copies, Thoughts of Pascal. The Century ‘Company, New York, has pubiicshed in their popular “Thumb-Nail Serfe: “Selections from the Thoughis of Pascal”—a little book that should prove most suitable as a Christmas gift. The “Thoughts of Pasecal.” both in sub- stance and In interest, are very largely religious. Some of the ‘“‘thoughts” are distinetly devoticral in motif and expres- sion, while of the rest the greater part reiate directiy or indirectly to religious themes. Less conspicuous than the re- ligicus element, though intrinsically more important, is the philosophical. Pascal was a speculative thinker of originalit: and power, and many of the “thoughts™ have become famous in the history of philosophy, upon which they have exerted a marked influence. From this paint of view the book is a document of the high- est value, and will always remain such. The present issue is a new translation from the French made by Dr. Benjamin E. Smith, managing editor of the Cen- tury Dictionary, whose work has been seen before in some of the most popular little books of the “Thumb-Nail” series. The price is $L With the British Legion. The ‘“dear lads,” as he always called them, of the English speaking world will mourn the death of the late G. A. Henty as that of a personal friend. No writer has ever preached the gospel of the stren- uous life to the youth more hm than he, and the fashion of the of putting a finger in the world's ples, né matter where baked, either in military ‘Ways or as colonizers, has given material for his books. Of an adventur= ous splirit, he followed Britain's arme fes afleld, and thus and -by travel ao- quired accuracy of local coloring. For this holiday season the announcements contain three books by Henty, one of which,. “With the British Legion,” is the story of the operations of a British con- tingent of 10,000 men enlisted on the side of the Spanish Government in the Carlist rebellion of 1836, and more especially tells of the adventures of Arthur Hallett, & sturdy English lad with lots of pluck and & quick wit, that enable him to make the most of opportunities. He fights well and rises by merit, application and good luck to a commanding position, penetrates the Carlist camps, unearths plots, saves a charming maiden from death at the hands of.a rusiianly Carlist general, rescues the kidnaped young Queen of Spain and the Queen Regent, fights a duel, foils assas- sius, escapes from a monastery prison and finally, winning the rescued maiden for his wife, goes home to England rick and honored and lives the life of a coun- try gentleman. Isn't that exciting enough for any one? New York. Stage Confidences. As a gift book for the stage-struck gir! in all her variety, to the rare maid who possesses ir truth the divine spark ot dramatic genius, nothing could be mors useful and interesting than €lara Mors ris’ “Stage Confidences.” Addressed to girls, with words for their. particular needs,| Miss Morris' book is calculated at once to discourage the mere amateur and inspire the youthful Rachael to her ut- most effort In simple and picturesque fashion, her points most effectively illus- trated by anecdote, Miss Morris sets forth the daily life of an actress, its peculiar difficulties, dangers, joys, rewards. The opportunities of getting on the stage, the chances and reasons for preferment when admitted tc the profession, the trials of the wardrobe, rehearsals, lonely home- Price $1 20.) * goilngs after performances, the exigencles of study, the comparative values as schools of the “one play” and stock com- panies, the prevailing characteristics of players, each and every phase of the actress’ life is taken up in lucid and con- clse fashlon. In her opening chapter, en- titled A Word of Warning,” Miss Morris has this to say to the one girl in a thou- sand among her readers, whose whole heart and brain are bent theaterward: If there is one among my readers to whom the dim and dingy half-light of the theater is dearer than the God-given radiance of the sunlight; if the burnt-out air, with its indescribable odor, composed scemingly of several parts of cellar mold, a great many parts of dry rot or unsunred dust, the whole veined through and through with small streaks of fllumi- nating gas—if this heavy, lifeless air is The illustrations on this page are from “Memories of Vailima.” Copyright, 1002, by Charles Scri) Der's Sona. %3 e et more welcome to your nostrils than could be the clover-scented breath of the green- est pasture; If that sreat black gulf, yawning beyond the extinguished foote lights, makes your heart icap up at your throat; if without not!ng the quality or length of your part the just piain, bald fact of ‘acting something’ thrills you with nameless joy; If the rattle-to-bang of ili-treated old overture through your bleod 'and the roll the curtain on the audience at to you as mighty flower—if these are that you feel, your fate is s«-u)e‘dh.e fl:fi is imperious and through brain, heart and rerve she cries to you, ‘Act, act, act® and act you must.” The book is hand- sor;uly Hlustrated with portraits of the writer and other prominent thes; (Lothrop Publishing Company, B:s‘?)ll:.l)m — L True Fairy Stories. ook that will interest childr just published by the American 1;3331:' Company, New York, ‘“True Fairy Storfes,” by Mary E. Bakewell The stories in this book for supplementary Teading are called true fairy stories, be- Cause each illustrates an important truth. While interesting in subject matter arnd in style, they teach lessons of patience, of obedience, of courage and of fidelity to every duty. Before publication they were used for some time in the classroom and In their present form embody the resuits v : night is the magic blossoming of a (Charles Scribner’s Sons. - e ]'1!.. STEYBNscu, of this practical test. They are largely cast in the form of dlalogue, which ap- peals so strongly to the dramatic instinct of the child The {llustrations are numer- ous'and attractive. The book is the latest addition to the series of Bclectic School Readings. Price 35 cents. The Dragon of Wantley. Ten years ago Owen Wister, whoss book “The Virginian” has been one of this season’s greatest successes, wrote a fairy tale, “The Dragon of Wantley—His Tale.” It has run through several tions and now appears the fourth ed: from the pubiishing house of J. B. Lip- pincott & Co., Philadelphia. Price 312 The book as it now stands makes quits a charming holiday gift and Is worth buying for its own sake as well as for the fact that it s the previous work a now very popular author. The present volume is coplously illustrated by Jot Stewardson. n Foncin’s Le Pays de Franee. The American Book Company, New York, Has just published Fonecin's La Pays de France,” edited by Antoine Muz- zarelli, officier d’academie and author of “The Academic French Course.” Within small compass this book furnishes an epitome of the physiography, the history, the government. the people and the art sclences and literature of France. The author, Inspecteur General Foncin, has Ppresented this encyclopedic material In a form most interesting and with a style of rare purity. Apart from the great amount of useful information it contains the book s especially adapted for students from its unusually wide range of words, con- ing of over seven thousand. The notes have been restricted to proper names and expressions for which dictionaries could not sugmest a ready explanation, but the vocabulary is complete. Price cents. . New X . THE DIVINE QUESTION—By Lionel Josa- phare. A M. Rovertson, Sam Francisco. 25¢, A DAUGHTER OF RAASAY—By Willam MacLeod Raime. Frederick A. Stokes Com- pany, New York. $1 80. THE OPEN.AIR BOY—By G. M. A Hewett, R F Fen Co., New York. St S AND La “R—By Frederick A. Stokes & Co.. New York. $1. ROADSIDE FLOWERS—By Harrist M. ;!\Idmorm A, M, Rol son, San THE SPARK IN THE CLOD- Sunderiand. American Unitarian A Boston. SO cents, atton, THE BIOGRAPHY OF A PRAIRIE GIRL— By Eleanor Qates. The Cemiury Compafly, New York. $1 50, DOUGHNUTS AND DIFLOMAS—By Ga- brielle E. Jackson, L Jact an Henry Altemus Compeny,