The times., 1897-07-25

sponsib.llty On the part OF authors. enope
to see the literary guild consider seriously
so rational and practical suggestion as
Mr. Putnam has elaborated. tSew York:
G. P. Futnam's Sons. Washington Bren-
tanoj
The literary woild has recently been
studying over the maternal possibilities or
Puritan old maid. There was Louisa Nj.
Alcott Miss as you know, one Of the
most exemplary women Of her generation,
gentle, kindly, brainy and maidenly. The
young loved her because OF herself and her
stories and because their elders pointed to
her as sort CT uncanonized literary
saint. And she was.
But the other day copyright notice was
published disclosing that Mr.. ]. S. p
Alcott was the son of Louisa Alcottl The
intelligence shook New England TO the
very fundaIncntsof Plymo ith Rock Louisa
Alcott was then motherl There was
not reading circle in Boston or sewing
circle in Lynn, or any sort of a circle any
where else, that didn't put its various
heads together in excite won derment a s
10 whether those lying newspapers had
been al it again, or had Miss Alcctt actually
succeeded in palning off meek sanctity
all her life through. and had even escaped
with "a first-class funeral and many post
moItem praises.
Jeanette Watson Glider cracke the nut.
She exposed the facts in the Critic, and
the very next week Miss Alcott's publish
ers wrote back this Socratic reply: Miss
Alcott was never married but that does
not prevent her from having a son. 1t is
not even new woman fad. Did you
ever hear of woman adopting a son 10
inherit tue same right and property S a
natural SOM"
Thus is the Alcott scandal exploded.
Living out Of Boston has its compensa-
sions. The Alcott affair for the moment
cclipsed another and far grayer matter,
bat the beaneaters have valiantly returned
To their nuttons, which muttons is an in
scription on a monument 10 be erected in
the littlecity of 1.-THE three hills" Hrarken
to the Boston Tran script:
"Thirtyfive men gave the money for
monument about which $4,000 men are
now worrying. The anxiety is all due
10 four Latin words, which have for years
done service as the motto of the Society
of the Cincinnati. First one error is de
tected and then another.
'Omnia relinquit servare rempublicam'
at first seemed TO us beautiful inscrip-
ton, as suited to q memorial OF Col. Shaw
as was tie inscription of Simonides to the
memory OF the heroes OF Thermopylae. The
first unhappy discovery was that in Latin
the simple infinitive cannot express pur.
| pose, and that the wording should be
ut servaret rempublicam' or 'servat' pre-
eeded by semicolon. We have received
a few score of different suggestions as
to the best Met hod OF relnedying that
error.
Next ii was discovered that 'Tatriam,
not 'rempublicam,' should have been used.
On this point the knowing differ with
the weight of testimony in favor of the
word not ON the monument, Then came
the suggestion that 'servire,' not 'servare,'
should have been used. Then somebody Y
proclaimed that the singular verb dis
played snobbishness, and that the cdlored
troops as well as their commander should
be included In the appreciative inscription
| Other adverse criticisms are expected by
each mail. The inscription is called NOR
| tifying, awkward inartistic, disgraceful
and outrageous. st. Gaudens was twelve
| years in executing the memorial. Weknow
now why he was so long in finishing it,.
| lie was trying TO see how many shocking
errors he could immortalize in four words
A Presbyterian missionary in Tang Chow
! OF the name OF Sheffield, has invented
| Chinese typewriting machine. AS there are
| $4,000 characters in the language, OF
| which from 1000 TO 5000 are in com
mon use. the inventor has had no easy
| task The machine was made in Hart
| ford, Conn, and is said to have been re-
| ceived with delight in China. A gentleman
| intere sted in one of the popular American
| typewriters told me that he had sold hun
| dreds of machines iii Japan. Fitted
with japanese characters?" I asked. "In-
deed, no." he replied They wouldn't
| have them If they Were. The japanese are
| all learning English, and most OF their com
| mercial correspondence is carried on in
that language" This marks the difference
in the national characteristics Of the two
| countries.
John Lane enjoys a parody even on his
| own books. He has published them before,
| and he announces another. Richard lie
| Gallienne-s &c uest of the Golden Girl, is
| TO be made fun of in 'The Quest of the
| Gilt-edged Girl" by Richard de Lyreenne
With the pa ssing and inevitable eXterlnl,
nation of the Indian, there is slipping away
| a mine OF legend and lore superstitous and
myths, foundations for almost literature
in themselves, literature of unequivocal
| infa al,ra for