The record-union., 1897-02-07

"A writer in ''The Bookman" states, on
the authority of a correspondent in In
dia, that Rudyard Kipling's stories are
fairly popular in the barrack-rooms in
that country, but his barrack-room bal
dads and.other poems are not cared for.
The new novel by Sienkiewicz, enti-
tiled "Quo Vadis,' is in its sixth edition,
Though it has been issued only about
two months In many of the cities in
the United States it is said by THE
Bookman" to be the best-selling novel
now in the book stores.
Oh, these ministers sonsi The Rev.
DR.. Crane wrote book on Popular
Amusements' in 1869, in which he
warned the world that "novel-read ding
has become one of the great vices of
our age and advised his readers, in
italics, too, ''if you have but little time
for reading" to spend none Of it on
works of fiction" And it his own son
who has written THE Red Badge of
Courage"
New York Tribune: Not within the
memory of man has there been worse
state of stagnation in artistic matters
here than exists at the present mo-
ment. mo one is doing any business"
said an acute observer of the situation,
a few days ago, and business, after all,
has to be reckoned with in the fortunes
of the galleries. If the country is not
commercially prosperous there are few
people to buy pictures, and the dealers
sit in arid solitude. In the course of
time they even stagnate themselves.
They bring out a few new things, and
those few are unimportant."
Count Tolstoi,' says the Evening
Post is fond of music, ''but refuses to
attend any entertainment for which an
admission fee is demanded. A member
of the Bohemian quartet of Vienna re-
lates that last season he attended one
of their concerts at Moscow, remain
ing, however, in the artist room as a
special guest. He afterward invited the
club to play at his house and sent his
own sleigh for them. They were treated
to a splendid dinner, with the best of
wines, while the Count and his two
handsome daughters contented them
selves with a few vegetarian dishes.
After the club had played quartets by
Haydn, Schubert and Beethoven, the
Count, who speaks German slowly but
correctly, gave them some of his opin-
ions on music and other things. I love
music passionately,' he said. 1t is er-
roneously said that because I wrote the
'Kreutzer Sonata" did not admire that
piece Nothing could be more unjust to
me than doubling my great love of mu-
sic. Beethoven, old Haydn and Schu-
bert are my favorites. Everything writ
ten since Beethoven, in Russia as we'll
as elsewhere. is a mere hill compared
to a ChimbOrazo.' Before the musi-
clans departed he gave each of them an
amateur photograph with his auto
graph. He has never allowed a pro-
fessional photographer to take his pic
ture."
One of the sights of Brussels is the
museum of Antoine Joseph Wiertz, con-
tanning his own paintings to the num-
ber of no These paintings are char
acterized by romanticism and eccen-
tricity, and the artist himself is usually
spoken of to-day as "the crazy painter"
His whole life was devoted to his art,
and his ambition was colossal.
Edward A Abbey on Du Mauriers
art in New York HERALD: 1T has al
ways seemed strange to me that no
one has brought out in book form his
series of Dream pictures, in which he
drew a number of comical imaginary
monsters. I always considered his
drawings of children charming. I was
once asked to make the drawings for
an edition Of Stevensons 'Child's Gar
den of Verses
1T was impossible for me to do the
work at the time, but L urged the pub
lishers to engage Du Maurier for 1T, for
he was often q wanderer in that No
Mans Land in which the fancfes Of
children roam. But the matter came
10 nothing. and I've always thought
that a charming book was lost to the
world. 1 suppose If 'Trilby-a literary