The San Francisco call., 1897-05-16

novel. An English edition of his Lyrics of
Lowly Life will be issued shortly.
Rudyard Kipling has just delivered to the
editor OF well-known American magazine
the manuscript of new short story entitled
Number OO7."
We understand that there is to be memoir
of Coventry Patmore and that the work of
writing it, has been committed to one of his
oldest friends.
Mr.. Crockett, who has not been in very good
health has gone for walking tour in Pome-
rama, where the scene of his next novel, ''The
Red Axe" is to be laid
NJ. Francois Coppee, through i'll health, has
been obliged 10 stop all work. Having under
gone an operation. ut the last accounts ne was
at Pau, with fair chance OF recovery.
Pierre Lott has appealed through the French
press for funds to equip a number of hospital
ships upon the coast of Ireland, to which fl sh-
ermen may be taken for treatment when i'll.
number of unpublished letters by Mme de
Stael have been found which were addressed
to the Gear Alexander 1. Another discovery
is number OF letters which were sent to
Bossuet
Mr. Benson, of Dodo fame, is writing novel
of Greek life-of Greece at the time of her
sIi UsSlc Win Iuc L uI hS Sefcuty years dKO. IL
is to be published as a serial before coming out
in book form.
Ouida has already another short novel in
the press, although "Le Selve" has been out
but few weeks. The new story shows the
difficulty OF putting ideas of social equality
into practice. The title is '.The AItrust"
Rumor has run wild in talking about R. D.
Biackmore He is not, we are glad TO say, IN
earlier part of each day he is about with the
birds, tending his vines and gardens The
afternoon finds him busy with his pen.
recent sale OF books in London brought
out curious fact. 1t was presentation copy
of Keats poems, 1917, first edition, with the
autograph, TO w. Wordsworth, with the
authors sincere reverence" and brought $780,
but Wordsworth had never even cut the leaves
Mr.. Froude's Erasmus" has been translated
into Dutch. A literary Hollander complains
however, that the work is Every bad"
"Froude,'' he says, ''does not seem to have had
any knowledge of what had been written on
the subject on the Con ntinent in recent years."
Mr. Barry Pain is engaged on romantic
history of Robin Hood, and most people are
| hoping he will treat the subject with his char
! acteristic whimsicality. But as Walter Crane
| curb his sense of humor and go in for ortho-
dox medieval romance, which would be too
cruel.
Besides number of new pieces which the
volume of selections from the poems OF George
Meredith is expected to con ntain. some or the
| novelist's more recent verse-his sonnet on
hearing of Robert Browning's death, aud the
Trafalgar day poem, for instance-will be in
cluded in the volume which Constable & Co.
have in preparation.
The stained-glass window which is to be
placed in the church of the village OF Forgney,
Ireland, where Oliver Goldsmith was born
will appropriately represent scene from the
deserted Villsge" The committee formed
to carry out this object and of which Sir Wall
ter Besant was MEMBER. have raised. chiefly
| among men of letters, the sum of 675.
Among recent American books translated
into Japanese are Captain A. T. Mahan's "The
Influence of Sea Power and life of Commo-
dore NJ. C. Perry based on DR.. w. E. Grifis'
work, which, with illus trations, contains Miss
Flora Best Harris rendering into English of
"The Song of the Black Ship" which re-
sounded all over Japan when the American
squadron lay in Yokohama harbor in 1853.
Mrs. Julia Davis, who died at Clifton few
days ago at the great age of "a, was probably,
| the Athen8um points out, the last survivor
of the intimate friends of Charles Lamb. She
was the daughter of Joseph Hume of Montpel-
| lier House, Noting Hill, where Lamb, Good
| win and Hazlitt were constant guests. She
married Vice Admiral Davis, R N, and was
the mother of the late Mrs. Augusta Webster,
| the poetess.
| Mr.. Ruskin is in good health again, but still
abstains from all literary work. Ruskin and
| Emerson met at Oxford about twenty-five
I years ago, and their first Impressions of each
| other were not complimentary. 'I found En-
erson's mind total blank" said Ruskin to a
| friend, ain matters of art" 81 found myself
wholly out of sympathy with Ruskin's views,'
| said Emerson; II wonder such a genius can
| be possessed of such devil"
| Andrew Lang has somewhere said that 1t is
melancholy feature OF the present age that
| young people say they cannot read Dickens
Just as they cannot reac Scott This dialogue,
overheard in the Abbey on Saturday, lends
some color to Mr.. Langs averment: He Qn-
| structively, pointing with his cane to Dickens
P! grave)-Charles Dickens. She (hesitatingly)-
Charles Dickens. writer. wasn't he? He
| (rather impatiently)- Yes, he wrote some
tales. Shc-Just fancy!
| Russia's celebrated historian, Professor
| Alexander Buchner, is dead. He was 81 years
! of age and was born IN St. Petersburg. Pro-
| fessor Buchner was a student of Heidel berg
| ana his German tendencies continually proved
an obstacle to his advancement in Russia
| In spite of them he occupied the chair of Rus
sian history in most OF the large universities of
Russia at different times Most OF his numer-
Gus contributions to Russian history were
written in German, though few were in his
ative language.
Justin Mccarthy is in very. bad health again
| The strain involved in completing the fifth
| volume of the "History of Our Own Times"
| which is now in the hands of the publishers.
has proved too much for him and his doctor
has ordered him period of com plete rest He
will be unable to answer any letters for some
time to come. Miss Mccarthy, who has re-
lieved her father to large extent of the bur-
den OF letter-writing, Is quite unable to cope
| with the heavy correspondence and requests
| that this explanation may be made public SO
rs to prevent unne cessary disappoin tment.
We referred last week to the Grass ignorance
Of some wouid-be literary people. The follow
ing note elucidates our theory. 1t is clipped
| from the current number of ''The Bookman":
| lady, presumably young, writes follows
| from Syracuse N. V:
| "In your March number you say that unmxed
Saxon is good enough for Gurth and Wanda Who
| are Gurth AMI Wamba?"
/ Bless US and save us! What shall we say to
] this? Nothing except to advise the young lady to
| stop reading Stephen Crane and Marie Coreli 1--WE
know that she reads Marie Corellf) and to take six
months year on for the exclusive persual Of
( Sir Walter Scott