davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11
THE Ten BEST POEMS.

An interesting though perplexing task for
the fancy OF erudition is here proposed:
''TO the Editor Of the Sun-SIR: Will you
please name the best ten short poems in the
English language? II. D."
Before the choice is attempted we must
agree what poem is short. Compared with
the great epics, "Comus aGd Sonrab" and
"Rustum" are short. Compared with the
latter, sLycidas" and the pied Piper' are
have to be among the ten. "DAllegro" and
"Blenheim" are shorter still. But, interrupt
ing our correspondents wishes by his words,
we will choose from the truly short only. In
so doing. it will be well to say that, to prevent
the list from being swamped by Shakespeare
or Milton, we will take but one poem from
EACH Again, that one will be chosen some
what arbitrarily, without prejudice to Its
rivals. With these preliminary explanations
we venture upon selection:
Sonnet, 'When in Disgrace" (Shakespeare)
"Bannockburn" tBurnsl.I
"The Tiger" (Blake).
'Pibroch of Donald Dhu" (Scott.
"Bugle Song" (Tennyson).
Sonnet "When Consider" (Milton).
"Hohenlinden" (CampbelD.
"Brahma" tEmerson)
'At the Church Gate" (Thackeray).
"Gunga DIN" (Kipling).
The list of others, running from more un-
alloyed sentiments to more intense and purely
distilled poesy is by means brief But.
looking among the short poems bearing the
the picturesque, the lyrisally complete, the
intellectually impressive. and the passion-
ately inspiring, the ten given above are cer-
tainly very powerful claimants for their
places. And what marvellous lot they arel-
New York Sun.
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11
FAMOUS TOBACCO USERS.

A book lately published in London gives
much interesting Information about tobacco
users; 1t is by an anonymous writer, and is, as
its title-page asserts IAN amusing miscellany
OF fact and anecdotes relating to the great
plant in all its forms and uses" The book is
appropriately n amed Tobacco Talk
Many great names are given TO men who
smoked. 1t is doubtful whether Shakespeare
was smoker or not, and a reason Tor his b.
staining is found in the fact that his patro
King James l, was one OF the earliest anti-to-
pacconlsts. Ben Jonson was a smoker. Ma
pOleon once said that tobacco-s m oking was
ha bit only fit to amuse sluggards. This re-
mark was somewhat in the nature of "sOur
grapes" the great man being unable to forget
the effect of his first cigar John Milton
smoked pipe of tobacco every night before
retiring. Richard Fletcher, Bishop of Lon
don, was the rst kaown churchman to smoke
in England. Talley rand Iook snuff, and ex-
cused himself by saying that all diplomats
ought to take snuff, a. ii afforded pre- text for
delaying reply with which one might not be
ready.
Mazzini always kept cigar burning as he
wrote Guizot, the French historian, said that
smoking had prolonged his lite ten years.
Pepys In his diary, states that he forced
10 use tobacco during the great plague as a
dsinfectant; he bought some roll tobacco to
smoke and chew, which took away the appre-
est and coarsest tobacco and called it his
"eTening comfort" and "morning curse; he
once expressed a wish that mis- last breath
might be drawn through pipe and exhaled
1n pun.
In 1912 Pope Urban VII issued bull against
the use of tabacco in churches, threatening
any one with excomm unication who dis
obeyed.
Among other famous men who are men
toned as universal Users of tobacco are Bis
marck, Lord Brougham, Mr.. Spurgeon, Emer-
son, Carlyle, Huxley, Victor Hugo, Bulwer,
Lytton, Tennyson, Gibbon, Charles Kingsley,
Dickens and Thackeray. On the other hand,
many great men have been opposed to the use
OF the weed.
Some of these were Voltaire, Rousseau, Mira
beau and Swtnburn-, who is quoted as saying:
"James 1 was knave, a tyraut, TOOL, liar
and a coward; but love him, L worship him.
because he slit the throat OF that ackguard
Raleigh who inven ted filthy smoking"
This TRADE is qualified by another writer.
who says that tobacco has made more good
husbands good men, kind masters and indul-
gent fathers than any other blessed thing on
this universal earth.
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11
WESTERN CHARACTERS.

THE MISTRESS OF THE RANCH - By
frederick Thickstun Clark. New York: Har-
per S Bros. For safe by a. NJ. Robertson, Post
street, Z ~. Price 81 20.
Rich conversations in the dialect of Western
ranch lie, with the dialect unusually wei
done, are the iesture of this novel, which
together with strong character drawing make
it worth commencing. The mistress of the
ranch is a sweet, illite. ate girl, who comes out
to take possession of the land and stock left
her by her bro ther. She is accompanied by a
sister OF such forward imperious manner that
people mistake her for the ranch mistress. On
this error hang many of the strong ana anus
ing incidents of the story. A splendidly done
character from a Western standpoint is that
of cowboy in charge of the ranch, whose
masterfulness tempered by good-nature leads
him to victory in many sharp encounters with
the vixenish would-be mistress of the ranch
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11
BY KIPLING'S SISTER.

A PINCHBECK GoDDESS-By Mrs. ]. NJ.
Fleming (Alice NJ. Kiping). d. Appleton d. Co.,
New York. Price 30 cents For SAFE by William
Doxey, Palace Hotel, san Francisco
The wide fame of Rudyard Klpling a mas
ter in the art of storytelling has undoubtedly
paved the way for the favorable reception OF
this new novel by his sister. Kipling is a
name to conjure with. The mere sound or
sight of it will draw attention to any work
that bears the name upon its title page, and
thousands W i'll read the book out of curiosity
TO see what sort of work the sister of so rare g
genius is capable of doing.
Those who read it expecting from her some
thing worthy of the relationship will not be
disappointed, for the book is far and away be-
yond the ordin aryin story telling. Her style
is SO very different from her brothers
that she can advance into fame with
out there being any necessity for
drawing comparison of their rela-
tive merits. Doubtless as tastes differ so
widely there viii be many good judges
OF literature who would divide ON the
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11
IN THE DARK CONTINENT.

iHE DAY OF RESIS-By Lillian Francis Mem
1oL. u. w. Dillingham; Company, New FORK.
Price 81 80. For 'sa by William Doxey Pal
ace Hotel, San Francisco.
story of wild adventure in the heart of
Africa is told in this book with evidently no
intent to tell anything that was at all prob
able party of Americans go through
the Dark Continent seeking the strange
Land OF On, which they believe is cut off
from all communication with the rest of the
world. After terrible dangers and sufferings
from privation they discover the Land OF On,
and are fessted by the King and The natives
who think the white people have descended
from some other planet. There are no old or
feeble people among the Onites and the visit
ors learn that the habit of the natives is to
kill all the old The Americans find won
derful land of enormous diamonds The book
is full of tales OF peril and improbability
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11
NOT ON THE MAPS.

THE FASCINATION OF THE KING-By Guy
Boothby. Chicago; Rand, McNally d co. Price
81 50.
The king whose fascination forms the
ground work for this altogether fanciful ia e
is his Majesty, Marie 1, King of the Medangs.
1t win be very pardonabie ignorance On the
part OF the reader If he does not know where
his Majesty's kingdom is. Even the author
OF the book is somewhat hazy as to the situa-
ton of the land of the Meuangs, but he locates
it vaguely somewhere i'll Asia, probably be-
tween India and China. The fascnat ting
kings government. we are assured, is recog-
nized by the great powers of Europe. His
Majesty, Marie, was Venetian, and he be-
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11

came king by sheer force of ambition, courag
and intelligence, combined with a wonderful
power OF attraction. He went into the coun-
try when 1t was in state of disorder, the
result of faulty administration, and made
himself such power that upon the native
kings death he proclaimed himself monarch,
securing himself on the throne despite his
foreign birth.
An English lord, while visiting Venice with
his sister, met this strange sovereign. The
sister, Olivia, who had been rated as the most
beautiful woman in London, falls in love with
Marie, aud accepts his offer to share his
1
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11
NEWS AND REVIEWS OF THE WORLDS LATEST LITERATURE

question as TO which of the two was the best
story writer. 1t is most too early yet 10 pro-
nounce judgment. Kipling has made his
fame. and his sister is just trying her wings as
IL were IN trial flight into the world OF litera-
ture Musicians tell US that the great BODY of
the public love that music most which is a
selection of the best they have repeatedly
heard. 1t is not because something new
could not be found of equal merit. but that
the more subtle beauties come slowly to
the apprehension of the average ear. So in
measure 1t is in literary styles, and when
Ahce klpling has written more and we grow
iamllar with her work, its exceilencies may
ooth increase and be more fully felt until she
iairiy rivals her famous brother.
Ihe scene of the story is laid in India
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11
SHORT PAPERS ABOUT PRATTLERS.

THE CHILDREN - BY Alice Meynell. John
Lane, The B0dley Head. New York and Lon
don. Pric 81 %. For sale by William Doxey,
Palace Hotel City.
Bodey Head this little book is artistically got
up. II consists of number of pretty essays
about cnildren and their charming talk. The
author is woman who can think and write
well enough to make her thoughts worthy of
transference TO Othe- minds, and the process
is effected in smoothly flowing sentences whI ch
cause no jar to the readers literary nerves.
Here are two samples of original child express
sions: A little girl dictates in letter to a
cousin, 81 hope you enjoy yourself with your
loving dolls" Another tiny phrase-maker
saws, "Id better go. bettern,t L mother 2,
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11
SOME SHORT POEMS.

BELLS-By Margaret E. Sangster New
YORK: Harper & Bros. FOR sale by A. NJ. Rob
eHtson, Post street, City. Price ST. 25
In this little volume is a collection of very
brief poems which have for their inspiration
Home. Hope. Household Love, Comfort and
Heaven. Here is a sample in g few lines:
A CoQUETTE.
am never in doubt of her goodness
am always afraid of her mood
1 am never quite sure of her temper,
For willfulness runs in the blood.
You may Call her coquette If it please you,
Enchanting, IL shy or if bold,
Is nv darling my winsome wee iassie
Whose birthdays are three, when all told
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11
THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE.

HORACE EVERETr-By the Marauise Clara
LAMA g. w. Dillingham; Company, New ork.
Price 81 90 For sale by William Doxey, Pal
ace Hotel. san Francisco
Horace Everett was neglected by his mother
during his boyhood, but he repays her with
Kindness when he grows up, even TO the ex-
tent OF renouncing his betrothed in order to
support the mother, who has very extrayagant
tastes. The heroine, Cynthia Mortimer. who
is beloved by Horace, is described as one of
the sensitive and grandly sacrificing type who
prefers to be mans helpmeet rather than his
rival. Fortune favors the hero. so that in the
end he is able both to care for his mother and
marry the woman of his choice. The book is
of average merit
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11
AN AMERICAN CLASSIC.

TWICE-TOLD TALES - By Nathaniel Haw-
thorne. Maynard. Merrill d Co., New York.
selection OF seven of this great American
authors short stories are given in this little
volume in very clear print 1t is one of May
nard's English classic series, and con ntains
brief Biographical sketch and some critical
opinions. OF Hawthorne Henry James well
said: "His work is too original to pass away.
Among men OF Imagination he will ALWAYS
have his niche"
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11

Ian Maclaren has written two papers, giving
his impressions of America which will ap-
pear exclusively in the Outlook.
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11

Some CORES pondence between Burns and
Mrs. Dunlop, which discovered not long
ago, is expected 10 appear in print tnis year.
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11

Messrs. E P. Dutton IL Co. will issue THE
Life and Letters of enjamin Jowett, NJ A,
Master OF Balliol College. Oxford by Evelyn
Abbott and Lewis Campbell.
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11
LITERARY NOTES.

The Macmillan Company announces new
volume by Shailer Matthews entitled 1.-THE
Social Teachings of Jesus an ESSAY on Chris
tian Sociology"
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11

Byronic revival seems to be coming. Sew
eral complete editions of the poet are an
nounced, of which the edited by Mr..
Henley is receiving much attention for its
scholarly notes.
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11

Mr.. Laurence Hutton has for years made q
specially of the collection of death-masks OF
prominent men. His collection OF some sixty
such masks has just been contributed 10
Princeton University, ana includes those of
Napoleon, Washington. Lincoln, Thackeray,
Daniel Webster Queen Elizabeth, Dean Swift,
Coleridge, Laurence Sterne. Keats, Professor
Richard Owen, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Sir
Isaac Newton, Dion Boucicault, John Nc
Cullough, General Sherman, Harry Edwards,
Lawrence Barrett, Mary Queen OF Scots, Henry
Clay John c. Calhoun, Walter Scott, Edmund
Burke, Sir Thomas More, Oliver Cromwell.
Robert Burns, Robert Bruce, Aaron Burr, Ed
mund Kean, David Garrick, Frederick the
Great, Robespierre, Murat Mirabeau, Beeth-
oven, Mendelssohn, Haydn, Wordsworth,
Charles II, Napoleon III, Goethe. Luther and
Dante.
An English writer calls attention to the fol-
lowing advertisement which appeared in the
Ather@um of England. He thinks it suggests
a new field of EN- mployment for successful au-
thors When the creative spirit temporarily
deserts them they can turn their attention to
the work of tuition. Here is the advertise
ment:
"WANTED-A welLknown Author to give
Advertiser Postal Lessons in Novel Writing.
State Terms.
ITO AUTHORS, NovELIsTs, EssAYIsTs,
E1C.-1oung beginner seeks tuition In liter
ary methods and guidance in the formation of
style, more especially with a view to short
story writing"
"There is delicious brevity in the express
sion state terms" says the English Critic.
"I wonder, however, that the literary beginner
did not suggest a system OF payment by re-
suits The successful teacher might be en-
titled to claim a fair percentage of the ear n
ings of his pupil during the first few years of
his literary career, and royalty on the sale
of his novels"
The San Francisco call., 1897-04-11

The following advertisement, which is
copied from an Australian paper, published
III sydney, reveals curious multiple want:
"Wanted-A man abe TO teach French and
the piano and look after a bull"
The record-union., 1897-09-26

man makes a victim of the earnest,
home-loying man; the slovenly, care
less woman who cannot keep house
manages to attract a man who loves
cleanliness, beauty, and order in all
things, and happiness is never found
at that hearthstone All this misery
could easily be avoided.
How long have you known your
husband?" said one woman to another
Twelve years. was the reply
Why, l thought you were engaged
for several years before your mar
riage?"
so I was said the married woman,
with sigh, "but 1 never knew John
till l got married to him."
No matter how long the courtship,
people generally are total strangers to
each other when they stand up before
minister and promise to live together
| as husband and wife until death parts
them. They have discussed Shake
speare and Browning, and if married
life were a Shakespeare club or
Browning society, all would be we'll
with them. But he has a certain ideal
of Wifehood and home life, and of this
ideal she is as ignorant as he is of
Sanskrit or Hottentot. She, too, has
her idea of what a husband and a home
ought to be, but she never talks to her
betrothed on such commonplace themes
as this
They take the leap in the dark at
fiower-decked altar, and, in nine
out of ten cases. add another
figure to the sum total of
unhappy marriages. Marriage in
the latter half of the next century
will have far less of the element of
uncertainty than it now has. This will
be brought about mainly by having
the conventions of society so amended
as to permit people to get acquainted
with each other before marriage.
! Everybody has two personalities; one
is an elegant, cultured individual of
easy manner and amiable speech, who
discusses poetry and philosophy in the
drawing room; the other is a plain. or
binary man or woman, full of Whims
and fancies and habits, who growls if
breakfast is five minutes late and re-
proves the servant if the coffee isn't
strong enough and hot enough. 1t is
this latter individual who is response
BILE for the failures of so many mar
riages, and there should be some legal
or social writ of habeas corpus or sum-
mons that would bring this hidden self
to light during the days of courtship.
1t would be an uncanny intrusion.
But the number of inharmOniOus
marriages would be immensely reduc-
| ed-NeW York Times
The record-union., 1897-09-26
How Humboldt Slept.

How many hours sleep does man
want? In the new number of Cos
mopolis," Professor Max Muller records
an interesting statement of Alexander
Won Humboldt on this subject. "As
get old" he said Il want more sleep,
four hours at least. When 1 was young, "
he continued, two hours of sleep were
quite enough for me-"
Professor Max Muller ventured to eX-
press doubts, apologizing for differing
from him on any physiological fact. 1T
is quite a mistake" he said, though it
is very widely spread, that We want
seven or eight hours of sleep. When
was your age, simply lay down on the
sofa. turned down my lamp, and after
two hours sleep was as fresh as ever"
If Humboldt was speaking seriously
and the habits he described We're con-
tinued for long periods, the experience
is certainly remarkable, for he did an
immense amount Of work and lived to
be so It may almost be said that he
lived to be 17S, for he certainly lived at
least twice as many waking hours as
most of mankind.
The record-union., 1897-09-26
DOG RoUTs BURGLARS.
They Try to Hold Up William
Schneider in His Saloon.

William Schneider's Great Dane dog
tugged at his chain at y o'clock Sun
day night, when his owner began to
count the cash receipts of the saloon
at 1901 Halstead street.
Keep still there" said Schneider;
"I'll let you loose in a minute"
Then the saloon proprietor turned to
his bartender and ordered him to hurry
and close the place. The latter obeyed,
as had the dog, and the two men were
preoccupied when the saloon door open
ed and three men wearing masks and
carrying revolvers entered.
"Robbers'' shouted Schneider. Then
he dropped his money and ran to the
rear wall of the saloon. The Great
Dane dog leaped to meet him, and
Schneider seized the chain. By a dex-
trous stroke he unfastened a snap and
then he shouted Sick 'em!"
The big dog sprung at the masked
robbers. There were three explosions
of as many revolvers, and three bullets
flew past the rearing animal, past
Schneiders head and buried themselves
in the wall of the saloon.
The saloonkeeper urged his dog for
ward, although there was no need for
it. The Great Dane seized one of the
robbers, tore a big hole in his clothing
and another in his leg.
The injured highwaymen cried out as
if in pain and this led to a more de-
termined effort on the part of the rob
bers to kill the dog. Schneider and his
bartender sought other means of de-
fense. while the faithful dog sprung
repeatedly at the thrOats of the high
waymen. Before he was successful in
getting a fail grip with his teeth
bullet from one of the masked mems
weapons tore a hole in his breast and
he fell unconscious.
His attack, however, had saved his
masters cash. The robbers, as soon
as they saw that their fourfOoted foe
had fallen, dashed out of the saloon,
leaving the uncounted money in plain
view. In their efforts to kill the dog
they had fired fifteen shots, emptying
their revolvers.
The dog is fatally hurt. 1t has taken
many prizes at dog shOws.-Chicago
Record.
The record-union., 1897-09-26
For the Record-Tnion.
Transmigration.

20 glorious world of glistening color'd
light
A gem of silent thought within thee
glOWs
Expectant on the red lips of a rose,
Fit couch for jewel, ah! so richly bright"
On softest velvet, sparkling in the might
OF summers morn, it trembling smaller
Since life, which comes of Time to Time
e'er gces.
Fen life. which in that pearl of pure de-
light
Where (true as words are living thought
inclOsed)
A wistful Peri's soul imprisoned sighs
For sweet release from penance long i'm
posed
Signs lest its world should fall for then
II dies.
Winged spirit. do not fear; loves warm
wind blows"
The dewdrop fades in air: then Heaven
ward goes.
Caaya al
The record-union., 1897-09-26

play out of the story of Tom Gallons
novel "Tatterley," and the piece is
likely to be tried in London before long.
The Berlin police have prohibited the
performance of Hermann Sudermann's
latest drama, Johannes because il is
based on the story of John the Baptist.
The dramatist has appealed against
this decision. and will give d recital
of his drama before an invited audience,
consisting of literary men. The police,
in the order issued by them, state that
pieces founded on Old or New Testa-
ment characters will not be permitted.
The new melodrama which Haddon
Chambers and Comyns Carr have writ
ten tcr the London Adelphi Theater
deals with the Waterloo period. 1t
shows the Duchess Of Richmonds ball
on the eve of the battle and the bat
tlefeld after the fight. The motive of
the piece is the search by son after
the betrayer of his mothers honor.
1T is astonishing what can be done
with tune without altering note,
says 4 writer in the London Musical
IItES. CQIll6 lille edSO II W c1o 1C-
ported that the natives of the west
coast Of Africa were dancing and sing
ing 'Ta-ra-ra- boom decay with the
same mad delight that it inspired in a
more intellectual race. I strongly sus-
pect that if the tune were now noted
down from q native singer, We should
find a certain West African flavor i'm
parted to it which the composer never
dreamed of"
Mrs. Shadlock's excellent book, The
Pianoforte Sonata" has received the
welI-nerited compliment Of a German
translation
Olga Nethersole has a new piece by
A. w. Cattle, author Of The Trans
gressor," and will give it a trial soon
in the English provinces.
Mrs. Patrick Campbell. whose recOv-
cry from severe sic kness was announced
recently, will resume acting in the au-
tumn under the management of Forbes
Robertson at the London Lyceum. She
will be seen then presumably as
Ophelia
= y
The London Shaftesbury Theater will
be opened in October under the man
agement of Mr.. Musgrove with an
adaptation from one of Dumas plays,
in which the principal parts will be TAX
en- by Kyrle Bellew and Mrs. Brown
Potter.
THE Trainers Daughter is the name
of a new spectacular racing drama by
Cecil Raleigh and Seymour Hicks.
Hamlet" 1.-THE Merry Wives of
Windsor and "Trilby'' are the plays
which Beerbohm Tree proposes to pro-
duce during his coming engagement at
Sarah Bernhardts Renaissance Thea
ter, in Paris.
It is said that Eleanora Duse has de-
termined to act in an Italian adapta-
ton of Julian Fields Loves Victory"
in one of the pieces in the possession
of Daniel Frohman.
E. S. Willard has begun rehearsals
in London of THE Physician" H. A.
Jones' play, in which he is to appear
in New York in October.
Alma Tadema will design the scenery
and costumes of Beerbohm Trees re-
vival in London of Julius Caesar"
The record-union., 1897-09-26
Amply E1ucidated.

Nanny" said Pickaninny Jim,
what does white folks mean when dey
talks oh language habbin' lots o shades
O meanin? %
'Doan you know what dem is?"
mo, nanny"
We'll, III illustrify. Dah's yoh uncle,
he 4 black man; yoh fathah he's a
dark skin man. Yoh oldest brothers s
a brown skin man, an yoh next broth
er's a bright skin man. An dar you
Washington Star.
Greece has a population of 2,433, SOC
Il 266. SIC males and 1,169, 800 fe-
males.