The San Francisco call., 1897-06-06

the editor and proprietor OF three magazines,
viii in the autumn begin the publication of
| books for 25 cents. Though worth a dollar"
The first edition of the first book will be $780,
600 copies
The edition of Wordsworth's works which
Messrs. Macmillan & Co. have been publish
ingtn their charming "Eversley Series" will
be completed shortly by the publication of
volume VIII of the poems. and two volumes
OF the journals of William and Dorothy
Wordsworth.
Professor Henry Drummond died richer
man than many supposed. His estate has just
been returned in the Glasgow Sheriff Court at
&l1,6 ,65S 19s I'd. large proportion of this no
doubt made from the sale of his books.
| The professors will was written by himself on
one side OF a sheet of no,epaper. He be-
queathed all his property. moneys, books and
estate TO mis- brother, J. W. Drummond, with
several exceptions. One of these is that his
mother gets ali his furniture and pictures.
Mrs. Coventry Patmore is preparing me-
moir of her husband, IN which she is being
sisted by Basil Champneys and Frederick
Greenwood. By the poePs will his widow was
made his literary executrix, all his copy
rights, manuscripts and correspondence be-
ing LETT TO her Mr.. Champneys has furnished
the design for the monument TO be erected
over Patmore's grave in Lymington Cemetery,
which will take the form of a. Obelisk, The
portion of the cemetery in which the poet lies
is to be planted with trees.
great deal OF mystery has always hung
round the identity of the writer known az
Fiona Macleod. The Academy brushes it
aside, and announces once more hat Fiona
Macleod is no pseudonym, but is the maiden
name OF the young married woman who wrote
The Sin-eater. Most OF her childhood was
passed in the Outer and Inner Hebrides and
ha HiOh1
account of delicate health, she spent some
time in Italy, on the Riviera, and in Southern
France. Miss Macleod has nosympathy with
the hurried life of the greet cities, which she
seldom visits. Her chief pleasure consists IN
cruising among the isles in small yacht, or
in visiting the remote bothies OF the shep-
herds on the mountains,
Here is De Quincy story that has not been
in print before. 1t has just been told to the
Scots Pictorial by the gentleman who had
charge of the census arrangements at Lass
wade about 1851. De Quincy had not filled
in the return when the census officer came to
take it up, and even then was quite at a loss 10
know what to do. Where was he to sign?
What was his occupation? etc. At length he
got his own name down and entered himself
as writer TO the magazines but when he
came to the occupation of his mily he was
foored. What could the occupation of these
three girls be said to be? Finally, taking up
his pen, he put a bracket round the three
names, ana wrote against them, These are
like the lilies of the field; they toll not,
neither do they spin"
From some particulars in very interesting
article in the Young Woman for June we
gather that Miss Beatrice Harraden in her early
years looked upon fiction with disdain, leav-
ing novels severely alone excepting those of
Sir Walter Scott. MessrS BlackWood refused
hat Pass in bo NiUh hapa
thought it too sad to please the public taste.
Finally Miss Harraden disposed OF the copy
right of her famous book to Messrs, Lawrence
& Bullen for mere trife-glad to get it pub
lished at any price. The success was instan-
taneous, and the author was overwhelmed by
letters of appreciation from all sorts and con-
ditions OF people. They came from lonely
Indian stations, the baekwoods of America, as
we'll as from the cities of the Continent. The
book has been translated into French, Ger
man, Hungarian, Danish, Italian and Finnish.
How fast the literature of locality is grow
ing in Americal 1t is only twenty years or so
| since the story of New England life was al
most the only notable example of its species.
As told by Hawthorne, it is still the best exam
| pie, and long list of good writers, with Miss
! Mary wilkins name incl uded in it, has made
| it the most familiar. But now we have Grad
! dock stories of Tennessee, Joel Chandler Har-
| rIs stories of Georgia, Gable stories of New
| Orleans, Octave Thanet stories of Iowa and
| the middle West, William A. White stories OF
| Kansas, and others, equally notable, OF other
localities, not to mention Bret Harte'S familiar
| tales OF California, and Mr.. HowelIs' Occa-
sional excurs ions to the westward of the New
England line. The more important recent
American biographies are of great assistance,
| too in teaching how all sorts OF Americans
| live and feel.-Harper's Weekly.
Tbara 10 raally M and 70 tba ,-aosrias o+ +bo
| common ass says the New York Critic. S. R.
| Crockett, as all novel-readers know. has le-
| Gently published a story called Lads Love-"
| in which there is q character-and a minor
| character, too-of q bagman, or commercial
| traveller. This person is represented as taking
advantage of the goodwiVes credulity and as
| chuckling over his astuteness among his tel-
low-villagers-a very ordinary amusement,
one would imagine, among fellows of
his class. But the association, trades union
| or what not, of bagmen in Scot.
| land, seems to think otherwise. 1t
has addressed letter to Mr.. Crockett remon-
strating with him for portrayiug the Scots
| traveller a even rudimen tarily dishonest, and
begging him to-what? to suppress the book2
| to rewrite It in the interest OF Caledonian
| bagmen? Goodness knows; the association is
not explicit on this point. Enough that it
| remonsiratss. Alas, that should say a word
! against my own count-ymen, who am loyal
I scot, born OIL long race Oh WelI-Ineaning
| Lowlanders; but can we wonder that
are sometimes accused of lack of humor?
For, mark the irony. Not only does Mr..
! Crockett never hint that his fraudulent
| bagman is intended as a type, but his
/ story is not even laid among contemporary
| surroundings. 1t follows, then, tnat, in the
| eyes OF the Scottish bagman, not only must
an author refrain from representing the
| member OF any profession as plying his
/ business too close to the windy side of
| the law, but he must also embrace the
| whole orbit of time and of eternity and
be assured that the bagman, in spite of all
| temptat ous, in the dark backward and abysm
{ OF time, never, never, never woutd be &
| fraud. One trembles to think or the conse-
| quenees TO fiction; for indeed, Nj Crockett
has replied to the association in a spirit
| quite serious and respectful, and it is even
hinted that he is to be asked TO print his letter
| in the future editions of his novel. Hencefor-
ward Ctis sign of the times) every villain
must needs be a man of means ply.
ing no profession that he eau, by any
stretch OF the Imagination, be held to
disgrace. Mr. Crockett has called down
the deluge: The hagman has spoken; fiction
Is to be reyolutioniZed. Nay, it is TO be
slaughtered, for l cannot believe that it will
ever survive the blow. MIR. Crockett's conees-
sion to the bagmen is the beginning OF the
end!