The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1897-07-25

fore the advertisement appeared the
writer of this, item had purchased copy
of 1.-THE Power of Sympa thy for So ir
the book stalls under the Old South
church. Another copy was sold, soon
after the appearance of the British Mu-
scum advertisement for $25 to the edi-
tor of The Bostonian, and still another
copy was disposed of at auction few
weeks later for $72 to one of the officials
of the Boston public library.
1t would be interesting to know
whether the authorities of the British
Museum ever paid the $500 they offered
for the book in 1S93-New York Times.
THE GRAY LADY. By Henry Seton
Merriman. The Macmillan company.
The author of that remarkable book,
1.-THE Sewers" could not produce poor
one, and so upon trust alone we turned
to the new volume with interest. And
it is not a isappointment, though it is
not SO strong as the other. There is no
such character in it as Stenmitz, nor
a plot that reads, from London to- st.
Petersburg; but it is a fine, strong,
English story, involving the fortune Of a
navy, but who brought the good mer-
chant sloop Croonah through such storm
and stress as no other man could have
done 1t is in all ways virile, whole
some story, and can be commended to
the reading public as wholly worthy of
careful reading. We shall be interested
to know the estimate to be finally put
upon I'm Kedar's Tents" the authors
latest work now running as serial in
The Bookman.
THE TRUTH ABOUT MARK TWAIN
Rambler" in The Book Buyer, writes
as follows about the state of Mr.. Glenn
ems affairs and we judge that it is, the
truth:
Since Mark Twain disappeared from
the American continent on August %,
1895, for the purpose of touring and lee
turing in Australia, India and South
Africa, so many contradictory stories
have reached this country as to his
financial and physical condition that it
may be well to tell the facts once more.
Since his heavy monetary losses two or
three years ago it has been continually
insinuated that the humorist was bro
ken man, physically and mentally; that
the jovial, kindly, witty spirit of old had
disappeared, and that virtually the au-
thor of the jumping Frog" would laugh
no more. The truth is quite the reverse.
In the first place, his lecturing tour
across the United States was, to use his
own words, the "pleasantest he had ever
made" All through Australia his au-
diences were crowded and appreciative;
in every town he was feted, and he gave,
in return, some of his wittiest speeches.
He had royal time" in India with the
rajahs and was the idol of the large Brit
ish population. This country yielded
abundant material for his second vol
ume of "A Tramp Abroad" In South
Africa the experience in the other two
countries was repeated.
1t was an arduous tour for man of
his age to make, but at the finish he was
rather glad that the vicissitudes of for
tune had compelled him to visit-so many
interesting places. He went to London,
took a house on Cheyne Row, Chelsea,
not far from the famous abode of Car
LYLE and now for about year has been
comfortably settled there. He had made
a lot of money on his tour, and he sat
down to write out his experiences with
light heart. 1t was not money nor ILL
health that crushed his spirit for a time.
The news of the death of his daughter in