The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-08-01

To parody famous line of Matthew
Arnold's, says the London Daily Chronicle,
lola may be said to see life steadily and see II
vile.
Ian Maclaren says that Harold Frederic is
the American writer most in favor in England
just now. few months ago Stephen Crane
was the one.
The Bookman understands that Thomas
Hardy, who has been discouraged by the per
sistent misconception of many readers and
critics, intends TO abandon the problems raised
in his later novels and to resort to his earlier
manner: His new work is now nearly COM
pleted, but it will not be published tor some
time.
!. That George Smith, the senior partner In
the great publishing house OF Messrs. Smith,
Elger Il Co., cares more for literature ON
| larger scale than for the sums of money In
yolved in Its adequate but unremunerative
production, is evident from the fact, which is
now for the first time made public, that the
| Dictionary of National Biography the most
important and voluminous work of the kind
ever published anywhere, is published at his
own personal cost.
aMy first book - said Mr. Zangwin, ''was
romance of school life which, written in two
copybooks, circulated gratuitously in the
schoolroom and pleased our Youthful mag
inAtioh with teacher batting tricks we had not
the pluck toearry out in the actual shall
always remember that story, because after
making the tour of the class, 1t was returned
to me with thanks ana a new first page, from
which all my graces OF style had evaporaed
Indignant inquiry discovered the criminal
ne admitted he had lost the page and bad re-
written 1T from memory" II
Cruikshank drawings are now in keen de-
mand with American collectors. One Amer
| lean has instructed his agent in London to
| buy any likely specimens that come on the
market The work of Leech and Doyle is
| also being collected. and 1t need not neces-
sarily be the originals. AS to first editions of
| English writers, Dickens perhaps is held in
most regard by Americans. After him come
Tennyson, Thackeray and Charles Lever but,
| indeed, any interesting first edition frds a
good market. The quantity ofliterafy trophies
| sent across the Atlantic from Lond on in the
course of year is surprising. :@ !:
The French physician. Dr. Toulouse, who
not long ago ex plained Zola's literary power
as the result of peculiar combination OF
| liver and skin, has covered the whole ground
| in lie cture on '"The Nervous System OF Art
| lists, lately published in Paris. Recognizing
! the fact that creative imagination Is usually
| dependent upon nervous excitement Dr.Tou-
! louise warns artists and writer's against the
idea that they can produce this excftem emit
artifcially I'll you have not by nature the
| requisite nervous endowment you cannot
make UP for 1t by a free use of alcohol, coffe E.,
sbsinthe, morphine, choral or antipyrihe"
/ An author resorting to any of these stimu-
| lants when imagination flags is in great an
1 ger, affirms DR.. Toulouse, OF "producing effects
I Qnite contrary to those he seeks" The dose
| which is exc. ting in the case OF a writer be-
! comes only soporifie in the case OF the reader.
| in regard to some of the great libraries of
| America, namely, that they retire the rusty
! old law againstthe use Of ink at the desks in
their reading rooms. The points we'll taken.
| Nothing is more exasperatfng, as "The Chap
/ book says, than to be forced to make one Is
extracts from a book in pencil and then
| copy them out at home in ink. <; The
! greater number OF those using The
! important reading rooms are men and
women of education and good manners; Thev
/ can be trusted with pen and ink They will
| n OF ruin the books, the desks or the floor. In
the libraries of Europe Ink is supplied for use,
| and no one ever heard Of their being in q state
| of uncleanliness as a result: We believe the
| Congressional Library has fukwelIs and pens
on the desks of its reading,room. If not. It
ought to get them q once and set the pace for
! the rest OF the country. 1t is: time the blunt
and maddening lead pencil was banfshed
/ An interviewer re gently asked Richard wa (.
son Glider whether every manuscript that
comes to the office of the modern magazine
! was opened and read. =: .:: ~.
Yes replied the editor of the Century
"With us every article which is not especially
| ordered by the.sditors is read. and sometimes
| reread. beforettis submitted to the chief ed
| itors. We: have a Number of readers, and an
article is sometimes read by five different per.
| sons before 1t Is accepted. In some cases the
article may be of such a character that the
| first reader sees that it will not do for the
magazine, and it goes no farther Articles
that are ordered especially by us generally
come to the editors without the examination
OF other readers. But at times: the chief ed
itors themselves are the first to look over the
new manuscript"
!. "Can a man hope TO make aliving by writ
ing for the magazines, Mr., Gilder?p the inter-
viewer asked.
"a number of persons are now doing So"
was the reply. ~
A curious story Is told of the late Professor
Sylvester. He was travelling by coach in an
out-of-the-way part of England and at one
station. as he sat in the vehicle waiting to de-
part, two villagers approached: One mounted
OeSluc the pTOlcSSOf dUu us uer lTIeQQ turned
to retrace ersteps the latter said "Good-by.
Mrs. Harrisp Professor Sylvester was the last
man in the world to let good opportunity
slip by and as the coach drove of he called out
| "Good.by, Mrs. Camp" The driver turned
with amazement and said: 81 thought you
| said youknew ne one here? How did you know
that lady's name Was Camp" This tale is
vouched for. A correspondent of the Specta-
tor alluding to itsays: sin my old conveyance
I ing days l once had an abstract to peruse
relating to some property In southern
county Hampshire think1. which contained
| the names OF no less than three OF the person.
ages in the tPiekwick Papers, fPickwick' it-
| self and, i think. 'Tupman and 'Winkle' 1
could not doubt that the deed in question
must have passed through Dickens hands
when he was In q solicitors Office and that h
| had noted the names for use So. I should
| think, with Camp and Harris !"
Ina very interesting book just issued, 1.-THE
| Private Lille of the Queen, BY One Of Her
/ Servants some particulars are given OF
1 VIII the Queen reads and what she has read.
Her Majesty is a great admirer of Scott, the
works she likes best being 1.-THE Antiquary,o
1 "The Talisman'' and "Peyeril OF the Peak I"
! OF scott,s poems she is exceedingly fond, and
| she possesses copy of them with his own
i .<zf thop, fbo