The times., 1898-12-04
LITERARY NOTES.

Brentano)
LITERARY NOTES.
Current Literature for this month con-
tains fine picture of Mrs. Julia Ward |
Howe and several selections from her |
writings.
The recent appearance of a book of po- |
ems by Sam Walter Foss has set people |
to inquIring who this clever newspaper |
poet may be- The Boston Transcript |
states that he was born in Gambia. n. |
H., in 1858. and spent his boyhood days
on a farm. He is a graduate of Brown |
University and besides writing verses for |
the New York Sun, which has made his |
name known to the country at large. he
has been an editorial writer on the Bos-
ton Globe. and also editor of the Yankee
Blade. 1t Is not particularly easy thing
to gain information about Mr.. Foss. as
he does not enjoy advertising himself. but
these facts may be relied OH.
The career of the cheap novel during
the last twenty-five years. as recoucted
by Mr.. John EIderkin, is worth attention.
The Seaside Library as many people viii
remember. began the publication of good
novels in paper covers, magazine size.
and generally very bad print. Then the
Harpers took 1t UP. and issued the Frank
lin Square Library. Publishing Scott
Dickens. George Eliot and other sand
ard authors in pamphlets of the same
shape. but with excellent print and pa
per- These sod for from 10 to % cents,
and many readers of eager appetite for
books but limited incomes began to feel
that they really might have q library.
1t may be said without any hesitation
| that Harper's and Scribner's Magazines
and the Franklin Square Library did
| more to raise the educational average ia
this country from 1915 to 1880 than all the
colleges. universities and special training
schools put together. They. with the
country academy. have made il possible
for the children of the farmer and the
mechanic to know something OF h,era
| ture, art and science The Franklin
| Square Library was followed by other IL
| braries of paper novels. and We have now
the greatest reading public in America
which has ever existed in the history of
| the world.
| NJ. F. Mansfield & Co have book in
| press, by Robert Buchanan, called "The
! Reverend Annabel Lee; a Tale of Tomor-
| row.. 1t Is rather tale of day after to-
morrow, for 1t happens in the middle of
the twenty-first century 1t is becoming
50 common for writer's who want to be
original to date their novels two or three
| hundred years ahead, that one is tempted
| To wish that there could be legislation
| on the subject. And, moreover. one can
hardly expect originality from man who
cannot even invent an unhackneyed name
| for his heroine.
Dana, Estes & Co. have just issued a
| biography of Charles Carleton Coffin. by
William Elliot Griffis, d. D.
Ernest Seton Thompson has written a
book entitled wild Animals 1 Have
| Known" published by Charles Scribner's
Sons. 1t is said to be decidedly interest
| ing. and refreshing change from the
Great Men l Have Known" publications.
The Doubleday & Mcclure Company
publish a new translation of noyel by
Maurus Jokai. The name of it is The
| Nameless Castle 1t is a story of the
Hungarian army that was in the field
against Napoleon in his campaign of 1909
Guy Wetmore Carryl goes to Paris this
month. as the representative of Harper &
Brothers.
Rider Haggard seems to be going off on
.angents of late. His last book was about
farming, and he has now written a story
on the vaccination question. Why can
not Mr.. Haggard go back to Africa and
make his readers happy? He might try
Australia, if Africa is worn out.
William Canton. author of 1.-THE Invisi-
bic Playmate" has a new book in press,
"w. VS. Golden Legend"
| Book Notes has been discussing the
real meaning of the word Philistine, as
used in literary slang. The discussion is
apropos of that small periodical. The
Philistine, whicn was generally supposed
to be a take-off on the Chap Book. and
called that contemporary. most disre-
spectfully. the Chip Munk. The te: m
comes, it appears, from Germany, where
the student calls the un-Bohemian bur-
CHER a '.Philister.' But Mr.. Elbert Hub
bard uses the term in the sense of rebel
He and his co-workers were pledged al
the beginning to fight the "tipstaffs OF
letters tooth and nail and assert theii
own Individuality. There is something
quite lively and taking in this idea II
appeals to most people, because almost
all of us have been at some time in ouI
lives rebels against the accepted scheme
of things. But there Is one thing which
some of the latter-day Philisrines over
look. and that is that imperfect as the
world may be, there is no need for them
TO kick over all the literary traditions al
once. 1t Is quite possible that every new
writer has message of his own to give
to the world, and that 1t may conflict
with some of the established usages; but
that is no sign that all the lawmakers
of letters were wrong. The wise youth
will put into practice that good o,6
American maxim: BE sure you are
right, then go ahead" He will under.
stand that while he must thrash around
somewhat madly In the waters oil
thought and expression before he learns
to swim, and while he may develop ar
Individual style of swimming in the proc
. ess he must still be subject to certain
| great and fmmutable laws. His head
| will always be heavier than his heels
and he will always get into trouble II
he tries to fight the undertow. He wi
be content to serve his apprenticeship
keeping his eyes and ears open to learr
all he can of the tricks of trade, ano
. then he may. If there is any originality
. | In him, really succeed in teaching his
masters something. He will find them a
least as ready to learn as he was, fol
most ld-timers in the world of work un
derstand that there are nine-and-sixtJ
I | ways of constructing tribal lays. or doins
: anything else under the sun, from shoe
D making to preaching-and every singl;
) one Of them is right