The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-05-15
BOOKS Of THE MONTH OF MAY.

the Rea ssf Of cS War; An By p stsphs N
Crane. 12mo. Appleton.l 81.
the American Civil war. BY stephen
Crane. limo. (Appleton.) 81.
The Seats CT the Mighty. Being the Me-
oeer OF in a the Moray .aa
afterward of Amherst's Regiment
BY Gilbert Parker l2mo. Illustrated
ston Illustrated. 12mo NIacmillan.)
n Mar Time ~, woOlpg; By Charles King
In Blue Uniform. An Army Novel. BY
George l. Putnam. limo. (Scribners)
Last week 1 said something about the
unsatisfactory result of q recent sale
OF scarce books at auction. The cause
or those low prices was the war: no one
has questioned this. And we may safe
ly assume that, with the return of
peace and prosperous times, prices for
scugnt-for rare bookswill again resume
their cd level. But it is not war which
has caused the declines just reported
from London. Some fifteenth century
books Just sold at auction show an
even greater decline than the books
sold here. Many of them had been
purchased within the past three or
four years at prices which had ap-
rraisers to fix upon the whole collec-
ton valuation of $4,000 But they
have now been disposed of at some
thing under $4,000. The truth is that
fashion In book collecting is changing.
Tor fifteenth century books there is
no longer the demand that once existed
Specimens of early printing and first
editions of Greek and Latin classics no
longer tempt the collector to the same
extent that other books tempt him.
editions Or
lish authors than for Roman, more for
American authors than for Greek This
explains why New Testament manu-
script of the fourteenth century, that
had been valued at $225, when put up
at auction was knocked down for $50
1t also explains why a copy of the
RillmarnCck Burns has brought more
than $780, and why Americana stead
lily rise in price, sven in war times
Sales of books at auction have COM
monty been regarded as an institution
of comparatively recent times. The
present auction has been thought to
have seen the beginning of them. But
the fact is otherwise. 1t is more than
200 years since the first sale of the kind
was held in London, and almost as
long since the first sale was held in
Boston. In New York the beginnings
are much later. But it is in New York
rather than in Boston that the most
important sales have taken place. AS
New York has fully supplanted Boston
as publishing center, so has it taken
the lead-a very long lead-as an auc-
ton center for books. Boston, in all
her book history, has witnessed the
sale of only thirty-six books that
fetched 5000 or more, whereas New
York has been the scene of the sales of
hwy, hot
Viewed in another way, as for exam
pie, from the point of view of totals
realized for collections sold, the results
would be equally striking in their
showing of the supreme place New
York holds.
The recent auction Of the Seventh
regiment of New York-distinctively
the show regiment Of the metropolis
has called down upon the heads of
their soldiers very general criticism.
But it looks now as though the regi-
ment might find a way to go to the
war, after all Critics of the action of
the regiment have been looking into the
conduct of the same organization in
1861, ard, among other things, have
brought to light some letters written
by Theodore Winthrop, who went out
with it. Winthrop was one of the
earliest martyrs of the war and widely
was his death lamented, for the. man
was a hero in high life an author who
not only could write of brave Deeds
but could perform them himself. Writ
i.-G from Washington, Winthrop said:
The Seventh, with careful secrecy,
Re it said, has as yet but little stomach
fer real service. They would fight we'll
enough. but half the men in it fancy
themselves Hannibals. and fit to lead
armies, not to march in the ranks.
They have the faults and the merits
of volunteers, and sigh for their home
comforts quite too much, though with
plenty of good material
Readers CT The G. / b must already
have heard of Morgan Robertson. Prob
ably they have read his sea tales in
McClure's, and perhaps are getting in
l2e with that rather large company
which has been captivated by his VOL
ume called 'Spun Yarns" A short
time ago l had the pleasure of meeting
this virile writer, whose tales are tales
of things he has seen and known. A
short, strongly built, manly man is
Morgan RObertsoH-unassumi as are
most men Of character and force, alto
gether man whom you understand at
once as one who could write nothing
except with his whole heart Mr. Rob-
ertson is the son of lake skipper. and
when he was only sixteen years old ne
shipped for Shanghai. For eight years
he followed the sea, and the things he
saw will be found in Spun Yarns"
Francis w. Halsey