The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-05-01
B1OkS on SPAIN IND CUBa
The Numerous Works in History-Late
Naval Biography and Fiction

der Nero was leading all books. Now
1t has fallen, not to second or third, but
to fourth place in those valuable lists
computed every month for the Book
man. The book which now leads the
procession is Hopes Simon Dale" and
then follow Weyman's Shrewsbury"
and Doyle's "a Desert Drama" Still
there are several centers where the
Polish authors book holds its place,
and among them Chicago, st. Paul,
Kansas City, Portland, Or, Rochester,
N. Y, Toledo, San Francisco and Salt
Lake City. Elsewhere in a score Of
places it is dethroned. Here, in New
York, is seen the greatest reaction. "Quo
Vadis" is not even sixth on the list in
New York Simon Dale and "Shrews-
bury" are first and second, and even
those very recent books-books of the
present spring-'The Pride CT Jennico"
and 'The Celebrity are ahead of Quo
Vadis." Readers Of The G l o b e will
be interested to know that the books
which follow Quo Vadis' in st. Paul
in point of sale are Hugh Wynne,"
The Story of Untold Love-" Simon
Dale Shrewsbury" and "a Desert
Drama" So that, with theeXception Of
Quo Vadis," St Paul may be said to
have been thoroughly abreast with the
majority of the whole list Of reading
centers in the demand it has made for
books
1t may not be many weeks before a
new book will appear on these lists of
the best selling books of the period.
A story has just appeared that de-
serves wide reading. l refer to Mr..
stockton's very latest volume, which
he calls The Girl at Cobhurst." 1t has
been thrown upon the market with an
edition of 10000 copies. That number
of copies will soon be taken I'D. War
news, any mere than Polish and Scotch
novelists, cannot put Mr. Stockton's
books on side track. Perhaps 10 au-
thor of the times is more certain OF
his constituency than Mr.. Stockton. He
has been writing now these twenty
years and has uniformly held his pub
lie. There is such a thing as a Stock
ton taste-a liking for his creations as
liking for something found nowhere
else. Fortunately this taste is not, Of
the caviare order, but very large and
we'll distributed.
Mr.. Stockton in one very important
respect holds a position. that is unique
among story writer's Of the day. He
has no regular cement, no salaried
place in literature. From writing stories
he derives his sole literary income.
And he is able to partake of the pleas
ures of a beautiful home near Morris
town. N. J., and to spend several
months of the year elsewhere. When
literature does pay a man it may not
pay him as success in railroading, in
practicirg law or in selling goods might
pay. but it is no niggard all the same.
And praises ever be to literature
whether it pay well or i'll!
The most costly of books published
within some years is about to make its
appearance. 1t is called Oriental Ger
annie Art and is an account of the
Walters collection in Baltimore. The
work is in ten parts Of large folio size,
and, besides 437 illustrations, in black
and white, has 116 in colors. and most
beautiful they are. When about two
years ago some sample illustrations
were shown me, thought them to
mark the highest achievement in il
lustration of Chinese and Japanese
pottery that had ever been undertaken
at least in this country. The price
of copies CT this book will be $500.
Another biography of Franklin is in
preparation-not an elaborate work,
for, after John Bigelow's achievement,
there is no room for one-but a short
sketch to form volume in a series
called american Men of Energy"
Franklin has already gone into at least
two other series-the one devoted to
American Men of Letters" and the
one devoted to American Statesmen"
and 1 believe he also went into third
Makers of America Many-sided
man that Franklin was, it would seem
to be impossible that any series Of
American biography restricted to
class could leave him out Franklin
truly was universal genius-a sublime
jack of all trades-supreme in every
one of them Francis w. Halsey.