The Republican journal., 1898-12-01
Literary News and Notes.

=
par Whitney has returned from the Haw-
allan Islands, and has again taken up the
department of Amateur Sport IN the
Weekly.
The December issue of Harper Round
Table will be Christmas double number,
with special Illuminated cover from a
design by Maxtield Parrish. 1t will con
tain slxty-four pages OF reading matter,
tead of forty eight pages, as usual, and
the leading holiday story, "A Revolution
ary Santa Claus by Percival Ridsdale,
Will be illustrated in colors from drawings
by Edward Pentield. As supplements
will be given two full page colored plates.
suitable for framing, OF war subjects,
from paintings by F. c. ohm.
The extreme Importance of open ail
Fairgrounds for rural schools is pointed
out by Isabella G.. Oakley in Appietons
Popular Science Monthly for December.
The tendency to spend all of the money on
building and system. and to make no
arrangements for adequate and attractive
recreation grounds where the children can
play "unregulated. - and the depending
largely on calisthencs, which most chill
dren late as vehemently as they do arith-
metic, tor breaking the monotony Of the
sehoolroom, are sharply criticised.
Among the interesting literature feat
ules announced for early publication in
Harper Bazaar are ''Preterence, " short
serial of extraordinary charm, by Caro-
line Leslie Field Nate" Thanks sgiving
story of New England seventy years ago
by Kate tpsou Clark, illustrated by Cliff
| ford Carleton; and AN Alien at Home p
story showing how foreign residence, If
prolonged, units one Tor our rushing life,
by Annie +. z. Sealing. The usual fashion
! features will be given with, il possible,
| added brilliancy to suit the opening sea
son, and the department of Music will
treat OF the reopenipg OF the opera season.
The widespread attention attracted by
Sir William Crookes recent address on
the wheat supply OF the world, in which
he maintained that the ability of the
| United States as a wheat producer had
been very nearly reached, has called forth
a sharp reply from Edward Atkinson, the
famous statistician, hich is to appear in
the December number of Appletons' Pop
ular Science Monthly. Mr.. Atkinson
proves by actual calculation, based on
data secured from nearly one hundred ag-
! rlcultural experiment stations and secre-
tarles OF agriculture, that the United
States alone conld supply the whole civil
lied world with wheat and still have a
large unused acreage of arabic land, and
this without interfering at all with her
other crops
Capt. Sgsbee spoils good story but
replaces it with another equally good. in
denying, as he does in the December Cen
tllr III tnrlyr Z ltit Of
the Maine Immediately after the ex-
plosion, made Il formal salute, and re-
ported the destruction of the ship. Hau
he done so, he would not have been seen,
for the explosion eXtinguished all lights,
and left the cabin as black as a pocket
As a matter of fact, the orderly ran into
his commanding officer in a dark passage
leading forward through the superstruct-
ure, and reported that the ship had been
blown up and was sinking. Capt, Sis
bees story Of tie destruction of the saip
loses nothing from the simplicity OF his
style, the incidents being too terrible to
need reinforcement from rhetoric
Harper 5 Magazine for December con
tains d large number of short stories Wit
ten by we'll known writer's and nlust rated
10y prominent artists. The opening one,
"Old Captain" by Mvles Hemenway. is
illustrated by Howard Pyle with eleven
drawings including the frontspiece in
color Among the others are AN ES-
mer&da of Rocky Canyon" by Bret aarte,
illustrated by Peter New ell The Second
Wooing Of Salina Sue, by Ruth McEnely
Stuart, illustrated by a. B. Frost "The
White Helon," by Fiona Macleod, Illus
trated 10y Albert L. Steiner; ''IIov Santa
( 1.,t, ] /
burgh, illustrated by W. T. Smedley; and
"The Unexpcctedness Of Mr. Horace
Shields" by Margaret Deiand, illustrated
by Howard Pyle.
In the first instalment of his story of
the "Menimac' in the December Cen
tury, which is an unusually attrac-
tive number Lieut.. Hobson lays no claim
to having originated the idea of blocking
the channel at Santiago. The sinking OF
the collier had been ordered by Admiral
Sampson, but the commanding officer off
Santiago had not executed the manHuver
when the flag ship arrived, and the work
ing out Of the plan, as well as its execu-
tion, was intrusted to Lieut.. HobsOn. The
preliminary steps are detailed in this
number of the magazine, and in later
issues the story of the sinking of the
ship and the capture and imprisonment of
her crew will be given at first hand. This
is the only account of his exploit that Mr.
Hobson has written for publication.
James Whitcomb Rileys stirring lyric
on the origin of the name of "Old Glory
in the December Atlantic is notable and
thrilling poem. The poet apostrophizes
the flag in several impassoned stanzas,
and asks of it
Who gave you the name of Old Glory, and
why
Are we thrilled at the name of Old Glory
Then The Old banner }eaped, Ike sal IL tie
blast
And futtered an 0udible anScer at last.
And it spake with shake of the voice, and
it said =
BY the driven snow-white and the living
blood-rtd
Of my bars, and their heaven of stars over
head
By the symbol conjoined Of them all, sky
ward cast,
AS l float from the steepe or flap at the
mast,
Or droop DER the sod where the long grasses
nod -
My name is as old as the glory of God.