The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-13

ter it is. I find, however, that the
revision often takes away the spirit
| from the first draft. 1 lay away the
| manuscript. and upon looking at it
several weeks later 1 can see that the
first draft is truer TO nature than the
more Stilted revision. I think l do
| more careful work now than / have
done in the past My ideal is far above
anything L have ever done, and I
sometimes despair of approaching it.
| There is one thing do, however. which
I think is good plan for any writer.
! That is, l always give the best 1 have
| in me to the story which 1 am writ
| ing. I do not save anything which I
| think might perhaps be of use to me in
| the future. The cream, if you could
| use that expression, always goes to the
| present"
Literary News Notes.
! Speaking of Mr.. Page calls attention
! to the enormous amount of literary
work being done here. Almost as many
! great books are turned out at the ma
| tional capital as at Boston or New
! York. John Russell Young. the libra
rian has a new life of Grant we'll I'M
| der way He is being assisted in his
| work upon it by Fred Grant, and Col
! Fred told me rot long ago that all
/ the Grant papers had been put at Mr..
Young's disposal. Mrs. Gen. Grant has
not yet decided as to the publication
| of her memoirs. She has them in man.
uscEipt and has put considerable work
upon them during the past few years.
! She is not able to do much writing her
self, but she can tell a story very we'll,
and she has dictated, her recOllcctiOns
to one of the best stenOgraphers in the
! United States Her book will be full
| of interesting details. and will give a
! great deal of unpublished history. !
met Miss Eliza r. Scidmore here this
! week She is one of the brightest and
most entertaining travel writers of the
! times. She has spent the greater part
! of the past ten years in the far East
and has just published a book on Java
which IS selling very fast. Miss SCid-
more is the author of '.Jinriksha Days
| in Japan" and also very entertain-
| ing book of Alaskan travels.
What Gen. Miles Is Doing.
! Gen. Nelson A. Miles has just COM
! pleted a series of articles on his recent
! trip to Europe for McClures Magazine.
! These articles will describe the differ
| ent armies in Europe and viii be of
| great value from a military stand
| point They will be illustrated by
| photographs, some of which were TAX
/ en- by himself, and one of which shows
/ him on the line of battle between the
| Turkish and Greek armies. Gen. Miles
| memoirs is still selling, and he has in
| prospect, L am told. a book for boys
| describing some of his more exciting
! Indian experiences.
Secretary Sherman made in the
| neighborhood of 900 out of his book,
| although [ understand that it has not
paid the publishers as well as they e&-
| pected. The two volumes were sold for
! 81 in cloth, and the secretary received
| 81 on each set sold. In addition to
this, there was an edition de luxe
which sold for $25 per copy, each one
I of which was signed with the secre-
| tary's autograph.
I learn that Bryans book has made
fortune for both him and his pub
| rate Of 81 per copy, and more than
| 900 copies were sold, netting Bryan
the neat sum of $4,000.
wallace and American Novels.
| Gen. Lew Wallace has a new novel
in hand. 1t is an American story, and
| though he does not say so, I have an
! idea he hopes to make it the great
| American novel l had a chat with
! Gen. Wallace not long ago about his
| work He reyises and reWrites some
! OF his novels many times. He tells me
| that he likes to keep his literary efforts
| an cold storage for at least six months
| before completing the draft which is
| submitted to the publishers BY this
method he is able to judge Of his man
uscripts coolly and to revise them more
| impartially than when the work is all
| done at once. Gen. Wallace mad Il
| great fortune out of Ben Hur," and he
| did even better from the prince of In
: dfa" He is very indignant at the pi-
| rates who have made a stereopticOn
| lecture on the basis Of ''Ben Hur," and
| who have been exhibiting pictures Of
| the scenes therein described all over
| the country. He told me once that
| these people have made about $4,000
out of their piracy. and that he hopes
| to be able to get damages for their in
| fringement of his copyright 1 see,
however. that the lectures are still be
| ing used. .. .s,.3-. ....s,
Mrs. Field and Mrs. Nye.
The statement recently published
that Mrs William Edgar Nye is in des-
titute circumstances, owing to the fore
closure of mortgages which bill Nye'
had given in making certain invest
ments in New York is am told, un-
| true MI Nye left a good estate, and
his books are still selling. Mrs Eugene
| Field is also doing well. When Eugene
Field died he left nothing but his copy
right and his library. He had no bust
ness instincts, and never was money
saver. After Mr. Fields death, how
ever. one Of Mrs. Fields friends gath
| cred together his literary effects and
| put them in shape. New contracts were
made with the publishers, and the re-
suit. I am told is that Mrs. Field is
now getting more than twice a con
CHEESEMAN'S salary every year out Of
| her husbands books. She still holds
| Eugene Fields library although it is
said she was offered $4,000 for it by
the Field museum shortly after Mr..
| Fields death.
| I understand that ex-President Har-
risOn's book on The United States
Government is selling very well. He
received $1,000 a page for the articles
when they were published in the La
! dies Home Journal, and his royalties
will probably double his original com
pensatiOn. Frank G.. Carpenter