The San Francisco call., 1898-04-03
BY THE CALL REVIEWER.

conduct in insisting upon assuming re- sponsibility for the debts of the com pany when he might under limited lia- bility provisions have left the creditors to satisfy themselves with mere divi- dend. It will be remembered that the New York Herald started a SubScrip- tion to assist him in his laudable endeavor cooperating with the Lon don Daily Telegraph in the cause. To his credit be it said Mark Twain re- fused all offers of assistance It will be the prayer of all whose labors he has frightened, of all those who have through his efforts changed weary hours into those of the keenest pleas ure, that Mark Twain will be suffered to spend his last days in that peace and serenity of mind to which his arduous labors and honorable conduct entitle him, Knowing no noise, care, no vanity, no strife"
 MT. Hall Caine Is initiating the ways of the frivolous and the worldly, 1t ap- pears. He is dramatizing The Chris tian." Those who read that pseudo sociological and moral melodramatic tome will remember that he makes the SIdSe IUe IulH Ol HIS uSAOlilSt Let us hope that he, too, will not be- come demoralized. What a pity 1t would be were he to attend midnight balls given by hospital nurses or to fol- low in the path of the stage door hang er-on by visiting the dressing rooms of shady actresses. How we should mourn!
 The London Academy tells the fol- lowing story about Tennyson, which 1t says may or may not be true:
 In company with a few friends the Poet Laureate one day entered a public reading-room and sat down in a large armchair before the fire. Much to the amaZement of the other occupants of the room he then proceeded to elevate his feet until they rested on the chim- ney-piece in the fashion we are led to believe Is real American" No expos tulations on the part of his friends re- specting the inelegance of the position were of the slightest avail. Suddenly a brilliant inspiration seized one of them the father of one of our leading actors of to-day. Going close to Lord Tenny- son, he whispered in his ear: Take your feet down or they'll mistake you for Longfellow." In an instant the poets boots were on the floor, and he assumed the ordinary position of an Englishman.
 l know of nothing more suggestive of the late unlamented Anthony Trollope than this anecdote. To accuse Longfel- low of bad manners implies a lack of knowledge of the poets character that Is simply ridiculous, and it Is strange to find reputable literary journal printing paragraph of this nature, which is likely to do nothing more than engender bitter feelings.
 What were the best books of the year 1897 from a public librarians stand point? This is a question which pro- voked marked discussion at recent meeting of the New York Literary Club. After considerable talk the really great works from a librarians point of view resolved themselves into seven:
 "On the Face of the Waters" by Mrs. F. A. Steel.
 "St. Ives" by Robert Louis Steven son.
 The Gadfy," by p. L. voynich.
 School for Saints," by John Oliver Hobbes
 Captains Courageous" by Rudyard Kipling.
 Hugh Wynne, Free Quaker" by Dr. s. Weir Mitchell.
 March on London" by c. A. Henty.
 I would like at this writing to call my readers attention to one of these books, which it seems to me is hardly well enough known on the Pacific Coast. I refer to 'The Gadfy" With the exception of The Call there is no paper on the Pacific Coast that devoted any space at all to this book. Notwith- standing this fact I ventured to say that 1t was one of the most remarkable