The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-07-10
IN THE FIELD OF LITERATURE.

=, SELF culture for July, the half-tone
n,ctures are particularly well chosen ana
printed. and present views and PORTRAITS
Nat real,y illustrate the articles. Amer
,o.n Landscape Painters" has portraits OF
,opr commemorative artists, and "A sketcn
~ oJean Racine and His Age" shows the
e-s,, dramatist In the respondent but
cumbersome wig OF the time OF the Grand
Monarch. The descriptive articles present
ane views OF THE Island OF santa Cata
lima" ''The Smithsonian Institution; anu
life on the Viga wnlie HOW tne
usmdwrlting Expert Works not only ex-
Main, his methods, but in clear photo
rrsnhic reproduction OF raised arait
shows the various steps taken by the torg-
or In IN. first place, and the subsequent
modes of detection adopted by the con-
victing expert.
"patents'' is the name Of very inter-
estlng little work by W. B. Hutchinson
and ]. A. Ainswell published by the D.
Van Nosirand company, New York. Inc
authors are members of the New York bar,
and apparently engage In patent litigation
and allied matters. This book ostenslDly
and describes the steps to be taken In
order to secure the governments protec-
ton of a new device. This information Is
not always available to the author OF an
invention. SO that 1t will be convenient to
have 1t set forth explicitly in a. book like
this. The chapter of copyrights is almost
entirely occupied by a quotation from the
revised statutes. which is all right, but
mighty poor literature.
Charles Dana Gibson's cover for the
current issue of The American Queen is
most unique. 1t portrays an American
queen upon the pedestal of Fame with Vic
tory at her feet, with our glorious and
beautiful flag waving above her and below
an admiring crowd offering homage. Fire
crackers, too, help to decorate the page,
and remind one of Fourth of July celeDra-
tions. The fiction, consisting of three
complete stories, Is represented by such
well known names as Octaye Thanet, Ara
bella Kenealy and e. 7. Miller. Octave
Thanets contribution is story OF the
late Spanish American war. 1t Is replete
with vivid descriptions of camp life,
around which setting the noble heroism
of one of the members of Company G
stands prominently to the fore.
"a Cosmopolitan Comedy" by Anna
Robson Brown, is published by d. Apple
ton & Co., New York. 1t is a bright,
clean, readable story of the late SPANISH
American war. In spite of the fact that the
motive of the plot is decidedly fsr-fetched,
which is naively admitted by the author.
The Incidents are we'll told-sufficieull
exciting to add zest to the reading. The
book will serve pleasantly for light sum-
mer reading.
For a State to have two public play
grounds, one the size of Rhode Island,
The other larger than the District of CO.
lumbia, may seem somewhat astounding,
yet nevertheless such is the case. In New
York are TWO tracts or preserves, one
n the AdirondaclSs, the smaller in the
set aside for the health and re-
reation of the people. An account of
these is given in Ev'ry Month for July, as
we'll as description of those who own
thereon, and the peculiar cond!-
ions under which they held possession;
the attraction of the article is considera-
bly, enhanced by illustrations taken on the
spot.
D. Appleton e Co., New York, have is |
ued Edward Bellamys famous book,
Equality" in paper cover. This work
S a remarkable exposition OF the posi- Z
olities of the cooperative commonwealth, !
md has been widely read.