The record-union., 1899-10-22
Literature and
Literary Workers.

His complete works" have been an
nounced by enterprising publishers. Yet
he IS only 10 years old. Many authors
have done their best after that age.
But Harte has been a hard worker for
40 years, half of which time was un-
profitable; his income during the last
twenty years, however, must have
made him independent. Fame found
him at the age of 80 when "The Luck
of Roaring Camp" was published in
the Overland" Like Poe and Cooper
he found his most appreciative audi
ence abroad. One of his pupils, it is
said, is Kipling, and his admirers are |
legion on both sides of the Atlantic. |
1t is to be hoped that Harte will write |
many more stories before his work is |
completed.
Hitherto a novel called "If'' has held |
the record for a brief title, but this rec
ord has just been beaten by Miss
Marjorie Williamson, who has pub !
lished q story in England with the first
person singular title IL We have al
ready had ''She" The Academy" asks,
'Who will snap up the remaining per-
sonal pronouns?' Albert Lee comes
very near to it in the title of his an
nounced new volume of marital
sketches to be published shortly, by
the Messrs. Harper, the title being He,
She and They"
Robert Barr is telling a story of
jest played by him upon a London
editor. 1t was when he was running
the '1dler," and happened to have one
Of Mr.. Kiplings stories in his posses
sion. Disbelieving in this particular
editors judgment, he submitted Mr..
Kipling's story to him without name.
The editor promptly returned it as poor
stuff. Mr. Barr has not ventured 20
call upon that editor since. He is now
at work, by the way, upon another
series of short stories.
| Woman novelists, particularly Ouida,
rarely allow their heroes and heroines
| to partake of a substantial meal, while
| in the pages of the men writer's feasts
| abound. Compare Dickens and Thack-
cray. Each is fond of feeding his char
| acters, but Thackeray tells of the feasts
| with an epicurean touch, an apprecia-
tion Of the delicacies of the table, while
1
| hearty, plain, boiled beef and greens
and meat pies ruling.
/ In Scott's stories there is hint of
picturesque splendor about the dinners
! he describes. There are noble" meals
! and much geniality and good fellow
ship.
The elegant young men of whom
| Ouida writes usually breakfast at mid
day on peaches, chocolate and cakes,
and yet are great athletes and general
wonders on this sybaritic diet. Dis
raeli does not descend to specify meals,
! but has a way of introducing gorgeous
! banquets Of unlimited courses. Every
thing in "Lothair" happens at dinner
parties and fat little birds in aspic
jelly and ortolans usually form part
of the menu.
| A volume of the correspondence
which passed between Faraday and an
other distinguished scientist, Professor
Schoenbein of Basic, is coming out in
London. These letters mainly refer to
| scientific subjects, but they are not
without personal passages.
Some new material concerning John
! Donne's career will appear in the two
volume Life" which Edmund Gosse
is about to publish.
Browning is quoted as saying to an
acquaintance concerning his poem.
The Lost Leader: Il know it is rough
h1lt 'icI lyan ioI7+
my genius, such as it is, is 'primesau-
tier'-if I hesitate I'm lost That was
doubtless true, but how absurdly it
was said!
Miss Charlotte Yonge's new novel is
called The Herd Boy and His Hermit .
1t is an historical tale
Wolfe Londoner IN The Printer Jour
! nal: An inert Gene Field was an
imposslbility. Activity personiffed, he
was ever restless and only supremeiy
happy when busily engaged in playing
some practical joke on his ever sus-
pecting, but never wary friends Once
when l was Chairman of the Repub
| lican County Central Committee and
! working zealously to carry every point
! for the party, | was especially dele
gated TO work up enthusiasm among
| the colored voters of the city 1 un-
dertook my task and personally inter-
viewed many of the leaders and called
/ them into caucus, and everything was
moving along smoothly toward success.
In an untoward moment the following
| appeared in bowling scare heads in the
/ al
ored man in the city to call at Wolfe
| Londoners store. A carload of Geor-
gia watermelons just received for espe-
cial distribution among his colored
friends. Call early and get your
meloni"
Needless to say that when the store
opened in the morning an ever in
creasing cloud of dusky humanity
gathered about the entrance until bus
! mess in the store and travel in the
street came to a standstill No ex-
plantations could appease the fast gath
ering displeasure of the crowd, and ex-
postulations were taken as only sub
terfuges to avoid fulfilling the tempt
ing promises of the morning papers,
for whose JUICY suggestions numberless
mouths were wateringly waiting. l
was at my wits end what to do or
which way to turn. No thought of
melons had arisen in the market. 1t
was early in the season. 1t was possi-
BILE that melons might exist somewhere
but certainly 1 had ordered none and