The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-08-13

AltVIuluIU QIIu
Literary Workers.
Mr.. Kipling has not often been
caught mapping pen in hand, and the
worst charge ever laid at his door by
the critical SharpS is in one or the
finest ballads, 1.-The Conundrum OF the
Workshops" in which he puts the
building of the Tower of Babel before
the Deluge. While this Biblical
anachronism has been proclaimed from
the housetops by supercritical folk, the
author has never seen fit to rectify the
blunder, though to do so needs but the
transposition of the third and fourth
verses in the poem.
Mrs Hodgson Burnett has been ac-
lively engaged of late, in the quietude
of her temporary home in Kent, upon
a new book She intends to return to
America in October, and spend the
/. winter here, visiting Denver, where
her son Vivian, the original Lord
Fauntleroy, is serving his apprentice
ship in journalism.
Mrs. Hugh Fraser must be possessed
of a ready pen, for no sooner IS one
of her books available, to use the IAN
guage of the publishers, "at all the
public libraries than another is an
nounced. A volume of short stories OF
japanese life by her, 'The Custom OF
the Country was published just few
days ago. and now her new novel OF
Italian life and character, "The Spleen
did Porsenna," will be published by
Messrs Hutchinson & Co. during the
autumn.
In a bright epigrammatic contribu-
tion to the August number of the
North American Review which is in
the form of a dialogue between an art
list and his wife, Max ORell celebrates
1.-THE Pleasures of Poverty" Monsieur
is possessed with a desire for riches
that his wife may live in luxury; Mad
anne insists that they. could never be
so happy in luxury as they were when
their income was most contracted, and
she has the best of the argument, as
is indicated in the following extract:
She : And do you also remember
when, two years after we were mar
ried, our general suddenly gave notice.
and left us alone to manage house
keeping as best we could? And how
I cooked all the meals, and how you
never enjoyed them better? Now, say
it's true.
He-Perfectly true.
She-And the house was gay, happy
. ringing with our laughter all day long,
SO that, in a month, baby put on six
s pounds of flesh?
,He-And how 1 cleaned the knives?
~. She-Which helped your appetite for
breakfast.
He-And the boots? Now, I did not
like cleaning the boots.
=. She-Yes, you did, and they never
shone so beautifully.
He-Well, 1 flatter myself I was able
) to make myself useful.
She-Those We're and will always be
the dear old days of my life.
He-And how pretty you looked with
a white apron on, and your sleeves
tucked up, showing your lovely arms.
She-Ah! and how you were once
turned out of the kitchen for kissing
the cook? You were sorry when I got
a new servant.
He-Upon my word, 1 believe I was.
y as
- When Kiplngs name began to be
the synonym for the most modern note
in fiction, .Ouida wrote to the London
Times the paper that had virtually
introduced Kipling to the world
He has neither knowledge of style
nor common acquaintance with gram
-L,A H. mt
in corner like a naughty child for
his impudence in touching pen and ink
without knowing how to use them"
Later the gods gave Kipling his op-
portunity for revenge, and although
the authorship of the following charac-
terization has never been told till now,
there seems to- be no reason why the
story should be withheld and the kind
{ lier side of Kipling's nature thereby
exploited:
as "Ouida," he wrote, 'is a. cynical, yell
low woman in a lilac frock. who drinks
tea and brandy, and smokes cigarettes;
the world to her is as hollow as a
sucked egg, bitter as green nuts: but
there are certain people in the slums
of Florence who could tell rare stories
of her generosity and kindness. She
3 smokes and smokes, and says nothing
of her numerous charities. Never
speak of your good Deeds she says.
'or some one may find out your mo-
tive
Bret Harte has written a new story
which he calls THE Belle of Canada
City 1t will not appear before next
Christmas.
1t is said that the sums paid to Miss
Marie Corelli as advance royalties on
her two new novels are so large as to
be unprecedented in the recent annals
of publishing.
Clara Morris. the actress. has story.
1.-THE Princess Porcelain" in the Au-
gust Ladies Home Journal It is
Miss Morris desire to become as well
known as an authoress as she is as an
actress.
John Oliver Hobbies Forthcoming
novel-a. sequel for THE School for
Saints''-is to be called Robert Or
ange," after the character who. at the
end of the former work, was left IL
the position of an innocent bigamist.
William Dean Howells will give next
winter long series of lectures, in the
course of which he will visit most of
the large cities of the country and dis
cuss on the platform his theories of the
ooval and other aspects of the profes d..