The San Francisco call., 1901-12-21
GOSSIP FROM
LONDON WORLD I
OF LETTERS

The taste for the publication Of love
letters seems a widespread one at the
present day. 1t has sufficed for the rU-
NOR to get abroad that the correspond
ence of George Sand with her two most
famous lovers-Alfred de Musset and
Chopin-were to be published. This
caused quite pIeasurable tremOr OF an
ticipation among the circulating libraries.
IT appears however, that the rumOr is
partly premature. partly false. George
Sand herself cOnfded her correspondence
with Alfred de Musset to Emile Aucante.
to be published at an OppOrtune moment,
which apparently Ghas not yet arrived.
Her letters to Chopin, which were re-
turned to her by Alexandra Dumas fills,
she. like a wise woman, coptded to the
flames
The letters which Nine. Maurice Sand
coIIated shortly before her recent death
and which are about to be given to the
world, contain, it is true, some Of De
Musset's, but these are not in the least
love letters, in company with letters from
some of George Sands other famous cor
respondents, such as Victor Hugo, FlauS
bert. Barbes and Saint-Beuve. 1t is reck-
oned that they should form an interesting
commentary on their ideas of the events
of part of the nineteenth century, such
as Voltaire's correspondence gives Of the
eighteenth.
Most Popular Novels.
Now that most of the recent works Of
leading noveIists are in the hands of the
reading public it may be interesting to
hear what books are being most widely
read on this side.
From inquiries of some Of the principal
libraries it seems. as of course might
have been expected, that Hall Gaines
'eEternal City" is in most demand, but
and there is a very decided but in this
csse-rnost librarians consider the pOpU-
Iarity of Hall Gaines book only moment
arv One of the leading West End libra
rians saws: while it is true that the
eternal City is in most demand at pres
ent there can be no doubt that its pOpU-
Iarity is but a f1eeting one. 1t represents
only the requirements Of a class Of read
ers which is both uncritical and tickle,
rarely exercising a conscious preference
and content with obtaining the best ad-
vertised article Of the day.
Among the more discriminating read
ers the most popular novels are Sir
Richard Calmady,' "Tristram Of Blent'
and Kim In very short time the
Eternal City will be as much forgottenA
as the Master Christian which it haSy
now supplanted.
Now, take the opinion OF one Of the
chief librarians of the East End, where
literary tastes are usually Of quite diff
ferent stamp. Here again in this case
opinion is quite the same as in the West:
1.-THE Eternal City'eis certainly one OF
the books most asked for, and is the
most frequently available for issue, be-
cause 1t is of such an absorbing and ex-
citing nature that people sit up all night
to finish it. At any rate it is pretty reg
ularly returned the day after issue Con-
sidering its length approaches to that Of
the Bible, this is a tribute to its popular
ity in one way and proof that curiosity
is soon quenched. The same may be said
of all the long problem novels which aD-
pear They are taken out because they
are doomed and talked about and are
promptly returned. So in this way novels
of the Master Christian type receive
quite a fictitious record Of popularity and
are to be found at the top Of long lists
of novels arranged in the order of their
so-called popularity"
Volume About Bacon.
Mrs. Elizabeth Wells Gallup of Amer
lea is not to be allowed to make a, cor
ner in Bacon"
There is to appear shortly through the
firm of Grant Richards volume enti-
tied '',The Tragedy of Sir Francis Bacon
1t is an appeal by Harold Bayley for fur
ther investigation and research into many
questions at issue Broadly it advances
that Bacon was associated with an actual
society known superfcially to history as
the ''Rosicrucians'' that the object Of
this fraternity of learned men was the
advancement of knowledge chiefly by the
| preparation of instructive and elevating
literature; that the books so published
were secretly hallmarked.
This brings us to the Elizabethan Re
naissance, which is here put to the credit
of the 'ROsicrucians.'
AS to the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS contrO-
versy, it is a deplorable trUism, says Bay
ley that we English people know moth
/ ing or next to nothing Of one who was
perhaps our nOblest countryman. Francis
Bacon, instead of being rightly revered
or even respected, is to the majority but
little more than a dishOnOred name. It
| is even more deplorable that as day by
day new writer's come forward with fresh
facts their evidence is unheeded or cried
down.
If any other woman talked about the