New-York tribune., 1901-11-23
his preface he has this to say Of political con-

| his preface he has this to say Of political con-
ditions in Afghanistan:
Astute and farsghted the Amir undoubt-
! edly was. it would have taxed even ms 1uug-
Inent to choose the right moment tor ms oea1; I;
J and yet for the good of his country ne couIu
| hardly have chosen more opportune Hloiiielis
| than the present. For a country newly Sou-
solidated as is Afghanistan and even yet seeeu-
! ing with unrest it would be fatal calamity to
be plunged again into the civil war that mas IN
! the past sapped it's strength and forced its
tribes from the peaceful pursuits Of CULTIVATION
! and trade into becoming nation Of fighters ana
| robbers. Had the Amir lived few years longer
! the younger son. who might by some De con
sdered having superior claim to 1ne
throne, would have been of an age capan,e p1ie. VI
! taking command of men; and in a country
! where the supreme rule has so recently peen
firmly established there would be many VINO Tor
reasons of sentiment or Of gain, would nave
been ready to throw in their lot with the younger
claimant. The question arises. Why did not the
point successor? Personally do not think ne
could himself decide so much depended on
whether his heir could hold the throne
A novel cyclopadia for young people has been
prepared by John Denison Champlin and pub
| lished by Henry Holt & Co. under the tltie'
Young Folks Cyclopadia Of Literature and
! Art" 1t tells about books, even to the latest
| popular novels. and of different art subjects
which it is worth while to know about.
| Stanley ]. Weyman's la test book. Count Han
nibal, a Romance Of the Court Of France" will
| be published by Longmans. Green Co. on NO
venber 30 1t deals with many of the historical
incidents which the author used in THE House
of the Wolf" but the personages are on a higher
! social scale.
| A representative Of Henry Holt & Co. walked
/ down Fifth-ave yesterday and noticed for the
| first time that the Scrbner Building had been
painted green.
It's great advertisement for our latest Irish
I -oil
must go in and thank the Scribners
| He did so. much to the surprise Of the pub
| fishers.
| Thank you for advertising our Irish novel,,
he said TITS the first time you've done that
| much for u.s.
We didn't know that you publishing an
| Irish story when painted the 'front.' said the
| man in Scribners.
| We'll. what Irish book you trying to boom
| them" asked the disappointed man from Holts.
These are certainly times when the circulation
| of novels rivals that of the magazines. F.
| Marion Crawford's Marietta: A Maid or
| Venice" has run through four large editions
| since Its first publication late in october. ana
| The Benefactress'' has done the same IN less
| than month. The later novel seems likely to
| be as popular as Elizabeth in Her German Car
| den"
Joseph Sylvestre. after much delving into the
| ballad poetry of the past and present, has pre-
pared an attractive volume which will be pup
| lshed shortly by the A Vessels Company under
| the title OF Christmas Carols, Ancient and
! Modern" There are more than forty of the
! older carols, each with brief historical intro
| ductfon. included between the decorated covers
A volume Of strenuous adventure in parts or
| the world which now are not very well
| known is Sir Richard Burton's fWanderinss IN
| Three Continents" It opens with an account OF
| his pilgrimage TO FL Medinah and Mecca, a
| performance which made his fame world wide.
| The book was published this week by Dodd,
| Mead &, Co
Alpheus S Packard confesses to having found
| considerable difficulty in securing Information
rega riding the details of the early life OF La
| marck for the biography which accompanies the
translation of his writings on organic evolution
Little could be learned OF his work as a pro-
fessor in the Jardin des Plantes, and visit 10
the Jesuit seminary which he attended when
boy brought no Information whatever. Yet
the biograp ply is full OF new detail and is done
in an entertaining manner. Mr.. Packard is pro-
fessor of zoology and geology in Brown Uni
versity. His work is entitled 'Lamarck'
the Founder Of Evolution" The publishers are
Longmans Green & Co
Il is rather unusual 10 have plea for a
simple life coming from Paris. yet among the
weeks offerings by Mcclure, Phillips & Co. Is a
book which insists that very theme from
the pen of a Partisan. It is Charles Wagners
1.-The Simple Life" which has been translated
from the French by Mary Hendee. with an
introduction and biographical sketch by Grace
King. simplicity is not vanished good,'
says the author. ITO aspire TO simple living
means to fulfil the highest human destiny"
The Scribners have had much evidence of the
high regard which the congregation of the
Brick Church has for the memory of the late
Dr. Maltbe D. Babcock. Since his book,
Thoughts for Everyday Living" was brought
out week ago there have been a score of pur-
chasers who said that they belonged to his
church One woman took fifty copies and VIII
present them to poor people in whom DR.. Bah
cock had taken interest.
Mariana Wheeler, superintendent OF the Chill
dren's Hospital, IN this city. has written book
for mothers 1t is published this week by
Harper & Bros under the title, "The Baby: Its
Care and Training.
BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
-. suopr HISTORY OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.