The San Francisco call., 1901-10-09
GOSSIP FROM
LONDON WORLD
OF LETTERS

A book that will probably throw noOu
of light on the childhood of Queen VIC
toria is promised for early publication
The volume is being prepared by Mrs'
Gerald Gurney, the granddaughter OF the
( late Bishop Bloomfield one of the late
Queens early advisers. She has had
placed in her possession for purposes Of
the work a number of exceedingly inter-
esting letters written by the DuchesS OF
Kent and other persOnages connected
with the Queens girlhOOd- Mrs GurAey
is the wife of a well known London actor
and is the niece of Sir Arthur BloOmnelc,
the famous architect. Mrs Gurney's pre-
yious efforts in literature have not been
ambitious but she is the author OF the
words of the pathetic hymn, "Oh, Perfect
Lover
J Everybody has heard of that remarka-
BILE woman, the Empress DOWager OF
China, but not. perhaps, her name 1t IS
YehonaIa. George Lynch, who was with
the allies in China, mentions it in his
! forthcoming book. He thinks Hehonala
the most marvellous woman in the world,
and the Chinese not the least remarkable
nation. Mr. Lynch makes no pretense TO
erudite knowledge. He thinks the Chi-
nese were to blame, but he seeks to set
out their case fairly. He offers an ac-
| count, "dsjointed lopsided, Incomplete
of much that appeared TO him as for
/ eign devil during the recent conflict or
China with Western civilization. 1t is
/ really a notebook, as it's title implies.
1t has been generally supposed that
| 1.-The AristOcrats" owed it's conception to
the sudden craze for epistolary fiction
AS a matter of fact, l hear that Mrs.
| Atherton's book was in the hands Of the
publishers last September. The story was,
\ L believe, issued anonymously, because
/ all of Mrs. AthertOns work has been re-
ceived with a certain amount of abuse in
| America, and she wished the work to
stand the test Of unbiased criticism.
| 1t may be guessed. then. with what rel
ish she found the newspapers which had
| been most consistent in denouncing her
were loudest In their praise Of THE Aris-
| tocrats-"
| The Sketch draws attention to the fact
that there has been no notice in any Eng
/ lish journal Of the remarkable life Of the
/ Prince Imperial which was recently pub
lished in France. THE author" says the
Sketch chad the audacity to combine a
kind of drama with biogra ply" The
| book is dialogue, with a running com
mentary. 1t reproduces, for instance,
conversation which is supposed to be ex-
/ changed between father and son on the
| battlefield of Saarbrucken at the begin
ming of the Franco-Prussian War.
| 1t dramatizes a scene in a miserable inn
| in the Ardennes, where the fugitive Prince
/ enters for moment with Duperre, who
! is conducting him out of France. The
\ writer rises to the supreme height of SEN
| sationaIism when he represents ina gin
ary conversations between the unfortU-
nate Prince and the equally unfortunate
| Charlotte Watkins on her daily journeys
| between WoOIwich and London. 1t is not
| a pleasant book to read, especially when
! it's author deals with the tragedy in Zu-
| luIand
Miss Marie Coreui is one of those who
suffer most from the penalty of great
ness. Like other leading lights in litera-
| ture and in politics, she has her enemies
| who refuse to leave her alone in the Sc
clusion for which she yearns. One of the
bitterest attacks ever made upon her has
| been that for which she is most unjustly
| acCused-namely, the publication of her
/ geography in a series of biographies OF
| eminent people which she has been ac-
| cused by certain irresponsible writer's of
having published advertisement Of
herself. Now, nothing could have been
more unjust, for If ever any person de-
! sired to live a. retired life with only fnti-
! mate friends around her, it is Miss Co
relli.
She could not even have a photograph
taken lest it might be seized upon by
| some one for publication in some illus
| trated magazine or paper.
| Writing to the Daily Chronicle, Miss
| Corelli in defense says she is at present
the recipient of daily insult from various
quarters on account OF thaC small Dt1OU
biography which was published in a com
paniOn volume to those on the King, Lord
Roberts, Lord Kitchener and others
/ Have any of these" she pertinently
biographies for purpose of advertise
ment% But that libel is being freely cir
| culated about herself. As a matter Of
! fact, she made every effort to prevent
! that biography being published. She adds
/ that the publisher himself can confirm
! the statement On asking a solicitors ad-
i vice on the subject she told that nm
| less the biography contained something
/ false and hbelOuS she could not success
fully take exception to it in any court OF
/ law.