Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-02-22
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DR.. Weldon, the new Canon of West
minister, once made out a list of Is
books which he recommended to those
readers possessed of but limited leis-
ure Here it is:
The Bible; The Imitation of Christ;
Homer; Montesquieu's Esprit des
Lois; The Pilgrims Progress; OAR
wins Origin Of Species; Aristotle's
Politics: Dant; Smiths Wealth of Ma
tons; Goethe; Plato's Republic; Glib
bon: Bacon's Novum Organum, Thu
cydides and Shakespeare.
These are books that are to be ever
in hand; but of less important litera-
ture the late Bishop of Calcutta cal
culated that by reading one hour a
day the student might hope to get
through so books n year.
Harris Dickson, whose first novel,
THE Black VOLTS Breed" met with
such pronounced success, has COM
pleted a new story, which the Harpers
are about to publish. 1t is called The
Siege of Lady Resolute." Mr.. Dickson
has crowded his story with sparkling
incidents and brave adventures; but
the tale is not of the swashbuckling
kind. Mr.. Dickson is young man,
still in the early thirtieS, a Southerner
by birth and a cosmopolitan by expert
ence. He is a lawyer, but the weaving
of romance has made more urgent
appeal to his Imagination than the
preparation of briefs, and the success
of THE Black VOLTS Breed" definitely
outlined his future.
The usual annual table, exhibiting
the amount and character of the book
production of Great Britain during the
past year. prepared by the London
Publishers Circular, shows a decrease
of 1000 volumes from the total of 1900.
This decrease, says the Publishers
Weekly, would have been larger but
for the great quantity of new fiction
issued during the last two months of
1901. In 1900 new novels issued in
November and December numbered 313
and IS; in 1901 they numbered 372 and
1875, respectively. The total number of
new novels published in 1900 was 1863;
in 1901 it was 1913, only so fewer.
Poetry shows a fall of more than 100.
OF new works on voyages and travels
the number is precisely the same as in
the previous year, but in reprints
there is a fall of 40. In 1900 history
and biography Gncluding South Afri-
can events, territories, races and nOta-
biltieS) composed one of the few class
es which showed an increase; now it
shows q decrease of nearly 200. The
photographic de la France, in its is
sue for December %, 1901, gives the
following totals of the number of
books, musical compositions, engrav-
ings, etc. published in France during
1901. The number of books recorded
was 1868, or 500 books less than in
1900. The number of musical compo-
sitions recorded was $3.50, showing an
increase of GAO over those of 1900.
The number of engravings, Autographs
and photographs was 77S, decrease of
ia over those recorded in 1900.
Clinton Scollard, whose name is
everywhere familiar to lovers of grace
full verse, was born in Clinton. N. Y.
| Sept IS, 1864. He graduated from
| Hamilton College in 1881 and took post
graduate courses at Harvard and
| Cambridge. He was for some time a
| teacher at the Brooklyn Polytechnic,
and in 1891 was made professor of Eng
| ish literature at Hamilton College,
| which chair he filled until 1896, when
| he withdrew from active educational
work to devote himself entirely to|
literature. AS a novelist, he shows the
same qualities of grace, refinement and
skill which his poems display, to-
gether with q marked gift for strong
and sustained narration. His latest ro-
nance, THE Clustering of Ursula"
although published but a short time,
has attracted much attention, and bids
| fair to attain to the same success as
his earlier work. "a Man-at-Arms."
The fifth edition Of Jacob Tiis's popu-
lar autobiography, 1.-The Making of an
American" is on the press for i'm
mediate publication.
! The American Publishers Associa-
| ton is still at work on the problem of
establishing prices for books that will
| enable the small bookseller to live and
make profit It's limitations as to the
net prices of all books except novels
have been effectually maintained since
| they were first imposed. a year ago.
| But novels are, of course, the best SELL
| ing books, and those which the book
seller must rely on to make his best re-
! turns. 1t did not seem advisable at
| first to fix net prices for works of fic-
ton. and the matter was left open;
though few publishers of their own|
| initiative undertook to make net pricesI
for their novels, and the number has
| lately been increased. The most re-
cent action of the Publishers AS
socia ton deals with this matter in al
less compromising way than was
| adopted in regard to other classes of
books. A minimum price has been
fixed, below which novels shall not be |
sold. though they may be published at |
regular terms as regards discounts.
Thus some reduction may be made. but /
it is intended to stop the selling Of
books as leaders or for advertising
purposes. by large retail establish |
ments. at, say, Il cents, when they cost.
say, 81 or 80 cents at wholesale. The |
result of this has been that the legti-
mate retail bookseller has had either
TO sell books at a loss or at cost, or |
else to be put in the unfayOrable nOsi |