The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-10-11

as she has ben identified often as IL
tied woman and the report afterward
denied. Whoever she is she writes de-
lightfully and let us hope she will give
us more books like her first one. Much
sympathy, however. has been express
ed for the Man of Wrath, almost as
much as for Dana, the husband, in the
Confessions of a Wife, in the Century.
Charming as was Elizabeth, she GER
tainly showed herself to be somewhat
selfish and the Man of Wrath is
thought by many to have a distinct
grievance. Should he and Dana get
together they could produce a human
document in the shape Of confessions
of two husbands which might throw
much light on the domestic situation.
One thing is certain, the Man of Wrath
will be given cordial reception in
New York, as the lovers of his wife's
book are prepared to make it pleasant
for him.
From England we hear Of the I'M
precedented sale of The Virginian; in
deed no book that has come out of
America in many years has made such
furore. This has aroused the crit
les and in the Daily Telegraph the ed
itor of a well known magazine asks:
will the Americans beat US in every
thing?' He says, they are beginning
to write their own romances," and
comments on the mine of material
which we have in the south and south
west. Who indeed should write our
romanceS, if not ourselves? The Eng
lish are a bit contemptuous in speak
ing of our literature, which does not
become them, especially as they usu-
ally say something betraying an ig-
norance of the subject, as in the ar
ticle referred to the writer speaks of
the beautiful new Kentucky style of
Mary Wilkins"
The Critic tells us that Owen Wister,
the author of The Virginian, comes
of an old and prominent family of
Philadelphia, and not long ago the
Wistaria was named for an ances-
tor of his. Mr.. Wister has spent much
time in the far West and his stories
reflect what he has seen and known
and are not written from hearsay or
out of vivid imagination. 1t is not
improbable that Mr.. Wister will fol-
low up his present success with an
other story of the West.
William Gillette, actor and play
wright, has ambition to become a nov
elist, and indeed has already turned
one of his plays into a book, although
now almost forgotten. Mr.. Gillette is
a native Of Hartford which is consid-
ered-SometimeS humorouSly-aS lit
erary center because of Mark Twain,
Richard Burton and other of it's distin-
guished sons. Gillette has been urged
by friends to turn his play Secret Ser
vice into a book, but claims never to
have had time for the work. 1t is per-
hapS as well, for it is essentially a
f1I,
whether it would make as good a novel.
Mr.. Gillette's desire to be a novelist
eXemplifies the fact of the unsatiS-
fed longings of even the most sue
cessful to be other than they are. Few
men have made the success that Gill
lette has, both as actor and writer of
plays, and he would doubtless seem to
be in most enviable position, and yet
10, he wishes to be something much
less difficult to be, for in these days
the woods are full of successful novel;
ists-hy no means the same thing as
good ones-but play writer's of ability
are almost as scarce as hard coal.
The public library at Denver, with
praiSWorthy care has been emuIating
the puritan spirit of Boston and rele-
eating some books of supposedly dan
gerous tendencies, to a special shelf
with a sign, danger here" to warn
the unwary. In st. Paul, our own pub
lie library has a shelf full of books
which are only given to those who are
free, white and twenty-one," but as
no one but the library authorities
know what is upon that particular
shelf, there is not much call for them.
In Denver it is the children's books
which are supposed to be hurtful which
have been placed upon this prescribed
shelf, and strange to say "Huckleberry
Finn heads the list. 1t is reported
that "Huckleberry Finn" is not entirely
banished, but he shares the lot Of some
books which are not given out without
due certificate Of moral character and
other fitness for peruSing doubtful
We read with establishment
that on that shelf in company with
is Burton's Translation of
the Arabian Nights. Denver has some
purgated edition Of Walt Whitman's
Leaves of Grass, and several others
that would not be missed from any Ii
brary shelves. When the librarian was
interviewed in regard to the isolation
of the Mark Twain book, he remarked
that, "the runaway feature and the
idea conveyed by the book that lie is
not bad thing make the work one
which it is best to keep for the minds
1t would be pleasant to hear Mark
Twain upon this Denver librarian and
let us nope that in the interest of hu-
NOR some one will draw his attention
to him.
The old question of how far public
library has the right to become a CEN
sor and regulate the reading of the
public, always bobs up when the mat
ter is under discussion, and is difficult
to answer satisfactorily. Strange,
though, that the bad books are always
handed over to those possessing
certificate Of moral character, and de-
MED to the perverted ones. Perhaps
were this arrangement changed about,
less harm would be done. The picture
of a good man reading bad book
just because he is good, is on the whole
rather funny. The Book Lover.
The Banner of Bue-By S. R. Crock
EFT. Published by Mcclure, Phillips &
Company, New York.
Unlike so many modern writer's, Mr..
Crockett does not think it necessary to
put forth a new book every six months
In order to hold the attention Of a tickle
public. Perhaps it is this very lack of
not at all tickle in Mr. Crocketts case.
His clever delineation of character his
CHEEKY Scotch philosophy, his grim Scot
fish humor and his genius for weaving all
those qualities into the fine fabric of good
1.-THE Banner Of Blue" John hl'e GIen UH1a
wynn is the hero. He lived in those STIR
ring days of the early nineteenth century
when there was such a quickening of new
and independent thought in things re-
ligious as to make the stanch elders of
the established kirk hold up their hands in |
holy horror. Educated for the kirk, Glen |