Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-11-15

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Mrs. HubertBland whoswrites-under
the pseudonyme of E. Nesbif. is an
English women. an author OF novels
and poems. who meets the incon-
veniences of publicity. as they fall 10
the lot Of writer's OF the present day. in
curious compromise. She keeps herself
quite secluded from the reach of the
paragrapher. Being in poor health. she
rarely comes to London, preferring to-
remain at her country home, and her
own publishers know little more about
her than that she writes. But, on the
other hand, II is a matter of common
interest that she has put her children
into her books. The Would be- goods"
who figured in her last story were I'M
derstood TO be drawn from her own ia
mily and this year in THE Red House
they appear again.
The speculation as to who the au-
thor of THE Confessions of WIFE
may be has met reaction lately when
IS most d4stastefui 10 the publishers
The idea that the publishing OF the
book under a pseudonyIne was a
scheme Of the publishers for advertise
mont has been put forth. The Century
and scorns of time, and seeks It's
ouietus in denial. The idea of with
holding the true name was no idea OF
heirs they saw. but of the author
shall we say. itself? The manuscript
Of the story came in the ordinary
course 10 THE Century Magazine" and
was accepted. with the understanding
that the name should not be revealed.
A lawyer represented the author III
making the arrangements. AS a
guarantee of good faith, however, the
authors name was made known to an
editor Mr.. Glider was the fortunate
man tn whom the'secre was intrusted-
He was bound in strictest confidence
and he has maintained an unmoVed ig-
norance to all hints or suggestions or
guesses among his business associates
as we'll as in the world outside. As
member of the firm expressed 1t, MI
Glider only knows, and he won't tell.
NV Own Story is what j. L. 1roW-
bridge calls the autobiography he has
prepared for publication in The At
Iantic." Mr. Trowbridge is one Of the
two surviving contributors to the flrst
number Of the magazine.
In the sixteen years since the publ
cation of Kate Douglas Virgins The
Birds. Christmas Carol the sale has
amounted 10 almost three hundred
thousand copies. and of these 25.O0O
have been taken during the last twelve
months This is record of sustained
interest which very few other books
can show.
Augustine Birrell says in his preface
to the new sixth volume of the "Ency-
clopaedia Britannica. that Englishmen
are not and -proba bly, never Will be, a
reading people, and in explanation
thereof NAV be quoted the protest by
the Daily News of London against the
publication Of cheap editions of Mat
thew Arnold's Literature and Dog
ma" and of that once sensational book
supernatural Religion" 1t says, Ar
nold's style Is one of such real or seem
ing fiippancy, and his way of stating
his position so smart, rather than
strong that unframed readers, eSpe-
eially If they have any bias, latent, or
otherwise. against religion will be cas-
lily led astray. Literature and Dogma,
therefore, is scarcely the book for a
sixpenny edition, for those who usually
buy such reprints can hardly be eX-
pected to possess the mental discipline
or calmness of judgment necessary TO
appraise its reasoning at its true
worth. though they are likely enough
to be delighted with lis r:sillery and
ridicule All this and more applies
with still greater force to the reissue
in a cheap form of Supernatural Re
Hgion' When the work first made its
appearance a generation ago II pro-
duced something like sensation. ON
the side of unbelief nothing so cab
crate so learned. so exhaustive, ana,
apparently, so dispassionate had ever
been published before. Curiosity was
excited by the work being anonymous.
and by hints and surmises of the au-
thor's name and family. That Curl
osity still exists, but is seemingly as
far from being gratified rs ever. The
interest was added TO by Bishop Light
foots mastery criticism Of the book.
which, IL it did not demolish the whole
structure made yawning breaches in its
walls. and certainly showed that the
authors learning was nothing like as
great and accurate as ii seemed TO the
unscholarly reader. No one should
read Supernatural Religion without
studying at the same time Bishop
LightfooI's criticism
The indefatigable Andrew Lang has
turned for moment from the sterner
paths of serious literature. and he
dashed off in one Of his leisure hours
romance which he calls The Disen-
tanglers." Ii has been running serial
~ in one of the recent English maya
zines. and is now TO come in book form
from the press Of Longmans. Green &
Co.
Here Is the last paragraph of the
last story in Frank R. Stockton's John
Gayther's Garden soon to be pub
lished by the Scribners. The stories
are all told. The winter has come.
The orchard is stripped of its leaves.
and. scar and brown they cover the
garden paths and aresstrewn over the
box borders. The fruits are all gar
nered. The bare vines that cover the
summer house are like dead memories
of what has. been- The vegetable beds
are empty. The black fros, has settled
upon bloom and foliage on the upper