The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-09-14

pot is a-boiling in the Balkans, and
several books can be looked for pres
emily as a result of the sultan's we'll
earned troubles. One of the most in
teresting of them is likely to be writ
ten by Capt. F.HW Won Herbert, who
Is starting for the Balkans this week
to become a major of infantry in the
Turkish first line of attack. Capt.
Won Herbert's expensive book, 1.-THE
Defense of Plevna," has been trans
lated into eight languages, including
Roumanian, Servian, Hindustani and
Gujarati, and portions of 1t are used
as text book by many Mohammedan
school children. The captains name
is to be rather prominently before the
public while he is in Turkey, for he
carries many commissions in his
pocket for magazine articles and such
th1ngs He is a personal friend of
Edhem PaSha, commander -in- chief Of
the Turkish troops, who was the cap
taln's superior officer in the campaigns
of ~ and rs. L got word said the
captain today, "that a declaration of
war is practically certain, but even if
1t does not come, there is a good deal
more serious irregular fighting going
on now in the Balkans than is gen
orally known" The captains own life
ought to make a wonderful story some
Day He served in the Turkish cam
palgn of ~, when he was scarcely
more than boy, and got his baptism
OF blood with much-priZed wound.
Later on he was serving with the Chill
ian troops in the war with Peru. AS
an officer of the Cheshire regiment. he
went all through the Boer war, haV-
ing many narrow escape, but get
ting not scratch. The Turkish gov
eminent wanted him to go out and
help in the war with Greece, but the
captain could not see it that way
Mr.. and Mrs. S. S. Mcclure are in
London en- route back to New York.
They have just come from Paris,
where they have been for some time
with Mr.. and Mrs. Gale Young Rice
(Alice Hogan, author of Mrs. Wigs
OF the Cabbage Patch'). Mr.. Mcclure
has done no work this summer and
has while in London persistently re-
fused to see interviewers
"The Preposterous Yankee" the sa-
tire on Americans recently published
In London, seems unlikely to extend
It's circulation further than the Eng
l1sh edition can carry it. It's publish
ers have been amazed at the unanim-
1ty with which American publishers
decline to print the book in the Unit
ed States. The author, Montagu
Vernon Ponsonby,' is said to be no
less a person than the former New
YORK newspaper man. Alexander
kenealy, son of the celebrated Irish
lawyer who appeared in the Ticf1borne
case. Mr.. Kenealy is now living In
LONDON and is the editor of Pearson's
Dali Express.
s 1t was stated in the correspondence
recently that the crowds of Americans
VINO wander back into a crooked little
lane near Iincoln's1 Inn Fields to see
the original of Dickens "Old Curiosity
Shop were probably wasting their SEN
tlment. Today l received the assur-
ance OF grand daughter of the i'm
mortal novelist that this. surmise was
quite correct, and that she had heard
her father say the real "Old Curiosity
Shop" was further down town, at No.
"a Fetter Lane In.ADickens' time,
picturesque, ramshackle old house oc-
cupled by, printer named Haines
stood al that number. 1t is said that
the novelist was first attracted to the
place by a series of clever posters got
ten up by the old printer to advertise
"Pickwick." After his first call Pick
WICK S creator became regular visitor
to Fetter Lane. Generally accompanied
by a goldsmith'S apprentice, theSnovel-
list explored the circulating library
which was feature of the place and
held lengthy discussions with his COM
panlon over the details of the latest
novel. A descendant of the old printer
relates that one of these arguments
over j. Fenimore Cooper's RED Row
err became so heated that Dickens re-
taliated to some unfavorable criticism
of the American author, whom he was
ardently defending, by throwing the
volume at the apprentices head. At
the death of HaineS relative named
Crane took charge of the shop, and
preserves to this day the old-fashioned
Windsor chair in which Dickens in
variably sat during his visits to the
house which he afterwards immortal
lied.
According to the English publisher
who was lucky enough to bring out
Hugh Conway's Called Back" the
title of novel does not count for half
so much as the average author thinks.
In the case of Called Back" which was
the fad of a season and sold about 40O,-
600 copies in the past decade or so, it
seems that the author submitted four
teen titles for the publishers consider
alton. In spite of all this careful Sc
lection of the name, however the book
attracted no attention for the first few
months of it's life. Hugh Conways
thirteen rejected titles are rather in
teresting to those who have read the
book. Here they are as now divulged
by the publisher: Clouds" Gilbert
Vaughan's Tale" Light from Dark
ness, From Darkness to Light" "At
One Time of My Life" mot Impos-
sible," Scattered Clouds" tangled and
Out of Tune" Dawn at Last" Be.
fxrva