Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-08-29
AN OLD RELIC Of
ROBINSON CRUSOE.
British Museum About to Get the
Gun Used by DefOe'S Now
Worldwide Hero,
SOMETHING OF ITS WONDERS.
The Notable Literary Child of Dis
tinguishcd Scientists Decln.
ing Years.
Special Correspondence

Special Correspondence.
London Aug 2O,-Roblnson Crusoe's
own veritable gun is about to come into
the possession OF the British Museum,
thanks 10 an antiquary who ran across
It In the oxford Museum some years
ago. The oxford people apparently
didn't know what the relic was and
said that II wasn't old enough for them
10 bother with so the antlquary got 1t
for $3.50. The original OF Defocs IA
nous hero. Alexander Selkirk, undoubt-
edly owned the weapon, and In all pro-
bohllity carried It with him on the
adventurous voyage that supplied the
bnsls for Robinson Cruesoe's history.
Engraved upon the old flint lock, evil
IDENTIFY with penknife and In worn
letters about an inch high is the in
scription:
A. Selkirk, largo, N, u,
On the other side the loyal Alexander
had cut Anna r.. t70l, which stood
for Queen Ann, who according to the
old reckoning came to the throne In
1901 Furthermore, the figure OF seal
upon a rock Is roughly carved IN the
wood and under II Is the word Seal
craig" which was Selkirks original
name,
AN ECCENTRIC" ANNEX,
The British museum, by the way, has
nearly finished ifs eccentric annex away
out IN the country at Hendon, where
the prodlglous accumulation Of old files
OF provincial newspapers Is TO be kept
II you want TO see one you viii have to
send word TO the museum "a hours IN
advance whereupon the museum au-
ihortles send out 10 their distant store
house and get Il. AS back files OF pro-
yincial newspapers are so rarely In de-
mnnd and as the process OF getting
them Is now so cumbrous the museum
annex can be expected TO he the most
rcstful place In all the restful British
isles,
A LADY's LOVE LETTERS.
~ course, II was unofcIally known
some time ago that Laurence Houslnan
was the smart literary workman who
fooled the British and American pub
he with IAN Englishwomans Love
Letters" but the authrshlp was never
Acknowledged until now when It Is
claimed By Nj. Housman on the title
page of his latest work THE Blue
Moon and Other Fairy Tales"
TO A YOUNG WRITER"
Another little literary mystery Is the
authorship Of the Letters "a a Young
Writer" which appears In this months
"Cornhil' They contain the soundest
and most sympathetic and broad.mind-
ed advice 10 asprants for honors in
fiction that / have ever seen IN print,
ard no one who yearns to put his soul
on paper can fail to get help from them.
Although II would be a betrayal Of con-
fdcnca 10 tell who wrote those letters
ana who received them, no harm would
be done 10 attest their genuineness.
They were written by a fairly wei
known author now dead. to a roveIitl
whose work is now as widely rcal u
America as It Is In England.
VACATION SCHOOL,
Mrs Humphry Ward opened the Sec
ond season Of her Vacation School"
IN London with every promise OF the
success that usually attends her cf-
forts. thanks l0 n better head for busi-
ness and for the planning Of details
than most noveists are blessed with.
Last year nearly i0o children Of the
poorest poor received free lessons On
all kinds Of entertaining work and play
swimming cookery, dancing nurslug,
nature studies and the like This year
there are Is teachers, and accommoda-
lions for ZOO children. but the number
OF applicants has been over i.20o.
A FREE LANCE PARAGRAPH,
All newspaper writer's VIII DO inter-
ceted IN cgoe that came into court
last week. A froe-lance journals. sent
q little item 20 the Mall' ana goi $3.50
for q. although the itcm was almos.
entirely Rewritten. Tie Evening
StaHdard" reprinted the itcm and the
author sent in bin FOR a. After some
correspondrnce the STANDARD" sent
him 40 cents. but being q member OF
the Institute OF Journalists he decided
10 make a lest case Of II, and sued Tor
irfriueement Of cpYfght. The judge
decided that there was no copyright Ia
news though there might be IN the
larguagt ~ which II was conveyed,
Tho language OF The paragraph. how
ever. was chiefly that OF the blue-pen-
cnlsr Oh the Mail" So the Standard
won he case with costs.
VALUABLE MANUSCRIPT.
Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace. who dis
covered The Darwinian theory Of ma
ural selection al the same time Dst-
win discovered Il, delivered 10 his putt
fishers last week the final manuscript
OF a work that is likely 10 cause al
most as much discussion as Darwin's
theory when q was first propounded.
Some inklings ~ DR.. Wallaces sur
prislng new doctrine were given recent
is In a magazine article published slG!-
ulianeously iu England and America,
entitled Mans Place IN the Universe
but the main boly ~ the argument
viii appear Tor the nrst time in the
book which the aged scientist promises
10 save ready for the fall His theory
Is IN brief that the earth is In the
exact center uf the universe. and that
an creation apparently was made for
the express result u producing man
lust az the thcologians used 10 tell us.
Br. Walace's views however. are tuit
uD entirely without reference 70 the
oiogy. The interest in the forthcoming
work Is indicated by the fact that pub
fishers m America. Germany. France
and Russia have already arranged TO
publish Il simultaneously IN October
rather a remarkable record for man
IN his Sist year CURTIS BROWN.