The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-01

l
 H. J. l A Conan Doyle in his new book eyt- dently aims at producing something more than a volume of interesting and excit- ing stories. His purpose appears to be to reproduce period of history accurate l ly, and with such attractiveness as to arouse the interest of the reader in the ! period itself. It seems that since his writing of the History of the Great Boer War" MT. Doyle has taken up the hs- torians point of view. In his preface to the volume of tales of the adventures of Brgadier Gerard. following the army of Napoleon, MT. Doyle says
 T hope that some readers may possi- bly be interested in these tales of the Napoeonic soldiers to the extent of fol- 1 lowing them up to their original sources. l The age was rich in military material, some of the most picturesque and the most human that l ever read"
 MT. Doyle gives a long list of Memoirs and "Souvenirs' of the Napoleonic off cers that he has read, records of men l from the dragons, the cavalry the cuir- assiers, the chasseurs each representing l the point of view of the part of the ser vice to which the writer was attached. Consequently, Mir Doyles book gives 1 a very comprehensive view, of the spirit that animated the followers of the Lit tie Corporal" The impression of hls- torical accuracy that the stories leave will probably give them an importance and value beyond that which they have as merely bright and clever stories by MT. Doyle.
 l Whatever may be the connection be- tween small handwriting and large bulk and intellect, the rule is well observed in the case of Charles Wagner, the author of "The Simple Life" and 'The Better Way" MT. Wagner is of generous pro- portions indeed, towering far above the average Frenchman in height, with shoulders and back broad enough for two ordinary men of his race. His arms are almost cub-ike and his legs thick and sturdy like the trunks of oak trees. This splendid physique is the heritage of his youthful days spent climbing the. noun tains in the Vosges. Of the breadth and stature of the intellectual man, the doc trnes preached in his two recent books, are ample evidence. But his handwriting! It seems almost impossible that he could have achieved such microscopic minute ness without the aid of a glass, and it presents enormous difficulties to the reader. MT. Wagner's thought is quick, and his flying pen frequently has to skip and abbreviate letters to keep up with it. The combination produces a chiro- graphy, baffing even to the native Frenchman, and almost impossible to the foreigner who is lucky enough to receive one of the authors charming let ters.
 Mcclure, Phillips and Company an- nounee the issue of the eighth volume of their Complete Works of William Haz- ltt' on September 15. This is library edition. the first that is absolutely com- plete, printed by Dent of London. from type. limited to $50 sets in America. It will be in twelve volumes.
 Mcclure, Phillips and Company are about to issue a third edition of Dr. Charles A. Eastmans autobiograp phieal story of Indian life, Indian Boyhood." Since it's issue. less than a year ago, 1t has steadily climbed in popularity. and has held its place continuously as one of the books most in demand at libraries.
 ',rhe Home,' by Charlotte Perkins Gill; man, which Mcclure, Phillips and Com pany are bringing out this month is book likely to arouse good deal of dis l cussion among students of the problems t, of domestic life. Mrs. Gilman has made a very close study of the home from the point of view of its work and it's infn- ence, taking nothing for granted, and beginning at the bottom. The fact that certain ideals have been held for thou sands of years does not deter her from seeing the fallacy of them. One of her first conclusions is that while the mas ] culine industries have, in course Of time, been organized, the feminine industries, represented by the home have remained in state of decentralization. with scarcely any change since the times of savagery and barbarism. One aim of her book is to show how this untoward con- dition of things can be remedied. In fact, throughout. though she destroys much that has been held sacred even be- yond discussion, her philosophy is con- structive and the conclusions of her book are hopeful in the extreme.
 Political economists tell us that a country is prosperous and growing rich when It's exports exceed its imports. It is worth while to consider if this law of the business world is applicable in the same way to- the literary world. For these many long years the "balance of trade" in books of fiction, as between England and America, has been much in | favor Of Englanu But the peHuciuhh IS swinging. and books that are really American home products are now being sent to Britain from our shores.
 Mcclure, Phillips, and Company have recently sold sheets" of their last Springs successes. "The Voice in the Desert" by Pauline Bradford MaclSie, and Deep Sea Vagabonds." by Albert Sonnchsen. to London booksellers.
 This indicates tendency which Is felt strongly throughout the trade. While it does not quite show that We have bal anced the literary ledger with England. 1t is certainly proof that we are gradu- ally settling our indebtedness in the realm of letters as we Nave already set tied it in the realm of finance.
 The Letters From Chinese Official is an anonyinous volume published by Mcclure Phillips and Company, in which though calmly. yet with exasperatins truth. the Chinese view of the imperfec-