Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-05-09

There would seem to be a quite OBJ
vious morality about the disposal of
autograph copies of books, by living
authors, yet it is a morality which is
being continually sinned against, says
the Academy. In half a dozen recent
second hand booksellers lists we have
come across volumes bearing their au-
thors' presentation signatures. In eN-
trelne cases. of course, the thing might
be condoned; it is conceivable that the
recipient of an autograph copy might
be so at odds with luck that he might
have to compound with his conscience
for a meal. But instances of this sort
cannot be so common as the books IL
ers' catalogues would suggest. One
has the same feeling in the disposal of
a library; a man dies, and his cXecu-
tors. as often as not, dispense without
cCmpunction books which We're the
very life and soul of the dead. We
recall a recent instance in which this
certainly was the case. If man is
besieged by presentation COPIES and
cannot give them shelf room he should
at any rate, before disposng of them.
tear cut tie recording page.
A new publisher of fiction, W. ].
Ritchie, is to issue soon a new novel
by Edward w. Townsend, in which this
author deserts New York for his scenes
and characters, and goes as far from
the BoWery as the top of the Sierra
Nevada Mountains. Mr. Ritchie is not
Il new publisher, except in the line of
fiction, and Mr.. Townsend is not new to
Sierra Nevada fiction, except in novel
form, having written a number of short
stories as that region, for which he
Found Wterial in a year passed within
feWgSniles of the line dividing the
state California and Nevada, near
the,Nery summit of the mountains.
fort Birkett," Mr.. ToWnsends new
novel was written more than year
ago, but it's appearance has been de-
layed until the present moment.
| Doubleday, Page e Co. have sold out
| the first large edition of THE Con-
| quering of Kate" -. p. MS posthum-
Gus novel, before the day of publication
and are reprinting to fill the orders
| that are now accommodating.
| Fifty thousand copies of Truth Dex-
| teri have already been sold, and the
| end is not yet. To supply the incessant
| demand for that sort of modern fiction
| in which certain phases of contempt
| rary society are stirred to their very
| depths, a new and inexpensive edition
| has been brought from the press by its
| publishers, Little, Brown & Co, and
as a result the sale of Truth Dexter
| will undoubtedly go merrily on until
| the one hundred thousandth mark is
| passed. This new edition is solidly
| bound in serviceable cloth with black
| lettering thereon, and contains for
| frcntispiece the portrait of the heroine
| drawn by Jessie Wilcox Smith. The
identity of Sydney Mccall the author,
however, is still unrevealed.
| "The People of the Whirlpool is the
| title of novel to be published by The
| Macmillan Company early in June.
| This is by the author of THE Garden
of a Commuters Wife, and is said to
| preserve the same point of view. The
scene shifts from the country home Of
| Barbara and Evan to New York.
Several New Workers build cottages
| upon the ridge of hills" which are
| conveniently near town for the spring
and fall between seasons and the week
end goliing. The doings of these cot
tagers are silhouetted by the searching
| light of their effect upon an intelligent
rural community.
Miss Frances Charles, the author of
"In the Country God Forgot" has gone
farther West-from Arizona to Cali
fornia-in her new book, The Siege OF
YOUTH and lays the scene of her
present story in San Francisco, hel
home city. 'rhither she brings together
her company of players and they
present us with a very agreeable com
, edy of life and modern manners. The
story deals with art and journalism, anc
, with human nature. The local color i:
said to be wildly true to life, the low
episodes full Of human interest, and the
dialogue brisk and epigrammatic
= The Siege of Youth will be published
by Little, Brown & Co., the latter par
4 of May.
Considering that the national anthem o
/ the United States is sung to the air 0
l God Save the King" it is rather an Od'
coincidence that the song which has jus
| nan Doyle for national melody for Eng
| lish boys is written to the tune o
Il Marching Through Georgia. The au
i thor of Sherlock Holmes promised s.
to the writer of the best son calculated
4 TO promote and strengthen Il worthy i'm
l perial spirit in British boys" and tn
Il prize has been won by a country clergy
man. The words lit well to the famous
song. and the refrain is Cheer all "
sons of Britannia. The song is to b.
sung for the first time by d boy soloiSt d
a concert which is to be held in Londol
on May 26 under royal patronage.
The London correspondent of the Wash
inston Post writes as follows: Not on
OF the books published in London durin:
the last month has been praised NOR
heartily by reviewers than that miXtur
OF American wit and horse sense" Let
| tiers from Self-made Merchant to Hi
Son, which recent reports from tn
ii United States describe as one OF the hes
six sellers there. This books hatterinl
! reception in Engand-where its vigorous
slangly style might have been expected t
III disturb readers Il lIttle-iS worth record
ling, because it comes as another insIanc
toward the refutation of the stock theor,
that there is no public in this countr.
| for an American book. The fact OF tn
matter seems TO be that when an Ameri
can book is really good stuff it is al
most if not quite, as likely to be sue
cess here as at home. 1t is true tina
many u book that has been good sell
err across the Atlantic falls down owe
here, and the explanation that Is Slvel
I tNnN