The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-02-14

interesting incident in the regulation of
copyright laws. Doubleday. Page & Co..
the American publishers, imported the first
supply. in which the English publishers had
printed Copyright In America" The book
was not admitted in this country by the
Custom-house officials. because it had not
yet been copyrighted here. So the entire
consignment had to be returned to Eng
land to have the page torn out before the
book could be received in America.
Zola's new novel. Truth" which he COM
p!eted just a few weeks before his untimely
death. is the third in the series which he
called The Four Evsngelists." the first
two of which were Labor and Fruitful
ness" the fourth c'Justice') remains-so far
as is kno~wn-unwritten. So that Truth" Is
the last book to be looked for from the pen
of one of the most remarkable writers of
the Nineteenth Century.
Truth is. from the points Of view both
CT subject and treatment, probably the most
popularity planned of the authors works.
1t is practically the problem presented by
the Dreyfus case, recast in a new mold.
Once again We see the Jewish scapegoat as
the center of the new plot. ard upon his
head is visited the punishment for the VIII
lainies. not as in the Dreyfus drama of the
French Army. but of Jesuitism and priest
craft. Briefly. the plot runs as follows:
a jesuit priest. master of a Catholic
school in a small French town. commits a
horiirle crime, the consequences of which
the whole Jesui; community of the neighbor-
hood. in order to Gear itself, cunningly and
stealthily contrives to fix upon the secular
schoOimaster of the district. a Jew. The
victim Suffers transportation. and 1t be-
comes the mission of the hero of the book,
Marc romen a brother secular school,
master Though a Gentile), to vindicate tho
innocence OF the Jew and lay the crime at
the door OF the real culprit. Thus the ex-
nYicnna - h L4-- l.
extent. the reflection Of Zola's own part in
the Dreyfus drama.
Max Pemberton, who Is writing a novel
of Continental diplomatic life tor Dodd,
Mead e Co. has a curious but certainly
rational method of work. He first writes
out the story himself. using many con-
fractions and authorizations. This manu-
script he reads 20 a typist, who leaves very
wide margins between the lines of the
transcription. Mr.. Pemberton then goes
through it again, altering. deleting and add
Ing. and then has a clean typewriter copy
prepared for his printer. Even then he is
not content. He habitually makes many al
teratons in proof while his stories are ap-
pearing seria:ly. and often considerably re-
viscs them before they appear in final book
form. MIR. Pembertor, as a rule. writes two
stories, each about D.NW words in length,
every year.
Mr.. Vance Thompson. the author Of the
novel, "Spinners of Life" after his gradua-
ton at Princeton University, went to Ger
many to study at the University of Jena.
Whiie there he spent his vacations tramping
around Europe in company with Il Great
Dane dog. During a trip through Italy he
fell sick at a little village in the southern
part. During one afternoon he had been
chatting with a travelling man whom he
happened to meet, and when they reached
the town they went to the same hotel. Late
that night the man was awakened by the
barking OF the Great Dane and on going to
Mr.. Tnompson's room found him uncon-
scious. Wnen MIR. Thompson recovered con-
seriousness he found himself on a train which
was passing through the cool highlands of
Northern Italy. Beside him was the dog. to
whose collar was fastened a note from a
garrulous Stranger who had played the Good
Samaritan. The note contained an itemized
bill of the amount or money which the man
had deducted from Mr.. Tnompson's wallet
to meet the necessary expenses and a story
OF how II doctor had said that unless his
patient was sent Immediately to the cooler
regions in the North that he would undoubt-
edly die. Despite the opposition OK the hotel
landlord. this same stranger had bought his
tickets, packed him into the train and
shipped him off North with instructions to
the guard to carry ON the simple remedies
which the doctor had advised. In order to
be truly romantic. it may be added that Mr..
never saw his benefactoy again.
Gilmore Elliott Peake. whose new novel. |
THE Pride of Tellfair." is being published
by Harper & Bros. is a native of Decatur,
o.. At 10 he became private secretary to a
member OF Congress-. On the defeat of the
CONGRESSMAN he passed into the Census
Bureau, and subsequently worked for three
years in the employ Of Southern railroads.
This railroad experience he has frequently
used in short stories. In his new book the
author is said to give good character |
sketches of the people in a little Illinois
town. /
In Lord Leonard the Luckless." which
Messrs. Henry Holt & Co. will publish ,
shortly. Mr.. w. E. Norris returns to the |
manner Of his first successes. "Matrimony'
and mo New Thing" The book Is said to !
he in a more serious vein, and TO impressive
Iy tell a story that a less able writer would |
have been liable to make sensational. Some
of the episodes are decidedly tragic, biS MT. 1
Norris's humor does not desert him. and
10 used in effective contrast.
.rrhe Four Feathers has run through
three large editions in two months. The
7 .ondon Times characterizes 1t as "A"tale
which. may be called a problem novel;
without q glance at the Seventh