The San Francisco call., 1904-12-04
THE MONTH
in Magazine World.

- HE Christmas number Of Scrib-
ner's Magazine is unusually beau
tiful in its pictures, both in color
and black and white, and is filled
with sketches and short stories that are
not only amusing and entertaining but
are good literature and full of charac-
ter, as we'll as adapted to the Christ
mas season. Specially noteworthy art
features are the colored frontispiece.
by MaXfeld Parrish; the illustrations
in color for some Scenes From the Old
Ballads" by Beatrice Stevens; the
drawings by Walter Appleton Clark
showing Christmas scenes in an old
French village: a drawing Of a mother
and child in colors by Sarah Stilwell,
accompanying a poem by E. S. Martin,
and the beautiful colored cover by Da-
vid Ericsson.
Short fiction is abundant and Of great
variety
'McAllister's Christmas is the story
of how a comfortable cIubman got into
the Tombs and saw how Christmas was
spent In the underworld. The author,
Arthur Train, is an Assistant District
Attorney Edith Wharton has a story
of artistic life in New York, THE Pot
Boiler" Octave Thanet's story THE
Angel Of His Youth" is tale of dis
illusionment. The late Guy WetmOre
Carryl is represented by a most anus
ing story entitled William, Alfy and
Henry John" Another humorous story,
The Corner Cupboard Man." is by
Sydney Preston, the author Of The
Green Pigs"
The position of distinction held by
McClure's in story as we'll article
is. we'll sustained by the fiction of the
December number. James Hopper
leads with "a tumble in Divinities,"
which for charm of style and quality
of sentiment can hardly be excelled
as Christmas story. There are more
stories that appeal to our primal sense
of what is beautiful and tender to our
better instincts and tastes. with a
moving force. George Madden Mar
tins God Rest You. Merry Chris
tians." Marion Hills His Journey to
the Gates" Janet Remington's The
Way Wonderful" Herman Knicker-
booker Viele's The Money Meter"
are about the people and things We all
know, real and homely and familiar,
feeling what we have felt and draw
ing our warmest sympathy. Mrs.
Martins is a Christmas story which
reflects the season and it's meaning.
Then there are more of the mastery
studies of men and things in the
rough, of that great America which
lies far west of Hoboken, as artis-
tically perfect expressions of the un-
familiar as are these other stories of
the ordinary. Rex. E. Beach de-
scribes a terrible contest Of two miners
with cold and hunger and distance in
the Arctic circle, THE Test" in which
mind defeats matter. Stewart Ed
ward White continues his serial. The
Rawhide," and carries us with un-
broken interest into the mysteries of
1.-The roundup" and the traiT' in the
Arizona desert. o. Henry has a de-
lightfully> humorous sketch of the
matrimonial adventures of two retired
miners in THE Ransom of Mack" A
collection of thrilling stories, con-
densed under one title, is found in
Notes from a Trainers Book" by
Samuel Hopkins Adams.
The spirit of Christmas invades the
editorial sanctum long before December
comes, and the Christmas magazines
celebrate the holiday season with a
specially liberal literary and artistic
menu. Among the Christmas maga-
zines The Booklovers will take a
foremost place. 1t contains a varied
and attractive array of literary con-
tributions, and an unusually quantity
of brilliant and artistic illustrations,
many of them in color and tint.
Pastor Charles Wagner. the apostle
of the simple life, opens the December
number with a brief Christmas Mes
sage" written in French and trans
lated by Mary Bacon 1t is a singularly
fresh and unconventional treatment of
an almost threadbare subject, a paean
of praise on the beauty Of the mother
spirit" that at Christmastide, at least,
is universal and powerful-in its appeal
to the best in human nature.
One of the most interesting papers in
the December number is that by Bur-