The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-04-18
NEWS OF THE BooK. WORLD


Wisdom and Folly In Al Book Of BrevItIes
Authors Who Are looking to More
Than Dollars in Their Bocies-PoIiticait
Fight Against Chicago Duke-Henryt
sienkieWIcz, --latest Book.
Brevities is a little book containing |
some wisdom and some folly and, some
mixtures of both, all briefly stated and
generously pictured in black and white. |
The brevitiess are by Lisle de Vaux Mat
thewman and the pictures by Clare Victor
DWlggins: We cannot give here any sam
pies Of the pictures, but Of the wisdom
and folly witness the following:
To win woman, man must fatter her; to win |
man, woman must fool him
the joke is not evident or it lis on us,
Proverbs, like figures, may be made to prove
whatever one will 81 ~
The foolish woman is known by her fnery; the
wise woman by her refinery:
Trust which is not given is never misplaced.
If our hearts expanded as readily and easily
as our heads swell, the world would be the
Nothing is SO incredible to us as that which. we
do not. wish to believe
The Uneasy Chair has a good deal Of
faith in author nature, and that faith
has been strengthened within the past few
days by evidence that some Of the new
authors put more than hope of gain into
their books, when they more than the
older ones would be expected to be wholly
saturated with the spirit of :commercialism
that pervades the book world to-day
A portion of this evidence came in the
form of a letter from Ezra. S. Brudno, the
author of The Fugitive doubleday. Page
& Coz, thanking the chair-for its favor
able mention of the book. Had that been
| ALL, the evidence would have been the
other way, but when Mr.. Brudno adds,
| Appreciation of the book is to me just
| as precious as all the money could make
on It,, he is showing the love of the
| father for his child, and that is the proper
attitude for an author toward a child of
Ibis BRAIN The author who feels that way
4 will not put out a book until he has first
put into it his very best. &S
| Another portion of the evidence under
| discussion was found in a@letter quoted in
| The Critic for April. It. is from an au-
thor to her publishers, and contains this:
| ~I-wish I could express to you my own salts
| faction at the conservative, dignfed methods of
/ my friends and publishers. l should much rather
have a slow, steady sale on legitimate dignifed
lines than skyrocket boom yellow journal
advertising. A book which is conscientiously
written is so dear asthing to its author and
so much part Of ones life that its exploitation
on sensational lines must bring positive pain.
It is authors like these who, it seems tc
this chair, must appreciate the deepest
joys of authorship 3zgFrl
1 Mrs.. Foynich. the author Of tsThe Gadfy, -
has just finished a novel with Siberian exile as
its subject II there is any writer in the world
who knows this subject Fthoroly it is Mrs Voy.
Mich. For six years she was Stepniaks secretary.
, Her husband, who deals in books and
manuscripts in London is Pole, and spent
Health.
J The Duke Of Cameron Avenue is the it'll,
: If iy,x ioI,sf ~ Jlor~,
} appears as the duke; levying tribute ane
granting protection, holding the ward il
a strictly feudal relation, as one of the
Fl characters in the book says. That othe
character Is Douglas Ramsay, the wardel
of a social settlement on the avenue. HI
is anxious to overthrow the duke becaus,
3 the latter refuses to do anything to i'm
prove the wards sanitary condition, let
7 ting the poor die of disease in order tina
he may collect graft from the owners O
tenements. The directors of the settle
ment make an appropriation of $4,000 witt
(which to fight the duke at his own game
S and the story of the fight Is the story o
: this little book BY. Henry Kitchell Web
ster, whose lamezds familiar to fiction
: readers. n ~
The Scribners will publish, this month, por
n nlar natural history. Its author is specials
4 of international reputation, William T.. Horna
day, the director of the New York zoologica
: park, %.tEfg s&s ~ -. tSGE4
= Henry sienkiewicz' version of "a Hind
i, legend in his Life and Death, hi
h latest work, furnishes the It'll
q for little volume of storie
! and legends issued by Little; Brow
d & Co. The legend represents the sinhat
e itants of the plain Of Life as weary, an
). eager for rest. They go to Vishnu, rule
r of the plain Of Life, and he. willing
Z satisfy them, directs them to the plain
Death, separated from that of Life by
e narrow and beautiful stream Of shallo
a water Some cross and others watchir
,e from the shores of Life decide to follov
It Soon the plain of Life is almost who'll
lie depopulated. To prevent a total depopuls
le ton, Bra hma creates a. thick, dark We
l. and then creates also Pain and Fear, con
IS manding these two to stretch the veil b.
g tween the plains. thereafter, inhabitan
e. of the plain Of Life seek not to cross IL
s, the region of Death is as ''calm serel
IS and peaceful as, ever
To give this outline of the legend is n
IL to rob the legend, as told simp
and beautifully by Sienkiewicz,
10 it's pleasure for the reader Of til
4; little book. It is a thing that one do
lie not read for it's denouement, but for j
>. lesson. Misunderstood, it might prove
~. dangerous lesson, too.
Caleb Powers, the former secretary of sta
% ~ of Kentucky now lying in Louisville JAIL &C
- demned to death for 1.-THE murder of Govern
,s: Gocbel is writing book, to be published
experiences during the troublous days of X,
lg. tucky,s fierce ,partizan war for the control
Is; The Uneasy Chair
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