The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1904-11-17
Literary News and Notes.

The American Boy. Under the general
heading of How to Do Things are
the following: GLOW to Have an Ant
Colony of Your Own" and the third of
a series of articles on whiting. In
addition, full pages are devoted to the
following departments: Boys as Money
Makers; the order of The American
Boy: Amateur Journalism; Stamps,
Coins and Curios; The Boy Photog-
rapher and Puzzles. Then there are
numerous small items of interest to
boys generally. $l.0O year.-The
Sprague Publishing Co., Detroit, Mich.
Rather an interesting compliment is
paid Holman Days verse by the fact
that a stanza of it is quoted by Clark
Russell in a recent story OF his, The
Captains Wife. Mr.. Russell is every
writer of sea tales and being Londoner
the quotation not only shows the appre-
citation of Mr.. Days work by a recog-
nized master of literature but but how
widely they are read as well. The poem
quoted from was The Cruise OF the
Nancy p, one of the best things of its
kind that Mr.. Day ever wrote and one
that would naturally appeal to Mr.. Rus
sell. Those who have seen the new play,
Common Sense Bracket, and are ia
miliar with Mr.. Days works, recognized
an adaptation of the story told III the
ballad of Elkanah B. Atkinson, where
the old hotel man sat up all night in
order to call drummer for an early
train and then made him get up when
the drummer changed his mind.
When Mrs Frances Hodgson Burnett
writes of childhood, it is always to say
something new, and something that
those of us who know children have al
ways felt to be true. Her new book,
In the Closed Room" (McClure-Phii-
lips, touches upon the mystery and the
"Fauntleroy' dealt with the sweetness
and Sara Crewe" with the sadness of
il. The new book is sort of fairy fan
tasy, The little heroine, Judith, is the
small daughter of a common New York
labOring mana delicate flower OF the
dingy tenements She sees things in
the beyond" When her parents be-
come caretakers of a big New York
West Side house, she finds room, clos
ed to all others, but mysteriously open
ing to her, in which she meets and
plays with a strange, beautiful child
who at length leads her to a flower
s1rewn wonderland of perpetual happi-
ness. The illustrations in the book, by
Jessie Wilcox Smith, in colors, have
splendidly caught the fantasy and
sweetness of the story.
The Christmas number of the New
Idea WCman's Magazine has table of
contents both practical and festive. An
article on winter House Gowns shows
two new styles, embodyiDg the shirred
and tucked skirt, the dropping Shout
ders and full sleeves. The magazines
London correspondent sends an illus
tration Of an English outdoor costume
which has some suggestive accessories;
the facts about the winter hats for
practical or ornamental use are set
forth, and neckwear for men has a
page to itself. The cooking columns
are arranged with a view to the gas
tronomic aspect of tne holiday season.
''>easonable Sweets for Christmas
Day" for instance is title that will
appeal to most girls. An article on
christmas at the legations is illus
trated with photographs of the little
people who will keep Christmas in the
houses of the foreign ambassadors at
Washington, and "The Madonnas of
the Painters shows some of the con-
eeptions OF womanhood OF the great
masters. The Poppy Lady is a story
OF two young American artists in Paris
who coutrived to be happy though mar
ned; "Hark, the Herald Angels tells
Of three Christmases in girls life;
ana The Fairy's Christmas Joke"
"Bobbys Christmas III Old Mexico"
Tile spiders Strike" and THE Shadow
Baby" will help the little people to en-
J.} ,ht U0 days.
(harIes Warren stoddard, the Cali
fornian-contemp and peer of Bret
Rarte and Mark Twaill--Writer OF the
exquisite, classic south Sea Idyls'
anu thirteen years professor of En-
lish Literature at the Catholic univer-
sity IN Washington-has joined the
forces of the National Magazine. He
appears in the Christmas number with
4 quaint Y fanciful and colorful story,
delightful comedy, entitled christmas
at Crazy Castle" During 1905 he will
write for the National a dozen essays
and sketches, leading off, in the Ma
of the Shadow of the Sky Scrapers,'
concerning which he adds: 1T is to be
a breezy sketch of my last experience
+ai -NNh L pIh"ts ivy w HlSll L lOaOlC
from the bottom of my heart. hope
you don't object to that" Later pa
pers will deal with kipling, Ouida,
Kate Field and other literary celebri-
ties. Mr. Stoddard has taken up his
residence with friend in one of the
historic Revolutionary houses in Tory
Row, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The
room i'll which he works was once &C.
cupied by General George Washington,
later by General Lafayette, as bed
chamber. A Boston publisher an
nounces in his winter list a new book
of idyls to be entitled, ''The Island of
Tranquil Delights
The following extracts are taken
from Sarah Orne Jewett's "An Octo-
Der Ride" in the book Country By
Ways.
We can always have just as much as
We can take of things, and we can lay
up just as much treasure as we please
in the higher world of thought that
can never be spoiled or hindered by
moth or rust, as lower and meaner
wealth can be.
The relationship of untamed nature to
what is tanned and cultivated is very
curious and subtle thing to me; do not |
know if every one feels it so intensely |
In fla do ,RnacS of orIx nt,