The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-09-02

stGot anything good?" asked the CIR
at the receiving window of the library
to the young woman inside. ANY
thing interesting, I mean and not toe
instructive. hate to be instructed
She looked over the five cent" depart
ment at one side of the window and
finally espied "Mrs. Essington." &C
give me thati" she cried at once ex-
citedly. THAT has bully illustrations
I always choose a novel for it's tllustra-
lions, don't you2" she asked the girl
who was with her.
No. her companion replied, Il
choose it for its title. Mrs. Essington'
sounds interesting but I believe III
take The Celestial Surgeon see the
names taken from Robert Louis Stew
enson's poem of the same title, and
the POEMS the theme of the novel, 1t
sounds good to me. like title that
means something, or sounds as II 1t
might. I hate a commonplace title
like The Manxman' and The Chris
tan and all the The books, although
they've had a great vogue OF late years.
The only exception that can think of
now was The Spenders.'
Il think there's lots in a name, espe-
cially when it's the name of a novel, in
spite of Shakespeare. Kipling is al
ways happy in his choice of a title
THE Light That Failed L think is the
best named novel I ever read. All his
short stories are we'll named too.
The Silence of Dinah Shadds' The Re-
crudescence of Inlay and the rest.
like a title of that sort-fThe Some
thing of Somebody although since
Kipling it's been somewhat overdone.
''Then there's the sort of title that
Mrs. Craigie gave us: The Gods, Some
Emotions and a Moral etc. They al
ways sound interesting and suggestive,
somehow. I suppose because Mrs.
Craigie used them first and her novels
ov oil worldly
George Meredith has splendid titles
and so Characteristic The Amazing
Marriage Lord Ormont and His
Aminta,' Diana of the Crosswayss l
think William Dean Howell names his
books well, too. So many of his titles
are borrowed from Shakespeare: "A
Foregone Conclusion April Hopes,
The Shadow of a Dream "A Counter
felt Presentment and The Undiscov-
cred Country
"A title like John Halifax. Gentle
man. and j. Devlin, Boss is I'M
Imaginative but always sounds prom
Using, somehow. I'm crazy about titles
anyway. I couldn't write a story to
save my life but 1 have volumes of
names for books up my sleeve and I'm
always adding to them. Every now
and then, some phrase 1 catch in read
ing or conversation, a word or an idea
suggests new title to my mind that is
full of possibilities if I could only do
novel or something to fit it,"
you ought to furnish titles for the
nIovelists;' suggested the librarian.
tion in that respect and they say it's
an. awful bugbear to some of the most
successful writers to name their
books
iBut speaking of how we choose
our reading said the first girl, chow
do you choose yours %
II don't choose" replied the libra
rian laughing. "You can't if you do
library work. You have to read every
thing that comes out, and read it alt
with an unbiased, judicial mind, seeing
the good points for other readers even
in books that don't interest you in the
least"
ST have some favorite reviewers and
magazines of criticism said a woman
standing near, land l depend upon
them in trying new authors. If they
commend a book I read it and am
rarely disappointed. But don't read
many new authors am so devoted to
the old ones
"Well,' said her younger sister, who
was with her, that sounds awfuuy
high-browed and intellectual and I
confession I'm about to make but I
choose my books in the good, old
fashioned. approved way for woman
kind by looking at the first sentence
and then at the last. If it begins, and
ends well it's all right and take it,
Yes, and that has another ad-
vantage said the librarian. Casually
when you've read the first and last
sentence of a book you can divine the
rest and save yourself the trouble of
reading it It's a very good method
and save lots of valuable time"
A number of Four O'Clock was lying
on the literary editors desk and the
society editor, in passing, noticed it.
GOOD .gracious!" she exclaimed, sIs
that thing still going? They published