The San Francisco call., 1905-08-20
LITERARY NOTES
cHATTERToN.

(Died August "a 17TO)
What news in London? Why the papers tell.
No matter sreat to-day OF good or ILL.,
Save that the mail Was robbed at Highgats
Hill
o City. robbed. unknowing what befell.
youth has yielded up too light breath
To one who rides on the black horse OF Death.
And thou art robbed of more than thou cansr
Thy streets are robbed of reproachfuI face.
A dernered room of dreams and visions wild.
Thy doors OF hands that Knocked at them in
vain,
on ring thee what had brought you fame and
Even the unsruthful fancies of child.
OF which our alter-years have seen the grace.
ISABELLA HOWE FISkE-
Wellesley Farms. Mass. August. 1905.
From the New York Times
Unfortunately the time has not yet
come when a famous literary man can
be assured that he is not leaving his
family unprovided for, Bret Harte died
| in poor circumstances and left his
daughter, Miss Ethel Bret Harte. quite
without means. After a hard struggle
for a livelihood on the stage and on
the concert platform her health has
broken down. Happily a committee
has been formed. headed by George
Meredith which aims at raising a fund
to permanently benefit Miss Bret Harte-
English readers as well as Americans
owe debt to the departed author, and
they have here an opportunity OF tes-
tifying to their esteem for him. Sub
scriptions may be sent to the honorable
secretary of the Bret Harte Assistance
Fund, DIR. l. C. Alexander, Holly Lodge,
Upper Parkfelds. Putney, 8. W.-Daily
News Gondon).
Nathaniel Stephenson. writing in THE
World To-Day" of the art of Maurice
Hewlett, says: "The essential situation
of that book (''The Forest Lovers) is
worth stating in general terms: man
loves a girl, but his love is egoistie and
preconceived: she loves him with all her
heart but for his own sake she will not
| let him love her falsely. she repud1ateS
| that sort of love; thus conflict arises IN
| the mans mind between his preconcep-
| tions of love and love itself. The issue
is whether he will put down the precon-
ception, destroy the egoism and win
moral victory over himself which shall lift
him to the girls level. This Is sort Of
situation that is not frequent in recent
fiction. 1t sets Mr.. Hewlett apart as
man who thinks through his narrative.
| We notice it in two things: First. he
recognizes that the attraction Of woman
for man is a deeper and subtler thing than
mere straight pull on his sensibihties'
second. that the test of a man is how,
when his preconceptions meet with fact,
he endures his ordeal
The Baker & Taylor Company has
in press '"Ihe Appreciation of Pictures
hew book by Russell Sturgis. in the
Popular Art Series, of which How to
Judge Architecture and The Apprec1-
alton of Sculpture" have already ap-
peared. The book differs from Poore's
Pictorial Composition and the Critical
Judgment of Pictures in the same Sc
ries, in that it treats of pictures criti-
cally and historically rather than from
the artists point OF view. The numer-
Gus Illustrations are reproductions of
pictures in Mr.. Sturgis collection and
from photographs of leading paintings
of the world. Mr.. Sturgis is also pre-
pairing for Dodd, Mead & Co. book on
THE Artists Way of Working" written
principally for the lover of art, and de-
scribing the processes of the sculptor.
painter, architect and other sO-called
artists in metal and other work.-New
York Times.
Her face is as black as ebon.
Wrinkled and scanned and old:
But her heart, 1 know. Is as white as snow,
And true as the rarest gold.
Her brown hands. old and feeble
With touch OF the passing years.
Would Danish each trace of care from my face
And brush from my heart the tears.
Nanny and friend. loved her.
Humble and all Unframed;
But love TO trace in her love the face
, That roober years have claimed.
Her face is as black ebon.
Her soul fair the day;
And her prayers, / know. Wherever go.
Will follow me all the way.
Miss DromgooIe. from the Confederate
Veteran.
DAnnunzio says that the art of life
is his creed and that moral law is an
idol inspired by Ignorance; thus his
characters seem to know art better than
! good or evil Speaking of religion one
day, he said: Il have everything but
faith" He has stated more than once
that mans love of God was but a blind
deduction from mans love for woman.
To him therefore divine love is woven
out of a mere fact of animal life.
Taking D'Annunzio as a whole, IL Is
undoubtedly true that no Italian writer
since Dante has done such work for
his language. His native tongue has
been the object of his ceaseless en-
deavor his daily study; he has elabor-
. ated, invigorated and refreshed it, and
much of the terse dignity of Latin has
been added by him to the florid grace
. of modern Italian. Here. then. is his
place in Italian literature. a reorgan-
izer.
To him is due the evolution Of an
Italian style. We forgive him his sins
of oversight. for the exquisite fuidity
of his sense of expreSsion.-Annetta Hall
dav-Anton in The Critic