The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-10-22
BY w. p. kirkwood.

(, @."r BY w. +. NIrkWooo.
WY HAT stories lie behind book dedi.
Nh ct q s1;y i }of!s = ss!s
WV would, beyond doubt, make
IA reading Of surprising interest. |
Az thew appear. to, the casual reader,
Fastening on to the stuff beyond, they
give elimpses ofh@romanees 1;ssuch1 as |
Brighten life of strugge1s s. sven IN as asimnS
or tragedy, often of that mutual helP-
fitness that adds to the Joy of work
ar lines with silver clouds of failure,
If The writer's attitude toward his
work or toward life. These, and many
other things one sees IN immature III
book dedications. .:.., ~, <, -.
Now and then a writer Celebrates his
dedication, summarizing the story, 1t
holds This has been done by Arthur
Henry in his new book. lodgings p
Town. Just published. Mr.. Henry>s
dedication begins: -...,o,;,,,
In the days when was WaIoe sl.ns
about New York in an ainless way,
doing no harm, wrote story and called
it. "The Young Wife of Old Pierre
kinslee's Magazine was new, and
took it. 49,. r.,4.
Then follows the story of MI. Hen,
rvs meeting with Everett Shinn, at
that time an unknown ARTIST VINO nao
been engaged by Ainslee's to illustrate
Mr.. Henrv's story. The story was the
frst Mr. Henry sold and the pictures
we're the first of Mr.. Shinn s that ap-
reared in a magazine. Later Mr.: Henry
and Mr.. Shinn both "arrived.' The
dedication does not say 50, OF course
H PHs Sne in nae Getting out his latest book
went to Nj. Shinn, and said: .'Shinn,
I am trying to put into a book some
thing Of what New York has meant
to me, and would like to make a
frontispiece of one Of the things you
pulled out since we met at Alnslee,s
sn Go G help yours eli - As result the
formal dedication follows:
To all such friendly impulses that give
warmth and light to commerce:
To
An Optimistic Country
Little Old New York.
This Book is Dedicated.
The dedication in full is an epitome
of the fight many men have to make
to get a footing in New York, or else
where; it also shows one of the best
rewards of such battling-enduring
friendship. -
A very different dedication is that Of
Henry van Dyhe LII 1Ho LVuiAnS eo
sion,'' one of the successes of l90l-O2,
and in workmanship, and interest a
IA Writer'S Request of His Master.''
In spirit, if not in form, however, it
is dedication, and gives the secret OF
the distinguished style and merit of Dr.;
van Dykes work. It is given in full
herewith.
If there is a glimpse of DR.: van
DYKES attitude toward his art in the
dedication to ''The Ruling Passion, -
there is grace and pretty picture, tell
ing great deal, in his dedication to
"Little Rlvers':
To one who wanders by my side
AS cheerfully waters glide
Whose eyes brown woodland streams,
And very fair and full Of dreams; - ~.
Whose thoughts like merry rivers sing: y;
To henry little daughter Brooke .'f*&
L dedicate this little book. ~
By poetic dedications one is reminded
Of Kipling's to HThe Seven Seas,
which is dedicated to Bombay, and con-
tains this:
So thank RI God my birth =
Fell not in isles aside
Waste headlands Of the earth,
Or warning tribes untried@- -,
But that she lent me worth
And gave me right to pride.
The number of dedications tFTo My
Wife, is almost. endless. and speaks
clearly for the influence of the wife in
literature One wishes that Hawthorne
books to her Of whom he said 11She
was the only woman in whose presence
I ever felt complete repose..7s One
cannot but wonder whether some Of this
repose is not seen in the tranquility OF
Hawthorne's style. -
Id of ho ifo1 ha
in the light Of the contents of the bool
makes a special appeal is that if "Il
MARVEL in "Reveries of a Bachelor, ,
which runs:
One at Home,
in whom are met so many of the grace
and the virtues, of which as
bachelor I dreamed.
To mothers and fathers, Of course
there are many dedications. Not s
. many are there however, to, grand
mothers. But one of the latter is feun
ter's 1.-THE Fortune Of the Landrays:'
Norah Davis ''The Northerner, - on
of this falls books, is dedicated to
brother-in-la cdr. Grenfell 5, Pa,
ish," by Norman. Duncan, is dedicate
to a whole ships. crew, that OF tn
DR.. Grenfell makes his rounds Of til
Labrador and Newfoundland coasts.
There is no need Of going furthe
to show how much may lie back of
book dedication-often a glimpse Of tn
deepest influence in the authors life.
WSs=-ExSlS@=-
The Sheep. -
When from the magic hills beyond the plain
The sun transmutes the clouds and bids the
shine gold,
In single file the tranquil sheep regain =