New-York tribune., 1905-06-26
LITERARY, NOTES.

Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson. in her miro
.,,o.io, m the .Island Nights Entertainment
9, +be new biographical edition Of her husoano
or,r r,,bl,shed by the Scribners, says that
..rre BOTTLE Irnp' was the first piece OF hctlon
e,,e- offered in printed form to the Samoans.
the idea of the story was suggested to Steven
= son nv a melodrama which was founded on al
old German legend. The similarity OF the legend
TO the Hawaiian folk stories struck Stevenson
forcibly and he wrote the story especially to ap-
peal to the native mind. The tale was trans
lated by missionary into the Samoan tongue
and published serially in the "Sulu,'' under the
title of 20 LIE Fangu Aitu." The circulation OF
the paper Immediately increased TO aston
ishing extent, and the story gained great popu-
larity among the Samoans. A belief long
nained in the island that the unopened bottle
still existed and safely slowed away in
Stevenson's house.
Charles Battell Loomis. who not only writes
about Cheerful Americans" but is one has in
hand book which Will be published in the
autumn by James Pott & Co. 1t will be called
Thoughts of a Thinker"
II brevity is the soul of wit the collection OF
essays which Philip Gibbs has gathered into
his volume Facts and Ideas,-' published by
Longmans. Green & Co. should be the essence
Of excellence. but the author appears to have
exhausted his wit in attaining breyity in his
articles He is of those writer's who are
ready at a moments notice to discuss any sub
ject under the sun. supplying any lack of knowl-
edge or of breadth of view by drawing on an
apparently inexhaustible stock of common
places. His subjects range from such general
topics as How To Be Happy Though Poor and
rHp T-art Of.
sions as Did Bacon Write Sha akespeareo'' The
Structure OF Thought and Spanish Art"
There is doubtless a large class of persons whose
reading is strictly limited to the daily news
PAPER. by whom these trite and superficial OBJ
se-vations will be considered as literature
and who may even derive help from their pc
rusal The author at least states that he has
received no fewer thar four thousand letters
containing warm expressions OF thanks for
the pleasure and interest the little sketches have
afforded. and for the ragement they have
given to students. young and old" This was
while the articles were being printed serially.
In so far as they may prove incentive to
reading authoritative works bearing on the sub
5ects herein briefly touched, there can be no
legitimate grounds of adverse criticism for th,.
printing OF Mr.. Gibbs: volume But the dam
ger is always that a large proportion of those
who enjoy such drfblets of thought will be per-
fectly satisfied with the authors diversified and
scrappy literary table d'hote, and spoil their ap-
petites and taste for more wholesome and
nourishing diet
Alfred P. Dennis. of Northampton, Mass. who
was delegate TO 81. Louis in 1904. criticises
the organization and procedure of American
nominating conventions In an article I'm the cur
rent number OF the Political Science Quar-
terly." He describes the operations of the con-
eention In which he took part from the inside
and makes number Of interesting suggestions
or reforms.
The new novel by Robert Herrick. author OF
The Common Lot" which will be published nv
Macmillan next month"; is to be called the
Memoirs OF an American Citizen" II is to be
illustrated more abundantly than the usual run
Of fiction. and Will contain fifty drawings by r.
y. Masters. The action is said to centre in
Chicago. shifting to other large American cities