The San Francisco call., 1905-01-20
FRENCH WRITER
IS A BUSY MAN
Camille FlammariOn lis En-
gagged on Four Books.
Two Deal With Stars
NEW STORY BY VERNE
Latest Effort of Versatile
Author a Tale of Adven-
ture in Wonderful Machine
NEW STORY BY VERNE
Special Dispatch to The Call.

LONDON, Jan. 1s.-Camille Flam-
marion is now engaged on four differ
ent books, each one Of which is keeping
him so busy that he hesitated to say
which he will bring out first. Having
Just finished a work on THE Caprices
of Lightning" and having brought out
: only few months before that book
on the elements of astronomy, Flam-
marion is now collecting data for two
entirely new volumes, and recasting
two others. For the general public, the
most interesting of the new volumes
will be that on 1.-THE Unknown" fol-
lowing up the treatise published three
years ago in which Flammarion es-
sayed to establish as a Scientific fact
that there are such things as appari-
tions and premonitory dreams, but in
which he hesitated to enter into theory,
not considering that he had in hand
sufficient material to demonstrate more
than what he considered the simple
truth Flammarion has been at work
ever since gathering new evidence, re-
ceiving daily scores Of letters from all
parts of the world, and in his second
volume he will approach the discussion
of the general laws which may govern
psychological phenomena upon earth.
Flammarion's other new work, in
tended only for astronomers, will be
another volume on the planet Mars.
His first volume is the only complete
work ever published on this, the most
interesting Of all the planets, and the
second volume, continuing these stud
. ies, will give the results of the observa-
tions which he has been making year
by year at his private observatory at
Juvisy, near Paris. One of the curious
phenomena which he has witnessed
and Of which he will speak is the ap-
pearance of snow on the Martian poles
in the late spring.
When not occupied with these two
important works, Flammarion busies
himself with revising The Plurality Of
Inhabited Worlds" the book published
when he was barely over twenty and
which established his fame. and his
Popular Astronomy" Both these
books have remained classics and, re-
markable to say not a word contained
in them has been disproved by the dis
coveries of recent years. Nevertheless,
there is much which has come to light
since their publication, and Flam-
marion is bringing them thoroughly
up-to7date. The Popular Astronomy
is about completed, and the new edi-
ton is expected to appear shortly.
''THE DICTIONARY
1t is over a year since Katherine
Frensham" made its appearance and
during nearly all that time Beatrice
Harraden has been working on a play
her first-which is quantity named
"The Dictionary" 1t was finished
about three months ago, when its au-
thoress decided to take a leaf out Of
Justin Huntly McCarthy's book and
make novel of it as WELL Accordingly
she set to work and hopes now to have
the romance ready for publication in
the spring. The play will be seen
later.
1t will be rather interesting to CONF
pare a new novel which Frank Frank
fort Moore is now writing with one
produced last year at home by Miss
Halle Erminie Rives. For, like 1.-THE
Castaway," Moore's forthcoming ro-
nance has Lord Byron for it's chief
character. 1t will be called Love
Alone Is Lord" and Frankfort Moore
expects to be putting the finishing
touches to it at the end of another
two months.
Reports from Paris indicate that
Jules Verne is still the favorite story
teller of French boys and that his lat
est romance, published in the city of
light just before Christmas, is having
a. huge SALE Despite the heavy de-
mands he has made upon it in the fifty
years or more in which he has been
turning out novels, evidently NJ.