New-York tribune., 1906-02-24
BOOKS AND AUTHORS.
Current Talk of Things Present
and to Come.

and to Come.
The author Of recent novel is described as
"a clever young business man." who INDUCES In
literary avocations a sort of side line TO MS
regular occupation. Asked why 1t was that ne
continued in commercial pursuits instead OF de-
voting all his energies to writing. he rephed
that he remained business man in order that
he might afford to be author. He evidently
has clearer appreciation Of the value OF his
book than he has been given credit for.
Robinson Crusoe has come back in novelette,
which Mr.. Barry Pain is publishing. He tells
his readers how Crusoe sails from his desert
island on a raft Of his own fashioning ana IS
cast upon the south coast of twentieth century
England: how in his rough goatskin coat which
he still retains he is taken for a motorist; how
he experiences remarkable adventures and falls
into many scrapes through ignorance of modern
manners Robinson Crusoe's Return" is the
title of this production.
Charles f. Holder is so enthusiastic and cath
olic an angler that he claims to have caught
every variety of fish that swims in American
waters. Besides the trout, the salmon, the
black bass and other fresh water denizens he
has taken captive such marine big game as the
ray the grunt the Bahaman barracuda, the tar
pom and the leaping tuna. He has now written
an account of his more exciting piscatorial ad-
ventures in a volume entitled THE Log of Sea
Angler" which Houghton, Miffiin & Co. will
publish next month. Not all his catch. however,
was taken with rod and reel. Some Of his live
Iiest sport has been had with the grains or
spear.
A woman-Frederlka Macdonald-is said TO
have devoted twenty years to investigating the
original sources and materials for what we know
of Jean Jacques Rousseaus life and TO have
made unexpected discoveries Of the way IN
which the all important memoirs Of Nine.
d'Epinay were tampered with 1t seems. ac-
cording TO her statement. that the original Ms.
is stuffed full of corrections end additions. so
that the result is a burlesque, and an entirely
false impression Of what the real man was.
Several photographs have been taken of the
MS with the original text showing through the
version superimposed by offlcious and misguided
friends" The result of Miss Macdonalds pre-
cious Investigations will soon be given In two
volumes to the world. Though says The
Pail Mall Gazette" the new champion of Jean
Jacques the Confessor may fail to prove all that
she processes we are at least secure of that
bonne bouche so dear to the literary palate,
controversy around a human enigma who once
had a sentimental following throughout literary
Europe And if she does prove it, then we may
exclaim, with DR.. Pangloss. that we have
reached the right reading at last
There is a perverse feeling of satisfaction
among writer's when publisher is made to SUI
fer for the sins of author. An entertaining
instance of vicarous atonement of this nature
has Just come to light. In the early editions or
that capital novel. Broke of Covenden one OF
the characters is made to say that a certain old
hacl, of a horse is only good to be made into beef
extract identifying it with the name of well
advertised brand. When the book first came out
no notice was taken of the paragraph but wheh
the novel began TO attract attention the pup
fishers were suddenly confronted with libel
suit, and only avoided one by publicly dis
claiming any intention of dscredting the ma
ugned article of diet In their public apol-
oov the publishers not only declared this, but
gave good measure By testifying that so much
did they love IS beef extract that In some
form or other it never off their tables IL
is needless TO say that in the present edition
the old hack is not considered fit even for beef
extract.
WHY did Mary Ann Evans take as her nov
elists name the combination George Eliot?
Mr. Cross says that she once told him that she
took il because it was "a good, mouth filling.
easily pronounced word Mr.. c. x. Shorter re-
calls statements in Notes and Queries rela-
tive to a certain George Donnithorne Elliott,
young British officer in INDIA VINO was drowned
there in 1854. and adds:
When one remembers that Arthur Donnithorne
is one OF the principal characters in Adam Bede'
il seems very hard TO believe that there no
connection between the pseudonyIne of George Eliot
and the personality Of Mr.. George Donnithorne
Elliott who died just three years before Adam
Bede'' published
There is to be a new biography Of George
Eliot included among the volumes devoted to
the Modern English Writer'S" AIr. QuIller-
Couch is the author Of the book.
why drag IN Velasquez?" inquired James
McNeill Whistler why not?" asks c. Lewis
Hind, the author OF Adventures Among Pict-
ures." Accordingly. his next volume, to be pub
lished very soon by Macmillan viii be entitled
Days with Velasquez." Mr.. Hind has visited
all the galleries OF Europe and the chief private
collections where pictures by Velasquez are
hung. and his book records his impressions of
the paintings. together with series OF studies
of Velasquez as man and an artist. and of
his companions, sltters. travels methods. infiu-
ence and appeal
All races in the world. 1t is said play games
with strings and loops. and each race has its