The Washington herald., 1906-11-25

InStedQ OF. Ike the OIneT ODHclids p4SNiAib
rosemary that's for remembrance, Miss
Opheua Bland viii some day wish that
there were some herb she could pick that
would help her TO forget it. She calls her
book Songs from the Capital" and for
fear. presumably. of plagiarism, ''all rights
/ are reserved The second poem" in the
book IS called Alabama" II does not
refer TO the State, but 70 the play Of that
name, which Ophelia says viii Haunt me
where e'er I go" The poem goes on TO
describe the moving incidents OF the
drama, thus:
he faltcrs: in a moment.
Swift 70 his side she glidss
While n the ancestral gardens,
The peace Of God Gbides.
Oh, pride q age and wsaknessi
BE rep'llses offered aid;
Though every hope had left hin.
That viii never fade.
OF course one can't quite make out what
II is that viii never fade, but so long as
Ophelia Is satisfied it's all right Ophelia,
when she seeks herbs for her use, does
/ not choose only the sweet scented ones
She has An Ode to an Onion" which is
pretty strong verse She tells Us here
that:
II onion c1Tes insomnia
II also cures the bite
OF cat dog reptile,
When applied Just right
Unfortunately, Miss Bland's book falls
% tell Us how to apply the onion Just
right 70 "cat. or dog. or reptile" There
are other gems IN this book Of verse, but
/ it would be cruel 10 point them out The
/ pity Of Il Is the wasted hopes, the clean,
white paper spoiled There is no country
newspaper, no matter how humble the
hamlet in which It is printed. that does
not. in its poets corner print better
and more wholesome verse than these ef-
fusions Of Clara Ophelia Bland.
4 book If timely interest that IS 10 be
issued within few days Is -Four Cen
turtles Of the Panama Canal by willis
Fletcher Johnson. author Of a Century
OF Expansion" Since the time OF the
/ De Lesseps experiment, Mr. Johnson has
been close student Of the Jsthmian
Canal problem. and has been a frequent
visitor 70 the Isthmus. He recently Wis
tied the Canal Zone again with Secretary
Taft, to whom the volume is dedicated.
Military authorities who watched GER
tain phases OF the Russo-Japanese war
expressed the opinion that the japanese
soldier was imbued, IN the desperation
Of his fighting, with something Of the
fanaticism Of the Soudanese when fighting
under the Mad Mullah, who threw them
selves on British bayonets under the con-
victiou that death at the hands Of an
'-unbelieyer' was a sure passport To
Paradise. That the japanese belief that
the spirits Of their ancestors are ever
/ present with them. and, therefore, are
worthy Of worship, is well illustrated in a
/ recent volume by Lord Resdesdale. The
/ Garter Mission TO japan" in which the
author tells of going 10 visit the grave Of
an early friend.
High up above the temple in the sacred silence Of
the fo-est-cad hills a steep ascent leads 20 {he
tomb q the Marquis KIDD. TAN and handsome a
nan Il singularly winning manner and sWeetest
temper, an accomplished scholar. he s. born
I leader Of men. He was Samurai q the Choshin
csn. and ore of the Eve or six men who were the
most conspicuous figures In the great revolution q
ls6s. Whom the GODS love die Young But he lived
long enough u sec the succeSs Of his work and %
help IN laying the Foundation for the greatness Of
Jeuan When I told g JaIeness friend that was
going 70 see Kid0's gTlFe he replied; He VIII be
glad 10 see you" Alas" I said. he IS dead, he
cannot see NE His spirit VIII be there" an
E
Wells Hawks, newspaper man who
did brilliant work while he was in the
I harness, and who is now in charge Of the
publicity department for Charles Froh-
mans theatrical enterprises. has written
a book Of delightful short stories, which
I he calls ''Moonshine Strategy" The tales
are gathered into a handsome little
volume from various magazines where
the originally appeared. and they are
well worthy Of this more permanent form.
Some of the stories are about moon
sinners, as the title implies; others are
about Japan, and in the story. "Thc
Orange Obi" one cannot help but feel il
a pity that Mr.. Hawks had not studied
the question Of the tying OF the obi more
closely. The whole pathos OF the tale
lies in the fact that the orange obj is
tied IN a certain way. II Mr. Hawks viii
ask some Of his japanese friends the
exact significance of the obi tied with
the bow in front, he Will probably blush
for the error he has made. There are
stories of the stage. which Mr. Hawks
knows well, and stories Of the newspaper
Office, which Mr.. Hawks knows even bet
ter; there are darky stories. society
stories, and mystery stories and, alto
gether, il is a collection Of stirring. we'll
written fiction that promises an evening
of entertainment. 'Moonshine Strategy"
is published by L and NJ Ottenheimer. Of
Baltimore. Md.
A literary event that should be flttingly
celebrated in this country fs the bi-cen-
tenary OF the birth OF Henry Fielding,
which occurs on April %, 1907. In London
the event is to be remembered by pub
lie dinner, at which Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle will preside, and at which most OF
the literary lights OF Great Britain will
be present Fielding has been called, with
more or less justice, the father Of the
English novel" and if that title does not
OF right belong to Defoe, the author Of
TON Jones' and Pamela" certainly de-
serves it.
The bane Of any newspaper man is the
/ typographical errors that will, in spite Of
the utmost caution, creep in. There may
be more Of these errors made nowadays,
owing 10 the hurry in which we get out
our printed matter. but that the making
Of typographical errors is no new thing is
amply demonstrated by Ph. Sheavyn in
the last Issue Of The Library" He
shows how the printers butchered even
Shakespeare, and he gives as a sample
the famous quotation from Hamlet" as
i was printed in the first edition:
To be, or not to be. There's The point,
To Die, 20 seepe Is that ally all:
No 10 sleepe. 10 dTCame. l mary there II goes
For in that dTeame Of death, Nhen wee awake,
Ard borne before euGrlastn.g Judgs
From whence no passenger euer retuTn'd
The undiscovered country. at whose sight
The happy smile and the accursed .,iaInn'd
Eut fer mis- the joyful hopo Of this