The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-21

dresses.
 Gen. Morris schaff, whose interesting reminiscences of The Spirit of West Point" will bo published the middle of October in book form with illustrations, additions, and revisions, has received
 many letters of commendation from army men all over the country. One of them reads as follows: Your work will have 1 a beneficial effect on large number of readers who know little of the true spirit of West Point which is best known by those who have been associated with it's graduates in active service and have come to know of it's efficiency in teach
 ing patriotism. loyalty, devotion to duty, courage and manly fortitude. West Point 1 Is the nations most beneficial institution. Among the many amusing anecdotes told by John Burroughs in his new book,
 Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt" ,"
 is the following: "The rough riders, wherever they are, always look to Pres
 ldent Roosevelt when in trouble. One
 mad come to grief in Arizona. He was , In jail. So he wrote the President, and
 his letter ran something like this Dear
 colonel, l am in trouble. l shot a lady
 In the eye, but I did not intend to hit the iady. was shooting at my wife I" One of the most interesting books of
 "reminiscences of the year will be Mr. Walter Cranes An Artists Reminis- cences" which the Macmillan company
 will publish this month. MT. Crane has had an exceptionally large and l interesting circle of friends as re- suit of the various activities in which l he has been concerned. As one of the foremonst artists of his time, he was naturally in touch with almost every distinguished English painter of the last generation. and particularly with the -Raphaelite group. with which | he had strong sympathies. He has achieved no mean reputation as a poet l as well, and has known intimately the 1 important figures in the literary world. i And added to this, he has enjoyed the 1 Friendship of a most interesting group of men, because of his affiliations with | the socialist movement. into wh ich he was drawn by William Morris. His book contains wealth of letters and , anecdotes of his famous contempora- ries Among these are William Morris, G. E. Watts, Lord Leighton, Rossetti,
 Swinburne, Frederic Harrison. Sir Richard Burton. John Morley, Holman Hunt, George Moore. Bernard -naw,
 John Burns, Whistler R. L. Stevenson, w. B. Yeats. York Powell and Richard LeGallienne.
 
 1 Various prominent men are being mem toined for the nomination, political clubs are being formed, and before long torch light parades will fill our busy streets. Should the nominee be
 declared on only by the grown-up? He
 M. Caldwell company, publishers, of New York and Boston, thing not. With the help of l.. J. Bridgman, the well known author and Illustrator, they
 have just issued The Stanta Claus
 Club" in the clever verses and colored
 pictures of which Santa Claus is ten
 dered the nomination by the young sters in Child-Land. It is a timely book and sure to be popular with the youngster readers this Christmas. "The Every Boys Library" a com
 panion series to their well-known "Editha Series for girls has been added this year to the list of H. M. Caldwell company of New York and Boston. There are some 20 books in the series, attractively bound in cloth with appropriate inlays
 and fully illustrated. and each volume
 is selected with great care as being most
 suitable and entertaining for the younger
 boy reader. Among them are books by
 such well-known writers as Dr. Hale,
 Hezekiah Butterworth, Hawthorne, Dick
 ems, W. 0. Stoddard and Frank M.
 Bicknel
 
 In the preface of "rhe stork Book. " Newton Newkirk's latest book of humor.
 published by H. NJ. Caldwell company of New York and Boston, the author con- fesses that he has not known the joys of
 fatherhood and therefore knows nothing of babies, but insists that he is qualified , to write authoritatively about them for the simple reason that the married folks
 who have no children always give advice | y1a1 Ag
 an antidote for any symptoms of ''grouch' the book with its clever illustrations by Wallace Goldsmith and it's unique cover
 with the baby china doll deserves a place in every home. It is not too much to say it is the brightest book of humor pub lished this year.
 Thomas Hardy-whose most popular books, such as "Tess of the D Urbervlles, . 1 Far From the Madding Crowd" and others, are in perennial demand--is d
 native of Doretshire, the part of England | in which. under the name of "Wessex," |" 1 he places his stories.
 He lives in his native shire, in a house | of red brick of medium size, almost hid l den among trees. He built the house l himself on ground which he purcha sed l from the Duchy of Cornwall; and thereby hangs a pleasant tale
 The piece of land which he had fixed | upon was practically crown land, for it | belonged to the Prince of Wales. as Duke
 of Cornwall, and Hardy had scant hope | of securing 1t, for he knew that 1t was 1 seldom that such land was sold. l But 1t so chanced that the application | was placed before the Prince himself | (now Edward the Seventh), and he was l much interested in it.
 'Is this Thomas Hardy, the writer?' I he asked And, on being told that it was, | he directed that the piece of land be sold
 to him. we must do all we can to | please such an admirable writer as l Thomas Hardy he said.
 | Why is 1t that writers with genuine I talent and an established reputation hide | their light under a bushel? One of the l most notable examples of this was that l of Henry Seton Merriman, whose modesty prevented even his own faimly from l knowing that it was their son who was ] winning laurels as one of the most fasci- 1 mating writers of his day. In G. B. Lan- caster we have another example of an | Englishman whose continued success does | not seem to weaken his determination to | remain unknown. As the author of 'The Spur" Sons O Men' and of the new | story published by Doubleday, Page & 1 Co.-"The Tracks We Tread'--G. B. Lan- | caster has proved that he can write a l story which carries ones unfiagging inter- | est from cover to cover. Lancaster | chooses scenes. situations and characters l which are absolutely true to life, and yet
 there is not a trite nor hackneyed line in his work He writes of the back coun- l try, which is more or less of fairy land ] to us in America, but we find there under
 his chaperonage men and women with