The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-11-17

THE Letters of Queen Victoria" seem
TO have stirred up a hornets nest in
London, where the volumes were pub
iished by Mr.. John Murray. The London
Times. in its literary supplement, said
that the price was too high, and ac-
cused Mr. Murray OF using the name OF
the dead Queen as source OF profit
Murray has sued for libel, ard now Lon
don is wondering whether. when the suit
comes TO court, the facts will transpirt
exactly how the profits from the work
are 10 be divided. Mr.. Murray declares
that the publishers are TO receive only
a fraction OF the profits. II is generally
understood that the editors OF the let
tiers, Mr.. Arthur Christopher Benson and
Lord Esher, received a lump sum in COM
pensation for their work, and It is de-
clared that King Edward. who is. OF
course. the owner OF hts mothers let
ters. has a business interest in the pub
lication.
Apropos these Letters OF Queen Vic.
toria" the London Times says:
The labor Of it all, the undaunted and unwearyini
daily industry her life cxActed from her perhap,
this. more than anything else, IS tho dominant I'm
preston left BY these volumes. she had <
tell the prince before their marriage that she could
find time for only two three days honeymoon
and when he lay dying she bad 70 attend 10 public
business the day before his death, and resume II
fortnight after. Thst Is the finally inspiring thins
n all that Is 10 be read about her. She not a
woman u genius. and the day was gone BY when
English sovereign could. by his power, trans
form the state But without anything Of the polit
ical genius Of Edward ]. or Of Henry Wis ire
Estfbls force Of WILL OF Of that strange secret by
which Elizabeth gathered up in her own person
the imaginative energy Of a whole nation. Queen
ViCtOriA's is sill impersbable name. Her 10;
forbade her their most splendid achievements. as h7
character would in any Circumstances have saved hel
from their crimes But she can never be forgotten.
England must cease % 30 Engand before The people
q these islands fail 10 hold In ever dear and
honored memory the woman who gaTs 70 all the
world a conception Of what life throne
may be. whose long reign was one single and con
tnuous act Of service rendered and duty done.
Before leaving the London literary
world 1t may not be amiss 10 mention an
other tempest in teapot over there. II
Is a row similar to that which has ragged
more or less mildly over the names OF
distinguished literary men to be inscribed
in our Hall Of Fame. Over In London
they found a space Of honor on the walls
Of the rearranged library OF the British
Museum and the names Of nineteen dis
tinguished literary men were inscribed
there. The fuss now IS about the names
omitted Among the names not recorded
are those Of Keats, Shelley, Johnson. and
Goldsmith Pope, Macauley, and Caxtor
are there. but tho only novelist repre-
scented is Scott.
A prophet is not always without honor
IN his own country. 'Ancestors"-''witE
the spirit Of San Francisco for a heroine
has taken tremendously on the Pacific
Coast, and Gertrude AthertOn is tbs
woman OF the hour in San Francisco. AL
sorts Of entertainments are being given
IN her honor. most notable OF which was
a reception. on November ?, by the famed
Spinners Club. There were over 600 per-
sons present. including the most repre-
sentative people in the city. BY reason
of a really extraordinary capacity for
civic affairs. Mrs Atherton's opinions are
a power in her home city. Her attitude
is as comprehensive as a mans and as
enthusiastic as a womans
Miss Natalie Curtis, who wrote The
Indians Book" (Harpers). and travelled
all over the West searching among the
tribes for her material, came upon one
OF her most interesting Indians not on
the plains at all, but in New England.
She went to Bar Harbor and took the
OldtOwn ferry 10 a little island where
lived an old chief. Big Thunder. He had
known the real wigwam days, for he
was a very old man, the savage fire IN
his blood as strong as In many an Indian
youth OF this generation. Miss Curtis
listened 10 him for hours as he told the
old tribe legends and crOOned the songs
of the campfire, Big Thunder has a SOU
venir of the visit in The Indians Book."
where he may recognize his own part
in its making. When Miss Curtis left
the old chief and thanked him for his
help, he muttered in the cultural OF his
English: Big Thunder write book-ugh. -
and Miss Curtis says there was Indian
satisfaction in the tone.
THE Life OF Henrik Ibsen." by Ed
mUnd Gosse, is new volume in the Lit
erary Lives Series which will be pub
lished this fall 1t is valuable inasmuch
as IL uses a quantity Of interesting ma
terial which has only become available
since Ibsen's death.
Messrs. Henry Holt & Co. have secured
from Messrs. Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons. OF
London. book Of unusual charm and i'm
portance. Shirley Brooks of Punch:
His Life Letters and Diaries" by George
Sowes Layard, and will issue It about
November Is.
Shirley Brooks was a fascinating figure.
II. II. Spielmann called him pertains the
most brilliant and useful all-around man
who ever wrote for Punch" and the cele-
bratcd Mark Lemon. Punch's first editor.
declared ''Shirley's pen is the gracefullest
in London" He was one Of the last OF
the great letter writer's. IiIs diary is full
Of Intimate human bits as well as inter
ostinS side lights on world-famous people.
and his biography full of his brilliant re-
marks. The London world Of the so S
and los lives again in these, pages.
Hail A Browne. whose book on Bona
parte in Egypt and the Egyptians of To-
day has just been imported by the Serb
ners. died on the eve of its publication.
This adventurous Irishman was the only
man from the British Islands who ever
saw the throne of the Caliph Haroun Al
Raschid in the temple at Meshed. Dis
guised as Turk, he made the pilgrimage
10 Mecca as a Mohomedan among No
homedans. Thus he got his title OF Hail
Herbert Spencer's hatred of unknown
visitors is illustrated by an anecdote in
the October CornhiH:
Mr.. Spencer was Just round the corner. on the
diEingroom sofa. waiting for luncheon and the sun
position that the maid might be o1erpowercd and
the inquirer admitted proved inSupportable When
the American on the doorstep became urgent an
smiable cmissary vent forth and parIeyed
Mr.. Spencer IS unable receive visitors" he was