The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-12-14

uSned Tor the first time In DOCK form.
The speeches are models Of eloquence,
and should be studied by all public
speakers. One Of the great values in
Mr.. Townsend's biography is the pre-
servatfon of these orations, for upon
them Menefee's fame must rest.
Ono of the best stories that was
ever written for the holiday season is
Robert Grants 1.-THE Bachelors
Christmas" 1t appeared some years
ago in Scribner's Magazine, and has
now been republished in attractive
pocket form with a frontispiece. A
cheerier, more satisfactory Christmas
story it would be hard indeed to find.
President Theodore Roosevelt has
written a foreword for the late Jere-
miah Curt1n's 1.-THE Mongols,'' an i'm
portant historical work which Little,
Brown & Co. are publishing, in which
he says: THE death of jeremiah
Curtin robbed America of one of her
two or three foremost scholars. The
extra facility with which he
learned any language, his gift of style
in his own language, his industry, his
strange nations and out of the way
peoples, and his great gift of magma
ton which enabled him to appreciate
the epic sweep of vital historical
events, all combined to render his
ordinary TRANSACTIONS of the Polish
novels of Sienkiewicz would have been
enough to establish first class repu-
tation for any man. But nothing that
he did was more important than his
studies of the rise of the mighty Mon
gol empire and its decadence. In this
particular field no other American or
English scholar has ever approached
him."
Mr. j. M Barrie tells how. on ar
irving in New York some years ago,
he was accosted by a breezy young
woman on the dock. who launched
into a panegyric of his work and de-
clared that her favorite of all his
books was 1.-THE Stickit Minister
Before Mr.. Barrie could disavow the
authorship and shift the credit and
shoulders. the young person pursued
the subject by charging him with
autobiographic intent. Now, Mr
minister yourself-don't deny it,"
And off she bounced to report the
facts in an alleged interview with the
Scottish novelist in next days paper.
A few days ago somewhat similar
bIunder led to the confusion of two
contemporary popular novels. The
editor of a literary review wrote the
other day to Mrs. Burnett, the author
of '"The Shuttle" extolling her new
book and applauding 1t as the best
novel she had read in many moons.
She enclosed q marked copy of the re-
view, and added that II she had not
been so preoccupied and pressed with
work she, herself. would have writ
ten the comment instead of RELOCATING
so enviable labor of love to another |
The review, however, was all that an |
viewed was ''The weavers." the au-
thor Sir Gilbert Parker.
The first fiction story sold for pub !
nf nf IN
Forth to Battle" the popular novel |
recently published by the ]. B. LIP |
pincott company, bore the unfor-
tunate title, AFTER Many Years. The |
story was purchased by fashion |
magazine, but VIII ether owing to over |
crowding of it's columns or too con- |
scientious regard for the mandate of
the title, the editor did not publish |
then the check was for $2.s3!
John Reed Scott, whose novel "Bea- |
trix of Glare" still holds its own among |
the seasons best sellers, has written /
for Lippincott's Magazine a thrilling |
short story called 1.-The Testing of the /
Earls." In this the author introduces
some Of the same characters which ap-
peared in his successful novel
The edition Of Sidney Lanier's poems.
Hymns of the Marshes" which has
Just been brought out by the Scribners,
is one VI tae must Dcauliiul u tuls
years books. It is illustrated from
photographs taken especially for this
book on the Marshes of Glynn by Mr..
Henry Troth, and reproduced by a novel
and most successful process. One of
the reviewers, speaking Of the book,
said: "One can but reflect how pleased
and astonished the gentle, unassuming
Sidney Lanier would have been to con-
template such q setting of his poems"
And another said: 1.-THE views bring vi
yidIy before us the inspiration of the /
poems. The demand for Sidney Lam
ier's poetry Is increasing, and his posi-
lion as one of the foremost of our
American poets is now very secure"