The Washington herald., 1907-10-27
THE WORLD OF BOOKS
LITERARY GLEANINGS AND GOSSIP

The death Of the widow Of Gen. Lew
Wallace recalls one of those rare friend
ships that exist sometimes. between a
literary man and his wife Mrs Wallace
was almost a woTshipper Of her husband
whose courtship and married life with
her were ideal, Susan Wallace was her
self a writer of both prose and verse,
but she relegated her own work to an
unimportant place for the sake Of his.
It is said Of Mrs. Wallace that shs cher
ished every scrap of paper inscribed with
any word OF her husbands Gen Wal
lace's publishers. the Harpers. have
many interesting records of this rever-
ence of hers in the wife's attitude to-
ward 'Ben-Hur and the "Autobiog
raphy' after the authors death Ben
Hur' remained to her 10 the last an in
splred document, and the "Autobiog-
raphy' the latter quarter Of which WAS
the work Of hrs. Wallace after the death
OF her husband. she would allow no hands
TO touch save her own. A privileged Wis
itor 10 Mrs. Wallace's home relates how
-He was shown the volume Of "Ben-H
turned down upon the table exactly as
the old general had left It, with near by
ms pipe and bag OF tobacco. This spirit
oI loving regard never failed her hus-
band. who pays the most charming
tributes 10 her in his Autobiography"
among them this, Her faith IN me be
gan with the beginning OF myself. and
the world all too ready to laugh at my
attempts Her gentle soul has bent me
10 her wishes, but always for my good
and always so deftly that I was as one
ollnd 10 the demonstration Ny temper
mas never been so hot she could not lay
IL All that l am is owing TO her" II
is no wonder that such a woman should
be addressed in the letter OF a friend as
Dear Mrs. Ben-Hur.'
The foHowing is the record of popu-
larity at the Public Library during the
past week: Nonhction, Wells-"How to
Tell Stories to Children" Goodwin
Bookkeeping Fiction: Burnett
Shuttle" Parker-"Weavers Chill
drens books; Alcott-.Eight Cousins"
Jackson-"NeIly' Silver Mine" The be-
ginning Of school work has also made
books on psychology and pedagogy very
popular. on the ferrner subject William
James principles Of Psychology" and
Titchener's Experimental Psychology
are In demand, while IN the field of peda-
gogy the books most asked for are Mars
b'il EIlHtllltS OF lcdCulDE ana
Thomas Classroom Management
We have given, from time TO time, some
amusing specimens Of Babu English be-
cause Of the peculiar acrobatic feats the
Hindu Babus make the English language
perform. Here IS a specimen Of English
as written Uy a Capt Town negro to a
trader. The London Spectator vouches
for its bona fdes.
Dear Sir: I recsig de bicvkel witch by from
yea alrite, but why you don't sent 20 saIleL Wat
is de use OF hicykel when she don't send have sad
del. ! am loose 20 ne my kustomer sure ting by
DO having s1ddelS and dat not very pleasure to me
Wat Is de matter Wit yJu mister T. J. Jones and
tompanee is not my moneys as good like anuoder
mans yuu loose % my trade ami ! am very
anger And nos ! tells 20 yog you are dam
fools mister T. J. Jones and Comuauee I send tl
son back at wUnce your bicykel to moro for shure
because you are such dam foolishness peoples
Nis. respectable
lsignedI y yRYLING.
Z. s-Smce ] rite dis letter I find De saddeI in
de box. Excuse TO me-
Those who ride in Hyde Park. London.
at the fashionable hour have observed
Sir Gilbert Parker mount his horse each
day At the foot OF the Duke Of York
street. and have noted that It was al
ways noon precisely. This clockliNe ride
is part OF "a rigid daily system which Sir
Gilbert claims is the secret of his ability
TO serve IN the House Of Commons and
be a novelist at the same time. In this
way he is able 70 complete his weeks
quota OF political work in four days. leav-
ing the week end free for his books. It
is said that during the time THE Weav-
ers' was In process the Harpers could
locate the author with such certainty
that not an hour was lost in cabling. Sir
Gilbert says himself that as q boy he
hated order, as most people OF the artis-
Tic temperament DO. but that while he
was still in his teens he determined To
become systematic and exact Few men
even in routine business life map out
their days, their weeks, their months.
and even their years SO carefully. and
live out their schemes so thoroughly
Hamlin Garland-whose new novel.
Money Magic" the Harpers published
last week, has been devoting himself to
writing for the greater part of twenty
years He began his career shortly after
De was twenty by teaching literature in
Boston One autumn he went out to
the brief space of fail and winter wrote
two books which gave him his first
prominence. Gradually he gave UP
teaching, as literary. work absorbed HIS
time. Mr. Garland has been living in
Chicago, with time out for his travels
about the country. since he left Boston
fifteen years ago. He is a native West
erner, having been born in La Crosse
County. Wisconsin, and has a Wisconsin
summer home.
Next Saturday the following books viii
be published by Dodd Mead & Co.: ga
thedral Cities Of France" with sixty full
page Illustrations IN color, by Herbert
Marshall. r. W. S, and Hester Marshall:
Historic Landmarks Of America, ," de-
scribed by great writer's, fully illustrated
in the style Of "Turrets, Towers. and
Temples. compiled by Esther Singleton:
The Intelligence of the Flowers" by
Maurice MaeterlinCk. Nature Calendar"
with quotations from the works Of Ham
ilton Wright Mabie illustrated from
photographs By Dudolph Eickemeyer. col
orrd by hand; Good Bridge" by Charles
Stuart Street author of Whist Up to
Date" "Hilda and the Wishes. a story
for children by Harry Thurston Peck.
The only woman 20 receive the honor
ary degree l. L. d. by the University of
Upsala is Miss Selma LagerIof, whose
next book, The Wonderful Adventures
of Nils" is TO be published by Doubleday,
Page q Co, Oct p.
Mrs. Humphry Wards new novel. The
Testing OF Diana Mallory" begins it's
for November. The fiction serial of the