The Washington herald., 1907-09-29
LITERARY GOSSIP.

Blake by Elisabeth Luther Cary. con
tanning many Illustrations from Blakes 1
Manuscript Sketch Book" which have /
never before been published The Plan /
olist" by Gustav Kobbe a music-study /
for the uninstructed music lover. Is an |
other book scheduled for October
1t is pretty safe to say that most |
writer's Of fiction have some queer eX- /
periences in launching their work. Fran 1
els Lynde is no exception to the rule. 1
Recently. in speaking of the matter. a big 4
railroad official said; I've known Fran 4
els Lynde good part of his life and I
mine He knows what he is talking about. 1
and ne talks il straight While the pretty !
ladies curled up in a sofa corner and the /
good ladies attending 60 well-ventilated I
houses are admiring that dynamiting. I
sleeping-car scene. we fellows who have /
been in il are conceding, point by point, |
that Lynde knows more about railroad /
building, its difficulties its possibilities, /
and its thrilling situations in the Rockies !
than any novelist living or dead From !
come letters saying: Every engineering /
school I'm the country Will stand back OF
Empire Builders.
During the month of September Double !
day, Page & Co. publish new editions
OF the following books; The Traitor"
by Thomas Dixon. jr.; TO Him That
HATH by Leroy Scott. 'The Insect
Il a.
teray Book by DR.. W. J. Holland: "The
Jungle. byUpton Sinclair: The Five
Nations, by Rudyard Kipling; Heroes
Every Child Should Know" edited by
Hamilton W. Mabie; The Awakening OF
China" by Dr. w. A. P. Martin. and
How TO Study Shakespeare" by William
H. Fleming
The announcement of a new biography
Of oscar Wilde has brought forward Rob
ert II Sherard in expostulation. 'T see
from a paragraph IN your paper" he
writes TO the editor Of the London Daily
Chronicle. that a new book on the late
Mr. Wilde is 10 be issued. You describe
il as supplementary TO my biography OF
my friend. People are so very stupid
that they may possibly think that this
means that / have something 70 do with
this book. This is not the ease. am
rather anxious 10 make that clear. be-
cause some people say that I am exploit
ing my friendship with the dead poet for
the production of literary wares. Lit
erary England is so entirely commercial
that people cannot understand that
man may have other motives than that
of gain For my part. I cannot under
stand how IL can be supposed of any
man of average intelligence that he
should engage in literary pursuits OF any
kind with hopes Of pecuniary advar-
tages."
In rewriting and revising his .Recoliec-
tons Of Rossetu," Hall Caine is reverting
TO the book wherewlth he made his liter
airy debut a quarter Of "a century ago.
The new edition viii be issued in London
In the autumn, and il Will include new
letters, new biographical material and a
great deal Of matter which il was thought
undesirable 10 publish Immediately after
the poets death II will be Of more
than ordinary interest 70 read Hall
Gaines twentieth century verdict upon his
nineteenth century friend.
In the field Of politics and economies the
/ Macmillan Company will publish this faI
a work on England. by A. Lawrence Low
/ ell; The United States as a World
/ Power" by Prof. Archibald Cary Coolidge.
lof Harvard University. The Government
/ OF European Cities" by Prof W. B. Nun
/ roe, also Of Harvard; Essentials of Eco
nomic Theory by Prof J. q Clark. Of
/ Columbia. The Rate OF Interest" by
/ Prof. Irving Fisher Of Yale; The Outlook
/ for the Average man" by Or. Albert
shaw; Essays on Municipal Administra-
/ ton, by Prof John A Fairlie. and dis
cussions Of problems pertaining 10 public
/ Ownership in books by Prof. Hugo r.
Meyer and Henry S. Haines.
Prof Pelham Edgar contributes an
/ illuminating article on George Meredith
TO the National Review London) for Sep
tember. He traces the novellsts indi-
vidual style 10 French and German in
huences, especially to Richter. and re-
| calls that Mr.. Meredith was educated in
Germany. No doubt Carlyle had "a con-
| siderable influence on him, but the Teu-
! tonic element is modified by the French
Concerning the difficulties in reading his
novels, Prof. Edgar says;
/ Rather more than enough has been said. even in
the spirit of f1endliest criticism Of Nlr Neredith's
0tscUlty. He does not. indeed. take rank with the
/ boulder and hammock novelists He cannot be read
U1oatabiy IN a half doze and he has long since
/ Tccouciled himself 70 remaining a closed book for
al who seek ia the POPPED leaves Of fiction lullaby
Z sentiment as an opiata for tired brains But the
difficulties 0f Mr. Merediths style have been much
exaggerated. its tangent force and rich expressive
ness not sufficiently appreciated. If We ACCEPT as
/ read few battling chapters and eliminate some
/ impossible smart conversations at Diana's dinner
/ table and elsewhere all the rest save for a few
nsHnerisTns Is clear gain In four OF his uorels
m Evan Harrington" "Rh0da Fleming Harry
| Richmaud" and ''Yittora there is scarcely yer
/ hal difficulty. In the remaining 4000 pages granted
that We have Taspod the writer's point q view.
need dismiss no more than twenty pages as unin-
I telligihle. ] may boast Of having made con
quests Of meaning within this twenty, but whether
the meaning Is NY CWn OF the authors shall never
| know.
John L. Given's Making a Newspaper,
an accurate account of newspaper or
sanization and methods. published by
Henry Holt and Company, has been
/ adopted as a textbook for the courses n
journalism at Bucknell University and
the University Of Illinois.
During tho coming season Harper &
| Brothers will publish novel by Mrs,
| James II. Garfield, wife of the librarian
of Columbia University and mother Of
Dorothy Garfield, whose name Is familiar
/ to the readers Of magazines as the author
| of striking short stories. This is Mrs
Canfeld's first venture In the literary
field.
/ r,ov,r,1o Yrr- ATorly ~Tvvro ,arav,
Eial; and tho Harpers have just found il
necessary 10 issue new editions of Huckle-
! berry Finn and Tom Sawyer.