The Washington herald., 1907-07-28

The sins Of our poor favorite authorsl
They viii not let them rest AS II it
really mattered about the loves Of Burns
and Byron, the drugs Of De Quincey, the
madness OF Charles Lamb. the deer steal
ing Of Shakespeare. All that matters is
that these men did their work and that
we find infinite JOY in it to-day In spite of
the sins OF those who created the work
and-have gone to their long reward
Myrtle Reed who has written so much
that Is charming. was written now an
essay or Poe's love affairs and dwelling
especially on his wonderful love for
Helen, love which, however, was not
stronger than that other passion which
ruined his life and cut it short. How poor
Poe fought against the enemy that as
sailed him! They have resurrected a let
ter written by him to Helen during one
Of his good times" when he was ighting
down the evil appetite with all his
strength. And what a letter:
In little more than a fortnight dearest Helen, !
SHAH once aEain clasp you to my beartj until then
forbear 70 agitate you By speaking Of my wishes
Ct my h0pes and especially Of my fears You say
that II all depends On my own nrnness. If this be
50, all Is safe-foF the terrible agony which baYe
so lately endured-an agony known only 70 my God
and myselI-seeEs to have passed my soul through
FIRE and purified it from all that is weak Hence
forward l am strong. this those who love me shall
see, as well those who have 50 relentlessly tn
deavo7ed to ruin me. 1t needs only some such
trials as have undergone 10 make me what | was
born 20 be, by making NE conscious Of my own
strength. But all does not depend dear Helen
upon my frmness-an depends upon the sincerity Of
your love
Even as he wrote il he was on the verge
OF stumbling yet again. and Myrtle Reed
writes: yet once again the castle of his
happiness crashed suddenly into ruins.
Preparation had been made for the we'd
ding, and he had written to Mrs. Clemm
TO expect him, with his bride, upon the
appointed day, when Mrs. Whitman was
Informed that he had broken his pledge
She sent for him, and though there was
10 outward sign, she knew at once with
swift womanly intuition that it was true
As they looked into each others eyes.
the inner conflict in the soul of each was
all at once made clear She knew that he
had fought and lost. He knew that the
Helen Of a thousand dreams must ever
be dream to him."
The mayor of Liehfeld makes an appeal
for money 10 restore the house in which
Samuel Johnson was born, and which
since 1901 has been a public museum and
memorial Of the lllustrious moralist. The
building, unfortunately, has for lack of
funds fallen into state of dangerous
decay.
The record for book popularity at the
Public Library during the week Just
passed shows that in nonfcuon the call
was for Ibsen's The Dolls House" and
Ramacharaka's ''Hathayoga" In fiction
the call was for Webster's Jerry, Junior
and Chambers 'The Tree of Heaven"
while among the juveniles the demand
was for Andrew Lang's Orange Fairy
book and Frenchs THE Junior Cup"
Other subjects Of especial popularity We're
psychology, in which field two books were
in demand-Funks Psychic Riddle and
Hudson's Law of Psychic Phenomena"
The subject of child labor also attracts
readers: the two books most called for
were Beveridge's Employment of Child
Labor" and GOldmark's Child Labor
Legislation"
We mentioned. some time ago, the death
Of Rev. George B. Nicols, an English
clergyman, whose death was notable be
cause Of the link his life formed with the
literary past. He vas the Httle-known
husband OF Charlotte Bronte. and he had
survived his brilliant wife nearly half
century. Last week his effects were sold.
and these included some interesting relics
and manuscripts Of his famous wife.
Among the lot were some schoolbooks Of
the author Of "Jane Eyre" containing
her comments and some drawings. There
was also her copy OF Voltaire's La Hen
riade" and Anne Bronte's Bible, with
Thackeray's presentation copy Of La Fon-
taine's FABLES" There was a work
box of Charlotte Bronte containing the
visiting card Of ThaCkeray. who was much
attracted by her and pleased by her
praise. The manuscripts proved particu-
larry interesting, including as they did
many juvenile writingse and seventeen
chapters Of an unpublished story, Care
line Veruva," which she wrote under the
name OF Charlotte Townsend. At the sale
there was also disposed of Charles Dick
ems own copy Of ''The Christmas Carol,
from which he used to read publicly; and
another item was a receipt from the IA
nous actor, Edmund Kean, which reads:
Received, the sum of two hundred and
ffty-six pounds for eight performances
OF 'Othello' Qess one pound for the ben
eft of the call boy, who, damn him, never
does calD.
In the literary department OF the North
American Review for July 10, Maxim Cor
ky's Mother" is reviewed by Louise Col
lier Wilcox, and Walter Savage LandOr's
Commentary on the Life and Character
OF Fox by Edward POrTitt.
An unusually varied and distinctive list
Of new fiction may be expected from the
Macmillan Press during the coming sea-
son, some Of its more distinctive titles
being Marion Crawford's "Arethusa," Jack
London's Love OF Life" Alfred OlEvant's
RED Coat Captain" and Zona Gales
THE Loves Of Pelleas and Etaire." Other
than fiction the Macmillans viii issue a
life OF Theodore Roosevelt" by James
Morgan q book about birds. by Mabel
Osgood Wright, with the title Gray Lady
and the Birds" and new tale for girls
by Christina GOwans White, author of
The StOTy-Book Girls" In biography
tEe first English translation of the
memoirs Of the elder Dumas viii appear
IN six volumes, the first being announced
for the ist of October. No less interest
ing VIII be IAN Artists "reminiscences, ,"
by Walter Crane, and the Letters of
Dean Hole" In history, besides the sec
Ond volume Of Prof Edward Channing's
History Of the United States" the con-
cluding volume Of DIT. Henry Charles
Lea's History Of the Inquisition of
Spain" and new volume in the Cam
bridge Modern History. an important new