The Washington herald., 1907-07-14

One OF the most curious signs OF the
time to the literary worker is the literary
claim put forth. and with a deal Of rea-
son. TOO, by the writers Of our modern
advertisements Anybody can write a
novel nowadays; indeed it is a sort Of
distinction not 10 have written one. The
noveIess man stands In the attitude Of
one who saws: you know 1 could If /
chose TO, but I have been wise enough TO
refrain" Any one can give you the re-
cipe for writing a novel. All it requires
is strength Of mind enough to settle on
the period in which the novel is 10 be
placed and stick TO it; or II ones early
education has been neglected and he can't
spell, the novel may be in dialect and the
mistakes will pass for eleverness. But
when 1t comes 10 writing an advertise
ment it is a different matter We read
them every day in the newspapers, and
the impression they make is due 10 their
constant repetition. We know them, and
we don't know them, so that man
asked to sit down and try. offhand to
write an advertisement would, first of
all, have to consult the advertising pages
~
made Then. when a man, no matter
how skilled q writer he may be In other
directions, tries TO write one he must be
wonderfully Impressed by the ingenuity,
the. repression, the invention, and the apt
choice of e<sctly the right words dis
PLAYED by the advertisement writer In
deed. the writer's Of advertisements dis
play Imagination and a knowledge OF hui
nan nature which far transcends that OF
the average novelist, and one cannot
help thinking what a good thing It would
be II our novelsts would exercise some
of the self-repression, the control, and the
directness displayed by the advertising
writer.
It has been noted that King Edward
of England is at present actively en-
gagged in editing the letters of his mother,
Queen Victoria, for publication. Another
royal literary worker is King Oscar Of
Sweden, whose golden wedding was cele~
brated recently He is not as strong as
he was, but, in spite Of his illness, he
devotes the hours between 6 and 10 If
the morning 70 his literary work. He has
a working knowledge Of seven languages,
Of which English is said TO be his favorite.
He has already wrought considerable
service TO the literature Of his country.
His TRANSACTIONS of Goethe have made
that poet familiar to his cOuntrymen. In
the schools of France his history of
Charles MI is familiar. and one OF
the most popular poems in Sweden is
The Battle of the Baltic" written by
King Oscar. The royal author is now
engaged on his Memoirs which are
not TO be published until after his death.
as il IS said that he has expressed him
self very frankly not only about the
affairs Of his own country. but about
other nations in Europe. The latter part
of his Memoirs" viii deal, it is said
with what he calls "the most bitter stab
of my life" the Norwegian secession.
for which King Oscar holds himself re-
sPonsible in no way.
How shall Shakespeare be spelled?
AIr Clement K. Shorter prefers "Shaks-
pere." but DIT. Rolfe, one Of the leading
living authorities on the Bard Of Avon,
takes issue with him and believes that
Shakespeare will hold its own until
the crack OF doom. There are only five
indisputable autographs OF the poet in
existence. One Of these is clearly "Shaks-
pere." another is either that or "Shaks-
peare." the others are clearly Shakes
peaTe." Thus It is that the poet signed
the dedications to Venus and Adonis'
and "Lucreece.' the only works that were
surely seen through the press by himself
This is the form almost unanimously
adopted in the published references TO him
in the seventeenth century. II IS that
form which appears on the license granted
IA frT1 lTra L
James in 1903 It is also the spelling ac-
cepted by the great majority of the edi-
tors. critics, and commentators Of the
last century.
Williams College has honored herself
and her son by comforting an IL. D. on
Henry VI. Alden. the veteran editor Of
Harper's Magazine. The fftieth ami
versary Of DR.. Alden's graduation at the
college was also thus celebrated Not
long ago Mr.. Alden recalled, in Harper S
Weekly. his early days as an editor at
Franklin Square.
Among well-known artists who viii
illustrate Doubleday. Page & Co.'S 1908
publications are Anna Whelan Belts,
Walter Title, Siguard Schou, Laurence
Ostertag. Thomas Fogarty. George L.
Tobin. Albert lowering. c. D. and G. A.
Williams, Robert Goodwin. and Harold
Heartt. The forthcoming year viii be a
red letter one TO this firm in the way
OF illustrations.
An Indiana man tells Of the efforts of
an author belonging to the Hoosier
school of historical novelists to put in
his leisure time as a hen farmer" in
that State. says Lippincott's. The lit
erary persons venture afforded his agri-
cultural neighbors no end Of amusement.
During his first year, the amateur
farmer discovered that all his little chick
ems. which were confined in coops, were
languishing at the point OF death The
novelist went over his "hen literature
20 locate the cause of the trouble, but
TO no avail.
Finally he called upon an old chap
named Rawlings, to whom he put the
question;
What do you suppose is the mat
ter with those chickens?"
well. I dunno" said Rawlings. What
do you feed 'em?"
Feed them exclaimed the novelist
farmer. why. I don't feed them any
thing.'
Then how'd you s'pose they was a
goin' to live?"
Il presumed, replied the literary per-
son. that the old hens had milk enough
for now"
A work in hitherto almost untitled
field is coming from the Chicago Univer-
sity Press. It is The Dramatic Traditions
OF the Dark Ages" and has been prepared
by Joseph S TunisOn- The usual notion
OF emitting the Dark Ages from the hia-