The Washington herald., 1908-02-09

The most popular books at the Public
Library during the past week in nom
fiction were Gides Political Economy"
and Fletcher's .AIenticulture' Tn fiction
the call was for Phillips "Light-fngered
Gentry and Huttons Halo" In the
childrens room the most popular books
were Alcott's Little Women and De
foes Robinson Crusoe." Esperanto and
the history of painting received consider
able attention during the week. Concern
ing Esperanto, Bakers american rs
peranto" and Griffins Esperanto in
Twenty Lessons" were in demand, In
the history OF painting Cafiin's STORY of
American Painting and COX's 'Old Mas
ters and New We're asked for.
Josephine Daskam Bacon, who as Jo-
sephine Dodge Daskam made her first lit
erary impression with short stories, is a
native of stamford Conn. and a Smith
College girl Of the class of '9S. Each rem
fniscence of her youth is bound up with a
particularly active sense of humor and It
is Il question whether any school or coli
lege girl ever had a livelier career-some-
thing 20 which the abundant anecdotes
told by her classmates are testimony
After the short stories Miss D8skam
published THE Memoirs of a Baby
which excited attention when it first ap-
peared serially in HaTper's Bazar. The
fact that Mrs. Bacon's habit is 20 restrain
herself from, being overprOlific carries the
conviction tina. a new story from her pen
IS really about something and worth the
telling. FUur years ago Miss Daskam
-. Hfsafr
recently her residence was New York
City, but at present she is living in the
country not many miles outside Mrs.
Bacon friends. in describing her say
that she talks as she writes crisply
sometimes bitngly, and with refreshing
originality in word and phrase.
Thomas J. Wise, the English collector
and photographer has just printed pri-
vately, thirty copies only, a little volume
of thirty-four letters of Robert Browning
10 various correspondents. including Prof
DOwden. Robert Buchanan, John H. In
gram and +. J. FurnivaI. A fac-simile of
letter to Christopher Dowson, about
1880, forms a fronuspiece; il is supposed
20 be the earliest letter Of Browning eX-
tant A second volume is~promised in
about three months. Mr.. Wise printed a
similar series of two volumes in 1896.
A correspondent of the New York Times
makes apDreciative reference to the nov
elst who. with John Galsworthy and
Leonard Merrick, deserves best to be read
among the less-knoWn writer's
VIII you tell ne why such books a. Snsith
William GOTdan" get 10 this country and are re-
viewed and be got while such really nne and
beautifllh cooks ls George Bnmiuchams three nCy
els Of Irish life The Seethiug Pot. "Hyaciuth.
and Benedict Rag8uagh are not 20 be- obtained.
! have seldom read three books with more CHARM
delicacy, and grasp If the present Irish question
George birmingham describes tyres quite new In
ITish fiCtiUn and ] understand his books have made
quite % stir j. Eugiand. One oi TEEN has been
suppo-ed % have Pauell Ter a prominent character
Wishing TO ge, one Of these novels fer q present
] fnd that they are not n sale In America, but
Iaust be- imported To the tune oi s. 50 a volume
Is there no way of yOT creating "a demand for
them. ] should think that they would appeal to
quite a wide public they are far above the aver
age English novel which has come lately 20 our
shore,
"OUida" has passed out a world which
became sorrowfuI TO her in her old age.
Her novels brought her in. first and last
a great deal of money. but nothing in
them ever suggested prudence or thrift as
bart Of their authors outit. Doubtless
both were qualities that were incompat-
ible with the existence of the stories, and
there is no use of mourning that she did
not have them. and that lacking them.
she came TO short commons and material
diSresses as her lamp burned low. But
neither her spirit nor her temper seems
10 have given out. nor did love fail her,
nor the charity of the poor with whom
she had freely shared her plenty while
she had it. The dimensions OF her celeb
rity were remarkable She must have
had nearly as many readers in her time
as the late Mrs Holmes, Of BTockpOTt,
and they We're much more discriminating
readers and lived an over the world. Her
stories may be absurd. her heroes fan
tastiC. but their absuTdities were set forth
with very penetrating qualities of en-
thusiasm and very positive ideals OF de-
pertinent that appealed 70 something that
viii always be found in readers so long
as readers continue TO be human facts.
And the stories We're stories, too; very
literally furnished with happenings
crises, and emotions, the best of them,
critically speaking, being some of her
books for children. A woman of spirit
and of talent: generous rash, impossible
There are more old friends and steady
customers of hers beyond than are left
ROW on earth, and it is a kindly transla-
ton that takes her 10 them.
Prof. James and his fellow -pragmat-
ists. Nessrs. Schiller, Sturt. and Dewey.
threaten TO make philosophy the most
popular instead of the most unwelcome
of subjects. and the announcement of a
new philosophical work now has a great
er interest than ii has had for some years
previous. Consequently, it is interesting
that Prof Josiah Royce of Harvard. has
made into a book the substance of his
lectures before the lowell Institute last
autumn. which he calls THE Philosophy
of Loyalty In his book Prof Royce
offers a somewhat new definition of the
term loyalty. and then endeavors to CEN
tralize the whole duty of man about the
higher type Of loyalty which he thus de-
fines.
It cannot be denied that the financial
crisis We have passed marks the end
of a period. Some of the factors of the
past decade will not reappear in Ameri-
can finance. The tone Of business may
be modified Perhaps the change of mood
NAV show itself in literature There, too
we are perhaps at the end of an era.
We are likely to see less during the next
ten years OF the novel OF action Per
haps we shall see more OF the novel of re-
Election, and writer's ike Miss Ellen Glas-
gov may come 10 their own. If that is
the turn Of the tide. Miss GlasgOw's new
book, THE Ancient Law" just issued by
Doubleday Page & Co, viii catch the
current, for il is novel of character
rather than action, and deals with inter
nal rather than visible crises.
The estate Of Prince George Dmitrive-