New-York tribune., 1908-09-26

commentaries Journeys made Through Ra-
mona's Country which is to say that 1t deals
with the region used by the late Helen Hunt
Jackson a setting for her very popular novel
1t will be, of course generously illustrated
Seven hundred Englishmen signed the me-
mortal which was bound in white leather ana
sent to Count Tolstoy on his eightieth birthday
Mr., Edmund Gosse chairman, headed the
list and his signature was followed by those
of George Meredith, Thomas Hardy and Henry
James. Mr. Swnburne did not sign Mean
while some eminent Frenchmen have been pay
ing their compliments to Tolstoy in the Temps"
NJ Anatole France, for example, has this to
say about him: What ancient Greece con-
ceived and realized by the concourse of the
cities and the harmonious evolution of the CEN
turies-namely, Nomenclature produced all at
in Russia by creating Tolstoy, who is the
soul and voice of immense people. the river
where for centuries to come the sons of men
and the leaders of men will go to quench their
thirst" That is a tribute as is a tribute!
Mr. Aylmer Maudes life of Tolstoy which
we recently announced, is to be completed in
two volumes. The first. which has just ap
peared covers only the first fifty years of the
Russian authors life. 1t is composed, to a
certain extent. of his own words. Here Is
passage from his diary written in 1853 when he
was serving the staff of Prince Gortchakoff:
1 am ugly awkward. uncleanly. and lack society
education. am irritable. bore to others ,f9 n9t
modest. intoerant, and as shamefaced as , a cIui
1 almost ignoramus. What do know: !
nave learned anyhoW. ny yseii, IA ~ ,,rts 70
out sequence without plan ana II atnounos I 10
very little. am incontinent undecided; neon neon
acteress people l am not brave. l am not
methodicai in life and so lazy that dleness
tbor6nrhiv tested on ANYTHING have neither prac-
~ icaIy nOr business ability. l
habit Of loving IT, and when swerve from 1t am
dissatisfed with myself and return to it gladly:
hut there is a thing love more than goodness and
this feeling been gratifed that should I have to
choose between fame and goodness. i fear may
and therefore proud at heart though shame
faced and shy in society.
Fiction as we have often noted. is no longer
the sole staple offered by the publishers The
book of more serious purpose is now placed in
the foreground. Nevertheless, new novels and
short stories almost without number are prom
jsed for the fall and winter. Mrs. Gertrude
Atherton has a new story in press. THE Dooms-
woman" Conan Doyle is publishing, In Round
the-Fire Stories" a collection OF studies in the
grotesdue and the terrible From Joseph Con-
rad we will have THE Point of Honor" the
curious story of a long drawn-ou duel which
has been running through the pages Of an Eng
lish magazine. Stanley "eynaNS con'floutioH
IS The Wild Geese" which, as stated not
long ago IS put forth the authors last novel
The new novel by Mr. John Galsworthy which
ia soon TO appear is called Shadows" Mrs
Dudenev has written a tale entitled Two To-
eether" Mrs Steel one called The Prince OF
Dreamers." and Miss L. l.. Snberrad one called
simply Desire" The latest novel by Leonard
Merricl, is "-ynch's Daughter" Miss May SIN
cIafr's new story is entitled The immortal Mo-
ment" We are also to have another transla-
ton from Rene Bazin, The Call of the City"
Finally. that sheer fun may not be lacking Mr.
w w. Jacobs will publish his "Salthaven" in
book form.
The Scribners will publish in book form next
month the novel by Mr.. John Fox. Jr, when
has been running through their magazine Ihis
e the romantic story OF life in the Kentucky
mountains called THE Trail Of the Lonesome
Pine"
The Carnegie Institution has recently added TO
te eeries Of scholarly publications an interesting
work bv Mr. O. p Hay. OF the Smithsonian
Institution on The Fossil Turtles or North
America" The author is of the opinion 'ha'
the creatures forming the subject OF his STUDY
appeared In Europe at an earlier stage Oh geo
logical history than on this continent. Speci-
mems have been found in England and Germany
in Triassic rocks while the oldest yet discovered
IN America date from the Upper Jurassc period.
and these are extremely rare. The puZzlins foot-
nrnts left in the Triassic sandstone of the Con-
necticut Valley have been ascribed to turtles by
DIR. Edward Hitchcock. Mr.. Hay admits that
+b.re NAV have been turtles at that time, but he
reeards the matter as uncertain. In the search
FOR the ancestors of the turtle among other ana
older reptiles Professors Cope. OSBORN ana
Raur have been led to advance different opin-
ions Mr. Hay reviews all of them IN turn he
heIieyes that there has been some approach TO
q solution of the genealogical problem but that
the task has not yet been satisfactorily per-
formed.
In the nreparation of this work the author
exau,ined most of the collections In the country
containing fossil remains of turtles The larg-
est and most important are those In the Amerf-
car Muse,,n1 of Natural History in New York,
tho National Museum at Washington, and Yale
University The greater portion OF Mr.. Hays
stout volume is devoted to technical description
of the 266 species which have rewarded MS
Investigations. OF these he regards seventy-slx
&C hitherto unknown TO science. large num-
her oS Illustrations most of them from photo
graphs add to the value of the text
In , review of Dr. Emil Reich's General His
tory of Western Nations" contributed 70 The
rr-;h,re on August g. the following quotation
was made: ''Is it unmethodic TO assume that II
state is given the incontestable power OF un-
doing the state another magistracy may be
credited with having founded the state? Dr.
Reich writes complaining that this is inaccu-
rate and stating that the quotation should have
run as follows: rs il unmethodic TO assume that
IN a state, in which one annual masistracy Is
given the incontestable power Of undoing the
state another magistrecy may be credited with
&c, ,o,,sad the State?" We regret the mis-