The Washington herald., 1908-02-23

a certificate Of high regard.
There is shortly to be an important
sale of autograph letters in New York
one OF the principal features of which is
fine letter from James Russell Lowell
1t is dated from EImwocd September
26 1866, and is three pages n length. lie
begins with apologies for not returning a
book, and in excuse he says:
1 Books. Ike umbrellas are Tor always have been)
1 ferae natslrae. and human motives are 50 mixed It
may have been after al that returned 'IoceiyB
because I read in my newspaper that a man had
heen convicted Of stealing umbrella 1t Is me
subject for poetry, this dsappCar2nce Of perhaps the
I last relic Of chiyalrs we had among us,
OF course. I meant YOU 10 Keep the tract- had
once rather rare collection. l was particu-
J lary rich IN Whitfield gave them al TO
Wesleyan University -sshing a little over one of
them for its title-"A TWig Of Birch for Bllly $
Breech." ALTERATION worthy of Spencer. ]
owned. too Cushmans sermon, one Of the
two known TO exist
/ Lowell ends this letter with a charming
reference 10 the usual outcome Of his
photographs. This one looks like pros
/ porous expressman, but twill do to go TO
| England where they think we are all
blackguards. The hat is a good likeness. -
This sale includes several literary let
ters of uncommon interest: Bryant about
/ ''Thanatopsis' Oliver Wendell Holmes
stating the number Of large paper copies
OF his Fourth OF July Grafton" and an
autograph verse signed from "rhe Last
Lear; Thomas Hughes criticising Ameri-
cans; Thackeray asking contributions for
the New Magazine; Dickens on the pre-
tended son of Joseph Grimaldi ne clown,
whose memoirs he had edited in lS2S; a
long letter of nine pages Of John Howard
Payne. giving q detailed account Of his
struggles in London. 1877. others OF
Thoreau, Parkmsn, Whittier. Emerson,
Thomas Campbell. Simms. &c.
The expiry OF copyright on "Allce in
Wonderland" and the immediate run OF
new editions upon the book, suggests the
differing attitude on the copyright matter
of English and American publishers As
a rule, the American publisher keeps
hands or in such case in somewhat
the manner that d man Will avoid taking
anothers accustomed chair In England,
| however. there is no such unWritte1 law.
Some amusing instances ars on record
| of a toe great haste in rushing into re-
print A Scotch publishing n9Use SOM
years ago forfeited an edition OF one cf
Darwin's works by such premature ac-
ton; and very recently another house.
also Scotch, having anticipated by a
month the expiry Of "Our Mutual
Friend" was obliged to withdraw the
entire edition. or course Alice" is free
/ from copyright in this country. which may
be one reason why the publishers fud lao
special excitement in rushing her .nto
n dozen new dresses every year. The
American varieties always include the
Tenniel child naturally. and Peter New
| ellis rouud-eyed little lady. whom the
( Harpers made known a few seasons ago,
usually ru5s elbows with her in the line.
Mrs. Humphry Ward is expected 70 ar
rive in this country in March for long
1 postponed visit. She VIII be the guest Of
Mra. Frederick W Whitridge, OF Nav
York. who. being the daughter OF Mat
! thew Arnold. is her cousin. Mrs Ward :
novel, The Testing of Diana Mallory 90
running in Harper's Magazine. viii reach
/ full swing during the authors s0journ
here. The visit will be the first Mrs
/ Ward has ever made 10 America.
a new novel by Francis Powell. the au-
, thor Cf The House on the Hudson and
''The Prisoner OF Ornith Farm" viii be
brought out early this spring. The story
will be called "Old Mr. Davenanrs Money:
a Romance OF Long Island. 2 and the
scene is laid at Elmhampton IN the east
ern part Of that island. IL is a love story
and a story or adventure written with the
power and human interest that have
made her books stand so high in pop
| ularity
Winston Churchill stIH sticks 10 the let
ter c IN beginning the titles OF his books.
The successor Of ~C0niston. '.The Crisis. %
and The Crossing" on which he is
now engaged, Will be entitled Mr.
! Crewe's Career" True TO his unvarying
custom. Mr. Churchill has allowed a cou-
pie of years to elapse since his last book
appeared before writing another Accord
! ing. however. to his publishers. the Mac
milan company the idea for this new
/ book was in Mr. ChurchllTs miad long
/ before his campaign for the governorship
Of New Hampshire gave him some OF his
material for "Coniston
No profounder or more spirited essays
on what may be called the philosophy OF
/ life have appeared in many seasons than
those Of Mr.. Stephen B. Stanton, an
nounced for early publication under the
general title. THE Essential Life" They
are manifestly the result Of the prolonged
meditation of a remarkably acute mind
/ in the course Of which simplifcation has
/ been carried very far, and the work IN
| consequence not only purged of all super
/ fluffy OF expression, but compressed into
/ the essence Of thought. TIE style is
! extraordinarily vivid and eloquent and
/ achieves this effect by its brilliant con-
ciseneSs and precision rather than through
the more conventional period. Some OF
/ the titles OF the various essays. all
/ of which II should be said incidentally
are as short as their contents are crisp
] ssr4-1-r 81
individuality" Imagination A." "Happi-
ness Morality Environment. .Spir-
itual Companionship," Spiritual Capaci-
/ ties" Eternal Youth The Central
ity Of the Soul Realities Way
/ side Healing" Travel" ," Beauty" and
''Life's New Lands" The volume is
/ one to own and TO re-read-like the essays
/ Of Bacon or Emerson. It is an echo of
the transcendentaI spirit once so univer-
sal in our literature and still an inspira-
ton. as an occasional work attests. But
| though the spirit and attitude are classic
the thinking Of the volume is very nota-
bly, the authors own, and as stimulant
as it is striking.
Among the first publications OF the
spring Charles Scribner's Sons are bring
ing out three books: "a History of the
/ CHllSu oldttS navy % OOliu T. spears, !,
a new edition of "Bacon's Essays" edit
ed with an introduction and notes by
Mary Augusta Smith, and The Roman
Catholic and Protestant Bibles Com
pared edited by NJ. w. Jacobus. dean
of Hartford Theological Seminary. This
/ last book contains the three essays on
/ this subject which secured the prize Of
fered by Miss Helen Gould for the best
essays on THE Origin and History Of the
Bible Approved by the Roman Catholic
| C'burcb and s'-Tba ORIGIN and Tyfcforx-