Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-06-01


possible of the vanishing melodies Of
the aborigincs. In speaking of her
experiences in getting the records Miss
Fletcher says:
The Indians did nor object to having
tie music of some of their solemn
ceremonial rites reproduced by the
phonograph, but on the contrary We're
kind enough to accede to my re-
quests for the obtaining of good rec
ords Perhaps that of the Calumet
or Wa-Wan ceremony is the most
notable of these specimens of what
may be called Indian music.
Augustine Birrell negatives his own
unbclief in the utility of introductions
Ly furnishing a delightful one for
new selection from Brownins's poems.
He points out incidentally that three
contemporary poets found Browning
unreadable Il never could read
Browning" said Edward Fitz Gerald;
but "Old Fitz' was a little hidebound
in his literary sympathies. He has
mighty intellect, but sometimes | can
not read him." Tennyson confessed.
Yet TcnnySon'S debt to BrOWninS's in
huence over his later work is obvious.
The sometimes has a saving grace
in this instance, While A. G. Benson
has pointed out the "dihiculty" of some
of the passages in The Princess"
which he rightly holds to be as 'ob-
scure" as anything in Browning. Mr..
Brrell quotes Matthew Arnold as say
ing to him On one occasion, Il love
Browning, but | simply cannot read
him.
One of the chapters of Sewell Ford's
new book. side Stepping with
shorty" received the unusual comph-
mcnt during its serial publication in
THE Sunday Press" of being copied
in the pages of q New York magazine.
1t was printed there under new title
and with new authors name attached
to it. An cnterprising reader out West
had written the story out and sold it to
the editor as his own work. BY way
of atonement for this unwilling IN
fringement, the editor of the maga-
zine has. at Mr. Ford's suggestion, sent
check for $50 to a local fresh air
fund.- and will expose the impostur"
in his next issue. Curiously enough,
the "faked" story attracted the atten-
ton of Il Press reader, who wrote to
The Press Forum to inquire if Sew
ell Ford wrote in a certain magazine
under another name. In the absence
of any suspicion of such an imposture,
an answer was given in the negative.
Alice MacGoWan has been obliged to
change the title of her novel an
nornced for serial publication IN
Putnam's Monthly, as "The Strength
of the Hills This title is pre-
craptad by Florence Wilkinson, whose
noyel was issued some time ago. Miss
NacGowan has renamed the book Jul
dith of the Cumberands." The titles
of two short stories by this writer
have been duplicatedS within SIX
months. The condolences only &"
to show the difficulty in finding a new
general title for a piece OF hctlGn III
these days when so many mlndS ar"
engaged on the same quest. Here Is
Mrs. Deland's now book Of short sto-
rias, ar. Us Mother" Four OF III"
six tales have titles that were used
before. "Many Waters is the name
of n novel by Robert Shackleton; 9TH"
House of Riininon'' is the name of
rovel by Benjamin Swift; "Thc Nor
mon" and "The White Feather have
both been pre-cmpted in magazine sto-
ries and on the stage.
Katherine Evans Flake is one of the
latest names to be added to the long
list of Indiana novclists. She is a
Hooeier by birth, though nowadays
she lives in Minneapolis, ana hcf
stories are thoroughly Hoosier.
"Heart's Haven" published a year or
two ago. dealt with the celibat" conf
lnunity of RappiteS at New Harmony
"The Stuff of Il Man" just issued, has
its scene laid at Blufftown. which is
easily recognized as RoCkport, lnd., Il
romantically beautiful town on the
bluffs of the Ohio river. Rockport was
Mrs Blake's birthplace. There at tn"
age of - she wrote her first novel
in pencil. on the wrong side OF some
rolls Of wallpaper-with illustrations
by tic author Years after, when the
old family farmhouse had been sold.
Mrs Blake visited it; in bedroom
she tore away a little corner of wall
paper and found some pale lines of
childish writing still visible upon it.
DR. Edward Breck. whose Way Of
the Woods" was lately published by
the Putnams, has had experience of
war as well as of sport. At the out
break of the Spanish war he resigned
his position as American vice-consul-
general in Berlin and he became as
sistant to the American naval attache.
After an interesting experience in the
German ports. watching the Spanish
agents and negotiating for ships and
munitions his offer to go to Spain was
accepted by the navy department., and
he spent the last two months of the
war in the coast cities of that country,
charting and photographing the new
dpfenSeS In the course of his career
from Barcelona to POrtugaletc he was
twice fired on and once arrested cat
Cadiz) and kept in 4 guard-house
while his German passport was eX-
amincd by the German consul and his
baggage at the hotel was searched.
Owing to the results of these eXamina-
tions and to letters Of Introduction
from Gen. Weyler. which DIR. Rrcck, or
DIR. Koenig," as he was called, had
personally received inc Madrid, he
eScape1 the firing squad, and was told