The Washington herald., 1909-01-10

Perhaps the most charming a. Miss Lag
erlofs books that has ever been trans
lated into English is The Wonderful
Adventures OF Nils" Vienna Swanst0n
Howard the translator. knows Miss
Lagerlof intimately and besides having
an uncommon felicity in both English
and Swedish She possesses the further
advantage of understanding her whose
work she would bring into other lands.
Before the Nobel prize was awarded.
a prominent Swedish periodical called
Every Eight Days made this state
ment. The winner Of the Nobel prize
this wear viii be either Selma Lazerlof
or the English poet A c. SWinburne- II
the vote Of the entire Swedish nation
could decide this. the choice would Ger
tainly he our beloved author. Selma Lag
erlof. but Il is not the Swedish nation
who decide this important matter. alas"
The Age Of Shakespeare" the forth
coming critical work BY Swinburne. Is an
ticipated from a literary standpoint as
the most important political publication
OF the year-if. indeed. il does not prove
10 be among the most important contri-
buttons Of al time TO EIizabethan COM
mentary- The eminence Of Swinbu-ne
as q critic. long conceded even by those
who are inclined 20 dispute his power as
a poet. has been largely attained through
his Shakespearean prose studies. hence
the keennesS Of expectation with which
this final inclusive view IS being awaited.
Messrs. Harper & Brothers have definite
" fixed the latter part Of September as
the date Of publication.
Whether OF not Hall Gaines recently
printed material on WIIkie Collins has
.quickened public interest in q remarkable
writer. il is certain. If book demands are
Indicative. that Collins has been widely
read during the last few months. The
copies in the Harper lists of both The
MOonstOne" and The Woman in White
have been exhausted and new editions are
following forthwith L was less than SIX
months ago that both these books went
into a new printing
Henry Mills Alden. in Magazine Writing
and the New Literature. has assembled
so many facts concerning the American
magazines that one part Of his book is
very like a biography OF the periodicals
The fact that the North American Re
view. for so many years a literary fea-
ture Of New York. grew out Of a Boston
magazine, the Anthology Magazine. start
ed by the club Of that name. has escaped
many readers. but is recalled by Nj Al
den. who also assemblies the names Of
the Reviews most illUstriOus editors. the
elder Dana, Edward Everett. James Rus
sell Lowell. Charles Eliot Norton. as well
as of its distinguished contributors. Bry-
ant. LongfeilOw William II. Prescott. and
others The Review is close to a hun
dred years old. having been printed in
ISIS.
-Four OF the stories in Mr. Charles Bat
tell LOOMS Cheerful Americans which
is already in its ninth American edition.
have been translated into Italian and
appeared in the noted magazine La Ras-
sengna NaziOnale-"
The Lincoln Centenary has brought
forth many Volumes Of varying value.
but none perhaps Of more personal in
terest than the new edition Of The
Table Talk Of Lincoln" by William o.
Stoddard. who was Lincoln's private sec
rotary during his most trying period The
book is intimate and accurate. and has.
moreover. the personal note OF real con-
tact which no amount of study. however
profound. will supply II IS not ambitious,
but is chatty and informal Frederick A
Stokes Company viii publish It about
January Is.
Frederick a. Stokes Company viii pub
lish. about January l.. a very unusual
story. called Dreaming River" II has
only two characters. with the exception