The Washington herald., 1909-06-02

I ing house was twelve books, another pub
lished six In one day. There are fifty
two weeks in q year, and three hundred
and sixty-five days Now, suppose that
We have thirty leading publishing houses
and one OF the other kind II satisfied
with the factors Of the problem. as given
/ tsomeghat distrustfullyj. the person who
/ reads all the new books" can make his
own calculation OF the number that he
reads
The authenticity Of Gen. Kuropatkin's
papers on the Russo-Jspanese war seems
10 depend on Mr. George KeHnan-s word
believe in Mr.. George Keunan, and this
/ IL why Some years ago he persistently
/ solicited this count-y's sympathy for the
Russian convicts in Siberia; he gave Us
their own word for il that they were a
( deeply wronged lot Of Russian eonvicts
/ in Siberia While we were still weep
/ ing for their woes six Of them escaped
I 10 San Francisco. They were feted,
clothed. fed. given money and employ
ment-the whole city ablaze with ger
/ erous enthusiasm over them. Within
I two years. thing within one-One Of
( them had been killed in attempting
! robbery, two had been hanged for a
murder Of uncommon atrOcity. and the
other three were in the State prison.
a literary periodical has been conduct
/ ing a spirited discussion OF the present
state Of poetry. on the assumption that
poetry is in "an advanced stage Of de-
composition, so 70 say. Perhaps the
best argument in support Of that assunp-
ton Is that this is a literary period; for
/ OF every literary period that proposition
has been stoutly affirmed by the greatest
writer's Of the tine. To affirm il Of our
/ own time Is to get into line'' with the
worlds knowing ones and be as they
I laEdatores teupoTis acti. deaf as adders
/ 10 the music beating all about them
! Partly because CT this cOngenitsl and In
durable disability partly because no one
! has read a huRdredth part Of the verse
/ OF his day. not q man OF Us knows that
/ this IS not the veritable golden age Of
poesy. And nobody knows that II is
Apropos Of thar. in q recently dlscov-
cred letter. written in 1877. Carlyle says:
Our poets are silent, and nothing is
heard for the time but the chipping OF a
/ thousand sparrOws." Whatever may be
I said OF the chirping OF the sparrows, the
silence OF the poets was pardcnabIe. for
7 they were mostly dead. Keats, Shelley,
/ and Byron had suffered the great mis-
1 chance quite recently Coleridge was Iiv-
Z ing, but not in CarlyleIand. All. doubt
less, were included among the spsrows-
/ The pessimist view OF the present con-
! ditioa Of poetry Is apparently shared by
/ soma OF those whose Own work goes far
70 refute their doleful view. In nlus:ra-
/ ton. permit me 10 quote three stanzas
I from the poem OF Mr- Herman Schef-
/ fauer's book, Looms of Life"
When the harrs o. a lard lie frIo-n-
And the lips Il lis ulius-rels are s-in.
/ Whe1 The sc-olI q the Pot lies toTn.
/ And his s1ng wakes 81 eci0 q scorn-
/ Ard the laugh of the feel seeks % XII.
When the Fstners' drCzm trod5eu II u-i-e
Ard tfe Goddess Jcrn into the dust.
Stamp their snzne Ike b-ard q fierce Ere
On or broEs-Whsn the chcr5s q the lyrs
are co-Toded and covered With rust.
Then tts engine q Gutslherz pou-s
rs bsueful reflex q the -iua-
Thel The people are smittsl with sores.
Ard the done q TIE Capitol Toers
With the shouts of TIE Caesars q c-irs
From Mr.. Pryor's The Art OF the
Netherlands" one learns that Of nine
Rembrandts sold during the century after
the artists death the prices ranged from
| 50 cents 70 Ssl The average was z6sa
Members OF the bright band OF best
sellers" IN art and literature may feast
their pride on these figures # it loves
ueager diet
Students Of military affairs viii fn5
interest and instruction IN The Cam
paign Of Santiago de Cuba" by Capt.
nov major Il. H Sargent. [. s. a.
Capt Sargent is the author Of two ad-
mirable books OF strategy besides this:
/ Napoleon Bonaparte's First Campaign
and The Campaign Of Marengo" In
The present hook he shows exactly how.
/ through miracles OF incompetence wrought
/ BY the Spanish government and com
n1anders. our handful OF men successfully
invaded and conquered the Island OF
Cuba held by some 90, ,000 courageous and
weli-eQuipped veteran soldiers with every
strategic advantage The attack On San
tiago was the hardest defiance Of the law
: OF probabilities that an army ever made,
/ IN obedience 10 an administration that
/ did not quite know what il was about
When Capt. Sargent published The
/ Campaign OF Santiago de Cuba" Presi-
( dent Roosevelt who rescs everything.
( read that The author, who was then
with his troop fl the Cte country. $50
miles from q railway station. was ordered
1 70 report al the White House. There
/ he lunched with the President and then
went thoughtfUlly back 70 his regime.
/ He may have thought II a long way 10
80 10 luncheon But the President had
I taken his measure. and he was detailed
I 10 the Army War COllege-as z student.
/ Il is only fair 10 explain that the stu
| dent body Of the War College is largely
! composed Of the most able officers Of the
/ army. and among the things that they
study are the military strength. orgsni-
/ zation. and resources OF every nation
/ with which We may possibly come into
| collision. and how 70 get the better OF
that nation. II our little army ever gets
a drubbing while our volunteers are
/ learning 70 walk without falling over
/ their own feet, Il Will not be for lack OF
foresight and 3 coherent plan Of mobiIi-
zation and defense.
Rough Riders OF the Pampas" Is a
| South American story by Capt Brereton-
I As the period Of Ection IS sixty years ago,
I there are probably few OF these rough
riders now holding Office IN the republic
/ OF their nativity
Members Of the new Publishers Circle.
a London club. are said TO meet az
/ luncheon once a week. The fare is sim
pie. Il the following menu Is an average
example:
Poet soup; historians brains - cassrols: essay
ISIS HEerS brochette; roast novelist; boiled auto
bioETaphsr. critic Sauces shoTt Tibs Of traveller
bTssed; scientist salad sarnisisd With gihists of
q