New-York tribune., 1910-07-17

! The latest addition to the volumes of pict-
uresque biography which have recently grown
so popular ought to make amusing reading. Its
hero is John Wilkes. a highly coIored type il
/ ever there was one. The author is Mr. Horace
| BIeackley.
Students of South American history may be
| interested in the volume on Argentina: Past
and Present. which Mr.. w II KOebel has in
press. 1t is based on historical research and
ON exhaustive travels in the country
For eighteen years the Omar Khayyann Club
| has existed in London and has pretty fire.
quently held elaborate banquets. The menu
cards of these have been adorned with pictures
by distinguished artists, and with poems by
Andrew Lang, Austin DObson and others.
Poems and pictures to be brought to-
gether III a privately printed volume for which
collectors will, of course make eager search
Mr. Andrew Lang has been looking into "The
Blind Child a domestic tale, published in the
| eighteenth century He wonders what the mod
ern woman has to say of the following dCtUm,
delivered by a lady in its pages:
Every approach to what is called hmn1or tstc)
too forward and too much upon a level with an
actress; add to that it makes her many enemies.
Still another book of travel in Italy is soon to
be expected. up Hill and Down Dale in An
cient Etruria" is the title thereof. Mr.. Fred
erick Seymour is the author.
It is long time since We have had a new
book from Professor ViIIari the learned biOg-
grapher Of Savonarola and Machiavelli One
from his hand is now announced for early pub
Charlemagne to Henry VII" The Order of the
Annunzata has just been bestowed upon the
F1Orentine historian.
In the second series of the English transIa-
ton of the DUchesse de DinO's Memoirs the
recOIlections of that distinguished lady are car
ried 1886 to 1910. Stories of Napoleon
are, of course fairly numerous There is one,
having a certain pathos about it, which relates
to the great mans valet, Marchand and his
memories of the last days at st. Helena. He
was wont to speak of the loneliness and empti-
o. F'mDerOr'S a
girt rock and in illustration he said that one
evening. when Napoleon was in bed very i'll he
pointed to the foot of the bed and said, Mar
Chana sit down there and tell me something"
The valet replied, Dear me- sire. what
tell you, who have done and much?''
Tell me about your YOUTH said his master.
'That will be simple and true, and viii inter-
est me-
No season of the year is complete without a
book by that magnificent young oracle. Mr.. G.
K Chesterton, and he has duly provided one for
midsummer It bears the charming title
Whats Wrong with the World?'' If anybody
knows. it is Mr.. Chesterton.
The career of Wflhelmine Won Gravenitz that
resourceful lady who transformed the court life
OF Wurtemberg's duke in the eighteenth
tury, was of romance all compact, and it was
painted in fairly vivid coIOrs by Miss Marie Hay
when she wrote her book on "A German POmpa-
dour This memoir has, in fact, something OF
the character of a novel, and it is not surprising
that it has proved popular Within a few
months after its first appearance in 1906 it
reprinted and now the Scribners issue new
and inexpensive edition. The picturesque SEN
timental tale makes good summer reading.
Conan Doyle has been speaking out in meet
ing and revealing one of the secrets of the
craft. In recent brief speech he quoted his
friend ]. NJ. Barrie as saying that he did not
often use a dictionary, but he liked TO have one
on the table, it gave him feeling of conf
dence. Vacillating authors please note.
We alluded the other day to the trans
atiOn of VaSau which Mr. Lee Warner has un-
dertaken to prepare. With it he is to bring
out memoir of that interesting old Italian, by
Mr.. r. w. Garden fully Illustrated with repro
ductions of Vasari's chief works in painting and
architecture.
HE WHITE PRINCESS.