THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND, SEPTEMBER 1, 1907.
11
up all the Ijtgljrr ttoaia-a qutrt ,
ifontp; mnr-H nf .our nam plant
ing: a frtn Iinafca full nf m
Bjitraitott ' of a nrttuts; a fcm
fronds uinrtlig of faring touch ,
mta able ta Lave ua in return; a
fjunnrrii innnrrnt pit aaurpH lljat
bring nn pain or rtmaret; a it
ttntian to tlj? rigljt t mill
nrupr Bmprur; a aimpl rrligion
pmptu nf all fainotru. full of
trust anil Ijopp anil lour ana ta I
Burrt a pljiloaaphu tljta marlo
mill gin? up all tlip rmptu jmj i
I.U aa. David Swing.
Satan Knnrterson. By Hallle Ermlnie Rives,
lllustrate'l. Price, l..rt(. The Bobbs
Merrlll Company, Indianapolis, Ind.
Whf-n Miss Hallle Ermlnie Rives
row Mrs. Post Wheeler visited Port
land not so very long ago and an
nounced that she was here en tour In
a search for local color with which to
build up a forthcoming novel, more
than one anxious citizen sat up and
took notice, asking himself: "Am I to
be In It?" Other less prominent citi
zens were also plainly nervous. All
this explains the present fluttering: In
the dove-cot In the announcement
that the novel referred to, "Satan
Sanderson," Is now on the market. But
there Is no hint In It that Portland
wan thought of. The novelist evident
ly (searched and thought that people
with darkened pasts were scarce in
Portland and went elsewhere for local
color.
Now, "Satan Sanderson" is a ro
mance of a darkened past, and the
man having this latter as his heritage
is one Hugh Stires, weakling, drunk
ard, liar, gambler and murderer. This
combination Is a strange tale of dual
personality, from the fact that Rev.
Harry Sanderson bears a marked phy
sical resemblance to Hugh Stires. The
story opens with Mr. Sanderson at his
best, a popular young man of 25
years and rector of St. James" Church.
To quote: "His athletic frame and
clean chiselled features mads him a
rare figure for the reading desk, as
his violin practice, the cut of his golf
flannels, the Immaculate elegance of
his motor car even the white carna
tion he affected In his buttonhole
made him for the younger men a good
ly pattern of the cloth; and It had
speedily grown to.be the fashion to
hear the brilliant young minister, to
memorize his classical aphorisms, or
to look up his latest quotation from
Keats or Walter Pater."
A strong scene, wh(fh once read
will linger In the memory. Is the open
ing Incident where nvld Stires, In the
privacy of his library, and surrounded
by Judge Conwell, Rev. Mr. Sanderson
and Miss Jessica Holme, looks over a
will In which he practically disinherits
his only son, Hugh in these words:
To my son Hugh, in return for the care
end sorrow he has caused me all the days
of his life, for his dissolute career and his
desertion, I do Rive and bequeath the sum
of flOOO and the memory of bis misspent
youth.
David Stires wishes to bequeath the
remainder of his estate to his ward,
Jessica Holme, a blind girl. It so hap
pens that Rector Sanderson and Scape
grace Stirus had been college mates
together, and an unaccountable spark
of loyalty to his absent friend spring's
up in the churchman's breast. He,
the preacher, the man whom the world
looked up to, has the manliness to
confess that he, too, had sown his
wild oats and that he and young Stires
had been fellow-members of a disso
lute college fraternity known as The
Saints, and that he Sanderson had
been the founder of this society and
the abbot of The Saints. For his vari
ous college misdeeds Sanderson had
been known as "Satan" Sanderson. A
sample of the latter's logic:
1 was In the same year with Hush. TVe
sowed our wild oats together a tidy crop,
I fancy, for us both. That page of my Ufa
Is pasted down. Colleges are not moral
straight-Jackets. Men have there to cast
shout, try themselves and find their bear
ings. They are in hand-touch with tempta
tion and out of earshot of the warnings of
experience. The mental and moral machine
larks a governor.' Slips of the cog then
may or may not count seriously to charac
ter tn the end. They sometimes signify
only a phase. They may be mere Idiosyn
crasy. The elder Stires is so distressed at
the appeal for mercy for his prodigal
son that he postpones the signing of
his last will and testament. Shortly
afterward Hugh Stires comes home In
the dCad of the night, drunk and penni
less, but on his promise to reform, is
kindly received by his father. A mar
riage between the returned prodigal
and Jessica takes place, on the day
following an operation by which she
hopes to regain her eyesight. It Is
agreed that the bandages shall bo
taken from her eyes In a darkened
room, and that the first face she will
see will be that of her bridegroom.
The bride proceeds to an upper room,
when the elder Stires, In a voice hoarse
with passion, suddenly Informs Sand
erson: "Wa have married Jessica to
a common thief. My son, my only
son, has ftfrged my name to a draft
for $50D0."
Sanderson Is sent to comfort the
bride, and as he enters the darkened
room, Jessica, with the bandages taken
from her eyes, looks into his face,
thinking he is her husband, and
Sanderson becomes painfully aware
that ho has fallen In love with Mrs.
Hugh Stires. The prodigal is again
disowned, ana the older Stires and
Jessica leave for a year's tour. One
night Hugh visits Rev. Mr. Sanderson,
and In the conversation that follows
the latest devil In Sanderson awakes.
Instead of loaning money to the wan
derer, he proposes a gambling gams
saying.
It is I who play with money. My gold
against your counters. Each of these hun
dred red-disks represents a day of your
life a day, do you understand? a red day
of your sin. A day of yours against a
double-eagle. TVhat you win you keep. But
for every counter I won you shall pay me
one straight, white day, a clean day, lived
for decency and for the right.
Sanderson drags the reluctant gam
bler to the altar of the church, where
he makes Hugh take an oath to
"walk a chalkline," and the two are
In the midst of a furious game of
chance with lighted candles near them
when they are discovered by the bishop
of the diocese. Sanderson promptly
runs away In his auto to escape pend
ing disgrace, when the auto runs
into a river, Sanderson receiving such in
juries that his brain was temporarily af
fected. He recovers and proceeds, curi
ously enough, to a mining town which
had, to its loss, known Hugh Stires. San
derson Is coluiy received because the citi
zens think he is Stires from the marked
resemblance between the two men. Young
Stires is suspected of having murdered
Dr. Moreau, fellow gambler.
From this moment, the story gathers in
Intensity, like the sweep of the sea, espe
cially when Sanderson takes Stires" place
and vice-versa. To add to the play of
cross purposes, the mining town In ques
tion Is also the temporary home of Jes
sica and the elder Stires. Because of his
wish to save Jessica pain, Sanderson does
not run away from the Sher.u. who hunts
Moreau's murderer, and when young
fiUreet visits him he sends the prodlfial
L IV , 3- f -Z i
h-. .---I ;t -1 J
THOMAS
V1XCH
to his rectory home for itiotiey to aid
him in his escape to South America. True
to his base instincts, the prodigal, after
he has secured Sanderson's money, be
gins to smoke cigarettes in the church,
falls asleep, and in the Are that follows
is so fearfully Injured that he Just es
capes with his life. In the meantime a
miner he had thrashed, formally accuses
Sanderson thinking: he Is Stires of having-
killed Moreau, and Sanderson Is
placed on trial for 'his life.
Ultimately Stires does the one noble act
of his life for, when he Is persuaded that
he in at the point of death from the in
juries he received in the fire, he forces
his way into the courtroom, theatrically
confesses that he alone -.illed Moreau,
and passes out of life forever. Of course,
Sanderson Is freed and he and Jessica
find their dream of happiness coming
true.
"Satan Sanderson" is a notable
achievement in American letters, and Is
certain to be widely discus- i and liked.
It has the clearly cut stamp of ability,
teaches sound morat.ty, and while It lacks
humor, enough is drawn of the general
picture to lift it far from the ken of or
dinary romance.
A Tul! fUrTfi IVntlny. By Mm. BaMlt-e
Reynold j. Frice, $1.50. Brentano's, New
York City.
No, gentle reader, the destiny of this
"dull girl" turns out to be nothing very
terrible only her marriage. Mrs. Baillie
Reynolds has written a novel dealing
with English middle class life and is suc
cessful in picturing mannerism and tern
perament, and lighting narrow conven
tionality. The dull girl is Miss Avril
.Eden, a writer of. novels whose nom de
plume Is Jane Smith, but In the end she
proves to be so original and clever that
she not only wins the- heart of Pro
fessor Kenrick, geological expert, but
blossoms into a person worth knowing.
Different types are skillfully shown,
among them being Mrs. Betty Lebreton,
married flirt and cigarette smoker. This
is her description:
She was of tho type of thin women whose
thinness actually constitutes the crowning
allurement. There was a panther-like grac
about her movements, and a suggestion of
haKRardness in the lines of her face, the
lightest hollow in lier cheeks, set a seal of
feverish intensity upon her great eyes. It
was as thouph the fires of her soul were
consuming her body.
Mrs. Lebreton's beauty must have been
of the basilisk order of things, for she
counted scores of admirers who were
usually hypnotized by her voice. It Is
refreshing to know her one attraction.
She tried her best to compel Professor
Kenrick to surrender to her charms, and
on one occasion tells him: "People say
there Is no friendship possible between
men and women. It is quite untrue. All
my best rlends have been men dear
friends to whom I could say anything
that came into my head. A man Is safe;
he never misunderstands, he never gives
you away. A woman will go back on her
friend. She will betray confidence; a man
Is always loyal. You, for instance."
Far more agreeable is it to watch the
Intellectual .riendship which blossoms into
love of the silent kind between Mis
Eden and her professor. The latter be
gan by avowing his affection In these
words: "Always I have feared hat I
might by mistake grow to care about a
woman who would Insist upon words. I
have very few." Chapter Zl gives an
alluring description of a mountain trip
In "Wales.
J. M. Q.
IN LIBRARY AND WORKSHOP.
Th 6nth anniversary of the Atlantic.
Monthly will occur this Fall.
A seventeenth large printing nf Mary JS.
Waller's "The Wood-Carver of 'Lympu," Is
announced.
W. A. Fraser novel, "The Lone Furrow,"
published, by Appleton's, has been very
successful in Canada. The book treats of
a little Canadian vilUgA.
The Harpers have Just issued a new edi
tion of "Katherine." by E. Temple Thurs
tnn. and a new edition of William Dean
Howalls' 'iurough the Eye of a Needle."
.
"Q." who ts prone to confine himself to
Dartmoor, wanders not sofar, finding some
Islands not far from the Danish coast which
serve him well as the scene for his latest
romance, "Major Vigoureux."
Nathaniel C. Fowler, the author of "Start
ing In Life," Is spending the Summer at
Rindge. N. H. "Startin in Life" Is includ
ed In the list of 50 best books of 1906 as
selected by a vote of the librarians of New
York state.
L Eden Phlllpotts. In his new novel, "The
Folk Afield." which will be published this
month, has gone from Dartmoor, and people
of Egypt, Syria, the "West Indies, France
and Italy will appear In the author's studies
of character.
September will witness the issue In book
form of Miss Sinclair's new novel, ''The
Helpmate." (Holt) and also the 13th print
ing of "The Divine Fire," which made her
reputation here and which happens to also
be the last novel she wrote before "The
Helpmate.' a
r
"Aunt Jane of Kentucky." bv Eliza Val
vert Hall. Is now in its fifth edition; -"The
Cattle of Doubt." by John H- Wtiltson, thira
printing; "Jenifer," by Lucy M. Thurston,
second printing; "Phantom Wires," by Ar
thur Stringer, second printing; "Ackroyd ot
the Faculty." by Anna Chapln Ray, second
Printing, and "By Right Divine," by William
6 age, second printing.
Among the quietude of the Swiss Moun
tains, Francis Cribble is writing a novel or
modern London life, doubtless gaining In
spiration from the contrast- between the
scenes that surround him and the world h
Is describing. Mr. Cribble la also awaiting
the Autumn publication of his biographical
account of "George and and Her Lovers,"
which Everlelgh Nash Is now making ready
for the press
"Athenaeum" states that a large memorial
cross of Celtic design is to be placed over
the remains of Sir Charles Qavan Duffy
In Glasnavin Cemetery, Dublin. The croaaittUling the tempest, to the miraole el
which stands over 17 feet high, has been
deelgned by Mr. CKShea, of Kilkenny, and
its unveiling will be the occasion of a publlo
ceremony. A portrait bust of the historian,
the gift of Mtf Duffy, was recently added
to the Irish National Portrait Gallery.
A resident of Alberta, Canada, has writ
ten n letter to Anna Chapin Ray, author ot
"Ackroyd of the Faculty." stating that "his
name ta Ackroyd and that he has been try
ing for many years to obtain some tract
of the genealogy of the Ackroyd fam(i.
Inasmuch ag Andrew Ackroyd. the central
character of this novel of social maladjust
ment in a eollege town, is a fictitious nam,
Miss Kay was unable to asalst him.
- '
"Ted in Mythland" Is the title of a dainty
volume by Hermlna Bchwed, which will be
published soon. It translates into charm
ing verse and prose for children of all age
tli A b tori pi of the gndn and goddesses or
Greek and Roman mythology, serving th
double purpose of a highly entertaining
story-book and a complete outline of myth
ology, carefully studied from the best
sources. It is Illustrated with 28 charming
drawings by M. H. Squire.
'Boys of the Border." th third volume
of the "Old Deerfleld Series" of stories foi
young people bv Mary P. Wells Smith, will
be published In the Fall. The period is
that of the Frohch and Indian War from
171H to 1735, rnd the story relates leading,
events in tne Df-nrfield valley during those
stirring" times, especially Incidents connect
ed with the line oT forts along the Nortn
western Massachusetts border and up th
Connecticut River to the north.
Popular Mechanics Magazine for Septem
ber contains 18ft articles and 113 illustra
tions. Among the more interesting features
are: "New Method- of Reviving the
Drowned." "Cavalry Horses Used as Tele
graph Wires," "Heaviest Locomotive Ever
Built" (it will haul a train two miles long
on levci track), and an article treating
on the development of that promising In
dustry, the raising of sugar beets.
The September number of the People's
comprises 20 complote stories. Included in
this number is a lively novel by Marjorie
Benton Cooke. Miss Cooke's novel is enti
tled "Tltanla," and 1s well named, as It
Is a care-free story of the fields and woods,
3ust the sort of story one wishes to read
during the vacation. The love Interest !
of course, paramount, and the idyllic nature
of the tale peculiarly adapts it to the need
of entertaining fiction.
Booth Taklngton; the Indiana noVelist, has
acquired a residence in Paris, where he haa
lived for nearly the past two years, and It
is reported that he has also bougtit a horns
off the Italian coast. Mr. Tarklngton late
ly reluctantly returned to America to wit
ness the production of the new play, "The
Man From Home' which he has written In
conjunction with Harry L. Wilson, the au
thor 0t "The Spenders." Immediately upon
the presentation of the new piece Mr. Tark
lngton will return to Paris.
There is a promise of the early publica
tion of a work by Henrik Ibsen, which was
written by Ibsen during a sojourn tn Italy
In the '60s and which the author lost. The
manuscript was found by a Danish gentle
man in 1893, who concealed the discovery.
This man died in 1KX, leaving the manu
script to the Royal Library at Copenhagen,
with the stipulation that a friend of hi
should have the publication lights. Ibsen
being dead, the manuscript is to be printed.
Four novels are announced from the Lon
don press of Methuen A Co. for early pub
lication. The first is Bernard Cape's "The
Great Skene Mystery," In which that pro
lific sensational author will return from
his favorite Mediaeval Italy to the mod
ern England of a generation ago. It is a
tale of lawbreakers and lawbreaklng. The
three other novelists on the Methuen list
are all women Miss Dorothy V. Horace
Smith, Miss Barbara Burke and Miss Llz
beth Campbell.
Early this month the McClurgs expect to
have ready an able and Important work in
three volumes on the strategic history of the
Santiago compalgn, by Colonel H. H. Sar
gent. U. 6. A The author will be recalled
as the writer of two distinctly valuable
works In the same field published some
years aijo "Napoleon Bonaparte's First
Campaign" and "The Campaign of Maren
go" which contributed so much to an
understanding of the scientific side- of
modern warfare. The exact title of the
work will be "The Campaign of Santlage
de Cuba," and It will have a number of
maps, making plain the operations about
Santiago from the beginning to its conclu
sion. Brown, Langham ft Co., of London, have
secured from Moffat, Yard ft Co., of New
York, the British rights to George Sylvester
Vlereck's "Nineveh and Other Poems,"
which is making a big hit In this oountry,
and will publish an English edition soon.
A German edition. It will be remembered,
la already on the market with, the Imprint
of Cotta, ot Stuttgart. A prominent Paris
Ian house has begun negotiations for a trans
lation into French. The same American
publisher also announces a novel of romantio
adventure by William Frederick DIx, author
cf that delightful romance of old furniture,
"The Face In the Girandole." The title of
the new book Is "The Lost Princess." Its
atmosphere is Intensely modern, and Its
stirring plot will hold the reader fascinated
to the last page.
"Long before the Government awoke to
the significance of the rapid growth of our
industries," writes S. C. Hutchlna In Smith's
Magazine, "private Interests had become
fully alive to the importance of the matter.
As long as 50 years ago, a few far-seeing
men anticipated the future enormous con
sumption of lumber, and realized that at
the end of a decade the Northwestern states
must become the chief source of the coun
try's supply. In 1S50 the lumber product
was valued at little over ? 60,000. 000: last
year it was In excess of $600,000,000. At
the former period, the bulk of the cut waa
secured In the Eastern states; now Penn
sylvania is the only one of that group that
figures in the ranks of the eight principal
productive states. Then New York was
at the head of the list. Now Oregon and
Washington lead the country."
One bright Sunday mornfnr I tried to find,
the author. Rev. C. W. Gordon (whose nom
de plume la "Ralph Connor"), and discov
ered him in St. Stephen's Church. Winnipeg,
Manitoba, of which he la the pastor, says a
writer In the National Magazine. At that
time a Bible claaa was in session, number
ing men from 50 to GO years of age, a
sturdy and intelligent Scots as can be met
with anywhere. Here were McKenzles,
Mclntoshes and other Highland names fa
mous in Scottish annals, "of old houses and
fights long, long ago." This Is the influence
that dominates Canada today and has aid
ed in building up the empire.
They were studying the miracles these
ploneerr. and men of affairs, who nave
made Manitoba what It is and they stead
fastly Insisted on a literal interpretation of
each chapter, from the miracle of Christ
evil spirits going out of the possessed man
into the 2O0O swine "which ran violently
Into the sea and were choked."
Dr. Gordon Is pleasant-voiced, and "his
clerical attire and manner suggested some
thing of Barrle's "Little Minister." so earn
est was he In his words and thorough in
his' search .of the Scriptures. AfteT the
meeting was over, he came and warmly
pressed my hand. '
"We cannot be accused of heresy here,"
he said, smiling.
Thomas Dixon, Jr., whose picture is pre
sented on this book page, is the author of
the Southern novel depicting the Ku Klux
Klan, "The Traitor," reviewed in The Ore
gonian for August 11. Mr. Dtxon, who is
a noted lecturer and author, was born at
Shelby. N. C. January 11, 1864. Graduat
ing from Wake Forest College in 18S3 and
from Greensboro Law School, North Caro
lina, three years later, he afterward was a
lawyer and, cutting short a political career,
he became a Baptist preacher and minis
tered at Raleigh, N. C. : Boston and New
York City. Since then he has become bet
ter known as a clever and entertaining
lyceum lecturer. His home is at Dlxondale,
Va.. and he makes New York City his
literary headquarters.
Literary Indianapolis, from which many
readable books have come, gets a good
natured Jolt now and then. This Is one
from Puck: She was sitting next the rail
road car window, gazing at the landscape.
"Dearest." she murmured, "do you realize
the significance of the scenes through which
we are being so unsympathetlcally whirled?
This Is the land of song and story the
realm of old romance. Do not these chang
ing vistas call up In you thoughts of daring
knights and endangered damsels of Joust
and Jest, of feast and fray?" - "Yes, dar
ling," answered her husband, earnestly; but
withal anxiously, for he was not even near
literary, and knew It. He was. therefore,
not unrelieved by the interruption when
the brakeman stuck his head in at the door
and yelled, "Indianapolis!"
A reference In Hosmer's "The Appeal to
Arms" (one of the volumes In the historical
series. "The American Nation"), to the fact
that General Sherman was born in the
"Fire Lands" of Ohio, Is remindful of one
of the most Interesting and little known
facts In American history the setting aside
by Connecticut of a great part of its "West
ern Reserve," along the southern shore of
Lake Erie, for those Connecticut folk who
had their property destroyed by the Tories
during the Revolution, and particularly for
those whose houses and barns were burned
by the troops under command of Benedict
Arnold. The latter, it will be remembered,
was given a General's command In the
British Army after his treason at West
Point. The part of Ohio thus given to rec
ompense the sufferers la still known as the
"Fire Lands." although the curious deriva
tion of the name is well-nigh forgotten. '
The London Academy Is vexed because
Edmund Gosse has resigned the editorship
of the literary supplement to the London
Daily Mall. This Is the way in which
It gets back at the Mail for some recent
justified comments upon The Academy as
a literary authority: "The friends of Ed
ward (fIc) Gosse were all much aston
ished when h undertook tp Infuse sweet
ness end light into the Dally Mail by ac
cepting the editorship of the new venture
which was Intended to cut out the literary
supplement of the Times. And no one
was surprised at learning that the pot de
fr and the pot de terre did not float down
stream in a very satisfactory manner. The
clever writers smuggled into the Daily Mall
were soon hurled forth with their only
bexetter. And what waa for six months
a brilliant little sheet In Its way haa now
relapsed Into a dismal hotch-potch of head
llnesr snippety bits, and small beer ehron
lclee. We shall watch ita development
without interest."
Tom Maason haa decided to bury the
trivial past -suggested by the nickname un
der which he has been writing for several
years. Henceforth he ! to be known dlg
nifledly as Thomas L. Masson. "The
change was eupgfsted first to me," eala
Mr. Masson, "by Edward W. Bok. who In
sisted that. In spite of Mark Twain, Jaclc
London and Tom Payne, it was extremely
undignified for me to pose in such a youth
ful gn.rb. After I decided to make the
change I received the proof of a Btory In
Appleton's Magazine, which .was signed with
tlie old name, and I changed the old to the
new, and it was printed. My friend,
Trumbull White, editor of Appleton's. did
not notice the change until it waa too late.
He aald he had bought the story from Tom
Masson and paid him a great doal mor
tau it was worth on account of the name,
and he naturally felt chagrined when it
appeared under a new and wholly different
name. Personally. I do not think it makea
a great deal of difference. Perhaps the
dignity which Is supposed to attach itselr
to- the new name is counterbalanced by the
greater length over the shorter."
The recent false report of Tolstoi's death'
was given such wide-spread publicity as to
awaken renewed and wide-spread Interest in
his work. Nor has this intercut been con
fined to his best-known books, for it has
turned some of his earlier writings, in
which he used more of action and incident
with less of philosophy. In early manhood
he was a soldier and fought in the great
defense of Sebastopol against the allied
armies; and among the most impressive of
all his books Is a. little one which he wrote
shortly after the siege, entitled "Sebastopol."
In vivid realism It is unsurpassed by any
thing' In his later and more pretentious
works, for, although written In the form
ions of war scenes, set down while those
Impressions were new and strong. Some
years ago the Harpers published an admir
able translation of this book, with an intro
duction by William Dean Howells. The
book consists of three parts Sebastopol in
December, 1SS4; Sebastopol in May, 1855;
Sebastopol in August, 1855; and all are writ
ten with tense and vivid brevity of style.
.
A recent commentator on "Character In
Dialogue," writing in the Academy wltn
special reference to the stage, touches upon
the subject as It relates to the novel. He
ays. Justly enough, that while In fiction
dialogue Is delightful, the novelist can tell
his tale without it, having many other ways
of baring his characters to the reader. Few
novelists today, however, feel that they can
do without dialogue, and it is a little sur
prising that few of them achieve anything
very satisfactory In this direction, says th
New York Tribune. Novel of modern lire
predominate. The dialogue in them ought
not to make a very difficult Job. Yet, as
a rule, the talk in this fiction Is practically
without character. No doubt this Is be
cause the various personages introduced
are without character, but even more. w
believe, the want of good dialogue Is due to
the artificial conception of the matter which
has crept :n, owing to the Influence of writ
ers like Henry James or the late John Oliver
Hobbes. Novelists set out with the deliber
ate intention of being subtle or smart. They
think first of their epigram and only second
arily, if at all, of the character and atmos
phere of the supposititious speaker. Then
own wit is what they want to impose upon
the reader. This comes out rather oddly
sometimes in a collection of short stories.
In each tale there la a new eet of charac
ters and there Is a nert' situation, but tho
flavor of the talk Is always the same. As
for the so-called society novels, the dia
logue In them Is a fearful and wonderful
creation, perhaps the queerest to be found
In latter-day fiction.
A notable publication Is "Magda, Qu-en of
Sheba," translated Into French from the
original Ghese, the language of the Ethi
opian priests, by Hughes le Roux, member
of the Rouen Academe de Belles-lettres, and
from the French into English by Mrs. John
Van Vorst. with an Introduction especially
prepared for this edition by Hughes Le
Roux.. This extremely curious story forms
part of an ancient manuscript entitled "The
Glory of the Kings," in which ts contained
the genealogy of the Ethiopian kings from
the beginning of their known history. No
full translation of "Magda" has ever be
fore been made into any European language,
the nearest approach being a few chapters
which a few years ago were put into Latin
by a German scholar.
During the defeat of King Theodore by the
English at Magdala, about 50 years ago,
this manuscript Was found among Theodore's
personal effects after his death by suicide.
It was then taken to London and deposited
In the British Museum, but later was re
stored to the k accessor of Theodore, King
John. M. Le Roux, while on a recent mis
sion to the Abys?ln1an Court, was allowed
to see the manuscript -and make a transla
tion of It into French. The present trans
lation Into English has been made from
Le Roux'i versions, and has been author
ized by him. "Magda" Is the story of the
visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solo
mon, and of the early life of their son,
told in the form of fiction, but with an his
torical basis, the facts being those which
have been believed in Abyssinia for many
generations. Experts have given the opin
ion that the date of the original manu
script is probably somewhere In the Fifth
Century of our era, and that some learned
Abyssinian person, possessed of all the
historical data, put them into this form
under the Influence of the literary culture
of Byzantium. The work makes an ex
tremely curious piece of literature, and is
certain to awaken comment.
Another extract from May Isabel Flsk's
new story, "The Talking Woman," issued by
Harper's: One day she went to a depot to
ask about trains and timidly accosted a
large, brass-buttoned employe. "Are you the
right on? I want to find out about trains
you know, ask questions. . . . Oh, over
there? 1 went mere, but the man said X
was at the wrong end of the line and X
wAuld h&VM to wait m v turn, and then T had
Jte stand next to a fat woman with a iitUo
boy eating oranges, and it dripped el! ever,
so really I had to leave without finding out
anything.
". . . Perhaps you could? . - . Yes, you
look intelligent. . . .No. you needn't than
me, you do . . . Oh, of course Why, I'm
going to visit Aunt Elizabeth. She's not
my aunt; she's my husband's aunt, and not
really his aunt either I've forgotten what it
is; one of those In-law things that are so
hard to remember. I am positive I ehall go
anyway, but you see my husband Mr. Au
gustus Smythe Smythe with an e. You
know I have more trouble about that e you
haven't any idea In department stores par
ticularly I always say, 'Be sure you put on
the e.' And half the time when the parcels
come home they have spelled the name
Smith! Now, honestly. Isn't it maddening?
I can't tell you how trifles like that annoy
me. In fact, I don't call a thing like
that a trifle, but Mr. Smythe There,
that's what I was going to tell you. Mr.
Smythe is away on a business trip, and 1
thought I would get my visit to Aunt Eliza
beth off my mind while he was away and
then surprise him when he returned and
". . . No. not at all I don't mind you
interrupting me. Where does Aunt Eliza
beth live? Oh yes, of course you would
have to know. In Connecticut. Oh, the
town? Well, you know I can't tell you how
furious Aunt Elizabeth would be if she
heard you say 'town.' It's a small city
one of those places with a Court street and
a High street and a Prospect avenue which
looks out In the-back and no one dares wear
made-over clothes because the neighbors re
member them. I do believe
". . The name of the place? Now. what
do you think .of that? You Jumped the
question bo quickly at me it's gone right out
of my head. I knpw it Just as well as my
own mind. Now No I'll have it In a mo
ment. Well. I know It begins with L I am
absolutely positive about that at least, 1
think so. Can't you suggest some name?"
An Interesting feature of the ceremonial
unveiling of the bust of William E. Henley
at St. Paul's in Londrfti was the reading of
a letter from George Meredith in which the
most eminent English novelist of the present
era pays eloquent tribute to the personal
force of a youncw 'contemporary in the
world of letters: "The place chosen for the
memorial of Henley, In the heart of the
great city he loved so well and sang of no
bly, strikes the mind as the fulfillment or
this English poet's highest material aspir
ation, and cannot but be in full accord
with the wishes of his admirers. He had
the poet's passion for nature, and. by rea
son of it, the poet's fervent devotion to hu
manity. Light of the skies playing upon
smokv vapor, city scenery, city crowds,
stirred In htm those raptures which are the
founts of spirited verse. Rightly could he
speak of his unconquerable soul. It was a
soul that had to do perpetual battle with
an undermined and struggling body and
this joyfullv. and. as far aa coukl be possi
ble, buoyantly, for all his nature sprang up
to hall the divinity of life. From a bed
of sickness that mlsrht seem a hopeless
imprisonment, he gave out impressions of
a dally hospital round, and his own moods,
without a shadow of despair to darken the
poetic vision; but when he was restored
to companionship with his fellows, one
involuntary touch occurs in his verse to tell
of the suffering he has passed through. He
rejoiced in the smell of the streets. There
we have the lover of life rising from the
depths, fcuch was the man. As critic he
had the rare combination of enthusiasm
and a wakeful judgment. Pretentiousness
felt his whip smartly. The accepted imbe
cile had to bear the weight of his epigram.
But merit under a cloud, or jest emerging,
he sparkled on and lifted to the public
view. H was one of the main supports of
good literature in 'our time. Ills inspiriting
heartiness and inciting counsels gathered
about him a troop of young writers, who
are proud In acknowledging their debt to
him for the first of the steps they made
on the road to distinction. Deploring we
have Inst him. we may marvel that we
had him with us so long. What remains
Is the example, of a valiant man, the mem
ory of him in pcetry that will endure."
REFORM EFFORT FAILURE
Another Example of Philadelphia,
"Corrupt and Contented."
Minneapolis Tribune.
The present plight of Philadelphia la
a horrible example for cities that un
dertake reform or corrupt conditions
without legal grounds or civic resolu
tion to make their case good. The Bec
ond state of such a city is worse than
Its first. Corruption gains new daring
from immunity and the reform spirit
sinks In despair. Moreover, the money
cost of failure Is monstrous.
Philadelphia faces a deficit of $600,
000. as a result of the reaction from
reform. All the contracts for filtra
tion works held up. In. the hot fight
have been allowed by voluntary arbi
tration, after having been condemned
by the courts. This brings a judgment
for over $2,000,000, which Is $600,000
more than the revenues for the year.
Apparently all the city departments,
those controlled by the reformers as
well as those remaining In the hands of
the machine, spent money as if these
doubtful contracts were Dot to be consid
ered. The city would have been solvent if they
had been scaled down as the evidence of
extortion and extravagance Indicate that
they should be. But they have been al
lowed nearly in full and the city must
borrow money for current expenses after
paying them. Meanwhile the filtration
works remain unfinished, people die of
typhoid fever and the United States Army
engineer put in charge of the work by the
reformers is hampered and thwarted in
every possible way.
All this resulted from the defeat of the
reform party in the last election and the
choice of the machine candidate for May
or. The whole machinery of administra
tion and Justice reversed Itself with the
reversal of the popular verdict. The coun
cils, always In sympathy with the ma
chine, undid the things Weaver had forced
them to do anB the Judiciary ate its
words with good appetite.
These transitions are possible In a Mayor-governed
city like Philadelphia. When
Mayor Weaver Joined the reformers he
had power to carry the cleaning up pro
cess perhaps too far. When he deserted
them and helped in the election of a ma
chine Mayor, everything was reversed in
a moment.
Hale and Active at 101 Tears.
Pall Mall Gazette.
James Carne, verger' of the Church of
St. Columb and parish clerk of St. Co
lumb Minor, Cornwall, has Just celebrated
his 101st birthday. Three generations of
the Carne family have held the same
office for 167 years, and his grandfather.
John Carne, who died in 1801, aged 80
years, served 50 years as a' verger, and
was followed by his son John, who died
at the age of 84, after a service in the
church of 64 "years. He retired in 1843 In
favor of the present verger, who until
seven years ago never missed a service,
the death of his wife causing then a
break in his marvelous record. Mr. Carne
is still hale- and active, and until seven
yeans ago bad no use for glasses. He
detests tobacco, and takes only a glass
of port as a tonic.
When Mr. Carne became verger he had
to march up and down the aisle of the
church leading the choir with his flute,
and later a clarinet, a flute, and a big
bass violin were added, and still later a
cornopean. The practices were held an
hour before the time of service in the
parlor of the Inn near by. Bridge's hymn.
"Oh, Be Joyful," was sung in the church
every Sunday for BO consecutive years
before It was superseded by another by
the same composer.
When I Am Dead.
John O. Nslhardt In the Smart Set.
When I am dead, and nervous hands have
thrust
Mr body downward Into careless dust:
I think the grave could not suffice -to hold
My spirit prisoned In the sunless mold.
Some subtle memory of you would be
resurrection of the life of me.
Yea, I would be, because I love you so.
The speechless spirit of all things that grow,
Tou could not touch a flower but it would
be
X.lke a caress upon the cheek of me.
I would be patient in the common grass.
That I might feel your footfall should you
pass.
I would be kind as rain and pure as dew,
A loving spirit round the life of you.
When your soft cheek by perfumed winds
were fanned.
"Twould be my kiss, and you would under
stand. But. when some sultry, storm-bleared sun
liad set,
I would be lightning If you dared forgetl
AN INTERNATIONAL
AUXILIARY LANGUAGE
'.'Bsperanto," Consisting of Two Thousand Ttoot Word,
Fills the Requirement and Is Very Kasily learned.
ESPERANTO is an auxiliary interna-
tlonal language. Its aim is not to
displace any of the existing national
tongues, but to be a second language for
all nations. Civilization will make a
long step forward whenever it accepts an
international language for commercial
correspondence with foreign merchants,
for the conversation of the tourist travel
ing in various countries, for speech-making
at international congresses, and for
treaties and contracts between foreign
nations. Take, for Instance, the treaty
of peace between Japan and Russia, which
was drawn up in English and French,
neither of which being the national lan
guage of the contracting parties. The
idiom of any of the nations existing at
the present time will never be accepted
as an universal language, because there is
and always will be national prejudice by
other nations. Neither will any one of
the dead languages, whether Iatln,
Greek or Hebrew, ever be selected as an
universal language, because each of them
Is so complicated and requires so much
time to be mastered, that it can never
be expected that a number of people,
large enough to make It International,
will ever pledge itself to the study of
such a language. For these reasons the
scientific creation of a language adapted
for International use among all people
has been for hundreds of years In the
minds of some of the world's greatest
philosophers. Many attempts without
practical success have been made towards
the solution of the problem. The German
priest, Rev. Father Schleyer, made the
first genuine effort, when he construct
ed Volapuk. This was 30 years ago.
However, Volapuk was not practical, be
cause it is almost impossible to memo
rize and retain such root wo as bap,
pab, pep, peb, bob, pop, pup, bub. pub,
bib, pip and similar sounds. Therefore it
was soon d.scarded. On tht, other hand,
Esperanto took its material of root words
from the Romance German languages.
It Is easily learned and remembered. Its
grammar Is simplicity .tself. consisting
of 16 short and well-defined rules, which
can be learned by heart in les than one
hour's time. And more than- that, every
thing v-ritten tn Esperanto can be trans
lated at once by people of different na
tions without previous study with the
help of an Esperanto key. It has no ex
ceptions -nd irregularities, everything Is
scientifically adjusted. Its universal dic
tionary consists of not quite 2W0 root
words, most of which are familiar to
"fry person of moderate education.
The meanings for the tens of thousands
of other words usually contained In a
modern dictionary can all be expressed In
Esperanto by building up by means of
simple rules from its root words. So sci
entific and so well thought out is the
method of word formation that in fact
more words can be made from these roots
than there are contained in a Webster or
Century Dictionary. The meaning of each
Esperanto word is definite and accurate.
Every kind of thought can be much more
logically and skilfully expressed in Es
peranto than in any other language, and
K permits of a greater variety of shading
and reasoning. It has no words of double
meaning such as "in English, where for
Instance the word "mean" may stand for
signify, or for stingy, or for paltry, or for
average. Its pronuclation is easily learned.
It is very euphonious and sounds like
Spanish with a slight mixture of Greek.
Each letter haa a distinct and Invariable
sound, it has no mute letters and the
accent falls always on the penultimate,
that is the second last syllable of a word.
Practical demonstrations at Esperanto
congresses have proven, that It is also to
be a spoken language, and that there is
for foreigners even without teachers less
difficulty in learning to pronounce and
accentuate Esperanto understanding
and correctly than there is with any other
language. Its orthography is strictly
phonetic.
For the purpose of showing the charac
ter of Esperanto to the unltiated a num
ber of Esperanto rules are herewith given.
Grammar.
The letters are mostly pronounced
as in English. However, a sounds al
ways like a in -last"; c like ts in
"wits"; e like a In "make"; b like g
In "go"; 1 like ee in "seen"; J like y in
"yoke"; n like u in "rule"; and a has
always the soft sound like s in "rose."
The letter J is a consonant and, there
fore combinations like aj, el and ol are
monosyllables and are pronounced as
follows: aj like al in ".aisle"; el like
aye in "cayenne," and ol like oy in
"Joy." The Esperanto alphabet has 28
letters, but the examples of pronuncia
tion here given will be sufficient for
the illustrations following.
There is no indefinite article. The
definite article "la" is unchangeable,
like the English article "the."
Nouns are formed by adding o to the
root word, adjectives by adding a, and
adverbs by adding . For Instance:
pair" root word for father;
- la patro the father;
patra, paternal;
patre pateranlly;
The plural is formed by adding 1 to the
grammatical endings of the noun and
the adjective:
la patrol the fathers;
veraj homo J true men.
Compound words are formed by sim
ply Joining roots, the qualifying word
standing first. For the sake of eu
phony the grammatical terminations o,
a and e may be inserted:
bela beautiful; ona sonorous;
belaoua wellsoundlng, euphonious;
akvo water; falo, fall;
akvofalo waterfall.
The infinitive mood of the verb Is
signified by the letter It the present
tense by as, the past tense by las the
future tense by os the conditional by
us j and the imperative by n. The verb
does not change ita form in the singu
lar or plural. The personal pronoun
or the noun Itself Indicates its num
ber and person. Example:
komprrnl, to understand;
ml estaa I am; .
1 1 presentia you offered;
II atestoa he will certify;
nl rdnJcus we should educate;
ciTlllcu civilize.
The active participles are ant, lot,
ont. The passive participles are at, It,
ot. They can be used as substantives,
adjectives and adverbs. With the help
of eatl (to 6e) which is the only auxil
iary verb in Esperanto, all the voices,
moods and tenses not stated above
can be expressed. For instance:
vl eatas petata, you are requested;
ml eslls amlta, I had been loved;
11 eatns eaperantav he would be
hoping, and so forth.
Participle nouns (active):
la parolanto the speaker (person now
speaking).
la parollnto the speaker (person who
had been speaking).
la parolonto the speaker (person who
is about to speak).
Participle adjectives (active):
nla estanta eatro our present chief,
via estlnta eatro your past chief,
ilia eatonta eatro their future chief.
Participle adjectives (passive):
la eonatruata domo the bouse under
construction.
la conatruita domo the constructed
house.
la construota duino the house to bo
constructed.
The above participles show plainly
the fine shadings of exprcs?inps in Es
peranto. ,
The roots of scientific words, which
the greater numbers of civilized In
guages have borrowed from Greek an l
Latin sources, and are internationally
understood, undergo in Esperanto n
change beyond conforming to its or
thography and adding its grammatical
terminations:
tratro theater.
tenlra theatrical.
ortoicratic orthographically.
Esperanto has only two cases, thsj
nominative and accusative, which lat
ter Is formed by adding the letter n to
the nominative, singular or plural. Tiie
other cases are formed by putting a
preposition before the nominative.
La ptitrn rionls nl ml bonnjn pomojn.
the father gave to me good apples.
The adoption of the accusative form
in Esperanto is very important, as It
allows almost any position of tho
words in a sentence without changing
Its meaning, a form which is not per
missible In English. Kor Instance, the
above sentence can be given in various
forms:
Bonaja pomojn In patro rionta al mil
Itonajn pomoja dni al inl In patrol
Al ml bona jn pomojn la pntro flonin.
And various other combinations of the
words are admissible.
Esperanto has i."8 primary -ords,
which are complete in themselvej,
without grammatical terminations.
Among them are the cardinal numbers,
the personal and demonstrative pro
nouns, the prepositions, conjunctions
and a few common adverbs. They can,
however, also he treated as root words
and receive grammatical endings, pre
fixes and suffixes. Example:
lea yes; Jeao an affirmation:
lena affirmative; Jee afnrnint!vy;
leal to answer in the affirmative;
etc.
Preflxea and Suffixes.
The prefixes and suffixes as used in
Epperanto and which are In fact root
words, nro truly a scientific realization.
The following illustrations will show
what a multitude of words Is necessKiv
In English, which can be er.pressnl
by the same root in Esperanto with
a little prefix or sufilx. . Examples:
In suffix denotes feminlnes:
patro, father patrinn, mother;
onklo, uncle; onklino, aunt:
horn, ox; bovinn, cow;
je prefix denotes persons of either
sex:
frato, brother; gefrnloj, brothers
and sisters;
arealnjoroj, ladles and gentlemen,
bo prefix denotes relation by mar
riage: fllo, son; hoflllno, daughter-in-law.
Iogrfllol, sons and daughters-in-law.
mal prefix denotes the opposite:
alta, high; mnlnlla, low;
nmlko, friend; malamiko. enemy;'
benl, to blees; mnlbrni. to curse;
et suffix denotes diminution:
lagro, lake; lnsreto, pond;
dorml, to sleep; domirfl, to doze;
eg; suffix denotes enlargement:
varum, warm; vnrmega, hot;
pluvo, rain; pluveco, downpour.
Id suffix denotes descendant:
bovo, ox; bovldo, calf; hovldlno.
heifer;
er suffix denotes a nult:
mono, moneyi monero, coin:
fajro, fire; fajrero, a spark;
or suffix denotes a collection:
vorto, a word; voriiiro, diction
ary; bomo, a man; bomaro, mankind;
11 suffix denotes a tool:
borl, to bore; boiilo, a gimlet;
teksl, to weave; teksllo, a loom;
el suffix denotes a place:
lernl, to learn; lernejo, a school;
kulrl, to cook; kuirrjo, a kitchen;
em suffix denotes Inclination:
krrill, to believe; kredema, cred
ulous; ebl suffix denotes possibility:
lleksl, to bend; flexaebla, elas-
tic;
Ind suffix denotes worthiness:
memorl, to remember; memow
rlnda, memorable;
ek prefix denotes momentary ac
tion: brill, to shine; ekbrlll, to
flash;
ad suffix denotes continued action:"
paraolo, speech; parnlado, dis
course ;
rlKSrdl, to look; rlarardndl, to
view;
and so forth.
The following text can he easily un.
derstood by people of education with
out ever having learned Esperanto, and
it is a fair example of its simplicity
and euphony:
Stmpln, fleknebln, helnonn, vere I n
ternacla en ala elementoj, la Hngvo En.
peranto prexentas nl la monrin civ.
Illr.ata la aole vernn solvon de llugvo)
Interuacin. Kaperantn earn tre fnrtla
par honioj nemuUe Inatrnltn, knj rstns
komprenala sen pt.no de la persnnoi
bone edukllnj. Mil faktoj ntestus la
merltnn pratik an de la nonilta llna;vo.
The above shows clearly that Esper
anto has all the qualities expected of
an international language. Tt Is worthy
to be studied, notwithstanding that lit
the opinion of some people, who have
not taken up its study, it is nothing
but a new-fangled fad. However, its
simple grammar and word construc
tion requires considerable thought, and
It cannot be denied that any one who
takes up the study of Esperanto must
thereby acquire a better knowledge
and understanding- of his own mother
tongue, which In itself is worlh the)
timeand labor devoted to a course ia
Esperanto, even if as an accomplish
ment it should bring to the Esperantlst
no further benefit.
Esperanto was created by Ludwlqf
Lazarus Zamenhof, a doctor of medi
cine, residing at Warsaw, Russia. The
first Esperanto book was published 20
years ago.
Esperanto has among Its admirers .
and followers some of the greatest
linguists of the present time. Its
growth within the last few years has
been phenomenal, and is now under
stood by probably more than a quarter
of a million of people, scattered all
over the world. There is a directory of
Esperantlsts Issued annually, and any
one taking up the study of Esperanto
is thereby enabled to correspond wi-n
scientific men, merchants and all kinds
of people, who have learned Esperanto.
Several of the commercial colleges
have it now among their regular studies
In their curriculum. Esperantlsts every
where, as the name Esperanto Im
plies, are hopeful and enthusiastic, and
believe that before long Esperanto will
be truly the auxiliary international
language of the world.
German Experimental Railroad. ,
London Telegraph.
An experimental railroad for testing
signaling devices, materials used la
track construction and different types
of motor cars for railroad use has been
built by the railway department of the
German government. The road is double-tracked
and Is oval-shaped, havina;
a length of 67G0 feet. The straight
stretch la about 800 feet long:.