Show I ti1ERARYGOSll L J that this season the It Is recorded demand for the late Louisa AJcotta books has been greater than at anytime any-time slnco her death although every outburst oc holiday time sees n ncw holdSY of for tho chronicles juvenile dcslro juvcnle dCldo Little Women o and Q Little Men I A most ammlug literary blunder in a I largepaper edition ofMiltons ode On the Morning of Christs Nativity pub Uohcd I in Chicago 15 roled In I die Hec ordHcrald of that city In the twen tyseventh stanza of Miltons famous poem occur the lines But eeo tho VirIn blest Butec Huth laid her Balio to rest hC rct Time lall our tedious sonsr should here have ending Hcavns youngest en lJ Jecm > ta lr iiath ilxcd l her poltehM caT Her sleeping Lord wlttf hfiadmaU amp attending J In the Chicago version handmaid la converted Into the very pros c hand made1 What Is more the error was repeated without correction or comment com-ment in the Christmasnumber of the Critic r f The longest contemporaneous vol In any language Is Marie Lclghtons Hush langaCe have Money Its serialinstallments been coming forth since October 1000 The work contains S00000 words and tim incidents In the story occur all within I j k jI two years t I l Why asks Mr Jamcs Douglas an r the London Star do men write better poetry than women Hecontcsscs Is Inability to answer the question None of the cOnventional explariatWnS he says Is convincing Sexr servitude is hardly sufficient to account for the long low average of ages Men have beaten their music out in spite of bondage bond-age as bitter as the bondagej oc womanhood woman-hood Must we fall bactf on the T < 5n jjysonian theory that woman is the lesser man It Is a poorpurblind theory the-ory and for my part I revolt ngalnst it for It conflicts Vlth the evidence evi-dence of my own sense Bather than accept it I prefer to regard the enigma ns Insoluble Perhaps the true solution solu-tion Is to be found In the innate self abnegation which Is the prominent trait of woman She Idealizes man as lover husband fathe1 brother son and in the Intensity of her idealism she wills to be less in order that he may seem to be greater To her any form of superiority su-periority over man is n subconscious blasphomj against the divine Illusion of love This is 0 pretty theory but it Is to be feared that mankind will hardly adopt It I MILLICENT Thou dimpled Mllllccnt ot merry guesses Strong limbed and tall merrY wayward way-ward tresses What mystery of heart can so surprise The mirth and muslo of thy brimming eyes Palo brow thou knowost not and dlcat to learn I Tho mortal secret that doth In thee burn With look Imploring I you love me tel What Js It in mo that you love so well Then suddenly thou stakcst all thy charms And loapest on mo and in thy circling arms When brace almost stifled with their wild em I feel thy hot tears sheltering on my fae Robert Bridges lu N Y Tribune Dealing with Lowell and his Boston contemporaries the Saturday Review London murmurs this Emerson Thoreau Longfellow Whittler Holmes Lowell the Boston galaxy none of them were of the Bards sublime whose distant dis-tant footsteps echo through the corridors dors of time though they did write some noble verse much cultured witty and humorous verse and much that was affecting and pathetic They were of the essayistpoet school who could write articles for magazines give lectures lec-tures on the poets and write verses with skill and facllltybut though they were Interesting personalities and possessed pos-sessed a certain distinction and originality origi-nality which gave them n hearing beyond be-yond their own country In England especially they were otmorethan accomplished men oll ter8suchas old countries expect to find asa matter mat-ter of course among their literary classes They did not create great American literature but they were the outcome and the voices of the best literary lit-erary cultivation and the humanities generally oJ America They were a lovable charming fascinating group and yet so local 1 that wrIng reading the biography of one appears to be very much like the writing or reading reading the biography any other of the group LougYellow we suppose was the most purely poetic of them though he was by no means tho ablest and they lle were all profei > sorK of something or other and famous writers magazine articles which of course Implies cleverness clev-erness of itself I has been widely stated that George Meredith is engaged upon an autobiography autobi-ography Mr Meredith It Is ncm announced an-nounced has declined to commit hlm tel on the subject and his publishers have announced that they are not aware of any such intention on his part parU U appears from the annual statement In the Publishers Circular that the books of 1L sjiowed fall of about 1000 In number compared with MOO The total number published lfu < t year was can l IncluYHriR 1089 new edition3 as compaicd with 7149 Inclilding 13Si new editions In the previous1 year There were fifty novels fewer the Cotal r being 1513 o trG02 showK ilC postryxf202 a fall of more than 100 srhlle of ivorksim vjjjiaKes and cand travels the number of new books Is precisely the same 171 although In Ci nJh reprints there is I a decrease Ofol rty In 1000 190 history and biography composed one of the few clauses which showed an Increase now it shows a decrease of nearly O o a Prof Ai W Ward of Cambridge > writes to the Athenaeum to stale that the proposal l to erect a monument to monurcit Shakespeare at Weimar which after being adopted at n conference sum moned to the Vartburg on April 14th last by the WartbuIS pri 14h Grand Duke of SaxeWel mar has now taken definite dcHnlc shaiMJ An Infiucntlal committee Infucntal presided by Dr W Occhelhauscl plcsldei over peclielhauser with Hofrath P wlhHorl von rBoJamwshl as vicechairman has been a I formed to c the carry scheme nlr into execution the sum which lS r It 13 I hoped to raise rle being 60000 marks Weimar Is the seat of the sct German Shakespeare society Subscription the Weimar SUbSC1Iptons to will be Shalecseore Rortlmerzeinrath m fltIment Dr in l1orlt ot the trn1 KotT1erielnrath ot JUIBlran c a n AX IMPRKSSIONSTS 1NV1ATi N Comc out my Love and out cobalt dunes strollwitl rae en sllh hesIe the llc sunset CrL That grenandgll Hen That dies along < th rlI madder saiids I In lines or cumhlcil l l foam tlnds And i then well clasp 01111 our umber hands And mamciv wander umlrhandQ Mercy E Baker Harpers Magazine DEARTH OF SHORT STORIES Since the first of tho year an cr ap iparcntly innocent news item lhns been widely printed stating that there Is a dearth of short stories In the literary market As a consequence the Ilcrr maga Klnes have been Inundated with manu scripts and one of the editors said yes terday that if the Influx keeps l on there 3s no reason why tho Government should longer delay the reduction of llrstclass postage to 1 cent because of the condition of the postal revenues Some years ago one or the magazines advertised for short stories promising that they would be considered within two weeks The writer of this wihin visit to the office was escorted to an todjolnlng room In the corners were 1 heaps of manuscripts from all sections of the country of every conceivable shape and character some decorated In ribbons and some showing the yellowness yellow-ness of age and evidences of many trips through tho mails The responses ho overwhelmed the office force Out of the large number not half a dozen walablp stories were found but instead in-stead of two weeks many ot the contributors con-tributors had to wait two months As L matter of fact there is always I dearth of short steles 1 taxes every to keep magazine editor to the utmost his fiction up to even a respectable average and i If 1 he can find only one truly fine short story a season he is doing well One reason of the present dearth being greater than usual is that the successful authors do not like tow to-w rllcKhortstorles There Is no profit Jn them after their publication in the magazine Collections of them do not sell With a novel the case is dlffeuent The serial publication pays handsome ly and If the story wins the book sales are worth seyeral times more If there ix a new genius in the short story art this ID his time The editors are looking for him Philadelphia TImes a KIPLING IN A FRIVOLOUS MOOD Whcn not urging his fellow Britons to stop paY vuul do some real fighting Mr Kipling has time to Indulge his fancy In lighter things The following Lcaresque verse was written In n little girls album There uS a small boy In Quebec Who was burled In snow to tho neck When akcd Arc you frI Ho Mild Yes I Is I But this Isnt I l cold In Quebec O ASfORYOF CONAN DOYLT3 All this Xcmlnda me ora very pretty little story 1 heard of Conan Doyle the other d isa stpify very much to his I I honor He hasl literary friend wIth whom ho occasionally takes a golfing expedition The two set out for Cro mer where there are wonderful links as everybody knows and their wrath was incredible when arriving there on Saturday night they found there was no golf to be had on Sunday So they walked about and talked Among other things Cbnan Dj > Ic friend asked the I great novelist what ho was doing Nothing was the terse reply What sire the public tired of you or have the publishers lost faith In you Not at all old the creator of Sherlock Holmes they are clamoring for copy on all sides but really I want to give my brnln a rest and anyhow I havent a plot in my head Just now And the junior writer began to tell a plot that had formed Itself in his mind and that he contemplated turning into I story Conan Doyle listened attentively atten-tively and when his friend had done asked if he would him J give the plot on condition of sharing the profits The I young author of course only too gladly glad-ly I assented And now the younger author au-thor Is calmly drawing some hundreds It may end In thousands pounds I n the fruits of that little conversation In the Sabbath silence of the golf links Cromcr Lucky man to have met an author ns honest and a generous as Conan Doyle There arc plenty people peo-ple who would have annexed tho Idea and given no return either Inmea or maltM A P I Austin Dobson is preparing a new 1JI enlarged edition of his Collected I Poems I will Include some of the verse In hjs privately printed volume Carmina Votlvo Also recent poetry by Mr Dobson will appear in a separate sep-arate volume soon to bo published o S SUNSET v Sunset with every sense awake To catch tho beauty of tho lake Sunset the nun a dying fire Tho last flame of a souls desire Yet not tho last for every cloud 7s Instinct with new joys allowed Sunset when all tho clouds confess The glories of the rainbows dress Sunset to nil who sea aright Asli of Everlasting Might Sunset and when tho sun has set Tho heart seems clouded with regret Till following tim lord of noon Comes the calm splendor of tho moon Magazine Waller Hcrrles Pollock in Longmans lIaszlnet a A life of Tolstoi by Dr E J Dillon an English biographer is to be published pub-lished during the spring I will contain con-tain much fresh information about the great Russian writer 1 0s Stephen Phillips has rittcn n poetic drama on the ancient story of Ulysses and will publish It this spring I Is in blank Verse and three acts and will have the simple title Ulysses Beer b hm Tree has arranged to produce the play at his London theatre a a A1ma Tadema has nearly completed a large picture of the interior of an Imperial Im-perial bath in ancient Rome I Is thus described by the London Athenaeum epiemuer stii Tiie immediate entrance en-trance to the bath Is seen In the rear on our left Behind the Emperor Car acallu some servants are closing the doors of the portico through which he entered facing him five beautiful damsels dam-sels are stroking roses and walking walkInS backward in graceful and natural attitudes at-titudes Carucalla distinguished by his Intensely dark complexion his erect attitude and his robes of purple and primrose of a golden hue advances toward to-ward our lef passing as he does BO It chamberlain who holding a staff of of nee salutes the Emperor The anima tion of the gills attitudes the beauty of the faces anong Uosc which are tlo lre visible the designing of their draperies I which adds groat ly to the vivacity and charm of the work as n whole the thoroughness of the pictures finish fnish throughout are circumstances which I made It likely that It will be one of Academy the most attractive things in the next t v > 0 From Bucharest comes the startling news that the trade of letters has fallen Into such disrepute that two of the leading contemporary writers have been compelled to open beersaloons in order to eke out a livelihood One of them Qaiagialc a popular Rumanian play wright was recently colleJ upon for a speech at the conclusion of the first night performance of his latest play at the National theater He said La dles and gentlemen I thank you for your applause but Jt wont keep body anti soul together neither apparently will to give fiction me and material the drama support If you cbme wish acroS3Mhe street 10 my saloon and have a drink It Is recorded that the entire audlonco took the hint and that thc playwrlght has since l been well supplied the with funds wel SUppled Those who are constantly cavilling ttliQ unfl < paynient of playwrights and qt oJ lhhlf Jla fnel authors in this country will find this condition of 1t llonoC affairs Interesting when compared with the present conditions in ont conditons L the Now York literary mart One of our playwrights It man still in the early thirties has already amassed tlC fortune which is sajd to reach six fig ures The librettist of 111 lI3t of some of our popular operas has grpwn s > o welltodo p from his royalties that he Is weltodo only enabled to live In i case nJdcl gance 10lonly but he has le hu accumulated at great expense perhaps the finest collection bf coIcQUol lUCiiry mcmorablUa in this country We Sym sym pathize heartily with pnthi7e Caraglalo hearl Cmlglnle and his Rumanian friends but there seems a coure more congenial than colseninl saloon Iceeping which IH still eclnS sUlopcn to ther Let theni learn lcmlcarn English and nsIMh come to mer 1caHarpcr Weekly I |