Among the important volumes of short stories announced for publication during the early fall, Mr. Harben's book of "Northern Georgia Sketches," several of which have appeared in the Century and other leading magazines, promises to be popular. His novel of New York literary life, entitled "The Woman Who Trusted," which has been appearing serially in the Saturday Evening Post, is also announced for publication in book form. Mr. Harben was born at Dalton, Ga., in 1858, and after leaving college for some time de-. voted himself to mercantile pursuits in the South. His first book, "White Marie," the story of a white slave, attracted considerable attention about ten years ago. He has written many short stories and several novels, and was at one time on the editorial staff of The Youth's Companion. His next work will be a long story dealing with a peculiar phase of life in the far South.

CHARLES WARREN

[From a photograph by Notman, Boston.]

Mr. Charles Warren, the author of "The Girl and the Governor" and other stories, was born in Boston in 1868, and graduated from Harvard College in '89. He later attended the Harvard Law School, was admitted to the Suffolk Bar in 1892, and served as private secretary to the Governor during the third term of William E. Russell. Mr. Warren is now a practising lawyer in Boston, and lives at Dedham, Mass., which is also the home of F. J. Stimson, the novelist. He has written many political and legal papers, and also light verse, but this is his first book.

er's side, he descends from the Rogers family, of which E. P. Roe is perhaps the most widely known representative. "My grandfather," writes Mr. Hyde, traces his ancestry back through a hardy set of seafaring celebrities, until he lost himself, as I always thought, among the Freebooters who used to infest the southern seas." Mr. Hyde, however, was born "to fortune and to fame unknown" in Ohio, about sixty years ago. When the Civil War broke out, Mr. Hyde was studying medicine under his father's direction. He entered service in September, '61, as a private, was soon made a corporal, and then hospital steward, undergoing the vicissitudes of a soldier's life until he was captured. First and last he was in nearly every large military prison of the Confederacy, and through all his experiences he kept a diary. It is from this diary that the present book has been written. "A Captive of War" ought to be an interesting historical document as well as a faithful record of life under unusually trying times.

Robert Burns Wilson, already well known as a poet and painter, has just published, through Messrs. Charles Scrib

ner's Sons, his first novel, entitled "Until the Day Breaks." Mr. Wilson, who is a Kentuckian, promises to take his place among the first of the writers of the middle West.

New volumes in the series of "National Studies in American Letters" issued under the general editorship of Professor Woodberry of Columbia University by the Macmillan Company, include an account of "The Clergy in American Life and Letters," written by the Rev. Daniel Dulaney Addison; and a study of "The Hoosier Writers," by Meredith Nicholson, a young western writer of occasional verse that is distinctly good.

The World's Work is to be the title of the new monthly magazine of which Messrs. Doubleday, Page & Co. will issue the first number in November. We understand it is not to be a magazine of general literature-it will have no fiction at all-but will try to present some record of contemporary work in all departments of industry and branches of knowledge. It will not be eclectic, as is, to some extent, the Review of Reviews, for all its articles will be written for it. It is to be illus

Condemn

Saying Nothing.

Some Praise......

High Praise......

Total Reviews.... 8

75

60

31

20

54 89

54

31

3

5

14

"All, with the exception of the Nation, lack the courage of condemnation. And of the one hundred and eighty-nine works examined by the three first named, one hundred and fifty-four are found excellent, and only nine are actually disapproved of.

"This table tells the story of American literary criticism; it is a chorus of praise.' Neither can it be said, in justification of this endless gush, that literary journals notice only the books that can be praised, those that have attracted attention and

are for sale everywhere."

One hears a great deal of loose talk, first and last, about the irresponsibility and untrustworthiness of book reviewers at the present time, but it is not often that any such definite explication is made. We do not think that Mr. Dana has

A NEW MAGAZINE COVER

proved his point. Certainly his table does not do it. His table shows that in the four periodicals he has named from 57 to 72 per cent. of the books reviewed received "high praise." Is this fact a proof, or even internal evidence, that the "high praise" was not deserved? Does Mr. Dana believe that he knows these books did not deserve the "high praise" when he does not know (or, at least, he does not tell us) even the titles of these books? Does he assume that he knows, intuitively, that they did not deserve praise? And his table can have no value as a comparative survey of the four periodicals' contents, because the different periodicals did not review the same books,

or at least Mr. Dana does not tell us that the same books were noticed. Mr. Dana is trying to "make an average" among things which cannot be averaged any more than dollars and bushels can be added together.

We believe it to be a fact that among

all the books published, a surprisingly large percentage deserves praise. Where there are so many books the number of books worth reading is bound to be great. And since the review space in this periodical is limited, it is THE BOOK BUYER'S general policy not to waste it on books which have nothing to recommend them. This applies, of course, only to the rank and file. A bad, pretentious book deserves condemnation, and it usually gets it, we think. But to break all the butterflies which appear-even though adverse criticism be "easier writing" than appreciative notice-this, as Cowper said about swearing, is "neither brave, polite nor wise." At all events, THE BOOK BUYER has neither time nor space to do it, nor any inclination.

Neither, we hope, does THE BOOK BUYER sin on the side of excessive praise. Even Mr. Dana's table does not under

take to prove that. We will venture to say that this periodical has not discovered any new Thackerays or latter-day Byrons, though we are looking out for them with an eagerness scarcely blunted by hope deferred. But because the strongest wine still lies in the oldest casks, shall there be no cakes and ale while we wait?

Probably abuses exist in all industries, however honest and honorable; there may be individual sins of commission in bookreviewing, but Mr. Dana is not selecting individual cases-he is for "averages," and broad, sweeping statements. General assertions are usually faulty; Mr. Dana's certainly seem to be. Every newspaper man, for instance, employed by a decent newspaper, knows what extraordinary ef

fort is made to print only accurate news. Yet any man in the street can tell you, with an air, that "it can't be true if it is in the newspapers." We think Mr. Dana's statements are unjustified; he has a right to his own opinion, but we are sorry his opinion of others' judgment is so low.

Through the courtesy of Mr. FitzRoy Carrington, we are able to reproduce two hitherto unpublished drawings by Leech, together with a portrait from an early photograph. These two drawings, together with several more, are in a little leathercovered sketch-book which has lately come into possession of Messrs. F. Keppel & Co. The portrait of Lord Brougham-" Lord Non-Content" is a striking figure, and the other picture is in Leech's happiest

manner.

Stephen Crane's sketches of the "Great Battles of the World," which have been appearing from month to month in Lippincott's Magazine are to be brought together in book form with eight illustrations by John Sloane. As Crane's reputation as a writer began with the success of his "Red Badge of Courage," a wonderfully real though rather lurid picture of war, it seems quite probable that this new book which the Lippincotts are about to publish will find many readers. Another book announced for early publication by the same firm, and which will, undoubtedly, be very popular, is an account of the "Famous American Belles of the Nineteenth Century," from the pen of Virginia Tatnall Peacock. This volume will be brought out in the publisher's best style with twenty full-page illustrations beside