During the last decade the Southern States, one after another, have been giving to the lovers of fiction each one or more writers of distinction; and abreast with the foremost of this goodly company, Kentucky has lately begun to claim a place for James Lane Allen.

Mr. Allen began his career as a writer several years ago in Harper's Monthly and the Century Magazine with a series of illustrated articles, descriptive of life, character, and social institutions in Kentucky. The matter in them was fresh and of intense interest, not only here, but in England; the spirit was scholarly, impartial, and deeply sympathetic. They appealed to the general reader by the broad culture evident

No. 7.

behind them, and they were marked by a stateliness of style almost old-fashioned and a treatment equally philosophical and poetic. At the same time a number of brilliant letters, chiefly on Southern subjects, were coming out in the New York Evening Post, and occasionally a poem appeared in Harper's, the Atlantic, or Lippincott's, or an essay, critical or humorous, in the Critic or the Forum. So that Mr. Allen was widely known as a critic and essayist before the first of his striking tales, published recently under the title of "Flute and Violin," came to print. Once begun, these last came rapidly; the tender picture of quaint relations between master and slave in the "Two Kentucky Gentlemen of the Old School"; the broken heroic figure of "Old King Solomon of Kentucky," whose royal rags were but once lifted from the dust; "The White Cowl" and "Sister Dolorosa," — two passionate protests, whether or not the writer meant them for such, against the ideals of monastic and conventual life, protests that were keenly felt throughout the Catholic world; the story of "Posthumous Fame," which might have come from the pen of Hawthorne; and the subtle fusion of humor and tears in "Flute and Violin." These stories unfolded a creative power rarely allied with a faculty for criticism so strong that it seemed already supreme.

By birth, rearing, and education, Mr. Allen is a Kentuckian. He was born several years before the outbreak of the civil war, on a Blue Grass farm near Lexington, Kentucky, and not far from the spot where the generations of his family had lived since the first emigration from Virginia. His ancestry-on his father's side — leads back to Colonel William Payne, of Virginia, an officer of the Revolution; on his mother's, to Pennsylvania Scotch-Irish stock of

SPEECHES, LECTURES, AND LETTERS. Second Series. By Wendell Phillips. 476 pp. Cloth, $2.50. Boston: Lee & Shepard. 1891.

In 1863 Wendell Phillips, at the request of many friends who had been thrilled by the stirring speeches of the golden-tongued orator, revised for publication a selection of his speeches, lectures, and letters. Although the orations were mostly confined to anti-slavery topics, the wonderful power and eloquence of the orator, his burning zeal for what he considered to be the right, as well as the grace of form of his speech, have tended to preserve his lectures, even though the immediate occasion of his eloquence, thanks to the civil war, has no longer an existence. This second series, beautifully printed and carefully edited, as are all the works that issue from the scholarly University Press, contains lectures and orations on more varied subjects, among them some of the most celebrated that Wendell Phillips ever delivered. One of these is that interesting and surprising lecture upon "The Lost Arts," written in 1838, which Phillips delivered more than two thousand times. This, with the exception of "The Right of Petition," is the

earliest address in the present volume. The last oration (although there is a "Tribute to Harriet Martineau" dated 1883) is the extraordinary and outspoken one which caused such a sensation when it was given as an address at the centennial anniversary of the Phi Beta Kappa of Harvard College, June 30, 1881. Wendell Phillips has never written anything stronger than this scathing oration, "The Scholar in a Republic." In this outspoken address, which is brilliant with enthusiasm, Wendell Phillips made a strong plea for universal suffrage and the rights of the oppressed of every nation and clime, including not only the negro, but the Irishman, Nihilist, and womankind. He arraigns the scholars of the nation for their supineness before the burning questions of the day and their lack of interest in humanity and progress. Civil-service reform is laughed at, and Nihilism defended; but though the logic may be weak, the power of the orator is great and carries his readers with him. The book is a notable one and deserves careful reading. E. A. T.

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JERRY. By Sarah Barnwell Elliott. 473 pp. Cloth, $1.25. New York: Henry Holt & Company. 1891. Few magazine novels have attracted such interest wide-spread attention and as did Jerry" upon its appearance in Scribner's Magazine. The work was anonymous, evidently the work of a new and yet strong writer. Many were the compliments lavished upon the "young man" who could wield so powerful a pen and describe character so accurately. Great was the astonishment, even of the practiced critic, when it was whispered, a few months before the close, that the " young man " was a woman. The beginning of "Jerry," the account of the runaway, is the strongest part; the delineation of the hero's character is pathetic and true to life; and his adventurse, although not sensational, are dramatic, and so interesting that the reader of the story in serial form was loath to wait for the next number. The end has been pronounced a trifle disappointing. Still, no one who is interested in the development of American fiction can afford to let "Jerry " pass by unheeded.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

E. A. T.

[All books sent to the editor of THE WRITER will be acknowledged under this heading. They will receive such further notice as may be warranted by their importance to readers of the magazine.]

"DOWN THE O-HI-O." By Charles Humphrey Roberts. 313 pp. Cloth, $1.25. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Company. 1891.

RUBBER HAND STAMPS AND THE MANIPULATION OF RUBBER. By T. O'Conor Sloane, A. M., E. M., Ph. D. 146 pp. Cloth, $1.00. New York: Norman W. Henley & Company. 1891.

LOOKING FORward; for YoUNG MEN. By Rev. George Sumner Weaver, D. D. 218 pp. Cloth, $1.00. New York: Fowler & Wells Company. 1891.

MARMION. By Sir Walter Scott. 283 pp. Boards, 50 cents. Boston: Ginn & Company. 1891. PHOTOGRAPHIC OPTICS. BY W. K. Burton. 170 pp. Paper, $1.00. New York: Scoville & Adams Company. 1891. WHICH WINS? By Mary H. Ford. 312 pp. Paper, 50 cents. Boston: Lee & Shepard. 1891.

THE NEW ERA IN RUSSIA. By Charles A. de Arnaud. 166 pp. Paper, 25 cents. THE MAID OF HONOR. pp. Paper, 50 cents. pany. 1891.

New York: J. S. Ogilvie. 1891.

By the Hon. Lewis Wingfield. 340
New York: D. Appleton & Com-

IN THE HEART OF THE STORM. By Maxwell Grey. 339 pp. Paper, 50 cents. New York: D. Appleton & Company. 1891.

AN IDEAL FANATIC. By Hester Edwards Porch. 325 PP. Paper, 25 cents. Chicago: Rand, McNally, & Company. 1891.

IDLE TIME TALES. By François Coppée, Honoré De Balzac, Alphonse Daudet, and Alfred De Musset. 227 pp. Paper, 25 cents. Chicago: Rand, McNally, & Company. 1891. A FAIR AMERICAN. By Pierre Sales. 362 pp. Paper, 50 cents. Chicago: Rand, McNally, & Company. 1891. A SHRED OF LACE. By Franklyn W. Lee. 317 pp. Paper, 50 cents. St. Paul: Price-McGill Publishing Company. 1891. "HERE AND THERE." Puck's Library, No. 47. 30 pp. Paper, 10 cents. New York: Keppler & Schwarzmann. 1891. A WOODLAND QUEEN. By André Theuriet. Illustrated. 221 pp. Paper, 50 cents. Chicago: Charles H. Sergel & Company. 1891.

NEW MUSIC RECEIVED:

From the White-Smith Music Publishing Company, 62 Stan hope street, Boston: Vocal -"O, Fair Dove, O, Fond Dove," Jean Ingelow and Alfred S. Gatty; "Three Fishers Went Sailing," Rev. Charles Kingsley and John Hullah; "Looking Back," Louisa Gray and Arthur S. Sullivan; "Oh, My Charmer," Victor Hugo and Arthur S. Sullivan; "There's Nothing Like a Fresh'ning Breeze," Alberto Randegger; "Thou Art Gone," Bishop Heber and F. Petersilea; "Let Me Dream Again," alto or bass, B. C. Stephenson and Arthur Sullivan ; 6. Good-by, Sweetheart, Good-by," J. L. Hatton; "Life's Highway," Felix McGlennon; "The Lily and the Violet," Duncan B. Harrison; "Bella Napoli," barcarolle, Clifton Bingham and F. Boscovitz; "Leonora," soprano or tenor, mezzo-soprano or baritone, C. A. White; "A Night in Spring," Carl Bohm; "Beyond the Blue," quartette for mixed voices, C. A. White; "The Norseman's Song," bass solo, G. Hubi Newcombe and Jno. Charles Ervine; "Francesca," T. W. Parsons and Carl Pflueger; "Over the Harbor Bar," Frank W. Pratt and Godfrey Marks; "The Lily and the Rose," duet, Stephen Glover; "Not Dead, but Sleepeth," quartette for male voices, C. A. White; "O Be Joyful in the Lord," bass solo, organ accompaniment, arranged by A. Belcher; "Leonora." contralto or bass, C. A. White. Piano "Happy Little Birds," polka. Antoine Lafont; "Lustspiel Overture," Kéler Béla ; "A Happy Hour," scherzo, In the Stream," "Little Midget," waltz, "Little Elf," polka, "Little Soldier," march, and "Through the Rapids," galop, Frederick E. White; "Valse de la Poupée, from Coppelia," Leo Delibes; "En Ballon," polka-galop, Francesco D'Orso; "Coronation," march, Edward Stanfield; "Une Promenade de Matin," François Bendel; "Valse Lente," from pelia," Leo Delibes; Evening Prayer," C. Kolling; "Parisian Gavotte," C. A. White; "A Night in Edinburgh,"

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"Cop

Scotch reel, C. A. White; " La Cuba," "Mexican Mazurka,' C. A. White; "Little Chatterbox," R. Eilenberg; "Jubelfeier," polonaise for six hands, W. K. Kramer; Rigoletto,', Eduard Dorn; "Minerva Schottische," George J. Adams "The Water Sprites," C. A. White; "Eduard Grieg's Pianoforte Compositions," five numbers; "Chicago World's Exposition," for four hands, Banks M. Davison and Frederic E. White. Violin - "Montecchi ed J. Capuletti," "La Somnambule," "Les Puritains," Charles Dancla. Guitar, two Mandolins, and Guitar—“Thinking," C. A. White; arranged by A. V. Holmes. Guitar-"Favorita," Spanish serenade, C. A. White; arranged by A. V. Holmes. Cornet and Piano"Thinking," C. A. White.

HELPFUL HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS.

Renewing Wrinkled Manuscripts. Some of the contributors to THE WRITER complain of having their manuscripts returned to them in a tumbled condition. It occurred to my feminine mind once to iron out rejected pages, and the result was some fresh, unwrinkled sheets. I offer the suggestion for what it may be worth. CONCORD, N. H.

G. B.

Using a Slate in Composition. - In composing articles for publication, I almost invariably use a slate instead of paper. I first write out a paragraph on the slate, and then I go over it again and again, erasing a word or phrase here and there, or "filling in " wherever I think it is necessary, until I think it will do; then I copy it on my manuscript paper, and so on, until the article is completed. This I find saves time, ink, pens, and paper, and, what is still better, it prevents any disfiguring of the copy by marking or writing between the lines, all of this work having been already done on the slate. I usually keep my slate near the head of my bed, so that I can reach it when I wake up in the morning. Morning thoughts are apt to be our best thoughts. I therefore put my early morning thoughts on the slate," and afterward on paper. LYNN, Mass.

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A. W. A.

LITERARY ARTICLES IN PERIODICALS.

[ Readers who send to the publishers of the periodicals indexed for copies containing the articles mentioned in the following list, will confer a favor if they will mention THE WRITER when they write.]

PEN GOSSIP OF AUTHORS. G. W. Browne. American Young Folks for April.

ROBERT C. GIVENS. With Portrait. Western Bookseller for May 9.