An illustrated paper on "The Portraits of John Ruskin” opens the February number of the Magazine of Art (Cassell Publishing Company, New York). Harry Furniss contributes a paper on "The Illustrating of Books," from "the Humorous Artist's Point of View." Drawings by the author illustrate the text most amusingly.

All lovers of art will be interested in Sun and Shade, which is issued monthly. No. 27 opens with an engraved portrait of Henry M. Stanley. The best of the photogravures in this number are entitled "Moonlight," ""Twixt Love and Duty," and 66 On Benner's Hill."

Richard Harding Davis, son of L. Clarke Davis and Mrs. Rebecca Harding Davis, of Philadelphia, is to be associated with George William Curtis in the editorship of Harper's Weekly. Mr. Davis is only twenty-six years old. He studied at Lehigh University and at Johns Hopkins, and was a journalist in Philadelphia for three years. Since his return from a trip to Europe in 1889 he has been a special writer on the New York Sun. He has written for the magazines stories that have made him prominent.

Hon. E. Firmin is the author of "Last Follies," an anti-prohibition drama published under the pseudonym, "George Maskoff."

Essays offered in competition for the two prizes offered by the American Economic Association must not exceed 25,000 words, and must be in the hands of the secretary before November 15, 1891. The prizes are $300 and $200, and the subject is "The Housing of the Poor in American Cities." While attention is to be confined chiefly to American cities, foreign cities and their experience may be treated, and any lessons derived therefrom pointed out. The short story prizes offered by the Toronto Week were awarded as follows: First prize, $50, to Alice Jones, Halifax, N. S.; second prize, $30, to Christina R. Frame, Selma, N. S.; third prize, $20, to Emily McManus, Odessa, Ont.; fourth prize, $10, to Jessie M. Freeland, Brockville, Ont.

The cleverest designer of book covers in this country is said to be a Miss Morse, of Brooklyn. She is the designer of the finest

work in this line for Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., the Harpers, the Putnams, and others, and her taste is held to be as exquisite as her skill is great.

The Critic of January 24 contains a sketch of the life of Bancroft, an account of his funeral, and a criticism of his history. In its issue of January 31 there is a considerable amount of Bancroftiana, including Professor Sloane's account of the late historian's interview with Goethe and Byron, as recorded some time since in the Century, the facts having been obtained from Mr. Bancroft's own lips.

66

Mrs. Alden Pansy" is wintering at her usual cold-weather home, Winter Park, Fla. William O. Stoddard, the successful writer of boys' books, was at one time private secreretary to President Lincoln.

The vigorous, intellectual, and practical character of the Popular Science Monthly is well shown in the contents of the February issue. In the opening article, entitled "From Babel to Comparative Philology," Dr. Andrew D. White tells how science has compelled the gradual abandonment of the belief that Hebrew was the first language of man. Another article of special interest is "Greeting by Gesture," by Colonel Garrick Mallery. The editor makes a strong plea for international copyright on the ground of common honesty.

With the January (1891) number of the Magazine of Poetry ( Buffalo, N. Y.) was published a complete bibliographical list of all poetry published in book form during 1890 in the English language.

Fifteen minutes before midnight after the Fitzsimmons-Dempsey prize fight the New York Evening Sun issued and sold a special edition of 14,000 copies containing a description of the encounter.

Miss Josephine Roache, whose thoughtful paper on "The Workingman in the Modern Novel" was recently delivered at a meeting of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union in Boston, is teacher of English literature in the Lynn High School, and has written some pleasant poems.

In its usual valuable review of the books of the year, the Publishers' Weekly shows that there were 4,559 books published in the United States in 1890 - within 117 of the number published in 1886, the largest on record. Of these, 3,080 are new books; 2,800 were by American authors, and 733 were reprints, 500 of these being paper-bound novels. The 4,559 books were divided among these classes: Fiction, 1,118; theology and religion, 467; law, 458; juvenile, 408; education and language, 399; biography and memoirs, 218; literary history and miscellany, 183; political and social science, 183; poetry and the drama, 168; description and travel, 162; history, 153; fine arts and illustrated books, 135; useful arts, 133; medical science and hygiene, 117; physical and mathematical science, 93; sports and amusements, 82; humor and satire, 42; domestic and rural, 29; mental and moral philosophy, 11.

F. G. Barry has sold his monthly magazine, College and School, to Louis Lombard, of Utica, N. Y. The next number will appear February 15, with its name changed to the Louis Lom. bard. The literary character of College and School will be maintained, but it will no longer be an exclusively educational journal.

General Mortimer D. Legget, ex-commissioner of patents, whose "A Modern Prophet " is the latest contribution to the world-as-itmight-be-improved literature, brings to his new field of authorship, not the mere enthusiasm of a visionary, but the ripeness of years and experience, the trained and balanced mind of a practical man of affairs, and an unusually wide acquaintance with men and events, gained along his successive successful lines of work as a teacher, lawyer, soldier, and government official. Of Quaker ancestry, the influence of which may be seen in his picture of the religion of Mars, - whereon he has located his improved social condition, and a graceful speaker as well as writer, he has written a book which is the result of no sudden impulse, but the slow growth of thoughtful years, during which it has been his companion on many a railway journey, as well as the occupation of the leisure moments in his busy life.

Bowen & Son, Springfield, Mass., have

bought of Clark W. Bryan & Co., the original publishers, all interest in the edition and plates of "Massachusetts in the War," by James L. Bowen, and are henceforth to publish the work.

The first original article by Count Tolstoï ever published in an American magazine appears in the February Cosmopolitan, with a number of interesting photographic reproductions, one of them being a picture of Tolstoï guiding a plow in his Russian fields. Brander Matthews appears with his first article upon "Some Latter-day Humorists."

The publication of the American (Philadelphia) has been suspended. The last number issued was dated January 10, 1891. The Amer ican was in its twenty-first volume and its sus. pension has caused general surprise.

Harper's Bazar for January 30 contained a comedy in one act, entitled "The Reporter," written by W. G. van Tassel Sutphen, which will exasperate all newspaper men who take pride in their profession.

R. H. Stoddard contributes to Lippincott's for February a delightful paper upon the poetpainter, Thomas Buchanan Read. This article is one of a most valuable series of papers upon American authors, which Mr. Stoddard is contributing to this magazine.

The Popular Science Monthly for February contains the conclusion of Dr. Andrew D. White's paper, "From Babel to Comparative Philology"; also that of Professor Huxley's discussion of "The Aryan Question and Prehistoric Man." "Iron Smelting by Modern Methods" and "Greeting by Gesture" are two other especially interesting articles in this number. The Popular Science Monthly always contains articles of immediate interest and permanent value.

The living corps commanders of the Army of the Potomac and its chief of staff have written for the North American Review a series of articles, giving their reminiscences of the Battle of Gettysburg. The contributors are Generals Howard, Slocum, Sickles, Butterfield, Wright, Newton, Gregg, and Doubleday, and His Royal Highness the Count of Paris.

Another point to be considered is the closing of your article. When you have said all you have to say, close your article as quickly as possible, being careful, however, not to do so abruptly, or the article will seem unfinished.

Preparing copy for the daily press is also attended with its peculiarities. It makes little difference what quality of paper is used; the cheapest kind of print paper is used by most reporters. Neither does the size of the paper make any material difference, about 6 x 9 inches, however, being preferable to other sizes. Begin your article about half way down the page, thus leaving ample room for headings. Most newspaper men number the first page as well as the succeeding pages of their copy. This should always be done when more than one article is submitted at the same time. Write with a pencil, and do not be particular about using an eraser every time you make a mistake. Cancel wrongly-written words with your pencil, and go ahead. Newspaper copy need not be as dainty as a maiden's love-letter. When your manuscript is ready for the editor,

and send it to the editor's office by a messenger

or take it yourself. If you do take it yourself, don't bore the editor by telling him what it is and who you are, but place it on his desk, saying that it is offered for sale, and depart. Leave a stamped and addressed envelope for the return of the article if it is not accepted; and if it comes back to you, try it somewhere else. Keep on writing.

After you have had, say, half a dozen "specials" published, your name as well as your ability will be known to the editor, and that would be the time for you to apply for a position on the regular staff. At any rate, you will probably be assigned to some extra work, and if you prove competent, you will be called upon to fill the first vacancy. After that everything will be easy sailing.

It is not the intention of this article to encourage young men to enter into the already over-crowded field of literature, but simply to point out one of the many paths which lead to the pinnacle of literary fame and fortune.

CHICAGO, Ill.

John H. Reed.

One of the most enduring and interesting, yet one of the most difficult, forms of English verse in proportion to its length is the sonnet. Hundreds of would-be poets have essayed it, and yet very few, outside of those who make poetry their vocation, have achieved any measure of remarkable or lasting success in its composition. I have lately become interested in the technical side of sonnet-making, and a list of the books that I have consulted may perhaps prove of value to some readers of THE WRITER.

hopper and the Cricket” was pronounced by Keats to be superior to his own sonnet on the same subject, both being the result of a friendly wager, a book which is written in a pleasant, chatty style, and yet conveys a vast amount of information, is Leigh Hunt's "Book of the Sonnet," with an addendum by S. Adams Lee, containing numerous sonnets by American authors. Hunt's "Book" has a prefatory essay on the sonnet, 131 pages in length, including the preface on "American Sonnets and Sonneteers," to which about thirty-five pages are devoted. Hunt's book is particularly valuable on account of the author's wide acquaintance with Italian literature, which enables him to

trace the growth and development of the English sonnet from its Italian sources, and to show how the former differs in its development from its parent stock. Hunt's rules, too, for writing sonnets are well worth the attention of young poets.

Of course, it is understood that every sonnet must contain fourteen decasyllabic lines. A few sonnets have been composed in Alexandrines, notably that beautiful one by Sir Philip Sidney that begins the " Astrophel and Stella" series, and the conclusion of which contains that striking and often-quoted sentiment, which is particularly applicable to young authors:

Fool! said my Muse to me, look in thy heart, and write. But, as a rule, a final Alexandrine is as much license as the poet should permit himself to take. A few beautiful sonnets, remarkable for lightness and rapidity of effect, have been composed in the tripping octosyllabic metre, the same as Milton used in his "L'Allegro." Perhaps John Payne's

Bring wreaths and crown the golden hours, quoted in Samuel Waddington's "Sonnets by Living English Writers," is the most successful. Another unusual variety of the sonnet, which Edmund Gosse has used with beautiful and striking effect, is the dialogue sonnet " Alcyone " contained in his "New Poems." A sonnet composed according to the usual rules, but having feminine rhymes, and thereby coming into closer affinity with its parent form, often produces a beautiful, and, in English, a somewhat unusual melodic effect. Perhaps one of the most striking in its classic thought and haunting melody is Andrew Lang's sonnet" Bion," which Waddington quotes:

The wail of Moschus on the mountains crying. This sonnet, however, does not adhere to the strict Italian form.

It may be worth while to inquire what is the strict form of the sonnet and what are the laws that should govern its composition. Leigh Hunt's rules are direct, and, although they do not cover the whole ground, are very valuable as far as they go. They are as follows:

:

I. The sonnet, in order to be a perfect work of art and no compromise with a difficulty, must be a legitimate sonnet after the proper Italian fashion; that is to say, with but two

rhymes to the octave (the first eight lines) and not more than three in the sestet (the last six ). II. It must confine itself to one leading idea, thought, or feeling.

III. It must treat this one leading idea, thought, or feeling in such a manner as to leave in the reader's mind no sense of irrelevancy or insufficiency.

IV. It must not have a speck of obscurity. V. It must not have a forced rhyme. VI. It must not have a superfluous word. VII. It must not have a word too little; that is to say, an omission of a word or words, for the sake of convenience.

VIII. It must not have a word out of place. IX. It must have no very long word or any other that tends to lessen the number of accents, and so weaken the verse.

X. Its rhymes must be properly varied and contrasted, and not beat upon the same vowel.

XI. Its music, throughout, must be as varied as it is suitable; more or less strong or sweet, according to the subject; but never weak or monotonous, unless monotony itself be the effect intended.

XII. It must increase, or, at all events, not decline, in interest to its close.

XIII. The close must be equally impressive and unaffected; not epigrammatic, unless where the subject warrants it, or where point of that kind is desirable; but simple, conclusive, and satisfactory; strength being paramount, where such elevation is natural, otherwise on a level with the serenity; flowing in calmness, or grand in the manifestation of power withheld.

Some other additional rules for the composi tion of the sonnet are given by William Sharp in his charming little compilation, "Sonnets of This Century," published by Walter Scott, of London, in 1886. In his "Critical Introduction," which occupies about eighty pages, Mr. Sharp considers the characteristics and history of the sonnet, and gives what he calls the "Ten Commandments of the Sonnet," as follows:I. The sonnet must consist of fourteen decasyllabic lines.

II. Its octave, or major system, whether or not this be marked by a pause in the cadence after the eighth line, must (unless cast in the Shakespearian mould) follow a prescribed