How beautiful they look, golden, tender threads enclosed in fragile rice paper, like a lovely woman’s beautiful hair, fragrant and tempting. Compare them with the most beautiful box of cigars. Those black, strong-smelling cigars, carcasses of leaves transformed into mummies. Think of the men who smoke them, and tell me isn’t there some similarity? In some Sunday paper, I read that Mr. Harding’s favorite book was written by Edgar Saltus. You rack your brains? You don’t remember Saltus? Twenty years ago, he was hailed as the coming American novelist. At least twenty books of his appeared in short succession. Today he is known almost exclusively to the booklover. First (often the only) editions of some of his books are in demand and sell at fancy prices, while others can be found at the book bargain counters of Liggett’s Drug Stores at twenty-five cents a copy. His Magdalene appeared at the time of Oscar Wilde’s visit to America. Both men met here, in London and Paris. Critics contend that Wilde received from this book his inspiration for Salome. There are pages and pages of great similarity in both books. Saltus’ Magdalene is a fine contribution to the world’s literature of Magdalenes. In all his books there is a touch of the French eighties, and a resonance with the English nineties. If Saltus had not been a scholar, he would be another George Moore. Only a connoisseur can take a fancy to Saltus, a man who has a fine sense for literature and for life. I love to think of the newspaper man with literary inclinations smoking his cigarette, while reading one of Saltus’ books, in his study in the White House. 1920 INDEX Adams, John, 75, 85 Adams, John Quincy, 76 American News Co., 58 Anderson Galleries, 75 American Art Association, 26, 27 American Art News, 33 Ann Street, 39 A Kempis, Thomas, 64 Astor, 24 Astor Library, 39 Atherton, Gertrude, 50 Arens, Egmont, 52 Anderson, Zoe, 54 Adam, Villiers de L’Isle, 91 Albany, 109, 111 Baxterstreet, 12, 13 Botticelli, 31 Beauregarde, General, 34 Bingham, Mrs., 35 Beardsley, Aubrey, 43, 91 Breslow, Max, 44 Bender, Frank, 44, 45, 46 Bierce, Ambrose, 51 Benjamin, W. R., 71, 72, 73, 74 Burr, Aaron, 48 Boumann, Gustave, 122 Boni, Brothers, 52 Boni and Liveright, 52 Broadway, 56 Bowery, 63, 64 Brunswick Hotel, 71 Bruno’s Garret, 120 Benjamin, Park, 72 Buchanan, James, 76 Brentano, 82 Beethoven, 89 Brown, Cowley, 11 Baudelaire, 91 Boston, 101 Buffalo, 101 Burnham, Thomas, 102 Bay Psalm Book, 103 Blaine, James J., 103 Braithwaite, Stan, 104 Beckfort, Bertha, 104 Badger Publish. Co., 106 Balzac, 113 Canina, 46 Cezanne, 118 Chicago, 56, 87, 88 Chicago Chap Books, 91 Comstockery, 53 Corot, 26, 43 Clark, Aug., 27 Coady’s Gallery, 118 Chippendale, 33 Central Park, 39 Custer, E. A., 40, 41, 42, 43 Carnegie Libraries, 83 Casement, bookseller, 59 Casement, Roger, Sir, 59 Chambers, Robert, 62 Carter, Nick, 65 Corbett, bookseller, 67 Civil War, 72