I certainly have nothing against Mr. MacArthur nor against Mr. Dodd, who hires him. They are both nice men, and as an advertising sheet the _Bookman_ is certainly skilfully conducted. But they shall not mislead the dear public if I can help it. On page 36 of the March issue the _Bookman_ makes bold to tell us that Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett were married “in September of 1866.” And then in the next column “on March 9th, 1869, was born their son.” If James Russell Lowell were alive today I can imagine him saying, “I may be a bookman, but by the eternal I’m not the kind issued by Dodd, Mead & Company.” * * * * * Philosopher and prophet, Edward S. Martin, avers that when the _Chip-Munk_ doubled its size it reduced its value one-half. * * * * * Way & Williams, Chicago, the publishers of Mrs. Wynne’s book, _The Little Room and Other Stories_, say that THE PHILISTINE’S mention of the volume sold seven thousand copies. Advertising rates made known on application. * * * * * “Should we have an Eleventh Commandment?” asked a youth of the Greatest Living Actress. “Most assuredly, no—we have ten too many now!” answered the divine Sara. * * * * * The fact that we have no “serving class” in America, and that some of us (or you) have wealth and insist on being waited upon, is a stream of tendency that makes for misery. The wives of very many of our rich men make a business of keeping up an establishment. They are not producers in any sense, and their one excuse for living is put out of court when we consider that “society” to them means neither affinity nor friendship. Their woes are in exact proportion to the number of servants that play tennis with their peace of mind. Or, more strictly speaking, the size of the house, showing the bigness of their cares, their happiness is in inverse ratio to the square of the domicile. * * * * * Writers who can gain an audience in a foreign and distant country reap some of the advantages of the cool and impartial interest of posterity. The English authors enjoy this advantage, and something more with the contemporary American reading public; but the English critics and public do not reciprocate our hospitality and impartiality in any degree, though there is a reported demand in England for American text books on electric lighting and improved methods of agriculture.