t given, nor the
side he took in the argument, before he was shown to be wrong. The fact
that he got his head broken proves little--except the folly of arguing
with a woman; nor the additional fact that he refused to appear against
his wife in court. But the case is one in which a good deal might be
said on both sides--if earthenware jars were not introduced too early in
the discussion.

* * * * *

MR. DU MAURIER has worse offenses to atone for than the breaking of the
Brooklyn man's silly head. But for his entertaining book we should have
been spared the unreadable prose of "Biltry: a Parody on 'Trilby'" and
the unspeakable verse of "Drilby Re-versed," the former by Mary Kyle
Dallas, the latter by Leopold Jordan. In vulgarity and banality, these
two precious productions run each other a close race. Of the two we
think "Drilby" a trifle the less objectionable, merely because the
proportion of text to white paper is somewhat smaller. Both are poorly
illustrated, and printed on much better paper than they deserve.

* * * * *

E. C. OF NEW ALBANY, IND., thinks that "Trilby's" possibilities as a
vehicle of evil to the much-considered American "young person" are
emphasized by a conversation recently overheard by her between two
feminine "young persons" in Indiana. "What is this 'Trilby' everybody is
talking about?" asked one of these. "Oh," replied the other, "it's a
book--a novel." "They say it is awfully bad," said the first young
person. "Yes, I've heard so; but it isn't so at all. I read it clear
through, and there wasn't anything bad in it. I didn't like it either;
there is too much French in it." "French?" commented the first young
woman; "well that's it, then--all the bad part is in French." "I hadn't
thought of that," mused the other one; "I suppose that's just the way of
it. Anyway, it isn't nearly as good as 'Dally.'"

[Illustration: PLATT. THE NEW SVENGALI.

THE HYPNOTIZING OF MORTON.

Have you read "Trilby?" Svengali was a bad, wicked man, who used to
hypnotize poor, sweet little Trilby and make her sing and act as he
pleased--With apologies to Du Maurier.]

"Trilby" has even got into American politics. This shows better than
anything else how wide an audience the story most have reached. How many
allusions to a book of the current year would be comprehensible to the
average reader of a New York daily paper? We reproduce the accompanying
cart