The herald., 1893-08-27

=srsS
fBY L. BEHYMER.
During the summer months the read
ing public desire something of light
nature and still sound enough not to be
trashy. A good summer novel must
have plot that will attract twice the
amount Of attention that plot contained
in successful novel of any other season
of the year will, if it is q success, as the
mind is diverted from books by 90 many
amusemsnts planned to captivate the
idler on summer outing trip or vaca-
tion. Occasionally we find series OF
bright, CHEEKY novels. descriptive OF
scenery and surroundings 80 dear to the
heart OF the summer visitor to the noun
tains, the lakes or the islands of the sea.
One Of series of this character Of books
best known to the reading public and
most widely read is the Good Company
series Of the Lee & Shepard company of
Boston. Among several of their most
interesting outing novels in this series
We find Not Angels Quite, Paula Ferris,
~ Ohm0 w asos A"UVoAos OiAod~~ ~
Peculiar.
The first named novel, Not Angels
Quite. il BY Nathan Haskell Dole,
author OF A Score of Famous Composers.
This il q typical American romance, the
principal scenes, which resemble I'm
pressionist pictures, are laid in and
near Boston and along the coast Of
Maine. The plot of the story appears
81 10 thrnnuh with IL
but IL il new and clever. 1t is wholly
modern book-fin de siele in method
and style, and will interest the younger
iconoclasts who are tired of the old
models. Aside from the interest OF the
narrative, the reader will be entertained
By the glimpses of the social institu-
tions and fads Of Boston. The city is
served mp in every way-roasted, broiled
and hash I'd d-on-toast. The scenery
throughout is beautifully done. A
Yacht cruise ON the coast Of Maine, with
which the action closes, is a picturesque
poem. A number OF original poems
are scattered through the book
larResse quite unusual with nov
elists. In Mary Farley Sanborn's
new novel, Il Came to Pass,
We find q story which will be eagerly
welcomed by the large circle of readers
she has won for herself by her last sum.
mer's story, Sweet and Twenty. 1t
Came to Pass has larger scope and q
more varied cast of characters than its
predecessor. Mrs. Sanborn's style has
been compared to that of Howell's, and
her handling of such accessory person
ages 90 Mrs. Battles and Mrs. Perkins
displays skill and lightness of touch
not unworthy of the popular novelist.
Alma, the sister, who of the three COM
pels our deepest interest, is real girl /;
her Jolly 10 set forth with an unsparing
hand, but the final results of her ex-
perience appear in the development of
her character. The peculiar trials OF
the elder sister, Lesley, appeals to us ae
our own. Jack and Kildare are fine.
each in his way. The book abounds in
bright asides, which show that the
writer has looked at life with clear and
intelligent eyes. .67A q ieo& q.
Take look at Tatters. by ''Beulsh, +"
whose portrait makes q charming
frontispiece. The story is English in
scenery and cosmopolitan in character.
One enters into sympathy with the
authoress from the first page, and keeps
step to the time OF sympathetic heart
beats all through to tho last word.
Tatters is wonderfully well-drawn char.
acter, and she stands out in the clearest
profile amid the darkness and the light
as they varyingly surround her. We
like the story immensely, and in pro-
nouncing it a success we mean more
than it will "go" in the mere mercan-
tile sense.
In Onoqua, an Indian story of this se-
ries, by Frances G. Sparhawk, we find
q story OF Indian life on an Indian reser-
vation from an inside point of view. This
story is remarkably we'll told and at
times very dramatic. 1t is a etrongly
written plea for the educated Indian
and points out very clearly the mistake
of leaving the educated Indians to make
their way unaided against the supersti-
tion and emnity OF the uneducated. The
book closes with the scenes after the
battle of Wounded Knee, and there are
descriptions given of the ghost dances
and the strange eexpectation of an Indian
Christ that was SO prevalent last seaeon.
%*x
We might mention also the new edi-
tion of Peculiar, Hero of the Great
Rebellion, by Epes Sargent. It is a
story of absorbing interest, picturing in
vivid word-pictures the horrors OF
slavery in it's palmy days. The lights
and shadows of life are cast upon each
Dther with intensity enough to maintain
the attention of the reader, while there
are enough metaphysical suggeations to
stimulate thought, and the reader who
does not want to think can pass them
over and yet find plenty OF mental pleas.
ure in following the thread OF the story.
A very pleasant half day can be spent
n reading any of the above books, &c
saetefully issued by this we'll known
company.
Appleton has q new book denoting
tcholarly work, and which should be
read carefully by those who admire q
good biography. With consideration
Tor the curious, and in part, doubtless,
because the work was pleasure to him,
DR.. George Ebers, the German echola.
and romancer, has written an account
,f his childhood and early manhood
which is translated by Mary j. Stafford
md published under the title of The
Story of My Life. DR.. Ebers wac born
n Berlin in 1887. He was posthum-
.us child, having come into the world
two weeks after the death of his father.
His mother. by her portrait and by
abundant testimony included here, was
beautiful and lovely woman. She was
known in Berlin as the beautiful Hol.
Ander," and at her marriage the burgo-
naat0F of her native city told tha vou n q