Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-10-29
EDITORS BOOK TABLE
WAR THE VIKING" BY PAUL oU
CHAiLlU.
David Baifour''--" Opinions Of n Philoso-
Observation-Disclosures OF
whittier, Sc.

Whtutfs 0cs
WAR THE VIKING. BY Paul Du cbail-
IN, author OF THE Viking Age" ''The
Land Of the Midnight SUM-" &C., &c.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. So7
pages. Price, N.50
This is an historical romance OF the
third and fourth centuries. Iyar Is the
son OF Hjorvard. Viking Of great power.
and when the youth reaches his majority
he goes forth In company with his foster
brother Hjaimar to acquire fame and
upon sigmund and sigurd. with whom.
after several engagements they swear
foster-brothership and then the four join
fortunes In the search for conquests and
renown. The story relates their feats-
feats OF arms. perils. and adventures
and concludes with the marriage OF War
and Randalin. But the chief value OF
the book is in the descriptions II gives Of
the manners, customs, superstitions,
houses, temples. methods Of thinking. re-
ligious ceremonies. &c. of the old Morse
men. II Is well established that the
Vikings not only made descents upon the
English coast and the South European
shores bordering the Atlantic. but that
they also frequently visited the Mediter-
ranean. In his elaborate work. "The
Viking Age" Du Chaillu presents interest
Ing evidence OF this In his introduction
to the present volume he says there IL
not mentioned in 1t an object in the shape
Of q ipural rcfr aft N
or Greek, that has not been found in the
present Scandinavia, and is not seen in
It's museums. The descriptions OF Gus
toms and dresses interviewer in the mar
rative are derived from authentic records.
the sagas and the evidences afforded
by mounds and graves. A perusal of War
Is calculated to create desire to study
the viking Age"
For sale by West, Johnston e. Co
THE COURT OF LOUIS XIV. BY I'm
bert de Saint-Amand. Translated by
Elizabeth Gilbert Martin, with portraits.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
1898. Price, $1.25.
For sale by West. Johnston e. Co.
Another delightful volume from the
brilliant pen of Saint-Amand admirably
translated, Is THE Court of Louis XIV
This time ~e have the women of Yer
sailles. the meek and sanity queen. Marie
Therese; the lovely Louise de la VALERIE,
Madame de Montespan. the naughty fav-
orite; the Duchess Of Orleans. wife Of
Monsieur TIE kings brother, whose let
tiers, If rather coarse and abusive, are
certainly most entertaining the charming
young Duchess Of Burgundy, and Madame
de Maintenon.
BalZac has said somewhere that n wo-
man is most "seduisante" between thirty
and forty. Theophile Gautier declared
that no woman's hand had any expression
until she was thirty. Paul Bourget the
much lonized master OF modern psycO-
logical romance. complains Of the redness
of young girls hands. NJ. de Saint
Armand goes farther and says that women
who have passed their fortieth year still
preserve charms which make them loved
for themselves.
"The life OF women who are veritably
beautiful resembles that Of nature in
having its bright nutumnal days, its Saint
Martins summer" This is apropos Of
Madame de Maintenon. who was at the
mature age Of fifty when in 1854 she was
privately married to the king. who was
then forty-sx. She was still beautiful.
very graceful, witty, and accomplished.
Her letters compared favorably with those
of Madame de Sevigne. Her influence.
which she retained for thirty years with
out rival, was always for good, except
when she advocated the revocation OF the
edict of Nantes.
Voltaire says that she did not urge II.
but that she did not oppose It. 1t Is not
easy to credit this. however, since we
know her TO have been narrow ana
bigotted.
At the date OF his marriage with Mad
anne de Maintenon. Louis XIV. was at the
height of his magnificence. His enemies
were all quiet for the moment; he had
lust added Strasbourg to his possessions;
ne was the admiration OF Europe, and the
idol of his own people. His reign was
made gloriuos by the presence OF SUCH men
as Moliere, Corneille, Racine, Rollin. Boil
leau. Fenelon, Bossuet, Massillon, Pascal,
La Fontaine, not to mention the great
captains and statesmen, who mace the
period remarkable. Versailles hah JUST
been completed What a fitting scene Tor
the court of the sun kingl Whoever has
wandered entranced through those splen-
did rooms, the long galleries, ana stately
gardens can fancy the brilliant picture.
The beautiful women In their brocades
and laces. the witty, elegant men In thelr
velvets and jewels, while the centre Oh
all the devoted and admirng glances Is
Louis himself. All who approached MN
felt his personal charm. lie was so manu-
some so amiable, 80 courteous ytt 80
imposing and majestic that II was MAJ
ter of surprise TO many TO discover al'er
bis death that he had not been a very
tall man. ,.,o.
ones imagination revels in the spiendor
and romance OF 1t al. and loses itself IN
dreams of those wonderful times iheS
are wildly depicted in NJ. de Saint
Amaud's fascinating pages.
DAVID BALFOUR. BY Robert Louis Ste
venson. New York: Charles Scribner
Sons. West. Johnston & Co. $l.5o
Readers of kidnapped" will remember
David and Alan. and in this latest mover
az the author they will find continual
tion Of the adventures OF those two re-
doubtable Scots. David has come INTO
his fortune at the beginning OF TINS Dooh.
He il quite a man now. and Immediately
becomes involved in the poiiticai piots
against the lives of Alan and ms prother
for murder with which they had no
thing TO do. He succeeds in getting Aiah
safely ont of the country, but the other Is
executed. David also falls in love early
in the book and begins what Is an ex-
tremely stormy and vicissitudinous court
chin Davld's efforts to save Alan
brother get aim into many close places
and into confinement, on his release from
which ne goes to Holland, and there py
a combination of circumstances. has ms
sweetheart thrown on his hands. Ihen
follows a situation somewhat ike the
Partisan episode in DAVID Grieve, when
the author has managed with more or
less skill. according to the views OF the
reader. The situation will. we think'
strike most as strained and unnecessary.
This Is an innovation for Mr.. Stevenson,
and we cannot but think that he has not
acquitted himself very creditably In H.
however. matters move on without any
very serious mishaps, though the giris
father, James More. thorough uhprln-
cipled rascal. tries his best to make trou-
HE and the hero and heroine are eventu-
alIy united in Paris. Needless TO say
that the tale. as a whole, is extremely
we'll told. 1t Is stirring and full OF ad-
venture from the start, while the
misunderstanding is perfect and OF such
varied types that II of itself makes the
story most interesting and attractive
The literary value of the book Is very
great.
personal RECOLLECTIoNS OF
JOHN G.. WHITTIER. BY Mary -;
Ciafiin. New York: Thomas Y. Croweii
& Co. 75c.
Hardly more need be given than tne
title of this pretty little volume whlcll
belongs to the publishers series Oh
Handy Volume Classics. The life OF the
gentle New England poet was almost
A.sAv or