The morning call., 1894-07-08

girl W hom be had loved for years aud is
rejected. At the same time he learns the
success of his rival and determines to de-
stroy him. While on the way to end his
rivals life his own is taken by the hand OF
his idiot child. 1.-The Red House" has all
the good qualities and all the defects of
the work of the Duchess. and readers of
novels need no telling what these are.
For writer who must have had enormous
practice and experience there is too much
slipshod work in the present volume. AS
an example may be cited on page 68 this
sentence, IF she were to live for Ger
tain number of hours there might be
hope-if not. she must die" The picture
of society in an English country town,
with its small jealousies and heartburn
ings and gossipings, is not at all bad. 1he
women and girl characters are drawn with
a firm hand. far awav the weakest being
the American, Miss Firs Robinson. The
men are mere tailors' dummies. lChicago :;
Rand, McNally & Co. For sale by the
Bancroft Company.
ROSES AND THIsTLEs.-From the press
OF C.. A. Murdoch & Co. comes q volume of
rhyme by Rufus c. Hopkins which the
writer has seen fit TO call "Roses and
Thistles"-just why is not clear. Mr.. Hop
kIns says In his preface that the poems
be calls them poems-have been written in
the course OF a long life, for amusement
and solely to please himself. 1t is gratify-
ing to know that Mr.. Hopkins has been
pleased. Whether be has pleased the pub
lie is another matter, but in drawing the
veil from his private source of amusement
he has made the mistake of giving the
public the right 10 be pleased or dis
pleased. On the whole perhaps the public
III
time to read good verse, and no time at
all to read bad. Mr.. Hopkins also says in
his preface that he has no apology
to make TO the public. 1t is just to
say that the public has demanded none.
Neither has it demanded the verses.
Now that it has them it can
hardly be said to be thrilled to
eral heart failure. Possibly Mr..
Hopkins would have done better to
have kept his means OF amusement from
the public. The public, as rGle, does
not seek to intrude upon entertain ments
strictly private. th ough the public would
be amused, too, could 1T be only per-
suaded to read the verses. The deuce of
it is that the public will not be persuaded.
For instance, looked at in proper light
there is a vast deal of amusement TO be
had out of the verses called THE Tree of
La Noche Triste." though the title would
seem to forbid il. What could be more
amusing than these lines:
The sun 1t shone bright
From the clear, azure skies
On the high m tain peak
Where the white snow lies;
My brow IL was famed
BY the soft summer breeze,
AS whispering it came
From the bright tropic seas
1t is true one is left somewhat in doubt
here as to whether the brow Of the writer
came whispering from the bright tropic
seas or whether it was the wind that was
doing the whispering, but the amusement
is there just the same and there are nine
more verses just like that.
Again Mr.. Hopkins invokes the memory
of Bobby Burns after this fashion:
On banks and braes o. bonny Doom,
Still sweetly sings the warbling bird,
But he who gave It's name to song
Will never more on earth be heard.
Mr.. Hopkins is more lucid here. He
makes it clear, at all events. that
Burns is dead-which is perhaps a fortu-
nate circumsi siapce for the local bard-and
surely nobody could convey somber
truth In more amusing fashion. Who
raises laugh is beDefaetor of his race
and Mr.. Hopkins has therefore not failed.
Somebody will be amused.
The book is beautifully printed and su-
perbly bound. San Francisco: G. A.
Murdoch. For sale by William Doxey1
THE ISLE OF THE FEMININE. Woman
suffrage comes to the front 10 fancifu
tale, "The Isle OF the Feminine" from the