St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-12

thet1c deprlVatlonS and still more pa
thetic joys with such sympathy and
such convincing effect as Miss Chan
ming shows here. The title story, 1.-The
Sister of a Saint" is one of the most
exquisite bits of fiction that has fallen
to the lot of readers for many a
month. It's technical workmanship is
hawless, and in the story itself we
have our cosmos in a nutshell. 1t is
an epitome in little Of all the sad and
hopeless as well as all the great and
beautiful things that go to make up
life. Here is blind and bitter fatality,
passionate love and passionate self
abnegation, sin, suffering and death, all
seen through the medium of that inf
mite human tenderness which yearns
over the just and the unjust alike. The
story is as delicate as it is strong, and
IL the other tales do not equal this, it
as Tor the reason that it is not given to
a writer to touch perfection more than
once in single volume AS a whole
the book is fine enough and forcible
enough to stir very genuine sensa-
ton of gratitude in the soul of any
one who has looked upon many Of the
majority of them bald and perfunctory
or miasmatic and repulsive. The vol
ume is sure Of a success with the only
public whose judgment is worth con-
sidering.
c'Tbe Sister of Saint" By Grace EIlery
Claiming. Chicago Stone b KimbaU 81
For sale by the st. Paul Book and Station
cry company
Mrs. Walford is one of those writers
who are held in grateful esteem by ha-
bitual novel readers. Her name upon
the title page Of a book is a guarantee
OF a well-bred, readable novel, contain
Ing some interesting character study
and written in a style which is clever
enough to interest the clever but not
clever enough to repel the stupid.
All these things are true of "Freder-
lex, which deals with the rural Eng
lish life, where this writer oftenest finds
her themes, and relates prettily the for
tunes IN love of the underestimate
younger brother of a capable country
gentleman. They are also equally true
of ga Bubble a briefer story, pub
lished in the "Bijou'' series of Messrs.
Stokes. Here the scene is laid in Edin-
burgh and London; the hero is a rough
diamond who gets sadly hurt in the
process of being polished by the heroine.
who is as interesting but not as lovable
as most of the girls whom Mrs WaIford
draws.
When Mrs. Walford began to write
there was Strenuousness and a touch
OF passion in her work which prophesied
that she was capable of doing greater
things than these pleasant tales which
are such agreeable occupation for an
idle hour. Presumably she has sacri-
feed the artistic side of her writing to
the commercial side, which seems at
first glance a pity. Still, if she had
done otherwise the habitual novel
reader would not have known to whom
beside Mrs. Oliphant he might turn
with unfailing reliance for the sort of
thing that suits him best And the
comfort of the novel reader is worth
considering.
CtFrederick. By L. B. walford New
York Macmillan & Co. SIPS. "a Bub-
A. Stokes company. so cents For sale by
the st. Paul Book and Stationery company. :
'Old-World Japan" is a volume of
tales selected from the wealth OF JAP
anese mythology and legendary lore.
The reader will find that to the GUS
tomary naivete of folk lore is super
added a certain quality of unexpect-
edness, of unfamiliarity, which is diff
cult to describe, but which, perhaps.
corresponds in literature to the quail
ty which we recognize as essentially
peculiar to Japanese art. All Of the
tales are picturesque and full of color,
and some few, such as the legend of
the souls of the children who wander
wailing in the dry bed of the River of
Souls, are touching and exquisite. The
Illustrations, by T. Fl. Robinson. which
are thoroughly Japanese in spirit, are
very charming, and make fully half
the delight of an attractive volume.
("Old-World Japan" By Frank Kinder New
York. Macmillan e. Co. So. For sale by
the St Paul Book and Stationery company. !
A new edition of Bjornson's "The
Heritage or the Hurts is brought out
by Lowell, Coryell & Co. There is little
in this story to recall the author of
"Arne" and "A Happy Boy of beloved
memory. 1t deals with social prob
lens, and especially with the task of