The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-11-14
SOME NEW BOOKS.


finally drove him to the observations
In Philistia" which John Lane at the
Bodley Head and the Merriman COM
pany in New York publish IN the
Mayfair set under the title Mrs. Albert
Grundy." We greatly admire Frederic.
At his best he is one of the most Nir!le
and thorough artists that we have fut
from the author of Theron Ware TO
the author Of Mrs. Albert Grundy Is
a step full of grief. The one ts dwarfeu
in the others strenuous attempts 10 pe
genteelly funny according to the con-
ventional English pattern OF humor.
Philistia may be an interesting land-
to Philistines. but we advise Mt. mar
old Frederic not to dwadle away MS
time in 1t nor seek to attune his mas
culine voice to its piping treble.
The prettiest little book Of the year,
with it's dainty cover design in white,
turquoise blue and salmon showing q
bright 5-year-old maiden picking flow
ers, has just been published by Stone
G. Kimball, of New York. 1t is by Will
liam Canton. whose Invisible Play
mate" touched the upper note in SYM
pathetic appreciation Of child life and
is called wv. V. Her Book" wv. ""
Is the authors daughter, somewhat
idealized, perhaps. who stands i'm the
books pages as the type of the aver
oSS, ueditIly, HieIIS,
mite who tries to take the whole OF life
at once into her two diminutive hands
She has all along" the author tells
us in the course of u charming ramb-
ling chat about this wonderful, many
sided daughter of his. " been curious
combination of tenderness sandsaVagery.
In a sudden fit of motherhood she Will
bring me her dolly to kiss. and ten min
uteS later l shall see 1t lying undressed
and abandoned in the corner of the
room. She is a Spartan parent. and
slight is the chance of her children be-
ing spoiled either by sparing the rod
or lack of stern monition. 1t Is not so
long ago that we heard Il curious sound
Of distress in the diningroom, and on
her mother hurrying downstairs to see
what was amss, there was w. V. chas-
tising her recalcitrant babe-and doing
the weeping herself. This appeared to
be a good opportunity for pointing a
moral. 1t was clear now that she knew
what 1t was to be naughty and DISC
bedient, and If she punished these
faults 50 severely in her own children
she must expect me to deal with her
manifold and greviouS offences in the
same way. She looked very much So
bered and concerned. but a few mo-
ments later she brought me a stout oak
walking stick: Would that do, papa? i"
This Is only sample touch. The
book Is one mass of such. 1t Is u book
that every decent parent ought to be
grateful for.
Il II \
There certainly Is a very decided fas-
cination about the stories Of Robert
Barr, and the worst of 1t Is that one
cannot exactly say what or where 1t Is.
Take, for instance, thost two short
stories which the Frederick A. Stokes
Co. have just published in their hand
Nn.t ra,s, nax ,'r
Courtshp" and "The Heralds Of
Fame" There isn't anything particu-
larly original about the idea of the
first-the conquest of a spoiled child
Of Bostonese culture by rather blunt
and gruff British artist under some
what primeval conditions due to an ac-
cident of travel-nor Is the plot of the
second, which concerns the shrewd
Yankee trickery by which an American
publisher makes a reigning favorite of
q modest young British author whose
manuscripts heretofore had gone heg-
gin, much fresher. Yet both tales grip
us and we don't lay either down until
1t is finished. Just what the secret Of
Mr.. Bars power is we must give up as
an insoluble riddle unless it be that he
is simply u lively, healthy and mascu-
line romancer who puts good red blood
into the veins Of his characters and
plenty of ozone into their lungs. [For
sale in Scranton by NJ. Norton.
The same publishers present in at
tractive form Adeline Sergeant's
novel. "A Rogue's Daughter" which is
q moving narrative of loves rough
course smoothed out to the queens
taste in the last chapter. For sale in
Scranton by NJ. Norton.
The newest of Opie Reads interesting
o Ia, q. s.. l.,Il,
days is called MY Young Master"
and is attractively published by Laird
& Lee. Chicago. It's scene is laid in
kentucky, and its theme has to do with
the various affairs of two young lads,
one master the other a slave, who
in reality are children Of one parent
Around this central incident Mr.. Reed
has drawn a realistic picture of the GUS
toms and injustices of slavery and has
made vivid to this generation facts fast
escaping from its ken.
Arthur MOrrison's Tales of Mean
Streets" published two years ago. re-
established the slum as a popular prop
erty Of fiction, and ever since 1t has
been in continuous and increasing use.
Mr.. Morrison now supplements those
tales by second series of slum sketch
es entitled "a Child Of the Jago" (Chi-
cago; II. S. Stone Il Coz, the JagO be-
ing the name of a street and by eXten-
sion a district in LUndOns submerged
tenth. These newer studies have all
the vividness of their predecessors and.
moreover are woven into a closer uni
ty. They will without doubt become
equally popular among the admirers of
chronological realism in fiction.
From rural New England to rural
North Carolina is something of step
even in this era of peace and reunion.
But 1t is q step which Miss Maria Pool
has successfully accomplished in I'm
Buncombe County" (Chicago: H. S.
Stone t& Coz. Here Is a grouping of
the shades and cOlors of Southern
country life which makes no attempt
to be exhaustive nor picturesque and
yet comes forth a most charming tri-
umph. Miss Pool has not sought to de-
ride or satirize the pooh white trash
amongst whom her scenes are laid: on
the contrary, she brings to her pOr-
traiture that same ready sympathy
and unfailing wOmanly appreciation of
the elemental goodness of crude human
nature which have made so notable
her delineations of New England
character. She has her laughs. but
they are ever kindly. The artiste in
her is not destructive Of the woman.
Before passing from this subject a
word should be said for the volume 8
mechanical appearance. 1t Is neat and
dainty beyond description.
|! Il Il
Twenty short stories, all bordering
on tragedy and told in the straight
forward, business-like manner which
characterizes Robert Barr. have been
gathered into a handsome volume 10y
the Frederick A. Stokes company and
published under the title Revenge. '
The cover design suDDlips an inday tC
the contents. In the center is a skull;
around 1t are sixteen poinards: and in
the four corners are black and -silve,
reXolXers. the whole effect being shiY-