Birmingham state herald., 1896-02-02
GOSSIP FROM BOOKLAND.

AmOnB all tne WOnueTS anu DSdulilu things in the transportation building at i the Worlds fair one exhibit riveted my
 attention and charmed me in a subtle i, sort of way: This was the tent. palan- i quin and belongings which formed the
 outfit belonging to Mrs. M. French-shel- | don on her African explora tion, of whom had read so many favorable accounts. Each passer-by looked with awe at these | things, and stopped a moment to rum!- | nate over the marvellous achievements | of this foremost among nineteenth cen | tury women.
 | To all who possess a spark of adventur- | ous spirit in their makeup the work, 1 Sultan to Sultan," by this gifted wom- l an, will appeal with peculiar pleasure | and charm, revealing the unusual self | reliance and resourcefulness, which made
 such tremendous undertaking poss .ble, | and making such reader positively l yearn for the privilege of encountsring | Ike experiences, adventures and hazard ous enterprises, confident in his own abil- | fly to overcome and surmount all with a | like intrepidity. It has been the experi- ence and testimony that women, by their gentle tact and intuitive perceptions have been able to accomplish vast results in the far and secretive east, where men had ostensibly failed. Just so it is here we have had great and il1ustriouS. expior- CTS of the dark continent, from Living
 ston down the line to Stanley, yet 1t needed a womans ready wit and insight I to add many points to the information al- ready gleaned.
 In Sultan to sultan" Mrs. French Sheldon relates her experiences from the very commencement or her journey; how al Zanzibar she had to form her es- cort or caravan, of her many difficulties encountered, to overcome which an ap- pointment was finally made with the Sultan of Zanzibar. During their inter view she relates that "the sultan's eldest daughter was brought in by black woman slave, attended by two little
 black slave boys. With flash of pride the sultan exclaimed, See how well sultan dresses his daughter! Look well and tell to other Europeans how splen- did are her jewels The heavy gold ank- lets worn by this little child, but years of age impeded her moving with any freedom. Her crown, studded with jew els, must have pained her tender brow. and the gorgeous as well as curious neck laces must have been burdensome."
 From Mambasa the author began her inland journey, travelling among the Ma sai and other hostile tribes. The book is copiously and attractively illustrated, so that the pictures alone would furnish one with a fund of informa tion and give a graphic idea of the remote people; but illumined as they are by matter written in a graceful, flowing style, with dicuon that is suggestive and powerful, the work is wonderfully expressing and claims ones entire and complete attention, as incidents and encounters and descrip- tions are revealed, adding piquance and freshness with every page. A goodly sized book 1t is and yet as we con the pages the reader instinctively feels what a small part of the vast fund of infor- nation this book must form.
 The author, who had long since gained the willing and spontaneous title of Be be Bwana" (woman mastery, had reached the depraved Wa-Teita, near the plains of Taro where she had the following experience:
 'The porters had wheeled, pitched their loads in wild disorder upon the ground. saying: 'Bebe did not know the roadr and refused to budge. And as the porters in the rear kept coming up they were melted to manifest the same spirit Then or never I realized must demonstrate to these mutinous, half-say- age men that would be obeyed and that discipline should be enforced at any cost Only for one instant in perplexity I paused. A vulture flew overhead drew my pistols and sent bullet whiz- zing after it, and brought it surely down to my feet to the astonishment of the re- ,volting men. With both pistols cooked suddenly became eloquent in the smat- teTlnS OI tnc oWdhdit, WhiSh I hhSWb without interpreter. Inspired with fear lessness and strength l started through the center of the rebellious throng, point ing first one, then the other pistol In quick succession at the heads of the men, threatening and fully prepared. deter mined and justified to shoot the first dis senter. As with unfinching. angry eyes fixed upon them, I exclaimed: Get up! Take your load One! Two! Th-! and before the three was pronounced the man addressed was on his feet grasp ing his discarded load.
 The author explains that this was her first and last revolt during her safari 0ourney) The entire book breathes of gentleness. friendliness and perfect sym pathy and accord between the Bebe
 Bwana and the uncivilized, primitive tribes, to whom indeed she seemed supernatural being.
 One of the most thrilling things re- lated is the circumnavigation of Lake Chala.
 Making a slight detour by climbing the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro enabled us to visit the curious Lake Cha1a- At least 1000 feet below us nestled the lovely lake, somewhat triangular in shape and from one to two and half miles Tn It's widest diameter. completely imbedded among hills and cliffs-a basin in which the great Nasal mountain god could al- ways wash his hands. From our position its shores appeared inaccessible, but the natives declared a descent was practica- ble. Notwithstanding this statement, I was not enabled to find that any of my porters had heard of anyone descending to the surface of the lake or to meet any native who had gone to the waters edge, or who could be induced to descend there to. When the natives knew intended to descend and witnessed my prepara-
 tions, they flew back, terror-strtcken, into their mountain villages. and not one intrusive eye would gaze upon the white woman on the devils water"
 That Sultan to Sultan is splendid book no one can deny, and that the mar vicious adventure by Mrs French-Shel- don. which made the work possible, IS great and grand achievement must like wise be conceded.
 It is probable that no foreign writer or recent years has been more appreclated by American readers than John wat son. the Ian Maclaren who wrote Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush," and later "The Days of Aud Lang Syne." We have read and loved the simple. direct style of Ma claren's writings. and 'rhe Country Doc