The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-09

Kung'' is young Chinaman, the son III
a coffinmaker; he is adopted by an
uncle. who has risen to honor and
wealth by service in the imperial army
during the TAPPING rebellion. Chun,
given every opportunity, and being by
nature a thorough student, takes the
Hanlin degree, Which opens to him
2zrcr.y position of honor and response
bility in the empire. Being an unusual
Chinaman, he takes q course Of study
at the Foreign College, and then, with
the desire upon him to see other lands,
he obtains. the secretaryship to Marquis
Kong, the ambassador to England. He
meets and falls genuinely in love with
an English girl. The author has SUI
ficient art to make her love for him
appear, foolish perhaps, but not unrea-
Sonable. Chun proposes to her in Eu-
ropean style even to the trif1ing mat.
ter of notsmentioning the existence of
wife mum Der one In slight eXtenuatioll
of him it must be said that hes had
almost forgotten her existence; mar
riedstO heT, a stranger, atgnineteen, he
had left her in the keeping. of his mat
ural parents, . and since then forgotten
everything about her, except that her
MESA ges were very bad-tempered and
that she was the. mother of his heir.
Nellie Serjent and he are married at
St Jude's, and for a considerable time
because Chun is in all ways a lover
and in most ways a gentleman-thlS
union of the East and West is a pros
porous marriage. A return to China
and Chinese customs is a harsh strain
on this iH-assorted union, but it is not
until Nellie. discovers the existence OF
Chun Ti-Kung's first wife that the end
HOmes-then, in her delirium, she
browns her baby and herself.
1t is by no means the most unhappy
marriage that has ever been put into
fiction nor is its specific ira gedy one
which occurs only when European girls
are unequally. yoked with unbelievers;
the racial problem enters into Mr.
Rces' calculations because, even with
all love considerations and good in
tentions, the barriers of custom and
temperament are insurmountabie.
c'Chun Tf-Kung," by Claude A. Rees Dodd
Mead e Co., New York. $1.25. For sale by
the Porter company.)
"Ring. O. Rushes," group of sketches
by Shan f. Bullock, is alive with the
spirit of Irish story telling. The
humor and pathos which one associ-
ates with the lives lived on the En-
erald Isle are in every story, but the
tact with which they are told is, after
all, the most distinctly Celtic element
in the book
The butter savings of poor old Nan
and Tim, SO heedfully adjusted to COW
eT not only the limited necessities, but
the bit of lace for the cap and the
'tabaccy,' turned, by the sudden blight
of letter, into bit O. Grape for
Padeen dead in America "Shan's Di-
version" his only one, and that so
dearly bought; "They Twain" with its
commonplace, heart-sickening tragedy;
and THE Splendid Shilling" the
strongest and most enduring of the
sketches, are filed with feeling and
art enough to lift them beyond the
commonplace.
More lasting things in Irish tales
than the Ring O. Rushes' have been
done in the near past; it is not even
necessary to compare Mr.. Bullock with
Jane Benlow, but his stories, though
they may not rival hers are essen
tally good and have humor and vital
ity- enough to make them pleasant
reading.
Stone & Kimbal New York $125 For
sale by the St. Paul Book and Stationery
company.)
dust in the Balance" is a collection
Of short stories by George knight.
Thirteen tales of varying slghtness
justify the title. The authors inflated
modesty is as trying TO the readers
patience as is his insignificant ego
tism. There are occasional touches
throughout the book that might make
a favorable impression, were it not for
the affectation which swaddles them.
q few Of the stories might even be
considered fairly good, if they had had
the good fortune to escape from the
general surroundings; as it is, one
closes the book firm in the conviction
that it indeed is not without strength.
but that it lies in the Bible quotations
with which Mr.. Knight prefaces each
tale.
c'Dust in the Balance by George Knight.
r. F. Fenno IL Co., New York. $125. For
sale by the st. Paul Book and Stationery
company)
To all students of sociology, Mr..
Morrison's judicious handling of the
subject Of Juvenile Offenders" will be
a welcome addition to the criminology
series. No other branch of the subject
is quite so important or SO worthy the
attention of every one seriously inter.
ested in social problems. Mr.. Morrison
has brought to bear upon this subject
years of study and Investigation, and {,
shrewd and judicious, but sympathetic,
extent of juvenile crime and the con-
ditiens which, to a great extent, create
it are treated exhaustively in part first.
the treatment of young criminals is
the subject which takes up the remain
ing chapters. All the experiments so