The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-08-22

| ing Tafgiers and starting for home. He
| turns to The Doodle alderman, who is
| living there beyond the risk of extia6i-
tion and asks If he can do anyth ng for
him at homs. His reply: I'll ;ell you
| what you can do for me, Hoicombe
and then asks him with SIGH TO go down
to one of his old favorite hauzls on Four
teenth street in New York and take a
drink for him. AT Ed Lalley's, just for
luck. VIII you? THAT'S what I'd k to
do
Can anything in .he current of human
events be more pathetic ?-if it's all sl-
perfioial? It's the great throt b.ng art
of humanity, with all it's long ngs and un-
satisfied cravings. Then, in Soldiers of
! Foh una" Mr.. DAVIS has taken he m.
| incident and expressed desire and made
| 1t stand for one of MS happie1. bis OF
hunlor. When Clay and NlcWill.ams and
Laugham were sitting in the Office to-
gether ones"viciously hot close day when
Che air came in siczcn.ng waves, Laugh
am, the most youthful of ths Trio, moved
that they could have two wishes aptece,
| and Clay proce eded to wish himzelf in
New York, wh.re he could have al sorts
| Of cool drinks-in high, thin glasses full
of ice-all the ice you war,.-"oh, deop
| Will you," said Laugha;m, wi h 4 shrug OF
his broad shoulders. II can't sanl u /
! am parching."
| In 1.-The O-her Woman" possibly The
most discussed of all his stories, he has
given US "a bit of writing hat rot only
! Only erl.ccit5Gns, but maker on2 think and
wonder, md in a dim half-lght le3v,s
Us mystery to muse upon. This grasp
!, "A, 7 l.
restraint is deligh full qualify, the IN
! de4niteness Of come Of mis- cio-i pages
notably of Princess Aline--ss charming
and deliciously rnive.
Mr.. Davis, you know, is clas9ed az one
of our humorists, and 1 think anyone who
RAIDS AN Anonymous Letter." WI sus-
tain the decision. But Mr. Davis has
graduated from the short story, and
in Soldiers of Fortune has gwen US a
spirited and entertaining novel.
| In lhits book he illustrates favorite
nclion of his, one that in found in THE
Exiies," and THE Princess Afine," to
transport THE reader to scene that is
novel and romantic, and yet in his cnar-
ac.ers to give us people with whom we
are perfectly familiar
There is an indiscribable charm and
f-rcination about this mode of writing,
Particularly when the author is 50 sure of
his local coloring and atmosphere az in
Mr.. Davis. The SCENE CT TIL book is all
in South America, in the Little republic Of
Olancho, and although we are principally
concerned with the mine that ha ppens to
be In that locality and particularly those
interested in the MINIS, yet we are drawn
unto no end of revo.u ions ard pol tical in
will xxrlai oh 10
seething. We find much of The Van B b.
Der element in the young hero, Robert
Clay, who, not over 30 years of age, has
yet raised himself from the deepest pow
enty and made himself one of the mos,
remarkable of living engineers With a
reputation that extends from Mexico 20
Germany and Russia. He has fought in
various wars. and has no end of beautiful
medals and decorations from the crowned
heads of Europe. Some one stated that
Mr.. Davis didn't know VIVA. he was Talk
ing about in regard to the way Robert
Cay managed the mines; in other words,
didn't know l.he first PRINCIPLES Of mining
engineering. But who cares, would like
to ask. whether Mr.. Davis is an expert en-
gineer or most? We would not have il m
sit down ard spend years of his young
Iihe Experimental Novel," studying and
devdting himself to the running of mines
before attempting to write about them.
Not for worlds would we Nor would we
have cur faith in Robert Clay shaken
for all the expert technical knowledge he
could gather in a lifetime. Now, some
one else admi e that Mr.. Davis has Writ
ten,a very fine book, but objects that. the
young fellows bull the palace in too in
credably short time.
This fairy palace" as the author caSls
it,Jwas Intended for Mr.. Laugham, the
owner of the mines, and his Ewo beautiful
Daughters, who arrive on visit to Olan-
cho just in time to be drawn into fhe
whirl. The house was one of those al
tractive, comfortable bungalows, perched
away out on cliff overlooking the har-
boz and with a double force of isen, as
We are assured They possessed, 1t doesn's
sound like an herculean task after all
''Tt had blue and green and white tiles on
the floors, and wallis of bamboo, and a rcd
roof of curved tiles to let in the air, and
dragons heads for water spouts, and
verapdas as broad as itself" In fact, it
all seems to consist more of palms and
colored mats and awnings than anything
else. No doubt an exact description pf
some of the quaint places. Mr. Davis has
seen during some of his wanderings over,
the face of the earth. Seriously, 1t is a
good story, full of brisk, moving Incidents.
Jus. exciting enough to be pleasing, jIs-,
enough fighting and plotting to mingls.
happily with due portion of romantic
lore until THE reader is quite carried a way
with the dash and 1.-THE spirit of the mar
raliive. PAUL PRT