The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-05-22
Caleb West, Master Diver, s

aSO WSSt, M1SIef Diver.
The novel of occupations has arrived
to stay. If nothing is so interesting
to man as how the next man gets his
bread and butter, then surely the ster-
les of life which deal largely with the
tasks by which bread is earned are
fully justified. Mr.. Kipling setftfle. ex4
ample with his admirable study of the
codhSh business, and F. IIopkinson.
Smith has followed with a spirited and
interesting account of how light houses
are built In slippery places, and what
the life and dangers of the builders are.
caleb West, Master Diver,"sis a good
beck of its kind. 1t conveys a great
Zeal Of very absorbing information in
an agreeable way, and the story of the
young contractors struggle with the
refractory government inspector is the
best and brightest incident in the tale
Fer, after all, unless you are very
great writer. indeed the occupation
novel has its limits in your hands.
Mr.. Hopkinson Smith is often charm
ing. but never great. The character
drawing in the book is a distinct falling
Off from any thing the writer has d ,ne.
Being preoccupied with the light house,
the writer has not wasted much
strength In realizing the personages Of
the tale. Caleb Vests young wife.
the PlatoEic friend of the contractor
the young Southern girl, all are indis-
tfnCt, misty, uninteresting The men
are better, because they are set off and
brought out by their work, but even
they are not such clear-cut and vigor
Gus pieces OF portralture as we expect
from the creator Of "Col. Carter"
| Can 1t be that there is something
| about the consideration of man, the
bread winner that detracts from man
| the entity? 1T Is true that men define
themselves with less clearness in their
! business relations than in their social
! and domestic environment PERHAPS
| this accounts for the fact that the &C.
| cupation novel. as such, is a little dry
and hard. little less intimate and
moving than the acknowl sdgei novel of
character.
A combination of the two in which
full justice is done to each element is
! of course the ideal to be pursued, but.
as we said before, only great man
can hope to write book of that sort
Caleb West Master Diver" by F. Hon.
Rns9n Smith g T. H Houghton Miiin Co.
1 Book and Stationery company.
1 Peneiope's Progress.
Gay in tartan plaid is the binding
of "Penelope's Progress" and it's outer
form is but an earnest of it's inner
brightness. Kate Douglas Wiggin is
always charming in her breezy conf
Dental way. and these extracts from
the commonplace book of Penelope
Hamilton that relate to her experience
in Scotland" are conceived in her
brightest and most appreciative spir-
| 1T. 1t is a continuation of Penelope
Experiences" in England, and her for
lner tried companions, Salemina and
Francesca, are with her again. The
best thing about this form of triangular
marriage, Penelope claims. is that
they know the very worst there is tC
know about each other and this is
not, by any means, an inconsistent
estimate of friendship. The Scottish
Esprit is rife in the book, and Scottish
ballads, Scottish religion, Scottish hos
/ pitaiity and Scottish wooing make VI
the story. Penelope herself, as hel
old friends will remember, had hel
! future bespoken in the English expert.
j ences, and Willie Beresford is some
thing of a bar to further coneuests or
her part. But Francesca is still heart
I free, despite various experiences of the
past, and quarrels herself into love
with a fine specimen of high-bret
Scotchman, and, after walking rough.
shod over his happiness through many
pages, she discovers that her own JOY
in life depends on his, and one infer.
the good old conclusion that "they
lived happy ever AFTER unless, per
haps, one is skeptical and doubts Fran
cesca's adaptability to the new require
ments
The story closes with a wholly happ,
Scottish wedding, and Penelope is tn,
happy, bonny bride.
"Penelope's Progress" by Kate. Douglas
Wiggin. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Bos-
ton. s1.25. For sale by the st. Paul Book
and Stationery company.
Spun Yarn.
Sea stories by sea-farfhg men hav
become SO popular Of late that a bool
with a nautical title not justified b,