The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-06-04
NEW NOVELS.

AT the Court of Catherine the Great
BY Frederick Whishaw. Frederick A.
Stokes company, New York.
'At the court of Catherine the Great"
presents the autobiography of a young
maid of honor to Catherine the Great
of Russia, and as such deals intimately
with the intrigues and scandals which
were continually arising in that de-
generate court
The idea of depicting the inner side
of court life, the immortality and quar-
rels of the Russian rulers in the days
of Catherine the Great through the
eyes of young and innocent girl is
certainly enough to ensure an exciting
story however much it may show forth
the wickedness and lawlessness of the
times which it represents.
With the maid of honor Elsa re-
naming faithful to her mistress in all
her scheming to make way with her
husband, the car, and put herself on
the throne of Russia, and Elsa's lover
Douglass, holding steadfast to the
party Of the weak and profigate czar,
,, the plot offers dramatic possibilities Of
absorbing interest which the author
has not failed to realize.
The beauty and purity oc the love
between Elsa and her gallant lover and
set the sin and debasement in which
the other characters are plunged, and
gives the story a romantic setting
which carries one back to the old tales
of knighthood and chivalry.
The Jamesons. BY May Z. wilkins
Doubleday & Mcclure Co., New York.
For sale by Putnam, Davis g. Co.
This deliciously funny account OF an
! L..
from the city who moved into a quiet
New England village and attempted to
"set the people of the plaza right" &c
cording to the very LATEST social and
club ideas of the metropolis, first ap-
peared in the pages of the Ladies'
Home Journal, and is now in its eighth
thousand. While THE Jamesons" VIII
not take rank with Miss Wilkins best
work, it is delightful in its humor and
the delicacy with which the leading
characters are portrayed. Mrs. Ii.
Boardman Jameson is a parsonage to
be remembered. 1t is she who ostenta-
tiously eats health biscuits at picnic,
thereby spelling the innocent joy of
numberless village ladies in tteir rich
ly indigestible fruit cake, pies ana
iumbles: it is she who sets her hens
on hard-boiled eggs. Her children were
discovered picking squash and potato
blossoms in a farmers garden ana
brought home in disgrace. Mrs. jane
son put on her eyeglasses and spoke
sweetly to the irate agriculturist. My
good man." said she, ''if, when ycI
come to dig your squashes, you find
less than usual, and when you come
to pick your potatoes the bushes are
not in as good condition as they gem
orally are, you may come to me ana
1 will make it right with you" ANA
| It was her little Sarah, who SAID, wren
| she was offered some honey at VII
lage tea-drinking, "Oh, Will you ple'Se
| tell me what time you drive home yonr
bees? and do they give honey twice a.
! day like cows?" 1t was Sarah who
| when her brother was very anxious TO
see some pigs, said, "Oh, be quiet
| Cobb. dear; it is too late tonight; ne
| MICS must have gone into their holes.
| Mrs. H. Boardman Jameson had
| Misunderstanding, subserVlent nut
| husband, and a sweet young uausu..eIl
who very improperly fell IN love Win
one of the villagers. Mrs. Jameson was
I,o,.,, severa when first she discovered
| the attachment, but friend haVlUS
written to her and quoted numerous
messages from Browning in support Oh
| marriage, she became convinced '"u|
! Robert Browning would nave peen ~
| favor of the match,-and that setlitC
| ~ But 1.-THE JamesOns" must pe Ie@u
to be appreciated
The Solitary Summer. BY the author
of "Flizabeth and her German GARDEN
Macmillan Company, New York. H.
In spite Of the obscurity surrouHu,i Il5,
the authorship of Elizabeth and n IIs
German Garden" it remains one OF the ne
few books of the past. year when III
their charm of style and delicate hu-
NOR have won something more man
passing appreciation. The SolltaIS
| summer" is like unto it. 1t is apso-
mteIy simple, more an essay thali
story story vet so strong is the human IN
terest that it holds the close attention ION
! IN the end. Opening in May with the
determination of the author to be alone
for a whole summer, it takes one along
| ieis11reIy. lovingly through the summer
Of flowers and serene, starry nights 70
sentember. when the lady finds her
hoiIse and garden overrun by the ON
GERS of a regiment of soldiers that is
chartered in the village. Books, ma
tnre children come and go in the book
which is penetrated by the gay, serious
sometimes whimsical, always delight
mi shirt of the writer, who by the
wav. is said to be a young woman pear