The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1899-11-12
Books and Authors.

LOVE LETTERS or a MUSICIAN.
by Nyrtla Reed. New York. g. j.
Putnam's sons. Bound IN cloth, mo-,
kilt top. Us pages rice Sl15
This volume consists OF imaginary epis-
ties addressed by a young violinist to his
lady during the year following his reiec-
ton. and. with a curious fancy, posted in
his trunk The writer seems TO spend his
spare time In the woods ard fields, and
20 find there continual inspiration Tor both
his art and his love.
Miss Reed has SUITED the mood Of each
letter 10 a musical theme. which IS e.
pressed not only by the appropriate tenn
20 placed at the head OF each chapter,
but by ba.s OF music chosen from compo-
sulons which approach very nearly the
spirit Of each chapter. and thus make the
Love Letters suitable for musical read
hCs. The mLsicar's illness. and ths
ends who frl fhc ieucrs. make the
happy ending possible.
10 IS a beautiful prose poem. with n
violin obligato ard with Mother Ma
ture Cor q eymrlfhetic listener and With
love for its motive. IN the letter headed
Buried Music note this paragraph:
wind and wave and song of bird.
crash of thunder. drip Of rain. and mat
ing call-ail these are in the hb~e Of my
violin. and the thousand note OF sea
! and storm. the music Of the WATERMAN
and the stream What wonder thai IL is SD
nearly the human voice There must
have been love story in that forest
for it sings love. love and only love-
though ] do not remember g hearing it
until I knew YOU. Again in "The Dawn
| OF May this paragraph;
1.-THE plain of woods Just cest of the ma
pie grove seems ike vast festival The
guests are brilliant and stately only
moving aside gracefully when some gay
mind goes by. The he1aticas are gowne1
in white. just touched with a delicate
pink. the wird-fowers are clothed
with a warmer shade. and tine vi0lcts. IN
their ever-vary'ng purple. almost m0n0p-
Ollie the field The afr Is fuI of mean
iug one feels that scme.a.ng great is
about 90 happen. whether it Doe some cerc-
monial procession in which an the guests
are 90 Join. swinging their perfumed CEN
scrs and chanting the ver-iovous hymn Of
spring. OF whether some sweet fairy SYM
phony is 10 be played ON hidden strings,
too far of and faint for our human ears
90 hear"
I'm keeping with The beauty and dain-
tiness az the authors work. the pub
fishers have bound the volume most ar
tieucally in green and gold with wide
margins and uncut edges Within and
without II Is indeed "a thing 0f beauty
and will doubtless prove a favorlte gift
book
MICHAEL ROLF. ENGLISHMAN. BY
Mary L. Pendend, New York: Double
dav & MCClue Company. Bound in
cloth. 70 mo. 300 pages Price SL25. For
sale BIZ the Bell Book and Stationery CO.
This is love story of quiet English
life I'm A market town of Western England.
The heroine. a young lady of birth. hat-
ing lost her fortune. sc0rns dependence
upon the bounty of her wealthy mar
riod sister. and goes as gOverness to the
sister OF a grocer in a small town. The
book is 4 record of her eXDe -ieuces. The
grocer is "a fine fellow. rough ON the out
side but OF innate refinement, and
having a high sense of honor and jus
tice lie IS possessed of great physical
courage and is described as an almost
perfect specimen OF physical manhood.
To "a woman who has scorncd convention
alities sufficiently o. make her choose 10
earn her own living rather than eat the
bitter bread of dependence, such man is
naturally an attractive character The
story ends as all novels should, with
happy marriage.
The other characters are the usual ones
which 20 TO make up the typical small
town. We have the village gossip, the
drunkard who neglects his wife, the
grocers clerk Yho steals from his en-
ployer that h~Slay launch gifts upon the
silly girl whose head he has turned, the
professional political agitator, the literary
woman trimming over with Quotations
q. 10 IN
his own purposes appears half-witted.
The characters are drawn with clear,
firm touch and the life of the village
stands out I'm bold relief
For the benefit of out of-town book buy
ers. the Doubleday & Mcclure Company
announce that they viii send this volume
most paid TO any address, on approval, TO
be paid for e satisfactory, or to be re-
turned TO us in case &c is not wanted after
examination.
ABOUT THE WEATHER. by Mark W
Harrington. New York d. Apple
ton = co. Bound IN cloth, illustrated,
2i6 pages. price 90 cents.
This is a short and interesting treatise
on the laws, uniform, unchanging and in
flexible, which govern the weather
THE SlOk1 ON HE AHliI4cf ny JAS
Newton Backett. ST. A.. author Of 1.-THE
Story OF the Birds" etc. New York
D. Appleton & CO. Bound in cloth, IL
Illustrated, 20 pages price 6j cents.
The name indicates the contents Of the
book written in simple yet attractive
style
THE INSECT WORLD. A READING
BOOK or ENTOMOLOGY, compiled
and edited by Clarence AIoores Weed. ID
5. New York. j. Appleton & Co. Bound
IN cloth. 2i0 pages. price 90 cents.
The author states in his preface that he
has selected "from the great mass of
entouologlcal literature "A series Of such
articles as seemed especially adapted to
interest young people in the habits and
life history Of insocts.'
These three volumes are representative