The times., 1899-11-12
New York: Harper & Bros.)
A book of short stories.

A new boOk by Mr.. +. HopkinsOn Smith
is always welcome to the reading public,
whether pretentious or not; and this his
latest work is decidedly unassuming in ap-
pearance. II is a collection of short sto-
Ties entitled The Other Fellow" and Of
character most miscellaneous. Mr. Smith
has evidently drawn on his experiences as
painter, contractor lecturer, and architect
for the material Of these sketches, and then
gathered them ali together in a sort of pot
pourri for the delectation of the pubic.
There are eleven, Of varying length. seri-
BUSINESS, and merit Two or three of them
are very fine; two or three are mediocre;
and the others are $3.50.
Dick Sands, Convict" heads the list and
is one Of the longest. X Is the story of a
youth who through no fault-of his own was
made an outlaw in his community The
theme is a good one, though il seems lit
tie improbable that q boy as good and Iowa.
bic as this one should have been so per-
secuted. Even backWoOds communities can
generally be trusted TO have some sense in
dealing with the young. However, perhaps
this is one Of the exceptions.
Five Meals for a Dollar is rather
forced in It's fun, and records the efforts Of
Alr. Smith. lecturer. to obtain meal at an
irregular hour in a country village. "A
NaterlOgged Town is rather an amusing
study Of two homegrown Americans in
Venice. The Boy in the Cloth Cap, while
pretty sketch, is no better than hundreds
Of others which we see in the newspapers.
and which are not ballasted with the name
Of the distinguished author-artist- -archi-
tect-lectuTer- contractor.
The three good tales, however, redeem
the book. The Man with the Empty
Sleeve" is a chaTaCter-sketch of a sturdy
old American and his encounter with an
eXpatriated Anglomaniac, Of the Waldorf
Astor type, on board a steamer The time
is that Of the war in Cuba
A Kentucky Cinderella" is the second
good story, It is a dialect romance of the
type which has recently become familiar
and is told by an old Kentucky nanny,
the heroine being her "chile,"sa little or
phan left ostensibly to the care of an aunt
by marriage, but in reality to that of Aunt
Chloe and the other servants. The gem of
the collection so far as originality goes,
however, is According 10 the Law. -
though something should be said OF the
way in which the theme is treated 1t is
somewhat disconnected in style, and a little
slow in development, but the climax saves
it, Mr.. Smith has also very cleverly kept
his own convictions out of the tale until
almost the last page, and the reader has
/ no idea what the end is to be till he reaches
it.
It begins with the description Of a lun-
| cheou given in an old Southern home 10 a
| flock Of pretty girls, gay young men and
comfortable elders. In the midst Of this
! luncheon arrived one Of the honored
guests judge, who has been unavoidabIy
! detained by a murder case. The case. is
! that Of a negro and the evidence most y
/ ciTcumstantial, but on the whole, the
] jury decides the man guilty. Then the
/ judge leaves the courtroom for his lun-
/ cheon. The matter is rather lightly dis
/ cussed at the table, with the usual refer
] ences 10 our people before the war" and
to the new generation" The consensus
( Of opinion seems to be that the man was
! probably guilty. Later the story-telleI
| accompanies the judge 10 court TO hear the
I death sentence pronounced, sees the pris-
oner and the lawyers and hears some more
discussion. The prisoner, while a dull
like a confirmed criminal. The bit OF de
scription of the scene is one OF the most
skilful In the story:
Behind me rose the gallery reserved for negroes
q loft, having no window nor light hanging like
! huge black shadow without form OF outline
| All over this huge black shadow spattereC
specks OF white. As / looked again, couiC
I zee that these were the strained eyeballs and SCI
teeth OF motlonless negroes.
The Judge, his hands loosely clasped together
sat leaning forward IN his seat, his eyes fastened
on the prisoner. The fare OF the gas Jet fel
on his stern, immObile face. and cast clearneC
shadows that cut his profile sharp a cameo. TIT
I negro stood below him, his head on his chest
his arms hanging straight.
After the sentence, the district attorney
the opposing counsel, the author. and sOmt
other people discuss the case and its prob
abilities. All admit the possibility of thu
mans innocence, but the district attorne!
declares that one suspicious circumstanc,
inclined him to think the man guilty be
b. goes on to say that not one of the pris
ouer's relatives or friends has turned uI
since the trouble began, and that, when ask
ed. the negro had declared that he had M
friends From this the lawyer argued tfia
the man was afraid OF being convicted o
some other crime If he told anything abou
himself The conversation closes with tn
indignant declaration by the prisoner
counsel that there would be no use asking
for & new trial. because If Sam CrOucl
had a soul as white as snow it Wouldn'
help him with these Juries around her
as long as his skin is the color il Isl
Then the judge temperately remarks tha
he thinks Crouch was probably guilty, hav
ing been a vagrant all his life, and ther
that episode closes. leaving the reader Il
some doubt as TO the authors own opinio,
or intentions.
Then comes the denouement. The nov
( eiist meets one of the luncheon party an
hears the story Of CFoueh's execution an
Of an odd little episode in connectio
with II:
Tic first time they strung Crouch mp the rop
broke and let him down, and they had to sen