The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-22
LITERARY NOTES.

ter Garden" by Maurice Thompsonl
"A Nature Lover under Southern
Skies" is the suggestive subtitle OF
TINS happily named book. Mr.. Thomp-
son spends his winters On the shores
OF the Gulf of Mexico, and revels in
the balmy climate that enables him
to pass most of his time out of doors.
An intelligent observer of birds and
bees and trees and flowers, he writes
enthusiastically of the fauna and
nora OF this earthly paradise. An
arcner OF long standing, and an ex-
Perlenced raconteur, he draws the
iong DOW with a skill that endeara
MN 20 the lover of good stories, if not
70 the 1eathered folk of Bay ST. Louis
OF the neighborhood of Tampa. And
as a diligent and discriminating
reader OF what is the best in the lit
erature of Greece and Rome and
france and England and America, he
cultlvates in his Winter Garden not
merely the plants that perish, but the
mowers OF thought that flourish per-
ehnlally. A glimpse of the authors
winter Garden is given in a colored
frontispiece.
Inc Bread Line" by Albert Bige-
low Paine, comes from The Century
20, New York. 1.-THE Whole Family
might have been the title of this
story, Tor it describes the attempt of
TWO writer's and two artists in New
York to start a weekly paper of that
name without capital, and push it to
circulation of a million copies Or
SO the first year. We shall not dis
courage any one from reading the
book by telling whether they sue
ceeded, or whether the enterprise
Ia1led and swallowed up all the capl-
tai that was put into it-or would
nave peen put into it, if it had been
there to put. 1t is worth while to
read the story to find out for oneself.
especially If one harbors any such
ampltlon as animated these redoubt-
aole journalists, and is looking about
TOT warning or examples to profit by.
The House Behind the Cedars." bv
Charles w. Chestnut, author of .Tbe
Conjure Woman" and ."The Wife of
Ills Youth" is one of the late literary
successes. Like Mr.. Chesnutt's pre-
v1ous books, this novel is a story of
tne color Line" showing how diff
cult 1T is to hide or escape the heavy
penalty Of even the slightest heri-
tage OF negro blood. 1t involves ro-
nance, very dramatic incidents and
revelations of character, and while
Its literary charm will attract read
ers, the deep significance and tragedy
OF the STORY will stir feeling far
profounder than mere interest.
The Bowen-Merrill Company, In
ola uaanaPolls, has recently published
re Redemption of David Corson. !"
by Charles Frederic Goss, and the
unusual character of the work has
created much comment. The author
takes hero in the person of hand
some young Quaker, dreamer and
visionary, seer and prophet:
causes him to fall from the heiehts
OF mysticism and religious ecstasy in
which he is found in the first chan
ter, with that swift and awful sud
denness with which Lucifer plunged
from Paradise into the depths below;
lets him run the gauntlet of dissipa-
ton and vice, of debauchery and
crime; and then effects his redemp-
ton through the power of his own
words, spoken in the period of his
youth end innocence. The book has
been called an answer to "The DAM
nation of Theron Ware" and it is
certainly entitled to the considera-
ton OF the reading public.
"Ay]White Guard to Satan by Alice
Nd Ewen, and from the ,ayssisss.sss.s..i 70 8,
use of Housst ton ~ g
Boston and New ork. is the
latest of the historical novels to come
to our desk. The story purports to
be an account of the adventures and
observations of Mistress Elizabeth
Goldstone in chat time of the trou-
bic in Virginia now called Bacon's
Rebellion, which same did take place
In the year of grace 1876" 1t is an
interesting story, told in delightful
manner and will probably meet with
the great success which it merits.
Ednah and Her Brothers" by eliza
Orne White, author of "Winterbor-
ough," '.rhe Coming OF Theodore. ;.
"When Molly Was Six" ETC., is a de-
hghtful story for little folks, Just
such a story as one always looks for
when he picks up one of this author 5
books. 1t is beautifully bound and
would prove an ideal present for any
child. Published by Houghton, Milf
lin d Co., Boston and New York.
Two beautiful holiday books are the
two volumes of "Penelope's Exper-
iences," in England and Scotland, by
Kate Douglas Wiggin, illustrated by
Charles e. Brock. Nearly all the
good adjectives have been applied to
Mrs. Wiggin's account of her travels
and observations and romancings in
England and Scotland. 1t remained
for an artist to put in visible speech
what words could not fifty express
and this has been done, with admira-
BILE sympathy and skill, by Mr.. Charles
E. Brock. He has sprinkled her des-
criptions and fancies with a wide va
riety of designs which belong to the
story SO we'll that Mrs. Wiggin has
adopted them all as an integral part
of her narrative. There are a hun
dred Illustrations in the two volumes.
Hougthon, Mif1in & Co., Boston and
New York.
The Revolution is a fruitful field of
romantic imagination but the first
story relating to the War of 1912 is
Rev. Frank Samuel Child's Friend or
Foe" The scene of this is Fairfield.
Conn.,, whose history Mr.. Child knows
30 intimately, and which was the
scene of his Revolutionary story "An
Unknown Patriot" that was favora-
bly, received last year. Daughters CT
Lois Hardy, who figured in that story.
are heroines of this. The wars pas
sions and its swaying fortunes i'm
pregnate the atmosphere of the story.
but there is little actual fighting in
It. There is much good history, at
tractively used as background or
incident: there is sufficient romance: