The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-04

little book will go far to establish in his
true place one Of the heroic figures OF
American history. Nothing has had more
to do with the phenomenal development
and prosperity OF our country than the
railroads and it is the American engineer
and fireman who make these possible.
There is q crispness and verve in the
style Of this writer which ought to give
him a reputation even if he had no story to
tell But he has one to tell, every time,
and that adds TO the charm Of the book.
Each one Of the tales is different. and has
a special reason for its being. TIE only
one in which there is any elaborate pot is
The Sky Scraper, which describes the
reunion Of a father and son in circum-
stances curiously dramatic. The one which
gives the title 20 the book deals with
little, wiry, daredevil Irishman, who took
out an engine during a strike. The Kid
Engineer IS a character study OF a plucky
boy whose history was mixed up with tie
same strike The Million Dollar Freight
Train has a comicai side to it, and this
also is a strike story. Almost pure comedy,
though with a strong spice OF adventure, is
The McWilliams Special" These who
read Jules Verne for amusement may re-
member that in order TO create a compl ca
ton in one OF his narratives. ne makes u
engineer rush a train over bridge which
is about to fail, the impetus of tee move
ment lifting the weight from the lettering
piers. In this later story the incident is
nearly duplicated, but more realistically.
The McNilliams Special" gees over
burning bridge at fun speed. trU-ting to
the chance that the steel framework has
resisted the power Of the flames. Bucks"
Is tribute to the GOODNESS and inventive
genius of train dispatcher, and there is
little dramatic touch at the end which,
however, comes in quite naturally. San
keys Double Header reads like a bit of
history, and perhaps it is. 1t is the story
OF an Indian conductor. "Sic,OGe Clark" 10
another tale which may be taken from life
In fact. all Of them seem 10 be m 1re or less
affected by that complaint
Mr.. Spearman's humor is so dry that it
snaps. 1t crops out in the most desperate
situations. Here. in the first story. is
Foley, the lrishman, taking out q train
when the strikers have threatened to Kill
the engineers and Foley himself is sug-
pected Of being spy upon the company,
who viii ditch the train If trusted W tn it,
Owing TO this he had been given freight
train for the first trip, with nothing par-
iicularly valuable aboard. He tells the
writer that there is "a stir hill near
GAINESVILLE.
ANY trouble 20 climb itg' ! asked. iof had
rurposcly given him heavy train.
Not with that Of butter. II YOU hold That
butter another week it viii climb h:I without
any engine
Again, train dispatcher, in speaking of
Western blizzard. says that il blew so
hard that night that it blew most of the
color out Of his hair He was a Titan
headed Irishman. Moreover, "Sielone"
Clark. during 4 strike, swore that he would
kill the first man who took his engine out
A man named Fitzpatrick got the job. He
was told Of the vow. Mr. Spearman says:
Fitzpatrick shifted 70 the other leg.
Did be say what ] would be doing while this
was going orr
After all is said. the most complete Of !
The stories is possibly that of the McWn- !
liams special The description OF the |
train-merely an engine, a di apidatei /
baggage car. and one other coach-crossing |
the burning bridge is worth reproducing: /
Sinclair shut Of lie wanted no push or pull /
On the track. The McMill;ams special was Just a /
tremendous arrow. shooting through a truss OF /
he. and h&h a dozen speeches. men either !
5ldr 81 Tie river waiting for the catastrophe
Jeri! MaeEir9y ciorched ln"-under the gauges.
sinclair jumped from ~ box and stood with a !
l9nd On Tho throttle and hand on the air, The 4
glass crashing around bis head like hail. 4 /
blast OF teIt air and flying Cirdgs humCd ami T
'hoAcd him. The engine. alive with danger, few
ihe great mcaacy dlOI- the vriIi6Hg steel. So
quick SO black. ho; the blast. and 50 terri
ic The leap. she stuck ler into the clean air
before the mcu il the cab could rise TO f.
There Was Aeayc in The middle like The lurch
d sea-slck steamer, and with it the Five-NiBe
rot Der paws on cool iron and solid ground and
he Mattanack and the blazc-ail except dozen
ongues which licked the cab and the roof Of the
laCgage-car mHutc-Eere behind. Gaorgie Sin
lair, shaking the hot glass cut Of his hdir looked
head through his frizzled eyelids and gave her
full head for tie western bluffs Of the valley;
hen looked a. lis watch SerCuts-uine
minutes later Sinclair vhistlcd for the Denver
ards.
There was a tremendous commotiou among the
Waiting eng-nos- II there was one there ae-c
liy big locomotives waiting TO charvari the No
Williams Special The wires mad told She story +
u Denver long before, and as Che FveNiHt -ail5
lonGerously up the gHdlrOn every m0gui. every
Consolidated. every ten-Wheelor, every hog. every
"ltchbu!nper, every ain hose screamed On up-
oaro1s welcome TO George Sinclair and tle
ky-soapcr
Things have been said about certain
hapter in Captains Courageous, which is
supposed to owe its origin to the same Incl
lent which probably suggested Mr.. Spear
mans story. Discussion was also created
by ".0G7,' which purported to be a tale Of
IN American engine. told from the engines
loint OF view. But IL is probable that an
impartial public-especially one thickly
;prinkled with railroad men-will declare
hat The McWilliams Special makes Nj
iipling's carefully constructed work look
ike a heap OF scrap iron. 1t is rather in
erestlng 10 compare Mr.. Spearmans smile
or the engine as she crossed the bridge to
hat which Kipling uses in similar con-
lection. ".007' is said to resemble "a
hunted cat on top OF a fence" Readers can
axe their choice but some win undoubted-
y be inclined TO say that this American
-ailrcad man has beaten the Anglo Indian
1t his own tFade-that Of personifyiug
hings and coming figures Of rhetoric Mr..
spearman certainly makes his engines
seem alive. and without any unnecessary
strain Oh the imagination. at that New
fork. Harper & Bros. S1.25.)
A Royal Romance.
THE Kings Mirror" by Anthony Hope,
5 a romance Of 4 type slightly different
rom that Of the authors former works.
Is most striking characteristic is that II
5 a thoroughly artistic and consistent por-
RAFT Of an individual and that individual
king. Royal persOnages have figured in
many tales, from nursery folklore to th2
attest work OF Mr. Richard Harding Davis.
,ut il is rare to find novelist who has
he temerity to attempt to portray the in
Ter life Of a monarch-to tell the kings
tory from his own point of view. THIS
Gems 10 be Mr.. Hopes main purpose in
he present narrative, and he has certainly
ucceeded most brilliantly.
He has drawn for us a man. quite human
nd without more than a reasonable share
f vanity brought up from bahyhood to be
nd to feel unlike others; he traces with
ali Obi !