The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-05-06

'Scrur" Mackenzie and his canny and
| undaunted counting could hardly be i'm
| proved at all.
There is grin humor in THE Men of
Forty-Mile and The Wife of a King"
and In a Far Country" is a grewsome
creation in which the humor is salted with
horror. The Priestly PreTogatiye'' deals
with a psychological question more subtle
| than the subjects of the other stories. and
An Odyssey of the North though less
| impressive in literary style, is really a
wonderful drama of love, hatred. and ie-
venge, such as very few story-tellers have
had the good hap to discover, or having
| conceived, to tell intelligibly. ITO the
| Man on Trail is scarcely more than a
| mere anecdOte, but it goes with a rush;
! and The White Silence" has a warm
| human interest and some good description
in 1t. There is not bad story in the
! book, and every one has a distinct reason
! for its being MIR. London is to be con-
graduated upon the individually and ex-
! cellence of this piece of work, and it may
earnestly be hoped that he will foliU- it by
others. (Boston: Houghton, Miffiin 6 Co.
/ $.50.)
! THE Bewitched Fiddle, and Other Sto-
! ries" is a collection of the breezy lit
/ tie stories by Seumas MacManus, which
I have recently been appearing il. various
| magazines. They are full of the racy,
unmistakable flavor of the Irish character,
| and the folklore and hearthside tradi-
| tions CT the land of the Shamrock, and
| the dialect, while picturesque enough, is
| not at all unintelligible. There are ten
! stories in this little volume. and they
1 fully sustain the authors reputation.
| One, when Myles Mcguire MeltedR is a
/ tale of American life. and the central
! figure is an Irish contractor of that most
| unusual type which has learned to de-
spise and flout at the customs of the
| mother country. This unnatural Irishman,
after refusing his men half holiday on
the 18th Of March, is, before the end OF
the day, bewitched into revoking his edict,
! and going himself on a mad St Patrick s
| Day carousal, which had a good effect on
! both his temper and his character.
The Bewitched Fiddle which gives its
name to the book, is one Of those ro-
mances. half folklore. half tradition,
which have grown up among an magma
| tive, mirth- loving and quick witted peo-
Pile THE Wisdom of Dark PATRICK is
pure folklore and bubbling over with fun
while Dark Pathrick hims 5lf is by no
| means bad piece of charaete--draw wing
| Another fairy story is THE Three \ aster
! Tradesmen,' and BILLY Lappln's eareh
| for Fortune" has to do with chat most
fascinating, whimsical, and provoking of
| Old World COLLINS, the Leprechaun. 1t is
fit companion for William AllinE names
| elfish folk-rhyme on the same subject.
Among the stories which deal with nor
NAL Irish life "Pathricks Proxy is per-
haps the best, with its sly satireon Iu
man nature and its unexpected conclusion.
''Condy Sheeran's Courtin' is another ex-
cellent bit of work. Altogether, this book
fairly sustains the reputation won by
Through the Turf-Smoke," one of the
most artistic of last years dialect story
books Not the least attractive bit of
writing in it is the very brief preface,
part of which runs as follows:
AT the present moment when, with every mus
Gle strained to swapping, the painting world is
painfully intent on the hunt for happiness
feel it is nopportnne for | vagrant to set up his
merry go-rOund by the WY, and with amazing
impotence invite 1t to halt for an hours fri
volity.
The wonderful progress of science in our age,
/ am informed, has discovered TO our thinking
ones that 1t Is desirable TO close up the well
OF merrims nj in mems hosoms and seal il with
4 double seal. The lovers Of their kind wander
up and down the earth fling lit is all barreni''
and II the voice of m ~ maker hardened in his
SINS be lifted in any ,rner thereof, 10 troop
Instantly thitherward, with a View halloo. and
nun the inte opcr to earth.
However, Il my Donegal. civilization wins but
slowly, and the curse Of optimism clings to our
Is
With the proverbial peryersity Of our Irish ma
ture, the welfsprng of merriment Gnt) which
have dipped sorTy pail. foolshly VIII
say-imagining there may still be thirst in the
outer world gushes with now as FREE and
fresh as it did in darker days He that considers
even the shorn lamb has given the maynard
Celtic soul the power Of rising, up, like Guilt
yer among the pigmies, and shaking to earth the
little cares that would infest it,
New York: The Doubleday e Mcclure
Company. IS cents.)
IAN Eventful Night" by Clara Parker.
is a small volume which. until the very
last pages, fmpresses the reader as being
the result of Welsh rabbit eaten some
time after midnight. The story is sup
posed to be told by the hero. and really
creates :. serious and growing doubt
in the readers mind whether it is not
the record of a nightmare, and will rot
prove to he practical joke when the de-
movement is reached. ArtistiCally, the tale
would have been more successful if this
were the case for the wild farrago of ad-
ventures of which it consists would GER
tainly be impossible in real life New
York: Doubleday G. Mcclure Company.
so cents.)
The Immortal Garland by Anna Robe
son Brown, is a story with a moral, which
is decidedly original and not obtrusive.
The theory on which the plot is construct
ed is daring. but not IN any way OBJ
jectionable. and the character drawing is
good. The author has evidently tried to
portray life as she sees it. with accuracy
and faarlessness, and she has succeeded
The nlvel is workmanlike and interesting
but has not the elements which will give
1t a very wide popularity. ('ew York:
d. Appleton & Co. $lO0.)
In "Th. Valley of the Great Shadow"
bv Annie Z. Holdsworth Mrs Lee Ham
ilton), the author has tried the somewhat
perilous experiment of writing a tale in
the vein of Ships that Pass IN the Night"
The remarkable and unexpected success OF
Miss Harraden's work is not likely to be
repeated by anybody, because there is lit
tie chance that novel whose scene is laid
in a hospital will prove generally attrac-
tive, and IL II mas once, through novelty.
struck the popular taste, the chances are
infinitesimal thai the incident will be re-
peated.
Were IL not Tor this inevitably suggested
comparison the story in question would
make more decided impression. for il is
well written and the loca. color is vivid.
The scene is the MittenthaI an Alpine
Valley where there is a health resort for
consumptiyes The nrfu 10 . German doc
tor and the heroine an English girl, one
OF the patients There is no plot to speak
of, and tn only connecting link between
The various characters seems to be
small girl who precipiiates. through her
artless and frankly personal chatter. sew
eral highly romantic situations Despite
the continued mention of Illness and death
the atmosphere Of the book somehow
ptrily nc CHI md fhsr &c in,