The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-05-09
CONCERNING BOOKS.

Man Of His Age, By Hamilton Drum
mend. and Men with the Bark On, b.
Frederic Remington.
TIE Rsbsi IL rollioking. registering
account Of my Lord Chsrwsll and HE
exploits; full Of battle, murder and
crime, and Of the time Of Charles III.
Tnat Mr.. watson's work Is clever and
excellent OF its kind goes without saying,
but this 10 bloody tails with much rant
ing and fury and "burning'' Of "vitals'
hleh ends with three deaths. Whether
II is worth while to 60 through so much
Gre and flame and coarse brawiing only
to come to such horribls oonoluaion IL for
the reader 10 say. The most preminsnt
women Of the story are even more dis
gushing and wills than the men and II IL
be history It still docs not count for wis.,
dom or 70 hnement.
| Mr.. Max O'Rell has written . nov oil
and since 1t seems TO be his method to
fla tier A merican womsn u becomes
one Of them to speak siightinsiy Of the
work Of this clsver, keen and brilliant
s,siriss. And yes Woman and Artist
might havs been written BY almost any
body 90 utt rly lacking Is It n ths quail
ties which 20 to the making Of sucoemful
fiction. The plot Is commonplace, the
characters are not skiifuliy sketohed and
are ineffective and weak and really one
does not care when disaster overtakss
Philip Gransham, a. X. A.. and his
adorable Dora, neither are We overcome
to the extent Of weeping tears Of JOY
-h.u A. - Ica. al that~ s~.aaow ard r.uafn
their happiness. IL Is all rather STACEY
aud srtihoisi and strikes one - beinR
o, the same line 90 tbs question asked
Of one man by another. "Can you play
he-vioiinf' and the reply wss. 81 don't
know; 1 never trisd.'' Max O'Rsil has
"tried his hand at novel writing and
distinctly failed.
Mr.. Drummoud's histurioal novel A
Man Of His Age is o stirring romance OF
the Hnguenot wars and aneng the promi-
nent characters figuring in Its pages are
Catherine DE Msdioi AMI Jeanne and
henry Of Navarro. The tale 10 bright.
intsrssting and wells ustainsd with .
substantial and satisfactory plot and the
style IL picturesque and quaint while the
volume IL . handsome one with excsllsnt
illustrations. There are gentle bits Of
wisdom oisvsrly put and there 10 much
trsuohaut PHILOSOPHY lightly touched
upon. The book hes really not . little Of
the same delicate and dsliciors flavor
that one rnds 60 snthrallinG In Mia Jshn-
stone enchanting story To Have and
10 Hold and among the historical novels
Of the day 1t should be able to hold Its
own easily.
Mr.. Reminaton's books are sui gensris
and while he makes no attsmpt at fine
writing and leaves his sketches with the
bark ou,' there 10 always fresh and
alluring charm In all that he does, and
We know that he is sure 10 have reached
the heart Of things.
An uncommoniy Interesting feature in
his latest volume Men With the Bark
On) 10 the closing sxetoh entitled Wish
the Ell Oh Corps and treating OF the San
t,aso campaign. He statss that he ap-
rroachss shis subjsot with awe since the
sblsst correspondents In the country
we're all there, and they wore out their
lead pencils most industriousy."
az know l cannot add 20 the faots,"
writes Mr.. bennington, "but ! remem-
Der my own emotions. which were num-
erous. interesting, and, on the whole,
not pleafant. am as yet unable to decide
VIII, Their sles ping In mud-puddie. the
confinement Of troop-ship, or being shot
at 10 the worst. They are all irritating.
and when done on an empty stomach.
vi tn the object Of improving ones mind.
they are extrsvagantly expensive. How
ever, they satisfied life OF longing to
see men do the greatest thing which men
are called on to do"
Mr.. Remington gives us some graphic
pep-portrait, Of several OF the leading
generals. and oan vouch for that Of
General Chaffee being to the lie. He
ys: "But what satisfying soldiers Law
ton ana ChafTee are Both seasoned, pro-
fessionai military types. Lawton, big
and long, foroeful and with iron determi-
nation. Chafise, who never dismounts
but for little sleep during the darkest
hours Of the night, and whose head mig b {
have been presented to him by one OF
| Williams Norman barons. Such
headi We used to sit around and study
that head. II does not belong to the
period; 1t IL remote, when the race was
young and strong; and 1t has warrior
s'ulptured in every line. 1t may sesu
trivial to you, but l must have man
look bis past That 90 many do not
in this age Is probably because msn are
so complicated; but war 10 primitive
art, and that is tbs one objection l mad
to Won Moltke, with his simple student
face. He might have been anything.
ChafYse Is s3ldier."
Other "bat.ls pieces" arc The Bowsis
OF Battls-Ship, The War Dreams, and
The Honor OF the Troop.
The twelve sketches which the book
contains are bright, breezy, full OF fresh
air and fresh life and the illustration S
are Of the authors hest.
Casseii & Company (Limitsd) Of New
York and London portland: Loring,
Short a. Harmou1 publish q Memoir OF