The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-11-17
P. B. X.
its reading.


wALL-STREET STORIES. BY Edwin
Lefevre. Mcclure, Phillips s. Co., New
York
Money is attractive-generally too at
tractive. To those who are unable to pos
sess the article itself, stories about it and
those who possess il must serve as q
substitute. In "WalI-Street Stories our
author tells how fortunes are made Ind
lost. These are instructive. as well as
entertaining, tales. The stories have all
appeared in magazines, and attracted
some little attention. at the time of their
first appearance. They have lost none 1T
their attractiveness by being collected
in fact, they seem more satisfactory IN
their present FORM Taken as a whole,
they offor the reader an Interesting pic
ture OF the different games played by
the brokers. We are told about The
Woman and Her Bonds The Break in
,Turpentine." THE Man Who Won.' aud
Pixies Peak or Bust" There are. I'M All.
eight stories in the book; there might
well have been more. II. G. II.
MRS. WIGGs, OF THE CABBAGE
PATCH. BY Alice CALDWELL Hogan. The
Century Company, New York.
The scene Of the story. The Cabbage
PaIch,"- is, to use the authors own words,
"a queer neighhorhood, where ramshackle
road track. AS in this bit of description.
so in the entire book, the main purpose
Of the author seems to scatter smiles
upon the faces CT the readers. In this
purpose she is successful. The phrase
ology throughout the book is remarkably
original. There are. however, times wnen
our author clothes in her own words
maxims that have been handed down
from age 20 age. For instance, You
mark my words. it amt never no use
putin UP yer umbrell till it rains is
not remarkable for the originality of its
thought. The book has several advan-
tages over most books of similar char
acter; it is brief and the dialect is gen
orally ineligible. S. II. 6.
THE SEVEN HOUSES. BY Hamilton
Drummond. Frederick A. Stokes Com
pany. New York.
Hamilton Drummoud is a writer Of ro-
nance who, though he has beer before
the public but & short time, has already
gained a high reputation in his vocation.
"A Man of His Time was a very excel
lent romance indeed, with some faults.
OF course. but with high merits. "a
Kings Pawn was yet better and had
certain qualities which suggested to the
critics 4 comparison with The eil2-
Dumas. some of the reviewers limiting at
imitation. We did not agree with this
verdict, for there was in the book Il
freshness and spontaueity which can
never be comprised by an inlitator; we
held "a Kings Pawn as a rafting good
romance, with promise CT yet better
things to come In The Seven Houses,
Mr. Drummond's latest romance, we do
not find the advance for which we looked.
The book Is inferior to both its predeces-
sors. and bears signs of haste in con-
struction, as if written to order" In
socle of his personaSes and incidents.
Mr. Drummond shows a tendency, not
displayed in his former works. to conven-
tional melodrama; but all Is redeemed by
the description of the fight with the
plague in the little village of Saint Agnes
and the portrayal of the stern. harsh.
but brave and devoted. Cordelier. Father
Luke. The scenes in this portion OF the
romance are drawn with Il master hand;
there are few romancers. indeed. of the
present day who could do as good work
as Mr. Drummond has done in this part
of his story. NJ Z.