The Washington times., 1901-09-01

phthic, but which u rega rded by the nuns
as miracle; and the character of the
TWO nuns most concerned is deftly and
| beautifully brought our A charming bit
OF chiid-study is THE Surrender of Sis
| ter Philomene," and Saint Ernesta and
the Imp the last of the series is per-
| haps the best of an. 1t h full of human
| nature. nun nature. and a certain demure
| and quaint humor which Is charming.
| me same characters sreappear in all of
| the stories. One or two concern mainly
| the girls of the convent school, in their
| school life and their careers in the outer
world. While thess authors view is not
| that of the convent, it is reverent and
sympathetic, and nowhere is there word
or phrase which could offend or injure
the feelings of anyone 1t would be a
good book for some anti-Catholics to
read, for, although 1t is rot likely to con-
vert anyone to Catholicism, it is certain
ly book which no one can read without
gaining better understanding of the life
therein portrayed. (New York: Harper
& Bros. sl-25)
Told by Two" by Marie St Felix. is
a romance of Bermuda: that is, the scene
of the story is laid in that Interesting
place. The dramatis personae are a
the woman is married and the man is
not. The chapters are alternately the
work of man and woman, and in them
is recorded the progress of a very in
teresting and somewhat perilous love
affair The denouement is decidedly un-
expected, and the interest of the reader
is held as with chains throughout. The
character drawing is clever and original,
and the whole atmosphere realistic with
out being teciously Photographic in its
truthfulness. The author knows human
nature and knows how to make it in
teresting; moreover, she can produce a
story which is spicy without being
risque Not the least interesting of the
personages introduced, and, in fact, quite
the most important of the minor char
acters. is Prince Mikowitz, the heroine's
pet Blenheim spaniel. Altogether, this
Is that rara avis, piece of light reading
entirely suited to summer, but possible
to be read at a time which is not the
silly season. Chicago: NJ. A DononIc
& Coz
by the Waters of Babylon" by Mrs
Reginald De koven, is a novel dealing
with the Court of Artaxerxes during the
youth of that monarch. Themistocles and
one or two other historic characters be-
sides the King are introduced, and the
hero and heroine are Jewish residents of
Babylon. The book evinces considerable
historical research and skill in the con-
struction of the plot. 1t is rich with de-
seriptive passages, and gives vivid pic
lures of many ancient customs and peo-
pies.
But why is 1t that the writer of a his
torical novel dealing with ancient his
tory seems. as a rule. to have no sense of
humor whatever? Is 1t to be supposed
that mirth is modern? If any of the
characters laugh it is either a laugh of
scorn or of childish pleasure; nothing
funny ever happens in such a book. That
this phenomenon Is due rather to the
lack of sense OF humor in the author
than to desire to be realistic the evil
dence seems to<fndicate. In this book,
for example, we find repeated reference
to priests in "fiounced robes" with ''elab-
orately curled hair" and the picture, to
a modern reader. is anything but priestly
1t ought to have been possible to describe
those robes without such distressingly
modern phraseology. Maybe the robes
were cut bias and trimmed with stitched
folds, but one would not like to say So
Again, In the very middle of an exciting
crisis the heroine replied to the impas-
stoned demands of the King, II love thee
not!' which phrase. with the dash VIII ere
1t is. reminds one somehow of a current
bit of slang. and slang is out of place in
a scene of that kind Chicago: Herbert
S. Stone &c Coz
Gods Smiles" is book, ostensibly a
story, by Maggie Olive Jordan. The gen.
eral theory Of it is that of spiritualism,
and there is nothing new in either theme
or treatment. (New York: F. Tennyson