The Washington times., 1901-11-17
Recent Fiction.


pcriences with ghosts.
There would be a certain romantic in
tcrest in these spectral interviews If they
were IN the least suggestive Of an exist
ence different from our own. But appar-
entity, in the ghost-world OF which the
author takes cognizance, there are banks,
and bills and labor unions. and all other
things which are existent here. 1t seems
as if he were determined to prove that
when Hamlet made that remark about
there being more things in heaven OF
earth. Horatio, than are dreamt of in oul
philosophy, he did not know what he was
talking about Possibly he is descended
from some of those wise and knowing
theologians who have essayed TO measure
heaven with a foot rule, and his ances-
tral leanings come out in this shape. But
If there are strikes and lockouts ana
such like nuisances, in the next world
most of us would rather not know about
It in advance
Not all the stories, however. are about
ghosts Some of them deal with human
beings who are equally impossible and
uninteresting. The book is a good one TO
keen away from. (New York: Harper Il
Bros si.15J
'.str,tnpems and spoils," by William
Allen White. is collection ot poii'iCai ca
rtori,s clever. as the work of this brill
liant writer IS sure TO be, ana OF especlal
irterast as unofficial chronicles of po!it-
ical history Of course, it IS Ect 20 De
sl,nposcd that the stories are all true
tnough some OF BE characters were PROD
abIv taken from 81 life: bu; the episodes
are typical, and Il iutlre years, when the
raIitical parties Of todsy and the pt cullar
conditions which have produced thcm
shall have passed away, tictiCT as realis-
tic ana as good as this will have Nalue
of its own.
rbere are only five Of the stories, and
the strengest is perhaps The Mercy OF
Death which IS a tragedy Of the black
est and most squaid kind. The scene Is
laid in part in Washington. and suggests
that. if Rr White ever felt called upon
to do it, he might write very good
Washington novel. 1t is the story of a
coarse-crained. brutal. simple. powerful,
vicious man. strong with a rude strength
In his own line. but weak as water moral
ly. Washington and Congress did the
usual things for him. and he had to take
the usual consequences. This is why the
title of the story is The Mercy of
Death The tale grows more and more
dramatic toward the end, and the char
acter-drawing is perfect.
a Triumph's Evidence seems to be
the evidence of the Ganning power
mans fancee can exert when she under
taxes to NEEDLE with his ideals, and is
Intentionally true to life. One feels
sorry for the man. but one does not see
tust wha: there is that he can do about
it He shauid nave known his oTu mind
THE Man on Horseback Is story OF
CITY of the Middle West SO is "A Most
Lamentable Comedy" which has 10 do
with the Populist movement. The book
is interesting from cover to cover. (New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons. *l0o@
by Bread Alone" is a new story by /.
X. Friedman, whose first book, Poor
People" attracted some attention by its
realism ana thoughtful consideration of
the tenement house problem. The hero
Of the present novel is a college gradu-
ate, the son Of a wealthy Chicago ner-
chant, who voluntarily enters a car fac
tory and labors therein at day wages. in
order to get in touch with the people and
become their helper and leader The plot
includes some OF the incidents Of the riot
at Pullman, ard one Of the characters is
a woman by the name Of Sophia Cold
stein, whom many readers will regard as
a portrait Of Emma Goldman.
The most striking feature Of the book
Is its descriptions Of scenes in the rolling
mills and next to this. its pictures Of
life in the Polish settlements in and about
The author evidently knows
what he is talking about. Here is an ex-
Of sirs-fr
being the experience Of his hero in the
rail mill:
at was Blair's first duty to work the
levers that opened and shut the sid
Ing doors OF the gas pits, to allow the
ingress and egress Of the massive
steel ingots. The Job was hot to tor
ture and wearing to enervatlOn, even
hotter and more wearing when the
doors opened ana the crimson below
ing famCs rolled roofward, OF when
the wind was wrong and the fire
surged in ones face
His next promotion placed him on
one OF the elevated platforms to take
charge Of the levers that control the
movement Of the leviathan rolls. a
long black screen shielded his face
from tire storm Of heat and tie
squirming shower of big sparks tossed
Up by the Ing SIS as they were being
crushed into shape. Standing there
on his point Of vantage, tCgSlHg man
IlAy al lt4s itAEfS 70 Keep IN. lD4LS
open. with ear ever attune. to The
signals from the blowing whistles.
with eye ever ready to see that the
rails were in condition to pass on to
the next series Of rolls-eye, ear,
every muscle and tendon alert-it
seemed to Blair that his was the guild
Ing and controlling spirit Of all the
mechanism whiriing within that far
stretching hall.
His Imagination was as busy as
his two hands. and during TIE long
day, ard through the more strenuous
nights. the marvellous, p0nderous ma
chincry took on every shape that his
excited fancy could conJure up. AT
times II was his to do with as he
liked; he held IT all In the hollow Of
his hand. II became huge iron
horse, that was guided by his rein, dt-
rectcd by his commanding voice;
again, and more often, IL was un-
wieldy, indomitable, insuperable,
threatening TO revolt and annihilate
him and every human being that was
arTayed there with him. More often
still, he envisaged IT as his enemy
and the people's-the embodiment Of
the century's struggle between man on
the one side and machinery on the
other And SO 1t was never mere
mechanism 20 Blair, but something
vital. breathing. almost human.
above Blair, through the small,
round windows. ranged between the
corrugated roof and the black walls,
the sunlight streamed down in long,
Straight lines on the rolls, and made
CHA faroscuro for the elongated carmine
rails; undCr him the vast building
quakeG and throbbcd, quivering from
the pulsebeat Of the monster hywheels
that nankcd its side; from the weight
OF the mountain Of cranes and massy
rolls; from the crash and thunder Of
the rails, and the buzz OF whirlins
saws.
. : Ahead of him, as far as he could
see, a magenta efiiorescence puffed up
between the finishing rolls. as the long
rails hissed their way through the mar
row pressing grooves. and flushed the