The Washington times., 1901-11-17

sill farther ahead. there spread to
the roof a fuslllsde Of sparks, broad
ening gracefully, like peacock $ tail,
from the contact of the resisting rails
with the whirling blades of the steel
saws
Then the mill fell into its semi
darkness again. and the scarlet rails,
gliding from roll to roll. like pythons,
ioomed up luridly, as they moved on.
longer and more attenuatcd with
every pass, their scaiy bodies writh-
ing with rage. kissing maGly, hlling
the building with mccarthy noise, Ius-
ing muTd,rous coils, lashing and curl
inE powerful tails i'm an Intellectual
rage-uot always iueGectual however.
for sometimes they managed to elude
the tOruring grooves through which
they ran and strike death blows to
the men watching and guiding their
serpentne course.
The reader viii probably have a vivid
idea of the Ucrls and difficulties of max
ing iron rails after reading the eXpe-
riencc of Blair Carhart; and he will also
have a clear idea CT some Of the difficult
ties of the labor problem. CNew York
Mcclure & Co. S1.50)
"Rosalynde's Lovers" by Maurice
Thompson. is a love story pure and sim
pie of the type with which the public is
scene is laid in Indiana, near that of
Alice Of Old Vincennes," but the story
is in no way as ambitious as the latter
book. indianapolis: The Bowen-Merrill
Company
Behold the Mani is the title of a
story of Oberammergau, by Claiming
Pollock, well known in Washington as
dramatic critic. The theme is somewhat
daring, but is treated in a way that need
not provoke anybody's just criticism. The
time is just before the famous Passion
Play" and the characters are all Bava-
rian peasants.
The story is told very briefly, and there
is no padding anywhere in the book Its
local color is not so elaborate as to en-
cumber the narrative, nor is the charac-
ter drawing OF the explanatory kind
which spoils the dramatic interest of
some good plots. In short. it is develop
cd in simple. natural, and unaffected
way, with jus. enough detail and de-
scription to stimulate the Imagination.
The strongest scene is perhaps that in
which the man who is TO play the Christ
struggles with the impulse to do what
he knows 10 be his duty. and the strong
or influence Of the dramatic temperament
which has all along led him TO deceive
himself and others and to palter with his
own ideals. The most striking quality in
the story, taking ii all in all. is what
may be called the rightness of the
point of view Every character is con
sIstent, without being a dead artificial
type They al act as human beings Of
their natures would act in the given cir
cumstances, and this is not a small ac-
Movement for their creator. washington;
The Neale Company)
The March of the White Guard" is
Canadian story by Gilbert Parker 1t is
not long enough to be called novel. and
is little too long for short story; but,
like all OF this authors work, it is
thoughtful, poetic, and full of charm.
There is nothing especially striking in
the plot or the characters the beauty of
the story lies in the way in which both
are worked out The situation is this:
A sub-factor Of the Hudson Bay Com
pany finds that his old enemy. the man
VINO stole his invention and married his
sweetheart, is lost In the snow some
where in the vicinity of Great Slave Lake.
lie heads the relief expedition. and helps
The man TO redeem himself These are
the bare bones Of the pot, and to under
stand how strong it is one must read the
story. with its vivid pictures OF the frozen
north and its subtle, yet vigorous. char
acterization. There have been few better
descriptions of the snowy Canadian will
aerness than this:
They never know how Ioftily sar-
donlc Nature can be who have not
seen indt land where the mercury
IEeGZfS IN the TfgheG NJ T.
but no warmth, in the smile OF the
sun. Net Sturt. in the heart of Aus
traIia, with the mercury bursting the
IIeserea I,.seItia tubes, with the fngernans
MtaklHB ike brittle glass with the
INK driving instantly on the pen. with
tne hair falling off and fading. would.
II ne could. have exchanged his lot for
tLat OF the White Guard They are
IN frozen enuleasness that stretches
away TO a world where never voice of
man or CLIP of wing or tread Of animal
is heard II is the threshold to the
a5 eliuiSeoVSFed n@C'.t country, TO that untouch-
ed North whose fields of white are
only turrowed by the giant forces Of
the elementsi on whose frikid hearth
stone no hre IS ever lit; place where
the electric phantOms of a nightless
land pass ana reI ass, and are never
sun; where the magic needle points
not toward the north, but darzIy
downward. DOWN. ard!-where the sun
never stretches warm hands to him
VINO dares confr'n Mt the terrors of
eternal snow
There is poetic insight and charm of
iiction In this bit of description such as
ieems to be the especial birthright of the
-anadian writer; and Mr. Parker has his
ull share Of it, (New York: r. f. Fenno
Z Co. 5Oc)
Where the Sugar Maple Crows" by
Adeline NJ. Teskey, is little book Of
stories Of Canadian village. Many Of
he characters are Scotch, and the wori,
IS whole reminds one Of Beside the
8onnie Brier Bush" and other productions
of what have been called the kail-yard
school Of fiction. Miss Teskey's charac-
-ers, however, are not all Scotch. nor is
he atmosphere that of Scotland; and the
of Old World dialect and
New World conditions aud local color pro-
iuces an oddly attractive effect. The tone
If the book might be called religious, for
several Of the people Of whom 1t treats
belong to the lovabie types of orthodox
humanity; but there are 20 sermons in it.
md it is sweet and wholesome to the core.
New York: r. +. Fenno & Coz