The Washington times., 1901-10-20


60 don't don't get enough out of the book
TO believe or disbelieve. / dunno what
she urlVing at half the time 1t
panis Tsaas Lke an editorial IN the Evening
Morning Journal ali congIomerated
Win mllkshake machine. But the
nhiai. atS-and. cents part of the show
IN nniel vi l get out of the magazine and
uhe panlphlet Is plain sailing There's
no begob nonsense about that And
~ quite In line with the genius of the
tlLne. .h When Jesus Christ was crucified
lots for. When the-prompter of Chris
tlan Science croaks they'll be millions
! to divide"
II there Is anything in current litera.
ture IN the way of a summary of Mrs
Eddy more satisfying than this. it would
De hard to say what. New York: Freder.
lex a. Stokes Company
A japanese Nightingale" by Onoto
Watanna, is book unique in Anglo
saxon fiction. 1t is the work of a Japa-
hese author, illustrated by japanese art
ist, but written in English; and the theme
Is the love story of a young American in
Japan and a japanese half-caste girl
named Yuli tSnowflake) Give Holland S
'Mousme' is the only thing in fiction as
yet which approaches it, and even Mr..
| Hollands work has not the delicate. elu-
siVe charm of this. In reading it one feels
the mysterious fascination of the land of
/ cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums,
and gets bewitching glimpses into the un-
known world of native Japan. That the
japanese character possesses much that
is alluring and beautiful, Lafcadio Hearn
and other foreigners who know the land
thoroughly have assured us. But the gulf
between the East and the West is so wide
and deep that never the twain shall
meet except in some such half-satisfac-
tory way as this
a characteristic bit OF description is
this in the first chapter, which deals with
peculiarly Japanese fete, and dancer
who figures therein:
Some pleasure-Ioving japanese
were giving a banquet in honor of the
fun moon. and the moon, just above
their heads, clothed III glorious raj
ment. and sitting on a sky-throne Of
luminous silver, was attending she
banquet in person, surroundcs by my
riad twinkling stars, who played at
being her courtiers Each of the guests
had his own little mat, table. and
waitress. They sat in a seml-circle,
and drank the saki hot in tiny cups
that went thirty or more to the pint;
or the kyoto beer that had been or
dered for the foreigners, who were
the chief guests this evening. This is
the toast the Japanese made to the
moon: May she with us drink cup
OF Immortality and then each wished
the one nearest him ten thousand
years Of joy.
Now the moon path widened on the
bay, and the moon itself expanded and
grew more luminous as though In
proud sympathy and understanding
of the thousand banquets held in her
honor tonight. All the music and
noise, and clatter, and revel had grad
ually ceased, and for time eloquent
silence was everywhere. Huge glow
ing firefiies. fitting back and forth
like tiny twinkling stars, seemed to
be the only things stirring.
Some one snuffed the candles in
the lanterns, and threw a large mat
in the centre of the garden, and busted
il extravagantly with rice -four Then
shaft of light, that might have been
the combination of q thousand moon
beams. was flashed on the mat from
an opening in the upper part of the
house, and out of the shadows sprang
on to the mat a wild, vivid little fig
ure, clad In scintillating robes that re-
them. and with her coming, the air
was filled with the weird, wholly fas-
cinating music of the koto and sam
isen.
she pirouetted around on the tips
Of the toes of one little foot, clapped
her hands, and courtesied to the four
corners of the earth. Her dance was
one of the body rather than the feet,
as back and forth she swerved
There was patter, patter. patter.
Her garments seemed endowed with
life, and took on sorrowing appear
ance; the lights changed to accom-
pany her; the music sobbed and quiv-
cred. 1t had begun to rain. She was
rainingi 1t seemed almost as II the
pitter-patter of her feet was the fall
ing Of tiny rain-drops; the sadness of
her garments had increased and now
they seemed to be weeping. at first
gradually. then faster and still faster
until finally she was a storm-a dark,
blowing, lightning storm. From above
the light shot down in quick. sharp
flashes, the drums clashed madly the
kOto wept on, and the samisen
shrieked Vindictively.
Suddenly the storm quietcd down
and ceased. blue light flung itself
against the now lightly swaying fig
ure. then the seven colors of the spec
trum flashed on her at once She
spread her garments wide; they fiut-
tered about her in a large half circle
and, underneath the rainbow of the
gown, a girls face, of exquisite beau
ty, smiled and drooped. Then the ex-
tinction of highland she was gone"
The book is fascinating from first to
asst. and there is a somewhat startling
md artistically contrived development in
he plot at the denouement. New York:
Harper & Bros. s2.OO)