The times., 1901-06-09

| most of them are of a type new in fic-
tion. (New York: Mcclure, Phillips &
Coz
.ss
Days Like These" is n novel of New
| York life by T. w Townsend, who, if he
does nothing better than this, is likely
to go through life with his reputation as
| the "Chimmie Fadden'' man tackled to
him. Thus far his novel-writing has only
served TO prove that an apprenticeship Of
| newspaper writing does not necessarily
| fit man to be a novelist.
For some reason or other novels of New
| York life are generally crude. bare, and
| lacking in richness or delcacy. The only
man thus far who has done anything free
from these blemishes is II. c. Bunner,
| whose ''Midge" indicates that he might
have been a novelist If he had not made
Puck and the only woman is Con
| stance Cary Harrison, who, in The An
glomaniacs' and Sweet Bells Out of
| Tune caught the characteristic spirit of
| Gotham society without losing all her
| sense of proportion Mr.. Townsend does
not rival either of them.
! In this novel with the non-committal
name he has introduced folk of all con-
| ditions much as they are jumbled to-
! gether in a Broadway car, and the reader
knows almost as much about them when
| he has finished the book as he would
| after ride in one of those cosmopolitan
| conveyances. The book reads little as
| if it were aimed at that heaven of the
| modern novelist. dramatization; there are
a low comedy Irishwoman and a pair of
! low comedy gamins, and a heroine who is,
| by the Inheritance of a fortune, removed
| from the position of dress filter in
clothing shop and placed in what is sup
| posed to be society. There are unlimited
| opportunities for this heroine to wear
gowns, and there is a scene in the cafe
| of the Wadorf-Astoria which would give
| something of an opportunity to an actor
! of the matinee girl type. But If the
| novelist had any such notion in his head.
somebody ought to tell him that one cf
the cardinal principles of novel writing
| is to write a novel and not a thinly dis
guised play. (New York: Harper 81 Bros
sL5OJ
"A Flower of the Tropics is a little
book by Warner 2. Sutton, containing
several stories of Mexico and the border
1t is an unpretentious little volume, but
so full OF the fire and color of Spanish
North America that II is well worth any
ones reading. The tales sound as if the
author had written them for the love of
artistic and literary values of his ma
terial. Various phases of Mexican life
are pictured, and there is no monotony
in the book. One of the most striking
| stories is The Presage of Birth which
deals with the theme of Spansh-American
passion, cunning, and revenge. THE
Norther' is a vivid description of the
phenomenon known by that name. An
Episode Of State" is a Washington story
cleverly written. "Keeley-Cure Pahson'
is a semi-humorC. y tale of Arizona and
the particular dialect of that region has
seldom been better handled. Mr.. Sutton
will do we'll to keep on writing. since he
can do this unusual kind of work. (Sew
York: The Abbey Press.)
when the Gates Lift Up Their Heads"
is story of Southern life by Payne Frs
kline. The scene is laid in a small town in
North Carolina. and the characters are
mixed lot, white and black. Northern
and Southern. types being represented.
The plot of the story is strong in con-
ception, but not well worked out Its de-
nouement is tremendous, but the reader
is kept waiting too long, and the middle
of the story is almost without impress
siYe incident Some of the characters
less; and it is an unfortunate fact that
the hero and the heroine are among the
people without much individuality. The
negro characters are among the best in
the book, ard there are two or three
types among them not before found in
fiction. The sympathies of the author
are evidently with the North, but there
is also a disposition to give equal weight
to Southern opinions and feeling. The
most powerful scene in the book is that
between the old nanny and "OId Miss"
and if the chapters leading up to this had
been equally well done the book would
deserve to be considered great. But its
workmanship IS somehow uneven and
crude in places, and here and there
it is even amateurish. The redeeming
feature of it is tSc authors evident ear
nestness and conscientious wish to pre-
sent things just as they are; Dut 10 make
= good novel considerably more than this
is needed. With more thought of the ar
tistic side Of the book, the principles of
matchmaking. and the secrets of con-
structing a plot, an author with as keen
a perception Of literary material as this
ought to be able to do some good work.
(Boston: Little, Brown & Co. sI.5O)
"a Pair of Patient Lovers" by William
Dean Howells, is the first of a series of
volumes Of short stories, to be published by
the Harpers in especially attractive bind
ing, with portrait of the author in colors.
Whether this is an auspicious beginning
of the series or not, the public will have
to decide. In dealing with Mr.. Howells
one is always reminded of Mr.. Lincoln's
aphorism that If people like that sort of
thing that is just the sort of thing they
will like" Anybody who wants a book
thoroughly characteristic of Howells VIII
do well to buy this one, and those who
do not would better keep away, for they
would need all the patience of the pair
of patient lovers to get through with it.
In this book we are again brought in
contact with the interminable Marches.
who, not content with standing sponsor
for all the dulIest and least interesting
romance in their neighborhood, now feel
themselves obliged to get mixed up with
the crime in it. If Mr.. HoWells ever feels
it incumbent upon him to describe the
death of the Marches, a long-suffering
public viii feel relieved, but at present
they are only middle-aged people. and
are likely to last for twenty or thirty
years more.
One of the stories is characterized by a
flight of imagination which proves that
when Mr.. Howells does let himself go he |
surIasses anything in the world outside,
as his Shaker hero and heroine might
say. In this he takes a commonplace |
young man on Il vacation and causes him
to chase q piano box addressed to a girl
with pretty name. over the best part of