The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-04-19

The Battle Ground. BY Ellen Glasgow
Illustrated by W. Baer and W. Granville !
Smith. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.
Minneapolis: N. Mccarthy. Price, $3.50.
This latest novel by Miss Glasgow is by
far the most finished and effective work she
has yet accomplished 1t is a story of Viz
gina and Virginianis before, during and after
the war The first period relates to Virginia
plantation life, patriarchal in kind; old man.
sions shetering we'll to do families and
perabundant negro servants Into Major
Lightfoot's family comes the hero, Dan Mont
joy, son of his dead daughter, who had run
off with Jack Montioy and had no parental
blessing. The boy grows up in fine form,
goes to college, and comes back to fall i'll
love with Betty Amber, the charming hero
ine Having quarrel with his grandfather,
Dan leaves the house, and before long the
war for the union comes on and Dan, with
the breezy and debonair colonies and ma ors
and youngsters of the SOUTH goes merriy to
the front as if he was going to a jolly fox
hunt, the statesmen Of the Confederacy hav-
ing calculated that: the war would be over
in less than year, and that they would then
be debating terms at Washington. Miss Gas-.
gov describes the disllusioning and shows
herself possessed Of a fine gift of martial
description, her battle. scenes being admra-
bly, done, and the final return home after
Appomattox is most, patheticaly described
The love episode is, unusually original and
beautiful. and there is nothing in recent fc
ton quite as pathetieally effective as the
/ description OF the Gaeeting of poor battle
|aNorn and battle=searred Dan, pale and thin
and sad, withs'Betty Amber, who had loved
him as he had loyedaher devotedly through
the four years OF the cruel war when he
came limping home, afraid to claim her in
his poverty. Betty was a brave and noble
| girl and is a most happy conception of the
| author from the time she appears as a wee
child in a sprigged cthntz calico, bare neck
| and white sun'bonnet shaking her red curls
| from her eyes on the pike near Chericoke.
| until splendid, Gnatured woman, she turns
| when she hears poor Dams voice calling
t. Betty" = 800 -
Windows for. Sermons. A Study Of the
! Art Of .serlnonic Illustration. By Louis Al
bert Banks, D. D., pastor of Grace M E.
| church, New York city. New York: Funk
| & Wagnalls company. Price, $780,
| DIR. Banks is considered to be a very master
Of the art of judcious illustration in SER
| monizing, and lin this volume he introduces
1862 pages of modern illustrations for the use
| of preachers who have travelled lin "a rut of
great dullness and who want to secure the ro-
bust attention. Of their congregations. There
| is no place. says DR.. Banks, where clear
ness and simplicity are more absolutely i'm
perative than in the pulpit. The empty
churches of the country are mostly empty
| because the man in the pulpit has not found
out that sermons which are not interesting
never win, and a large part of these sermons
are uninteresting for the lack of the ilustra-
tive faculty, or, the proper development and
use Of It, on the part of the preacher. = &
! + -. j :.-...;sss :. = - -
| Training the ChurchAOf the Future.
| By tRev.E Francis p. Clark ID, founder
| of the Young Peoples Society of Christian
Endeavor, etc. New York: Funk & Wag-
nails company: Price. Is cents.
This book contains a series of lectures de-
livered by DR. Clark at Oberln and at the
Congregational seminary: of Chicago and else
where, designed to show the value of such
organizations as the Y P. S. C. r. as a means
of Christian training The key note of Dr..
Clark's idea of upbulding the church Of
Christ is Christian nurture with purpose, a
definite objective, upon the integrity Of which
depends the quality Of the church of the fu-
ture. He holds that spiritual life and grace
| may, and should be developed in very young
people, who are always far more accessible to
spiritual impressions and understanding than
in mature life. the Christian nurture of the
young being therefore the supreme pastoral
DUTY. a-..s stf