The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-12-23
BOOKS AND AUTHORS.
BY PAUL PRY.

Peter stuyvesant the last Dutch gov ernor of the New Netherlands, forms conspicuous character in Washington IT, wings humorous work, entitled History of New York by Dietrich Knickerbock- CT. The Dutch colony Is a picturesque portion of American history and lends it. | self readily to romantic treatment. The brawny, sturdy character of the Dutch people. and their brave battle in the new world against such a diversity of prim- tive conditions, form an admirable pie ture upon which to dwell For the lux ury and progress of the modern capital l Is apt to make one forget the brave strug- gles of the pioneers of but two centuries | ago. The varying phases of the history of Manhattan has been often used of late by different American writers Of TO- nance; but, in no work have we a more faithful, vigorous, honest picture than in 'Rarnaby Lee" by John Bennett, re- gently published. The opening scenes of the story occur in the spring of the year 1864 and recount the adventures of a number of pioneers In quaint old craft called the Ragged Staff" In strong contrast to the bluff, swaggering p!raticai captain and crew, Is the young English cabin-boy, who has been in servitude four years against his will. The crew of the Ragged Staff" has been attracted by the lucrative fur trading of the North riv- CT, and their unlicensed act is desperate ly disputed by the clustering Dutch. The author possesses a really marvellous tal- ent for word painting and gives to the reader a constant succession of brilliant, vivid mental pictures One of the best, | Is the description of the little city of New Amsterdam.
 "Upon a narrow point of land. five miles beyond the ships prov, stood lit- tie shining city. Its frosty gables glis- tened like bright crystals in the sunlight. | and above them a pale-blue cloud of smoke drifted slowly across the sky.
 The peaked roofs from which the frost had thawed were red and green and blue; | in the yellow walls below them the many l ting windows flashed. So very small and So orystzi-cleas. the little town lay clus- tering there. t seemed to be a toy town. To the left a sSide green river came spreading to meet the sea to the right. an uncertainty of dancing waters rippled Behind the town arose a wooded hill; | windmill. whose slowly revolving sails shimmsred and fiuttered in the sun like the trembling wings of a dragon-fy. A stir ran over the flute ship, a quick im- petous thrill. The crew drew closer to- gether. and the quarrel upon the poop deck ceased; for this was the stronghold of the Dutch., the city of New Amster- dam.
 It4Ia Espo1fcb no bip- p-1,oty tS bu Lee, and around his adventurous and mis- adventures contres the main interest of | the story. The development of the plot in- | cludes the attack upon New Amsterdam by the English, while Peter Stuyvesant was governor, and the description of the | slowly approaching strong English fleet, and the desperate and importunate ef- | forts of the beseiged Dutch Is possibly | the best work in the book. The incl dents are told with genuine dramatic spir- | 1t and they form exceedingly interesting reading. The character work. too, is ex- | ceptionally good giving many faithful | portrayals of those rugged days. The f. | nal denouement Is most satisfactory, al- 1 though the Dutch are forced to surrender | after their strenuous efforts and the Eng | fish take possession. There Is but one | captious criticism to make upon the book as a story. and that is the lack of any defined love story. The colorless attach ment between Barnaby and Dorothy fur | nished the author really charming possi- bilities, which he fails utterly to im- | prove. This would have given the story warm human interest that every piece cf fiction, no matter how clever, needs as a pivotal point. The book is splendldly il- lustrated by Clyde O. DeLand
 "The Shadow of the Czar," by John R. Carling, is a piece of fiction which has oaptivated America as well as Great Brit 1 ain. The mystery as to the author Is not much clearer to his English publish CTS than to Messrs Little & Brown, to whom they write that all they know is that for twenty-five years he has been a school-master in Southeast London It is line story Of romantic incidents which