The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-29
REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.
BY PAUL PRY.

rythmical title Is suggestive of the mar vellous contents found within. The make | up of the book is exceptional also in the tastefulness of the binding and the ex- cellence and superiority of the drawings both colored and black and white.
 The reader is carried through fourteen surprises' in the development of the story of the Beautiful Valley of Mo- and it's magical king" and his marvel | lous friends.
 The author candidly says In the preface that the book is written for children, | and 'I have no shame in acknowledging | that l. who wrote it, am also a child for since I can remember my eyes have al- ways grown big at tales of the marvel lous. and my heart is stll accustomed 1 to go pit-a-pat when 1 read of impossi- ble adventures
 | This youthful sympathy and interest on the part of the author no doubt ac- l counts for the spirit of genuineness which characterlzes the text which Is as deli ciously whimsical and fantastical as any text ever written Yet not so incredible | but that its wondrous tales of the Wise ! Donkey, who visited the school house l and devoured all the algebras and geo. l graphies: or the unhappy experiences of l Fruit Cake Island drew smiles and chuckles of enjoyment from little grown-up' who recently perused its con | tents.
 "The Magical Monarch of Mo- is fan | ciful and full of odd concets that are sure to catch the vagrant fancy of the | little ones and hold them spellbound; i; while at the same time 1t may be depend | ed upon also for a healthful and agree able amount of diversion for the adult reader who oftentimes finds books of this class very wearisome to read aloud. MT. Baum is also the author of 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" and "The Enchanted Island of Few" The illus trations are from the pen of Frank Yer beck
 "rhe Red Triangle" by Arthur Morri- son. L. c. Page &s Co., Boston. The records prove in almost every in- stance where the statistics of circulating libraries have been taken that works of fiction form over three-fourths of the books taken out for reading. And no doubt 'The Red Triangle" by Arthur Morrison, would swell the list in the pop ular records It is the sort of story that would appeal to a large class of fiction readers though the entire absence of the love element lessens very materially it's human interest
 It is a detective story and a very clever
 
 the picturesque incident of the red tri- angle" The plot is well conceived and the sequence of events which unfold nat urally, as must be the case in detective stories that are worth while, hold the attention of the reader In absorbing inter- est Some idea may be gained of the di- | rectness and pithiness of the diction from the following paragraph:
 With no delay Hewitt transferred him self to the next door offices. There the l housekeeper, who inhabited a uniform and glass box opposite the foot Of the i first flight of stairs. directed Hewitt with the remark that the gentleman was | very impatient and very much upset | Third floor, sir; second door on the right name Denson on the door. There's no | lift"
 | The story deals with a varied assort- ment of robberies and mysterious mur- ders and numerous implications of re- mote personages which altogether keep the alert MT. Martin Hewitt pretty busy. ] There are no premature climaxes in the ] development of the story ana conse- quently the interest in the events is well sustained and the story is altogether a | slkillful and interesting one.