New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-05-24

Miniin & Co.
LETTERS OF AN ACTRESS. 12mo PIP Vi go
Frederick \. Stokes & Co.
THE CHILD MIND. BY Ralph Harold Bretherton-
12nno, PIP. 229. John Lane.
TALES OF THE SPINNER. BY Jerome me-. D9 TISt
Done into English by T. o. Guen WITH Illus us
r. H. Russell
Rhyme by Ella NJ. Boult. With IuStrations, by
Beatrice Stevens. Svo, PIP. 146. R H. russell
In describing himself on his title page as an
able seaman, Mr.. Albert SOnnichsen offers u.s.
we suppose, kind of guarantee OF the accuracy
of his work 1t is scarcely needed This is one
more book of the sort to which we are becom-
ing more and more accustomed, narrative OF
experience in which the reader is expected to
forego the pleasure of a story, in the accepted
sense of the term for the sake of sharing IN the
humors and picturesqueness of an adventurous
form of existence. 1t is a book to aIfluse anu
in a way to instruct, its pages being f!ied 10
Overlooking with information about life at sea.
The author opens with account OF his EN-
barkation before the mast in the British ship
Pitcairn at San Francisco in 1896, and then pro-
ceeds to tell US all about the manner in which
he and his comrades worked. what they ate, ana
what they suffered A good deal of what he
has to tell us is familiar enough, but every voy-
age has its own Incidents and Mr.. Sonnichsen.
in the long run, proves entertaining. He has a
marked preference for the purely human side
of his subject. Some of the sights of the sea are
pictured in this book, but chiefly the author con-
Germs himself with his sailor types and with the
rough episodes that break the mOnOtOny of their
lives 1t is a varied and animated narrative, set
forth with spirit and simplicity, a welcome addi-
ton to the long list of books about the sea.
In ''The Log of a Cowboy a phase of hard
work ashore is infinitely celebrated. Mr. Adams
has a story to relate the story of journey from
Texas to Montana, in the company of a great
herd of cattle, to be delivered on the Blackfoot
Indian Reservation, in the northwest corner of
that State. This author, like Mr.. SOnnichsen, is
straightforward in style, his object being to
hold his reader simply by giving him clear pict-
ureS of interesting scenes and occurrences. He
shows the herd in all its vicissitudes, happy
and moving along at a steady gait, or suffering
from thirst and fatigue, wild in a stampede.
The inevitable dangers of the road receive due
attention, there being a capital account at one
point of the efforts made by some thieves to
despoil the cowboys of part of the property
der their care, and. incidentally, great number
of anecdotes are introduced the yarns that the
men tell to another around the campfire.
The book is decidedly the better because of the
restraint shown by the author. He knows
that he has good material with which to deal,
and therefore refrains from dressing it up"
after the manner of the writer nervously anX-
ous to make an effect. 1t is an honest, whole
piece of work, well worth reading for the
contribution it makes to our knowledge of the
West and through the good quality Of many Of
the anecdotes aforesaid it is distinctly amusing.
The anonymous author of Letters of an
Actress" has also a great deal of information
TO pass on to her readers information about the
joys and trials of an English performer on tour
in the provinces. This is the sort of thing with
which the book is filled:
Our Mr.. Conrad has one odious quality in an
actor. He pretends not to about applause
and affects not to be jealous, and all the time
he's working quietly and secretly for his own
hand. found him out in the scene | have with
him. He gave me the centre of the stage and
nobody noticed me. because all the interest of
the scene is with him. If he'd taken the centre
the audience Would't have had to be searching
for him all the time. Subtle, wasn't it?
In spite of her discontinue the actress of
these letters promptly falls in love with the
odious Conrad, but the author has no intention
Vided with other matrimonial opportunities be-
fore the book comes to an end-in other words
We to reckon with a romance as wei as
with a series of sdelights the stage. The
work is fairly readable, but it is too long, and
It wants the vivacity needed to make publca-
ton of the kind complete success
We leave the stage for the nursery when we
leave Letters of an Actress for The Child
Mind Here again ha aim Of tho o,,+bor FaIIe