Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-03


pense OF his hearers. no Is refreshing
change from the usual type Of evil genius.
His device to win the assistance of Blondel
the syndio Is adroit. and fully reveals the
Rod. love theme dominates the tale,
bringing into high relief the hero and he
roine and arousins the readers keenest
mad mother. who IS eventually accused OF
practicing wttchcraft. is strongly depicted
THE Long Night is most excellent read
ing, high.class contribution to the re-
sources of the fiction lovers.
THE SPINNER FAMILY. BY Alice Joan ratter-
A. e. MeSsurg Co.
Nature study would be fascinating to
adults as we'll az children IL all the text
books were as we'll written and as compre-
hensive as this one The spider is such a
common occupant Of the house or garden
That 1t Is taken very much for granted,
with little thought for the processes of it's
life. Yet the spider Is a mystery. A weaver
ana spinner. 1t Is also architect and strate-
G1st. 1t has sinister reputation. 1t is
associated. with thoughts Of poison and
there are probably not five persons Of every
hundred who will not shrink instinctively
and sharply from spiders touch for fear
OF being bitten. Consequently the little
worker Is seldom studied at close range
and thus there are abundant facts in this
book which will be new to almost all read
ers In the first place. the spiders bite is
not at all dangerous, save, of course, that
or the giant, hairy spider OF the southern
chimes, the tarantula and it's cousins. The
spider, furthermore, Is timid creature,
save the attida, or jumping spider which
Will show fight whenever a person ap-
proaches too close. But even the attida is
not poisonous to human beings, its "sting-
ers being capable only of harmful effect
emo {v,ra
Spinner Family" describes the chief of
the many varieties of spiders, tells how
they build their homes, catch their prey
rear their young, pass the winter and re-
s1st their foes. Detailed illustrations add
to the clearness and interest of the book
PLEAsURE-BOOK OF GRINDELwALD. By
Danle! + Rhodes. Illustrated. New York: The
Macmillan Company. Washington: Brentanos.
The enthusiasm of the confirmed Alpinist
Is something easily to be understood by
lover of rugged nature. In this book is to
be found the certain evidence of an acute
devotion to not only the Alps in general,
but particular locality in the Alpine re-
gion. The author has found at Grindelwald
all that his soul yearns for in the way of
comfort, inspiring views, sports and asso-
Citations. He is not content with having
personally directed many friends thither.
He wants all the world to know about
Grindelwald. and so he generously tells
about the vicinity of the Wetterhorn and
the Jungfrau and its neighboring noun
tains and the valleys of the Overland.
His text is pleasantly personal, the book
giving the impression of familiar talk.
The author offers advice as the net result
of much experience, simply stating the fact
and letting the reader accept or reject
Incidents to point moral or adorn a tale
are numerous and the illustrations are
beautiful as all illustrations of books about
the Alps should be. Chapters on skating
and skiing close the volume for the benefit
of those who go to the vicinity of Grindel-
wald for the winter.
New York: Mcclure, Phillips & Co. Washing
ton: Woodward Lothrop.
Mr.. George AIDES name stands synonymous
at present with slang diction, and he pro-
claims his purpose in putting forth this COL
lection of sketches, that it shall serve as an
antidote to the vernacular which for some
time has formed so conspicuous a feature
OF the output of printed words These
sketches have been rewritten from daily
contributions to the Chicago Herald, now
the Record-Herald, from Mr. AIDES pen
during his reportorial career. They deal
with everyday life in Chicago They are
1felike representations of the men and svo-
men who are to be met with on the streets
In the cars, In the houses of the rich poor
and middle classes There is no mistaking
the note or genuineness. Some of them are
commonplaces. but they emphasize the fact
that out of commonplace is woven the web
or life. Some of them are mere charac ter
sketches. others embody little stories with
dramatic possibilities. One of the strongest
IS Is Inc Best OF the Farleys." Satires and
sermons. love scenes and miniature trag-
edles. they are all true to the law of va
slety IN the composition of a metropolis.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE Dp,,,. d.
Brande- Matthews. Lift. D. (Yale) professor
S %a dramatic Wa lierature in Columbia University.
ton! William Baantyne & Sons.
Prof. Matthews notes that there is no
history of dramatic literature which is not
unduly distended with critical biographies
OF distinguished playwrights, and further
mere that none has taken into account the
three-fold influence exerted on the form Of
the drama of every epoch by the demands
or the actors, the size, shape and circum-
stances of the theaters of the time and the
changing prejudices Of contemporary audi
ences. Consequently in the compilation
Into book form of the ten lectures which
ho has previously delivered before the
Royal Institution of Great Britain, the
Brooklyn Institute. Columbia University
and the National Institute of Arts and Let
ters he has had in mind these facts and
the desirability of presenting a review OF
the development of the drama based upon
a consideration of the technical matters Of
craftsmanship. His desire has been to
bring out the essential unity of the history
of the drama and to make plain the per-
manence Of the principles underlying the
art of the stage. He deals first with the
art of the dramatist, then considers Greek
tragedy, Greek and Roman comedy, the
medieval drama. the drama in Spain,
England and France and In the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries and the drama
of the future. In estimating the result of
present tendencies, in this final chapter.
he calls attention to the fact that the stage
is today competing with the novel for
place In literature, as a direct exponent of
life. Much depends as to the future upon
the drift of the popular mind toward Or
away from the ideal Of life. Prof. Mat
thews believes that poetry will have an
increasing place in dramatic art, but more
and more definitely an intrinsic rather than
an extrinsc place, becoming more an es-
sential part of the construction and ex-
preston than a rhetorical establishment.
Furthermore, the high stage of mechanical
development, permitting the presentation Of
a play more distinctly as a picture, and
through the better methods Of illumination
putting premium on the conveyance Of an
idea by gesture and expression rather than
speech, will render stagecraft more and
more distinctly dramatic while 1T becomes
less rhetorical, less oratorical, less lyric.