Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1903-01-14
"COME WITH ME
 INTO BABYLON''
Interesting SerIes of Magnificent Word Pictures Concerning the Lives
 of the Babylonians,
Mir. Wards Picturesque Romance Ranks as One of the Literary
 Successes of the Year.

Though Josiah M. Wards strong and picturesque romance, "COmt
 With Me Into Babylon, has been out
 scarcely three months, it is ranked as
 one of the literary successes of tho
 year. It has not jumped into fame,
 but the steadily increasing demand
 for it evinces a widening circle of ad
 mirers of book that is destined tC
 gain admission to every library.
 Those discriminating critics who al
 the start hailed it as work far above the ordinary novel, have been rein forced in their opinion by later re.
 viewers who class the book among the foremost of recent publications. This approbation comes from every part of the country, principally, as yet. iu newspapers, but the magazines must soon take notice of this new story tel Ter and his story. i''7
 The ground work of the story is sim pie. An Aramean prince comes to
 Babylon to repair his broken fortunes. The seige on Nineveh is at its height and he sees an opportunity in the end of the BabylOnian king for fresh warriors. His adventures begin be- fore he has baited his horse.
 A young woman chosen for the ser vice of the god Bel escapes into the street and a timely rescue by the Aramean makes him the object of pur- suit and vengeance by the Babylonian priesthood. The first agent employed by the high priest to recapture the girl is fugitive Ionian soldier, who has jsut stolen from the templea bril- liant amulet that for centuries had adorned the breast of a golden statue of the god.
 The Aramean over-throws the Ionian and takes the amulet, which. in the struggle, had fallen to the ground. The flight of the Aramean and the girl with a friend they met on the same night, and the pursuit by two different sets of priests, one seeking the girl, the other the amulet, forms the basis of the action.
 In the development of the plot ad- vantage is taken of the massive archi- lecture of the Babylonians, the cir of the capture of Nineveh as they. have come down through the Greek sources, the full range of cum eiform research, and seemingly clear comprehension of the social conditions of Western Asia at this momentous period. It is romance of adventure, intrigue and counterplot, of love and war and battles and escapes, of mys- tery and daring deeds and the thrall of superstition. History there is. of course, but it is not obtruded. Both scholar and "novel reader" can enjoy the book, and in its perusal the boy of 10 can extract as much pleasure from its thrilling situations and hair breadth escapes as the learned archae- Ologist who discovers within its pages in some light disguise. the historical revelations the theories concerning ancient dwellers upon the Mesopota- milan plains. ''That shadowy world of buried empires,'' says the Outlook, fG Goffarc opporf1pi+iac fo tho roD,anoay. of which MT. Ward has availed him self with considerable skill"
 Others saw more than considerable skill'' in the workmanship of "Come With Me Into Babylon. The Phila- 1elphia North American says: Mr. Chicago Inter Ocean says it is "a simply told story and that "the of the time is reflected i'm The Omaha Bee says his style is entertaining, couched in elegant English The Denver Re publican says the author is "a master of the story teller's art'' and that the books combined qualities of vigor, color, instruction and entertainment raise it far above the average novel of he day" The San Francisco Post avs that ''the author is a master of he English language" and "has writ -en book filled with an interesting series of magnificent word pictures of he lives of the Babylonians :n the story, it adds, is "nerve quickening md fascinating ''The events follow ast and close" says the Chicago land may be depended Ipon to interest almost any reader yho likes action "A romance full 'f color and interest," says the Al )any Argus.