Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-20

| than Mr. Hichens' delineation OF a steadily
demoralized character. the inevitable result
of progressive Indulgence in the drug.
| THE STORY OF THE Observation-Disclosures IN
proessof Of pa ass ss,., p rn
University College. London author of 'Rni-
dhism; Its History and Literature. etc New
| York: G.. p. Putnam's Sons. Washington:
Woodward Lotbrcp-
I! DR.. Rhys-Davids has of late years been
effectively experimenting the great work
begun by Max Muller in unraveling the
| mystery of India Muller found a key to
the religious thought of India by his trans
lations of the Vedas and his comparative
studies In Sanscrit. DIR. Rhys-Davids has
| carried the work further and. largely upon
the ground laid bare by Muller's philo-
| logical researches, he has placed before the
western world great mass of facts re-
garding the Indion customs, ethics his
tory and social life His present volume
| is a comprehensive summary Of the known
| facts regarding midas past. This is the
| first undertaking of the kind. Many schol-
ars have written about India on the basis
OF incomplete studies into the lore of the
| ancient days But now for the first time
| the unscientific reader is enabled to look
back to the most remote records and to
trace forward the development Of the COM
| munity life Of that very old aggregation
of peoples. In his preface the author
voices his regret that there is no more seri-
| Gus consideration paid to this research. He
| holds that there are abundant materials
| for the work of a complete Illumination Of
| midas past, but that the men with both
| the capacity and the opportunity to work
| them are lacking.
THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS; and Other
Tales. By Richard Garnett. New York: John
Lane.
Mr.. Garnett gives in this volume of ex-
~41Iv ola.
! evidence Of a wide reading among the
myths and traditions Of all sorts and con-
ditions of men. He presents Roman and
Greek gods. Indian adopts. Chinese philos-
| ophers, and other sage and mystic person
ages with an air of intimacy which places
! them at once upon friendly and effective
| footing with the reader. Occasionally
| there are lapses into vernacular obviously
| designed to take the edge off the fOrmality
which an author might possibly feel in
| treating of such exalted beings. And Mr..
| Garrett does not hesitate to carry his
| freedom of style even to the extent of
putting a Latin quotation into the mouth
great antiquity. But this liberty of speech
| is refreshing. In the sketch. The Tails
man." is given an amusing account of
| how student. disappointed by Time in
| his choice of a talisman of traditional
value from among the collection in that
ancient guardians custody pluckS the fore
lock from the venerable head and thereby
arrests the passage of the minutes, hours
and days. The sun remains at rest in the
heavens. With few clever strokes the
author indicates the extent of the calam-
| ity, which lasts until Times forelock has
grown out again Such are the fantasies
of the volume, which tempts the reader to
study among the folk tales and the myths
| of the black past.
THE SONG OF THE CARDINAL; A Love Story.
| By Gene Stratton-Porter. Illustrated by camera
| studies from life by the author. indianapolis:
The Bobbs- Merrill Company.
The cardinal or red bird loves and mates.
| That is the brief Of the story. which is de-
| lightfully extended in this book to eight
| score pages. By the time the cardinal fam
| lily has been organized It's members have
! been individualized and the reader has
| learned to feel that nature out of doors is,
after all, a great world of personalities.
whose names are not in the directory. This
particular gentleman cardinal grows in the
story from an ugly little birding with an
enormous nav to beautiful adult bird
with fiery disposition matching his plum
age an intrepid spirit which makes him a
| leader among birds. an ardent wooer,
tender mate and a bountiful father. In
cidentally two old people. farmer. folks OF
| the neighborhood of the nest. take a keen
| interest in the romance and their dialogue
| is well worth reading. The Illustrations
are exceptionally handsome and the book
work Is altogether artistic.
THE PERIL AND THE PRESERVATION OF
tures for the y es iada ae Nv Iacan f R. S
thor of 1.-The Battle With the Sum-" etc. Phil
adelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co.
| Mr. Riis' work in the New York slums
has become nationally known and appre-
ciated. More, perhaps, than any other per-
| son he deserves credit for the great awak-
ening of the public to the social. moral and
| munity at large in the slum. The lectures
which are printed in this volume. delivered
| before the Philadelphia Divinity School I'M
| der the Bull endowment, deal with the
! moral side of the problem. that which at
| fects the status of the home Mr.. RiiS be-
| lieves that the home Is the foundation or
social safety, and to the extent that 1t is
| destroyed by the corrupting influences of
! vice and crime, drunkenness and immoral
! ity. pauperism and child labor the state is
| weakened even though the ruined homes
| are in the lowest stratum of social life.
! Light and air, Mr.. Riis believes, are posi-
| tive cures as far as they go. More room for
| the family, greater privacy for its men,
| bers, greater freedom of movement, more
strict observance of the decencies of life
these are Indispensable factors in the rescue
of the home. The Intelligent attention or
the community is necessary to secure the
writing and to insure the enforcement OF
sanitary laws which put penalty upon the
criminal exploitation of the poor by land
lords. The home can be rescued because it
must be. Mr. Riis Is optimist who be-
lieves that whatever is necessary for the
good of society is possible.
THE ANGLO-SAXON CENTURY: and the Unifica-
ton OF the English Speaking People. BY John
r. Dos Passos Of the New York Bar. New
York: G. p. Putnam's Sons. Washington:
Woodward & Lothrop.
Mr.. Dos Passos advocates In this book the
union of all the English-speaking peoples
The only real obstacle to a complete and
sympathetic entente between them he
conceives, may arise from the situation or
Canada, and thus a condition precedent
looking fallou hut bo x,,ora . ,,+,,ro1 s,aor