Evening star., 1903-10-10

characters figuring in them so that they
have the relationship of the parts of a
| single tale. Dr.. Boes. Jordan Knapp and
| little Brown the artist are the participants
n these stirring experiences. desperate and
dangerous ventures and narrow escapes
! from death by violence at the hands of men
or by drowning in the Boles begins
the stories. all but of which told by
| one of the participants: then Knapp enters
the scene and tells tale of bit OF semi
piracy conducted by him and Boles. after
which Brown makes his bow and narrateS
| his experience rs guest on board the trad
ing schooner in which Boles and Knapp
made daring play for a hemp cargo in the
southern Philippines. Next Knapp takes
I2 the storytelling and gives vivid de-
sc:iption of how he and his partner and
their guest frCs rated a filibustering eXpe-
dition off the coast OF Luzou and made
neat profit. Then Brown ard Knapp unite
in telling of the recovery of buried loot from
one of the Philippine islets. Brown spins
Il yarn about the wreck of the schooner
and the casting away of the three men on
a little island on which 4 desperate gang of
freebooters had already been wrecked. DIR.
BoeS' love affair now makes its appearance.
and he disappears from the stage with the
woman who has won his heart while Brown
goes back to his easel, at which he Subse-
quertly achieves fame. Next Jordan Knapp
tells of what became of himself after he
had undertaken to row away from the is
land in a whaeboat with the desperadoes
as a crew. He missed death by a hair and
WAS saved to figure in the final tale of all
which is told in the authors own person.
and reveals Knapp heart winner on his
own account. The stories are all vivid and
interesting, and disclose the ingenuity of
men in tight places.
CIEILIO b Efie Douglass Putnam. New York:
Life Publishing Company.
A middle-aged Italian painter tells this
story of Florence, in language which is
in itself a charm apart from the romance
of the tale. 1t is about the love between
Cirillo. a singer and Alma, an American
girl travelling in Italy under the chaperon-
age of wealthy woman. For time all
is bright. the lovers meeting in the studio
of the artist, who has been commissioned
to paint the girls portrait. Then when the
seriousness of the case dawnS upon the
kindly but discreet chaperon. her sudden
death precipitates crisis which seems to
draw a veil of utter sadness across the
sky. Some time passes and the scene
shifts TO New York, where the Florentine
singer. now famous, is to make his debut
in opera. He is 4 striking success, and
soon afterward all ends well. The story
is rather conventional, but it is eXquistely
told and with 4 certain fidelity to the
idiom and spirit of the Italian narrator
which adds indefinabe grace to the
whole. Cirllo, short as it is, must be well
come a diversion from the usual course
of fiction.
LITTLE RIVERS; A Book of Essays in Profitable
ldeness. BY Henry Van Dyke. Illustrated.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Washing
ton: William Ballantyne x Sons.
Eight years ago DR.. Van Dykes Little
Rivers revealed the fact that modern let
ters had been enriched as not even
THE Reveries of a Bachelor had added
to the cotemporary productions of that
period. Now comes a new edition, de-
servedly handsome in illustration and bind
ing, the latter being of a style harmonious
with the dress given a few months ago to
the authors Blue Flower" The pictures,
| by Frank Vincent DuMond, are in semi
tones and admirably interpret the spirit
of the essays. DIR. Van Dykes charm of
expression lies in a subtle commingling of
| the matter of fact with the poetic. If he
| is mystic it is not at the expense of the
understanding of the casual reader. The
deeper-minded may delve beneath the sur
face and seek, and find, meanings beyond
| those which lie close at hand. But this
possibility does not prevent the happy alb
sorption of those surface thoughts, with
their capacity for carrying the mind far
aiield on excursions of its own. In Lit
tie Rivers the horizon is widened until it
touches the confines OF existence and yet,
after ALL these papers are only about GER
tam streams or the authors happy ac-
quaintance Sometimes these repubished
old friends are more welcome than new
cOmerS.
THE BLACK CHANTER: And Other Highland
Stories BY Nimmo Christie. New York The
Macmillan Company.
Grim and 'dour,' these stories stir only
the hearts of those who love fighting and
strong passions and wild scenes They are
we'll told, with a literary touch which
somewhat moderates the tragedy, but
they cannot appeal to the lover of life and
light. The Scotch of generations ago,
clansmen, warriors, martyrs and devoted
followers of a faith. We're not an attractive
people when viewed from the standpoint of
today save as their sturdiness and fidelity
and bravery earn admiration. Into these
short tales of fighting and clannsh tradi-
uons creeps an element which chills rather
than inspires. Good motives are in the
hearts of these men and women, and they
are fine types of their kind. They will
die rather than violate the laws of the
clan. chiefs son leaps to death because
his men Will not slay him, self-confessed
coward that he is. A chief daughter takes
/ her own life in order that her new husband
chosen for her by her father and his, may
not be compelled to live through the years
with her pitifully marred face at his side.
These are examples of the Sacrificial spirit
| which prevails throughout the stories.
THE BAR SINISTER. By Richard Harding Davis
Illustrate by Il. NJ. Ashe New York. Charles
Scrihner's Sons. Washington: William Balan-
tyne Sons.
This short story of dog was one of the
favorites of a season or two ago. and its
revival for book-form publication will
uOuDtItSS ieStpIe II LOT Il tllne TO popular
esteem. The author explains in a preface
I that he has been frequently asked whether
there is any foundation in fact for this
story. The original of the bull-terrier In
the tale. he says, is known as "Edgewood
Cold Steel in the dog world, his father
being Lord Minto," a thoroughbred we'll
known in Canada, and his mother, as in
the story. a black and tan. Mr. Davis has
not seen fit in the republication of his story
to eliminate the doubtful episode at the
conclusion. which many believe to be in
artistic well untrue to dog life
THE PROSE WORKS OF WILLIAM MAKE
PEACE TdACkERAY. Edited by Walter Jer-
rold. Illustrations by Charles Z. Brock New
York. The Macmillan Company.
This new edition of Thackeray promises
to add to the pleasures of lovers of that.
great master of English, even though his
prose works today all accessible in
various forms. A durable binding a good
| print on excellent paper and Illustrations
! which spiritedy stimulate the Imagination
and interest of the reader, these are the
| requirements for a 1irst-class reprint of
| familiar works, and they all to be
| found in this new presentation of Thack-
! cray. The volumes in hand comprise the
| Roundabout Papers in one, and in the
| q s'DcnniS