Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-19

lowed by the various efforts of Rome. sue
ceeded by the assaults of the crusaders
minating in the English and Russian move
ments In the seventeens and eighteens.
which resulted in the acquisition by them,
respectively, of Siberia and India. One
great obstacle to the actual conquest OF
Asia by Europe leading to permanent rule
is the failure Of the European to under
stand the Asiatic. No part of this book
is of more vivid interest than those chap
tiers which deal with the eastern charac-
ter. The author appears to have devoted
himself chiefly to the study of the Hindus
Between them and all Europeans wall
stands, which is never crossed however
close together the two races may come In
point of physical contact. Mr.. Townsend
regards the British grasp on India with
questioning eye. The English machine is
wofully insignificant compared with the
great mass of the alien people it governs.
The whole book is filed with suggestive
matter bearing more or less directly upon
questions of immediate world interest. 1t
sparkles with wit and carries proof of the
authors sincerity and certainty of convic-
ton.
A PREACHERS STORY OF HIS WORK.
BY w. $. Rainsford With portrait. New York:
The outlook Company.
When Rev. DR.. Rainsford accepted che
call to st. Georges parish, New York,
twenty-one years ago, he found it literally
In dying condition. It's old parishioners
were rapidly moving uptown Into more
fashionable sections and their places were
being taken by families who cared nothing
for church affairs. He faced gigantic
task butsbravely named certain conditions
and on their acceptance, went ahead with
characteristic vigor to revive the church.
That he has done so in remarkable degree
Is known already. This book tells in some
detail how this was done. and the story Is
vtyidly interesting. 1t Is not theological
realise but rather a human document of
great value. 1t covers the whole of DR..
| Rainsford's life. tells of his boyhood in
| Ireland, his English schooling. his early
| trip to America, his first preaching in Eng
| land. his return trip one summer to the
United States to take the place of tired
preacher, and his series of mission enter
prises which eliminated in settlement iri
Toronto. From there he was called.to New
! York and thus the greater part of his
| clesiastical career has been spent in the
upbulidlng of the great establishment which
/ is believed to be one of the chief factors
| In the solving of the intricate social prob
| lens of the metropolis. There is a straight
| forward frankness about the story, which.
| the publishers note. was told by DR.. Rains
| ford orally in his study. Its reproduction,
| first serally in the Outlook and now in
| book form. has involved very few changes
/ from its original utterance, and the reader
| can easily conceive the picture of the large
| figure of the preacher as he tells his hear
erS of his struggles and ideals his failures
and successes. 1t throws a new light en-
| the mainsprings of this undertaking. which
| means today so much to thousands of peo-
| pie in downtown New York. Lay readers
| who take no special interest in church mat
tiers will find themselves closely held by
| the chapters which describe DR.. Rainsfords
crusades against poverty and suffering and
sin. 1t is a book to inspire hope for the
ultimate betterment of the condition of the
lowly in great cities.
THE TURN OF THE CURRENT; a Study
of the New Consciousness. By Mary Rosalie
Alling Wood. author of Souls &c. Washing
ton: NJ r. A. Wood
There is much to set the reader thinking
deeply on big subjects in this story. 1t is a
suggestive study of the borderIand between
sanity and insanity between rationalism
and eccentricity. There is much in the
text about certain laws of which men have
gained only glimmering conceptions gov
erning the consciousness and the evolution
OF the ideal spirit. Sometimes the terms
employed are such as not to appeal to the
average reader, and it is evident that Mrs.
Wood has written rather for the purpose
of arousing an intelligent interest in a
broad theme than merely to tell a story.
Her characters are well drawn and offer
some interesting contrasts. Some of them
are Irrational people with impractical no.
lions. Others are hard-headed, substantial
| folks with keen understanding of the every
| day requirements of life. Leon Gustaberg,
| about whom the story revolves, is a
| dreamer who awakes in time to assume his
real life work with his mind cleared of
| clouds. The Turn of the Current is call
! culated to create a keen investigatory in
terest In the cults which are based upon
| unusual ideas of the relationship between
| the body and the spirit.
ANTHRACITE COAL COMMUNITIES;
study OF the Demography, the Social Educa-
donal and Moral Life of the Anthracite Re-
| gions. By Peter Roberts, Ph. D. author of can
thracite Coal Industry" New York The Mac
milan Company. Washington: Brentano's
This is a great subject, broadly treated
DR.. Roberts has undertaken systematically
to examine into the life of the hard coal
miners. he has sought to CLEAN an under
standing OF the elements which are at work
TOT the upiift or the degradation of these
| coal communities where so many great
disturbances affecting the whole people
take place. His method is that of the
scientific student. He divides the popula-
ton into classes, by races and types He
finds differing conditions in the case of each
class. The general verdict rendered is not
pleasing. These communities are in need
OF material betterment. physically and spir
itualiy. Much must be done by the en-
ployers to relieve the workers of the heavy
burden of poverty and the harassing fear
OF actual suffering. The competition for a
living Is so keen that the workers for the
moral retirement or these groups of Sordid
people have to fight against a handicap
There Is need of workers for the educa-
tional and spiritual advancement of the
miners and their families. The schools and
churches already established are not reach
ing the uttermost depths where the need is
greatest. Yet heroic work is being done by
self-sacrifcing men and women. The great
trouble Is the field is so large and the pow
erty SO abject in many places that dis
couragement inevitably awaits the labdfers
In this field. DR.. Roberts presents an
abundance Of facts and figures to show
precisely how the anthracite miners live
He leaves little to the imagination, contrib
uting an immensely valuable document to
the literature of sociological reform.
DEBORAH GRAY. By Frances c. Ingraham
Illustrated. New York and Washington: The
Neale Publishing Company.
There are unmistakable signs in this
rather long novel Of striking power of
Characterization. The author, a Washing
tonian, has rendered portrait of Deborah
Gray in terms which serve to bring that de-
lightful old lady distinctly before the
reader. She is surrounded by many friends
and an interesting family: The atmos-
phere of the book is admirable. 1t discloses