The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-10-22

wilderness Was King" he was pract1-
cally unknown but that delightful ro-
nance Of the early history of the
northern Illinois country at once ma de
him popular. Now his second romance
Lady of the North" and the same pub
fishers who introduced the author TO
the world. A. c. McClurg & Co. OF
Chicago. are sponsors for this new
book
My Lady of the North.'' says Chi
cago reviewer, is a stirring, rafting
story of love and excitement IN sne
days of the civil war. Though the
hero is a southern scout, the book is
by no means partisan. and soldiers OF
all kinds and countries should appre-
ciate the authors high conception of
the soldier spirit" Men actively en-
gagged on both sides of the great
confict meet and are friendly in the
pages of this unusual story. One of
the NEST exciting incidents is that OF a
brave battle In which WearerS OF oIue
and gray stand side by side to save
four women from the hands Of gueril-
las. who are attempting their capture
The fact that two of the most daunt-
less fighters are presently engaged in
causeless duel over the heroine mere
ly emphasizes the gallantry OF their
conduct.
is not strilxingly new. The hero. Capt
Wayne of the --th Virginia cavalry, Is
compelled by fortunes Of war and the
exfgencies of his military duty to take
It'll Brennan, q young widow-to whom
he promptly loses his heart. Until the
close of the last chapter he believes
her the wife OF Major Frank Brennan.
who is really her brother-in-Iaw and
sutton. So much for the recognized
novelistic conventions
Mrs. Brennan is reclaimed from
Wayne's charge by Brennan after a
series of exciting incidents. Wayne is
taken before General Sheridan, and,
after refusing to give certain particu-
lars demanded. is condemned to De
his appearance at the ball clad in bor-
rowed union garments, his amazed
meeting with his alluring former prls-
oner. her bold plan for assisting him
TO safety, and his subsequent expert
ences make exciting reading. Now
and again. thereafter. he meets the
lady of his dreams, and finds her even
first startled night encounter. she is
kindly sympathetic, grateful, anxious
to help him. perple king because of her
supposed relation to Major Brennan;
who most heartily hates his distressed
southern rival Always, however. cap
tain Waynes sense of honor holds aim
mentally aloof from her, and only by
aid Of the simple. obvious, yet not al
successful novelist is the happiness OF
the two devoted lovers brought about
Even so this does not happen until, the
war over, Captain Wayne, penniless
and disheartened. is fighting a harder
battle with despair. The secondary love
motive of the book. the love or Lieu
tenant Cation and sweet, girlish, mis-
chievous Celia Minor. is also brought
to g happy conclusion, and the storm
cloud rolls away IN sunshine and
smiles.
In such condensed form the story
may bear q semblance Of triteness. but
no such suggestion is marked by the
reader. Freshness, vivid narrative
thrilling incidents keep the interest
keyed to keenest enjoyment. There Is
no cessation Of action, no time or po-
portunity for desire to lay aside the
tale. The battle descriptions are nota-
bly, well done and moving. the pen pic
and altogether My Lady of the
North" is fine story of the kind that
win popularity"
1.-TWO In a Zoo" is the title Of the
latest and a most attractive children's
book Just published by the Bobbs-Mer-
rill company of Indianapolis. The au-
thors are Curtis Durham and Oliver
Between the Mental World of ami
mails in a geological park and the Mas
ter World of men stands little limping
boy named Toots. The iron on his leg
makes him kindred to the mental people,
who have to wear irons too, and this
sympathy enables him to interpret their
sayings to his rich little girl friend, the
Princess"
Each chapter centers in some incident
of Importance in the animals lives and
memories as they impart it to the eager
ear of Toots-the conspiracy to give the
jungle roar in the Zoo, arranged by
Pwit-Pwit the Sparrow. news-gatherer
and gossip in chief; the humiliation of
the monkey who claimed relationship
and equality with men; the giant ele-
plants encounter with a red hot stove,
and so on. There is a rich humor ev-
erywheTe-not the smart wit that is so
often dished up to children and which
they can never digest, but their own
playful and imaginative humor, with
Its counterpart in occasional pathos.
To this comedy effect the ininitable
illustrations of Mr.. Herford contribute
much He is working here in his best
vein and IT would be difficult to figure
out Just how much of the fun is due to
his delicious pencil and how much to
Mr.. Dunham's delightful pen.
Robert Bridges in Golfers Weekly
takes a unique view of poets past and
present and Robert Browning in par
dcular. He says:
OF Browning above all poets, with
the possible exception of Byron, it is
necessary to take the life and the work
in piece, to connect the inspiration
with the incident. Browning's poems
were his viaticum. The vivacity of his
hopefulness. which led him, for ex-
ample, to run off with his wife to
Italy, to the salvation of her life, and
later to face London society when she
was dead is the burden of his best work
from "Prospice'' TO the epiIogue. His
conversation, some one said in eff
feet, was like his poems, only clearer.
You need the man to know the poems
or at least you do not grow fully to
love the poems till you find the man
in them. And more than this, the
incidents often ere necessary to the
Interpretation. Shelley's elevation
Wordsworth's serenity, Tennyson's art
produced things whose permanence is
independent of the triviality of their
occasions "Adonais" and "In Memo
RAM" in their different degrees, do
not miss meaning and beauty though
we forget Keats and HaIlam: and
Wordsworth light that never was
on sea or land" needs no acquaintance
with RAa nI1f,s faictllr.a IL