Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-10

Charles W. Gordon GRAPH Connor")
Courtesy Of. Fleming II. Reven Co.
| upon his graduation in Toronto, goes into
| the far regions for which the "superin-
| tendent' is appealing for help. lie meets
| with opposition and jealousy, and over
| comes both. He faces physical dangers
and passes through them. He is disheart-
| ened by bad news from home, and fights
| on despite. He wins the hearts of the most
| callous through his persistence and his
| sweetness of soul. The author has assem-
| bled his characters with an eye evidently
to psychological rather than dramatic eff
feet, but the net result is perhaps the more
convincing in consequence. somewhat
attenuated love story supplies sentimental
interest, but the readers concern in the
welfare of the ''prospector" does not re-
quire such aid. 1t is a vitality human mar
rative
THE LOG OF THE GRIFFIN: the Story Of a
Cruise from the Alps to the Thames: by Don Don.
and Cottington Taylor. New York: John Lane
The usual fashion with regard to ships
and log books has been to build the ship
first and then provide the captain with
log book, but in this volume this time-hon-
ored custom is reversed. Donald Maxwell
began 1.-The Log of the Griffin before the
ship itself was begun. Mr.. Maxwell Is
well-known artist. For some years he had
in his mind the project of sailing from
England in a small sailing craft and ex-
ploring some of the smaller rivers which
flow into the Rhine in the district of the
Black forest. He depended for this plan
on being lowed by tugs as far as Kehl. But
the difficulty Of getting up into Switzer-
land by the Rhine and the Limmat against
the rapid currents would have made 1t
necessary to transport the boat overland
for the beginning Of this inland voyage. 1t
struck Mr.. Maxwell that it would be far
more sensible to build a boat on the spot.
The fact that in the Toggenburg villages
ship building was not at a high point of
development did not deter him. for the pc
culiar nature of the craft he had in mind
might have found hindrance in any pre-
conceived ideas of shpwrignt orthodoxy.
Some of the requirements of his boat were
that it should be not less than 70 feet In
length, for control in going down the rap
ids; that it should have enormous strength
to withstand the vigorous humping 1t
would get on the rocks of the upper
Rhine; that it should be of light weight;
that it should have sufficient cover to keep
several days provisions and to afford room
in which to live, and that it should be fiat
bottom to avoid unnecessary draft. The
results of these conditions and the inter-
esting experiences that befell the author
on a cruise from the Alps to the Thames
the best pages of his sketch book. Six
teen of the sketches are reproduced in
color. and a large proportion of the
sketches in black and white, over 100 n
number, are reproduced in full page.
ALONG THE NILE WITH GENERAL GRANT. By
Ebert Z rarman LID. formerly f,l United
New York: The Grafton Press.
Judge Farman was appointed consul gen.
eral at Cairo in 1876 by General Grant and
held that post for five years. The year fol-
lowing his appointment he was given an
opportunity to facilitate the ex-President' s
sightseeing in the ancient country when he
visited it on his tour around the world. In
the present volume, long delayed until the
authors leisure has enabled him to pre-
pare it in good form, is told not only the
story of that pilgrimage to the historic
relics and scenes of Egypt, but the full tale
of the venerable land itself, with many
illustrations, giving the volume a decided
value in the eyes of the student or the
traveller. During his five years term as
consul general and his subsequent service
of three years as a member of the mixed
court Judge Farman had many opportun-
ties to study Egypt closely and his book
reflects the results of that research and
thought
THE RUBAIYAT OF A PERSIAN KITTEN. By
Oliver Herford. New York: Charles Scribner s
Sons. Washington: William Ballantyne & Sons
Had Omar the ancient, Omar the tent
maker, anticipated the echoes that his i'm
mortal quatrains would ring through the
ages he might have hesitated about keep
ing a copy. For it is to be doubted If he
could have appreciated the cleverness of
Mr.. Herford's adaptations, to cite the lat
est instance of inspiration drawn from the
original He might have recognized the
pictures. 1t would have reflected upon his
intelligence otherwise, for there is no mis-
taking the downiness and fluff and love-
Illness of Mr.. Herford's kitten in these
pages. But there is no need to await re-
incarnation of Omar to pass upon the al
together welcome nature of this dainty little
book. 1t is here, it is charming and it will
remain.
NEW FORCES IN OLD CHINA; an Unwelcome
but Inevitable Awakening By Arthur Judson
Brown; author Of The New Era ia the Philip
pines" Illustrated. New York: Fleming IT,
Revell Company.
1t is significant of the whole of the new
situation in China that on the cover of this
book should appear, in lieu of the expected
Chinese dragon or pagoda, an outline PIC
ture of a modern locomotive of unmistak-
ably American manufacture. at full speed
There is the type of the new force at work
in old China The author sees at work IN
the ancient empire factors for its regen-
GRAFTON, for bringing 1t eventually into line
with the other nations. That China will
come forward as rapidly as did Japan is
not to be expected. The mass is greater.
1t is less exposed in proportion to the civ
iliz,ng influence that comes from the sea-
touch. But steadily and surely the lines
are being forced inland. physically railroad
lines, in point of ultimate significance nerve
lines connecting the body of China with the
great centers of western thought and ac-
ton In the course of his instructive work
DIR. Brown describes the railroad system up
to date in China. adduces some startling
facts relative to the rapid growth of Amer
| lean trade. outlines and discusses Japan's
plan to arouse, organize and lead> China;