The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-19
GLIMPSE AT LATEST BOOKS.

..'''.'--.-'-. N.Y.
, OF Azalea" The effect produced is pure
w and simply nnelodra n,atic with an Old
flavor.
Tho heroine is Japanese. Of course,
Ono.o Watanna being an ardent advocate
OF tho charms OF Japanese wonanhood
a. young American minister falls In love
with and inarries this heroine. a short
period Of happy married life Is followed
| by the mssionarys recall to America.
Then trouble begins II being brought
about by a former sultor Of tho mis-
slonary's wife, who intercepts the hus-
bands letters. .5
Tho latter's return Il just In time to
rescue l,is wife from the grasp Of an ur1-
scrupulcus enemy and restore her to
happiness and love.
The book Is written with mitch Sub
tlcty OF imagination, which contrasts
oddly With n vein Of sharp practical in
/! sight Into the weakness and the follcH
OF human nature and brings to mind the
completely and nany-sldedness Of East
crn personality.
a CHICAGO PRINCESS. BY Robert
| Barr. BOG PIP sl.5l Frederick A..
| Stokes and Company.
| Any story which contains an incident
80 cxtberant rs an account of how q
beautiful young American girl slapped the
| face OF the Emperor Of Corea Is not ike
! y to be lacking In points OF interest,
and "a Chicago Princess" which holds
out this striking promise OF originality
Of idea, does not belle It Gertie Hem-
ster was the young lady who had the
honor of biting royalty, and this unusual
breach of court etiquette came less as
| a surprise from her than from almost any
| girl of our literary acquaintance. Gertie
was tho spoiled darling Of that other
wise hard headed and hyperbolicallyl
wealthy American parent and beef king,
Sllas X. Hen,ster. Though Gertie had
been to the most expensive finishing
schools that papa Hemster could hear Of.
sho had never learned the secret Of per-
| feet .reposex OF manner, as We understand
the meaning OF tho phrase. Honco when
| she found her fathers secretary, young
Rupert Trcmorne (''cousn to Lord Tree
lmorne, of England, as Silas *. Hem
ster was at pains to explain). banging out
popular melodies on her piano, she did not
! hesitate to call him names: and In the
spirited moments that followed! 40 far
! forgot herself as TO pull a gun and take
| a couple of chances at that .unlucky young
| gentleman Fortunately. Gertie's aim
was Indifferent, and she only smashed
the mirror, and Lord Trenlorne's cousin,
consequently, lived to marry the paid COM
! panion. -IIilda Stretton who was less beau-
| tlful. but more restful than her young
mistress. Gertie. when you did not cross
her, could be as sweet and charming as
anybody else; she catches an incidental
| husband Of her own in the last few pages.
/ and no doubt they lived more or less hap
| PLY ever after. 85 35 u
The gutter-born. pork-king type Of
American gentleman, Haunting his steam
! yachts and his billions IN the an.
Client Places OF civilization, appears to bo
the only sort of man that English writer's
! believe that we grow over here at least,
he Is the only kind they seem to think
worth writing about Maybe they seize on
| him as being a sort OF compoHite and con-
crete expression Of the American idea.
and maybe he Is We don't know. At
Sany rate. Silas x. Hemster has gotten to
| be a sort Of stock figure in English novels
about American people, and Mr.. Bars
4 Sllas is much the same old boy as the
I other Silases, Hirams and Josahs, with
whom We have lately come in contact.
/ However, he.is at least Valuable as fur
nishing the necessary funds for carry
ing out, the lively adventures here set
forth. These adventures are not the most
! probable and likely we have ever read
| about, but Mr.. Barr's account OF tllenl
has at any rate the merit Of being enter
tanning and amusing.
| .1st55 -. -
EARAl1NGToN. 4 BY Clarence s. Darrow.
81 PIP. a. G.. McClurg 8 Co., Chicago.
MIR. Burrows recolections of his boy
hood in d little Pennsylvania town are
/ told with just the air Of delLcacy and
whimsical imagination requisite to sustain
! them, and the reader whose own boy
hood is not so remote as TO be beyond
the reach OF memory, win find them
charming. Mr.. Darrow's boyhood was
not. lie tells us, ut all disslnlar from
| that, Of a great many other men who will
be interested in reading Ills book. and on
that account he feels that itmght rea-t
sonably be asked why.he felt called upon
4 to tell us about his For" he says in:
his Introductory -chnpter, ut Is only fair.
| to let the read er know at the beginning,
/ so that he need not waste his time, that
nothing ever happened to me-that Isl
nothing has happened yet, and all my
life 4 have been trying hard to keep
things from happening" Now, therefore.
lie concludes, while he has no story to tell
which people need bother about reading.
lie has mono the less written EARNING
TOM because he has always had II yearn-
| ing to write n book, iFnnd is now deter
mined to do it, whether any one ever
lbuys a. COPY or not.
| Almost any real story is worth the tell-
ing, II the teller las 1t In him to interpret
and set forth for US tho truo meaning
OF IT. and the possession Of this ability.
is all the excuse that a story-teler needs.
The writing Of prose idyls. such as this.
is not, we should say, for everybody; tlioy
requre of the writer. In a high degree,
imagination, affection. humor. Insight, en-
presslon-gifts Of the head and OF the.
heart, For ordinary purposes tho test
| OF them, as of every other form Of writ
ling Is the pleasure we get from the read
ing OF them. and Mr.. barrow has GER
talnly made this idyl of his own boyhood
pleasant reading. His chapters on tho
!, sl,ndry little things that became ndeli-
hly impressed upon his boyish observa-
tlon will touch an answering chord in
many n heart. 10 mention only one OF
these, llo early noticed the existence OF
soma very marked characteristics IN
which tho girls of his boys town. diff
fored from tho lads Generally, they had
little pocket looking-glasses; but even II
they had not, any Of the girls would help
tho others to comb and arrange their
| hair. But no boy would eyer think OF