Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-18

Maurice Maeterlinck.
| ously published in magazines and reviews
| stand as fine examples of the rare quality
| of the mans mind Analytical. yet broad
| ly synthetical, he sees into. through and all
around a subject. In this collection there
| is almost scientific precision of express
| sion in the essay on The Temple of
Chance" wherein Maeterlnck discusses the
| forces which pulse through Monte Carlos
| gaming rooms. The great love of nature
| which shown so conclusively in The
| Life of the Bee appears in new form
in the initial essay, Our Friend. the Dog"
| a delightful bit of reasoning and praise for
| the most domesticated of all the animals
| The point of view of the growing puppy
| is presented with vivid clearness. to dis
| close the remarkable relationship between
man and dog. I'm an Automobile" Is
| striking mixture of mechanism and word
| painting. A quality of rare exhilaration
comes into play to suggest the indescrib
| able sensation of the automobilist in con-
/ troll of a high-powered machine
NANCY STAIR; a Novel. BY Elinor Mccartney
Lane. author of Mills of God New York: d.
Appleton Co.
Mrs. Lane had adopted an interesting
| character as the heroine of her second
/ novel. young woman of great beauty and
! remarkable characteristics, who did in fact
| exist and of whom some account has APP
| chronicles Nancy Stair in the book is little
the happenings which constitute the slender
structure of novel but having been from in
fancy of an astounding precocity she makes
the impress of an adult upon the readers
mind. Interesting she undoubtedly Is, sur
priSing in her moods, dvertng in her light
| ness, and uncomfortable in her hero-wor-
ship. She writes poetry and for week she
and Burns swap rhymes in an inn where
| she Is under the chaperonage of an elderly
woman who is insufficiently developed as
| part of the story. The tale is told by Lord
| Stair. Nancy's father, smoothly and bright
| ly. but 1t is weak in construction, though
| highly dramatic in its climaxes. The au-
| thor has avoided the moral theme which
| marred her first novel. frontispiece por-
| trait of Nancy Stair is by Miss Sara N.
| Bartle of this city.
AN ISLAND GARDEN. By Celia Thaxter.
| With portrait. Boston: Houghton, Mifin & Co.
Washington William Ballantyne & Sons.
| Mrs. Thaxter's garden book was about
her last work, it being written and publish
! ed in 1894 the year of her DEATH Its first
| publication was exceptionally beautiful,
| with many colored Illustrations and sold
| at a high price which put it out of reach
| of many nature lovers and domestic gar
| deners who otherwise would have delighted
\ in it's poetic charm. The publishers have
now issued it in unillustrated form to meet
! special demand. In this charming little
| work the poetess writes of her garden on
| Appledore. in the Isles of Shoals. Tender
| considera ton for all living creatures and
| plants, save the slugs and weeds, made of
| Mrs. ThaXter an ideal gardener. and her
| story of what she chose for her wind-swept
| soil and how she cultivated her plants and
| communed with them, and studied them, is
a refreshment and an inspiration to the city
| dweller.
A GINGHAM ROSE. By Alice Woods Ullman.
Frontispiece by the author. indianapolis: The
| Bobbs Merrill Company.
| OF an uneven texture, probably like that
| of the story which the heroine herself wrote
| and which was Professionally rejected for
that cause, this tale of the loves of artists
has qualities to keep the reader in touch
with it to the finish. A young western girl
studying art in New York meets other girls
| and some men, and there is at the first
| good deal of rather vapid studio talk which
might be probably eliminated Then fol-
| lows the main story, after an interval OF
years, developing the young womans rather
| erratic character through suffering and dis
appointment. Two men love her. both ar
| lists, but the she loves has in the in
! terval between story and prologue become
engaged to a negative beauty of a girl I'M
| der the guardianship of a dragoon-like aunt.
| Inc scene SHIFTS TO AIlZOnd, WHERE d
| glimpse is given of colony of consump
tives, which, though unpleasant, must be
| tolerated because it helps to solve the prob
lens which have been created by the girls
| auixotic self-sacrifce. Back to New York
| it swings-like the needle to the lodestone
and there the climax comes after rather
| an undue prolongaton. The story is clever
| and well told in the MAN. and renders a
| suggestive account of the life of the aspir-
| ing illustrator.
UNDER THE VIERkLEUR; Romance of a
! Lost Cause. BY Ben. ]. Viljoen late assistant
| commander general of the Transyaal Burgher
| forces, and author of MY "reminiscences of the
Anglo Boer War" Illustrated. Boston, Small
Maynard Co.
| General Viljoen demonstrated in his first
| book on the war that he is gifted with
| rare power of narration, though that work
| was strictly In the nature of an historical
| autobiography. In this story he proves that
| he can write a romance, and although the
| novel is based upon events of the war In
which he figured SO prominently 1t Is none
| the less acceptable work of fiction.
There Is a surprising freedom from rancor
| in reference to the performances of the
English soldiers. Several attractive Brftons
are introduced into the narrative. but, OF
course. they are thrown into opposition to
| the sturdy Beers. of whom the most inter-
esting is the young adjutant who serves
| as the central figure OF the tale General
| Viljoen has vivid style, which produces
remarkable results at umes. Descriptions