The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-10-30

| we are beginning to daily aounu .to
! edge of the exceedingly complex piot,
] and pause discreetly before we are drawn
| hopeiessly into Its convolutions /.
The book Is we'll written barring an
! occasional stiffness and over-sonorousness
| of style. ana a slight tendency toward
what the 1hetorlcs taught us 10 describe
| as "fne writing" Fart of the story
| is about the revolt of tire negroes nnu
| part Is about the mystery Of Miss LadSss
] identity, and we have our doubts as 70
! whether the two are welded into thor
| oughly composite whole even thoush
| Decherd and Dephine figure more or
! less IN both. Tho work has been done
| with evident care, and is, no DOUBT 70
| be considered as a SERIOUS study OF
racial and other conditions lin lower
| Mississippi at tho present time. ~ Is
long, involved and perhaps little SOL
| emr. hui has excitement ana .interest
a-plenty and Will bear reading.
ELLEN AND MIR. MAN. BY Gouver-
neur Morris. $50 PIP. Inc century
CO., New York.
we confess to a little disappointment
IN Mr.. Morris's now book. but that Is
| rather because of the subtect-matter ol
| il than because OF any failure on the
| authors part to do well what ne mas
| undertaken to do Indeed, MI. MOTIFS
| writes. as always, extremely Well but
| y
| might to good advantage have spent
! little more time III sitting down and think-
! ing ont precisely and definitely what Ie
was Going TO writc~about. Even though
the building OF plots Is not Mr.. Morrls,s
| long suit wo can't doubt dhat more
generalization would have reacted laNot-
| ably. ELLEN and Nh. Man" is a sketch
about little boy and his aunt. which
| begins nowhere in particular ana cnds
Il at about the samc place. However, IL
Ms very agreeably told, and displays the
| same intimate and tender Understandings
i of small boy nature that was SO ue.
lightfully conspicuous IN the cary Pstrt
| or this Young authors Tom BenullnE.
ana. to a less degree. his Aladdin
| ORricnL." we have read 1t all through
/ with much pleasure.
i !. Mr.. Man was tho son of a witty, WORTH
! less. ne cr do-wcll scapegrace OF u "a
4 Their, the BLACK sheep und outcast OF u
!. great family living hard by; ana MI
! Mans uprearing was, III CONSEQUENCE, i,
not unlike that OF me oe'eprute ", era'
i one day while in pursuit OF butterllS'
! tho little chap stumDlcs into his grand
| fathers park and makes the ac1uaih
| lance of /, dear young girl who turns Out
4 to be his aunt. Later Ellen carries M.
| Man off to Europe with her; and later
still for the delectation OF those VINO,
! cannot bear to have the bind god ignored
+
i amt falls in love with Claude st. Anne,
] the chocolate king, who woos her under
| The guisc of Langeais, the poor tutor.
/ subsequently Mr.. Man, being a little
homesick among the queer little French
BOYS determines to revisit America.
4 or course there is q good deal OF IN
\ cIdent bv the way, and a. great deal or
/ slilful and clever writing, for the au-
/ thor unquesti onably has the decided GIT
\ az expressing deity, surely and delicate
4 il. the thing which he has to say AS q
whole. however the book suffers, as we
4 have Indicated, by reason OF the simple
/ fact that it has no story TO tell W. are
! still, however. Of distinctly the opinion.
! TINT Mr.. Morris is one OF the most prom
| icing Of the Younger writer's in America
/ TODAY. and wo are looking to see nm 20
j ncthing very good before long. g
| MORE 4 CHEERFUL AMERICANS. BY
4 Charles Battell Loomis. 2Si PIP. 40
Henry Holt & Co., New York.
4 Henry Holt & Co. have recently pub.
| ,ishcd a new collection of Mr.. Charles
/ Eattell I.oonliss humorous stories under
1.-the title more humorous Americans.
l. IN = foreword Mr.: LOOMS explains that
! his title was not selected because these
1 last Americans arc more cheerlul tnaii
I those whose doings he descrloeu ~ !, ', ~.
+ earlier volume, Cheerful Americans" or,
I because they are more cheerful than they
ought to be; but that It WAS merely con
! str,,cted. on tho basis that his book was
I, Obliged to have some name B.! the SIM
ple method OF prefxing More 70 lne
/ 4t,,ic he had previously invented. Ihe
| word more in itself, says Me. omls'
l#"connotes soemthng literary. Re1nein-
/ her Hannah? Also Sir Thomas! & 8 3S
j There are eighteen stories In the pres
4 ent volume, Illustrated with pictures by
Florence Scovel Shinn, i. Y. Cory, ana
i Others. All OF t;em are readable and
| entertaining, and. while rarely side
! splitting. are at least pleasantly humor-
/ otls. Here and there we have been sorry
! Ia rt,re a terrible pun like the following
4 What zorr .ot AZ, elevator is this?
7. ..a tfs..ft "a Wick, said ne, as II 1t
4 were spelIsd that way.
Il AZ soid kim Thought I recognized the
I drawl perfectly, but | was somewhat
4 afraid we shouldn't 80 verJ high
I However. ii Is unfair TO Judge Dir.
Il LOOMS py tFls sampIe Joke. because he
4 car be, and often Il, ,auc! funnicr than
4 thig Nr. Inornl4's hunor is more nn-
mlgtakabIe than subtle; when he wants
To have some fun MS plan, let US say, is
10 get a hurrylrs lecturer caught in an
4 elevator between Aeors, and compel the
4 audience to assemble In the halls and on
4 the stairway. to hear the reading, TO the
; d
chin!sts working on the liftlng appara-
tns from below. Naturally an incon-
gru!ty like this gives rise 70 40 end Of
amusing absuraty. Intne perfectly grave
way with which he handles this and
other equally ridiculous situations, Mr..
:, LOOMS reminds the reader quite strong
!, ~ of the late Frank Stockton.
rA1ore Cheerful Americans" can We
safely recommended 10 produce great
!, many smiles, and VIC think Il will be
,, found pretty handy for driving dull care
away.
THE HAPPY AVERAGE By Brand
. Whtlock. 3f7 Pr. $50 Eobba-Mer-
rill Co. Indianapolis. For sale mere by
!. Bell Book and Stationery Company,
9 AS its name would imply, thThe Happy
y Average has 10 do With So orBpeople
! noteworthy for nothing but iaeir hum
. drumness All the characters ate frank
9 ~ commonplace, Marley, the youth with
+ whose fortunes the author principally