The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-06
rha JoYous Heart.

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 Stories of the border States in war ttms are of great fascination as well as Of great value. They picture the flood of vast. over-sweeping. engulfing tide, and picture its onrush where the stress MAa greatest, in, those States where neighbor met neighbor. of the battlefield where brother fought brother.
 Miss Viola Rosebows story The Joy ous Heart. gives the picture wholly from Southern point of view.
 IL Is the very life of a neishborhood that Is shown so clearly. The life story Of the beauty of the neighborhood. Amy Carter. whose face lived down the gem nrations only in old ambrotypes and in the memories of old men and women. Does not every neighborhood treasure snch a memory? Every man. woman and chiid In tho neighborhood feels a per Aonal pride in such q legacy of heauty's memory apd hands the story farther down tho years. Beauty's daughter Jella takes through a most hard life the bles- eing of the joyous heart. Without the 5ouous heart how could she have borne it all Tha stresses of that time of transi- ton can never be they multiplied to 4hnusands. tell all of the strain. struggle, pa<iness. eiation. weariness of that time. { The reconstruction was not only for the poliflcal and industrial world. Change struck at the very centers of home life. of beliefs, of theories. The very char acfef of a people was forced to undergo change to ft into new environment.
 Fillmore. suffering. causing suffering was natural outcome of the rearing of nn ancient order of things. then at It's ttzne of over-blown efflerescence. Such being would be impossible now. not Hs;ar, if1suroha hla fhen fe
 Men like Andy make the corner-stones of that solid structure. the New South.
 Fanny is an anomaly, strange piece mf human mechanism, product of a queer conservative civilization, once opening for herself the door of her prison, conservat- ism. bounding into utmost lcence. Burke Osborne is another good depletion of the old bachelor of the old South. old duelist. old beau. grown into sweet Worthy, with his old violin and spirited playing of White Cocades" of place kn the gallery of immortals; room of screchee ancients. These are real peo- pie in this book. living and loving and suffering and rejoicing as real people do. These who doubtless sleep together in old graveyards overgrown with myrtle and sweet-briar. are brought to vigorous life, to immortality even by the pen of genius.
 The Joyous Heart" my Viola Rose bord Mcclure, Phillips and Co.,, New York
 Lux Crucis.
 This historic novel. by Mir. Samuel M. Gardenhire, will be sure to compel its hundreds of readers. It deals with a time of interest to all the Christian world, the time of Nero's reign, of the awful prosecutions of the early Chris tians. The novel winds it's story abo1t the life of St. Paul the Apostle. The mighty labcrs of that great missionary 4o the Gentiles are told with vigor. The reader sees him in the prison at Cae- sarea. before the Tribunal where he made his appeal to Caesar as Festus, Berentce and Herod listened, to which defence Festus uttered those words: Much learn ing hath taught thee poetry. but 1t hath made thee mad" The reader follows Paul through his preaching at Rome 10 the Jews. to the Court, in the place of groves, in the prisons where the Chris fians are gathered ere their entrance to the arena. Peter ministering with Paul to the Christians in Rome Is a reverend figure in the story. Pauls search for his sisteer's children is bless edly rewarded. The book recalls those of that period it is of the same class us
 A&uO NAuicp IL AS nOt lOO Au say that 1t will hold it's readers with an equal power.
 Mr. Gardenhire has written with dig nifty. reverence and charm. The love story of the Jewish girl, Myrrha and tie Roman Fabyan is idyllic. The bold young prisal of Britin is a gallant lover for the Roman generals daughter, Val entina.
 There are certain episodes grown fa- miliar to all readers, which perforce must be pictured in any novel of these times, the rottenness of Nero's court, che lavish luxury of Rome's wealthy class, the secret meeting of the Chrls- aians, the reel1ing dungeons where they Await their doom, the burning of Rome. fhs contests in the gladlatorial contests. 1EFsa Gardenhire has done his work with