Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-04

breaks Jail in New Orleans and tries to find
a safe hiding place in Texas In company
with his crippled friend Bill is a loyal
companion; clever, inventive and courag-
eous. He has his romance, which furnishes
the story within a story with tender quail
tiles.
When "Stumpy'' is not holding forth
about Bill-who personally does not appear
on the scene-Mr. Stewart brings forward
the Finerty family and allows the head OF
the house to tell couple of tales on his
own account. There is nothing funnier in
late fiction than these two chapters, In one
of which the genial 1rishman relates his
experience blowing with team OF oxen,
and in the other he spins yarn about a
marooned sir knight who, bent on a
tender mission, takes spectacular but
painful ride on mule-back.
Mr.. Stewart is new force in modern
light fiction, and If he will spare time from
his work as an engraver to tell some more
stories in the vein of 1.-The Fugitive Black
smith he will soon have the whole country
laughing merrily.
ANOTHER HARDY GARDEN BOOK.
Ry Helena Rutherford Ely, author
of "A Woman's Hardy Garden" &c.
New York: The Macmillan Company.
why should 1 read a garden book?'
asks the owner of patch of tlllabie
ground Il have the tools and the soil and
the seeds. 1 have only to plant and cult
vate and then enjoy the results of my la
bors.'' That is quite true. The amateur
gardener has not much to learn-if he will
not. But there IS always something to be
learned. in fact A. garden Is something
more than few plants growing in the open
soil. 1t should stand for thought and ar
tistic planning and thoroughly sympa-
thetic knowledge of the nature of the
plants 1t should have a relationship to
the surroundings, and, a matter of fact,
c n r.
den lore is never too voluminous, If of the
kind that Mrs Ely produces, for she writes
out of a reVerential love for all the grow
ing things coupled with distinctly practi-
cal unde rstanding of the ways and means
of making them flourish. This latest book
of the sort from her pen is a charming
guide to all who love to work in the soil
whether for the production of flowers or
vegetables. 1t is handsomely Illustrated
from photographs taken in her garden by
Prof. Charles F. Chandler. The sugges-
tons are all applicable to this climate
THE GIRL OF LA GLORIA. BY Clara
Driscoll. Illustrated by Hugh w.
Ditzler. New York: G. p. Putnam's
Sons. Washington: Woodward &
Lothrop.
A sad tender story of Texas ranch life,
with strong pulsing of passion 1t is the
tale of the loves of a young northerner
and beautiful Mexico-American girl, with
the complications that arise from feuds and
business troubles, and the efforts of the
young mans friends to prevent him from
marrying Ilaria, the girl of La Gloria"
1t grips the heart, and it's pitifully tragic
ending will cause many readers to close the
book with their eyes moist.
THE PRIZE TO THE HARDY. BY Alice
Winter. With drawings by r. NJ.
Crosby. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-
Merrill Company.
wholesome story of today, turning upon
the rivalry of two men for the hand of the
daughter of a Minnesota millionaire who
| has risen TO his position from poverty this
| tale of The northwest will win many read
| ers 1t is especially notable for the descrip-
| ton of a great fire, which, destroying for
| ests and villages and lives froms the turn
| ing point in the affairs of four people whose
hearts united in the stress of msfor-
| tune. suffering and imminent danger of
death. Mrs. Winter has in this novel, and
particularly in this passage, reached a
height from which she easily commands not
| only the attention of those who read this
| book, but the eager expectations of those
who hope to be treated to other works of
| equal power and entertaining quality Bar
| ring an occasional tendency toward COLO
quialism--as when she tells of the hero be-
| ing disfgured in the course of difficult BIZ
cycle ride by the accommodations of damp
| real estate'-her style is quietly effective.
| THE SMOkE-EATERS; the Story of a
| Fire Crew. By Harvey j. OHiggins.
| Illustrated. New York: The Century
| Company. Washington Woodward
d Lothrop.
| Who does not thrill when the fire bells
| clang and the steamer goes smoking up the
/ street? Who does not feel an elemental i'm
| pulse to follow the engines and watch the
| ninlble fremen brave death as they enter
| burning buildings drag heavy hose to
roofs, scale almost vertical ladders, rescue
| imprisoned people and fight fiercely, but
with remarkable precision and order, for
1 the saving of property and life? The pub
| lie witnesses such scenes almost daily in
| every big city. But there Is a side to the
| fire-fighter's life that the man in the street
/ seldom sees. Mr. O'Higgins. with power
/ full manner of telling a story and fund of
humor reveals this side of the dangerous
i yvork In fla series Of loosely