The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-03

.sistent exercise. But it is not enough for I the educated man 10 have intellectual 1 power, he must have also power 10 do. l he must have skill in applying his knowl- edge to the conditions that surround him ] in the home and in civil and social life. Doing is the proof of knowing, execution Is the test of skill
 l Is not this the very acme Of practical education? Another most excellent chap l ter and one filled with so much truth that every one needs to read 1t and pon- 1 der it we'll is Laughter an Index of Character But it is unjust to the author l to detach thought here and there for quotation. Each chapter stands as a whole to the thoughtful, experienced read But 1 in addition to it's valuable methods of ethical instruction is it's pure literary merit
 The style is easy and graceful, while ] at the same time cleaf-eut, terse and ] pithy. The detim too. so choice that each l thought is carried with all possible force and emphasis. It occurs to me that no better gift-book could possibly be found than "Old Tales and Modern Ideals.n For 1 the reading of it's every page will be- stow not only a pleasure but an ineal- culabe daily help, inspiration and uplift. 1 Let pass over many of the usual childish, frivolous books for our youths which seek merely to amuse and enter i tain, and let us place in their hands this volume that will so unmistakably be worth while to them-not only now but in+the days to come.
 Civil War and Reconstruction in Ala bama' by Walter L. Fleming, Ph. D. Published by the MacMilan company, l October, 1905.
 ] The recent publication of this import i ant work Civil War and Reconstruction
 in Alabama," by Prof Fleming of the chair of history in West Virginia univer- sity is of interest to every one in this state. well as to every one interested
 in the history of our country. In the pre- face the author writes This work was begun some five years ago as a study of Reconstruction in Ala bama As the field opened it seemed to me that an account of ante-bellum tcondi- tions social, economic and political and of the effect of the civil war upon ante- bellum institutions would be indispensable l to any just and comprehensive treatment of the later period.'
 Even the most cursory view of the book as whole reveals how exceedingly pains- l taking the author has been and how com l prehensive the effort For while the treatise is briefly stated the author covers every phase of this thrilling period of Alabama history, the society and the in- | StlIutlonS that went down during civil war and reconstruction, internal condi- l tions and how they were effected during l the course of reconstruction. Prof. Elem 1 ing begins his work by review of the organization of the state in it's incipiency He writes
 | "In regard to the character of the set l tiers, it has been said that the Virginians | were the least practical and the Geor- gians the most so, while the North Caro- 1 linians were a happy medium The Geor- gians were noted for their stubborn per sistenee, and they usually succeeded in whatever they undertook. The Virginians liked leisurely planters life with abund. | ant social pleasures etc"
 The text following as it does In this way the specific origin of conditions aided and llumined by statistics and maps, is valuable indeed and its wortt to the state can scarcely be calculated l The work is not verbose but is vital and | interesting and the style crisp ant | spirited.
 l So full and far-reaching is the worl that no event or personality which con
 tributed in any way toward the history oi l the time would seem to have been over looked After the war period comes tn, | "Aftermath of War with it's Social an, I Economic Disorder,' then "Presdentia 1 Restoration," "Congressional Reconstruc I tion," Carpet Bag and Negro Rule" ant 1 the overthrow of Reconstruction. Ont feature of special value Is the quoting of famous speeches made by famous mer | during these momentous periods. in con
 else form. to be sure but still of grea