The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-17
BY PAUL PRY.

The Yellow War" by "O.' Published by Mcclure, Philips & Co.
 The literary market has been flooded with works bearing upon the Russo Japanese war, from the shortest article to books of interminable length. But occasionally one comes across work Of such pronounced merit that the subject seems reyivified in the hands of the au- thor. Such a volume is "The Yellow War; and unfortunately the identity of the author is concealed behind the nomenclature "O.'
 Readers of 'The Red Badge of Cour- age,p by that lamented prince among writers, Stephen Crane, will find in this volume the same note of personal inti- macy and vividness of description In Mir Cranes volume the reader could smell the very smoke of battle, and few things are finer than the authors reia- tion of the mortal fear which possessed the heart of the young hero in the pres ence of his first great battle In the present volume the author relates that he has been an eyewitness to many of the incidents related, and for the oth- CTS, they are first hand from the actors themselves. He deals in a lucid way with the romance and drama of the con- fict and takes the reader right into the trenches with the men on the firing line. Here they learn in an effective man. ner the significance of war between two first-class powers.
 Few out of all the readers of such volume can ever know aught of the reality of a clash between two monsters of the sea; and yet readers of The Ma val Sub-Lieutenant's Story will com prehend as never before the awful stress of connct-mental and physical. The seaman says: My friend, you wish me to tell you all about it. Why, it is the history of two generations and more' since we parted on the deck of that Rub batino steamer twelve months ago l have lived hundred years. You, and those who have not been with us, can never know what we have been through It is not that we have been beaten-that Is hard enough for any brave man to hear, but we have been beaten by those whom we despise. And being beaten at such hands makes the punishment slow torment
 Then follows an account of the naval engagement off Port Arthur. The hero of the story is on the "Plotva.' He says;
 q had never heard more cheering sound than that telegraph Full steam aheadv All the rest is a tangle of disiointed memories. l can only tell you the confused threads as l remem- Der them l remember glancing to star board, and noticing the fine parallel makes of our fiotilla, which seethed up above the breeze ripple. Then the smack of the six-pounder and the whirr of the Maxims brought me to my duties. That's hit! shouted the No. l of my crew, and at the same moment shell exploded on our rail. A splinter hit the holder of the gun. glanced, and then the ear. mustache and cheek of No 1 were gone. He stood moment drenching the lever in his hand with blood. then sank to the deck while another seized the slimy handle and shoulder grip. The new No. 1 swung the gun round, and l could see that we had changed our course and now had Japanese destroyer abeam on the port side Its tunnels were belch- ing flame, while it was so close that the incessant flash from its quick-fires hurt the eve. Projectiles swished above us; but at the moment I did not realize that we were the target. My gun had stopped firing Ammunitionr 1 shouted, and then realized for the first time that alone of all my gun crew was standing. My fellows were heap Of hldeously mutilated fesh.'
 It is too long to quote in full, but is permeated with the spirit and direful events of reality and can only be the re- suit of genius. fN
 "The Sacrifice of OTem San" touches upon the romance of war and is tenderly beautiful in the majesty of loving sacri- flee and pathos.
 Some Neglected History of North Car
 olina," by William Edwards Fitch.
 Published by the Neale Publishing com pany.
 Dr. Fitch has wisely called his book Some Neglected History of North Car olina" and one cannot read 1t without seeing the wisdom of the title. The work contains numerous historic events in the early provincial and colonial his- tory of North Carolina hitherto unre- corded, and one will be surprised at many
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