Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-20

thur +. Becher Boston: Little,
Brown & Co.
This story, Notwithstanding its western
setting is constructed on a melodramatic
principle quite independent of geography.
and the characters are those extremely
available types which are perfectly at home
in any kind Of narrative. The hero, Jus
tin Wingate" is the Juvenile" to use the
stage phrase. and the plot presents its
heavy" and its character parts in con-
yentional perfection. That race of "Lucys
which has graced the fiction of all times
is represented in the heroine. There Is some
mystery connected with the birth or Jus
tin Wingate. and the disclosure of his lden-
tity is reserved for the last few chapters,
after the accepted fashion. The episodes OF
his boyhOod. his love affair and the opening
of his political career are told with some
knowledge of conventional narration, but
there is little originality. Undoubtedly the
popularity of western life lends interest to
many books of slight intrinsic value
RICE PAPERS. By H. L. Norris. New
York: LongmanS Green & Co.
These are the adventures of such heroes
as Flung Wa Chun. Feng Shuey. Hing Fai.
Wing Fung Lok Hing, Ching. Wang and
Lung Fook. 1t must be admitted that
certain family resemblance in names and
qualities results in a slight confusion of
identities. and the meager intelligence of
the humble western reader. to drop into the
eastern manner, is almost rendered void
by the august Impressions created on his
dull intellect by the evidences of supreme
culture with which he finds himself sur
rounded" These stories dedicated to
the commodore and officers of H. M S.
lamar and according to the preface they
possess the merit of not being true-a note
amusing but superfuous. The episodes are
mainly based on homicide suicide, parri-
eide. infanticide and other unconventional-
tiles. but the style is fluent and quite cheer
full Any one who has not outgrown Blue
beard will find entertainment in these pre-
posterous tales, but the distinctly humans
tartan reader will very likely miss their
humor.
FOLLOWING THE SUN-FLAG; a Vain
Pursuit through Manchuria. BY John
Fox. jr New York: Charles Serb
ners Sons. Washington: Woodward
& Lothrop.
Mr. Fox should never have left Japan on
the vain pursuit for the sun-hag. He was
doing remarkably well right on the islands,
amid the peasants, the Maid of Miyano-
shita the collectors of curios, the denizens
of the tea houses. He was learning how to
appreciate Japan and the Japanese. and be-
fore his lesson was finished he succeeded in
persuading the government that he should
be allowed to go to the front, and accord
ingly he went But not to Port Arthur. as
he and his comrades expected, but up the
line In the rear of the pursuing Japanese
army. They never reached the front, never
saw battle. never heard the sounds of
war save at a distance. as they passed
Port Arthur. with the horizon between them
and the scene of fighting. They were a
cruelty disappointed lot of men, and Mr..
Fox vents mis- disappointment in a criti-
cism of the japanese methods of procedure.
He does not abate in his admiration of
those qualities which were not involved in
his troubles on the road but he concludes,
with rather inadequate reasoning, that the
japanese is not naturally cultivated MEM
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