The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-07-15
THE sttTT1E HILLS. BY Nancy huston
IN t,..nt

l.
THE t1TTIE HILLS BY Nancy Huston ton
Banks. Pp. s25. st5o. The Macmillan
mpaty,bs New York.
The high literary quality which we
would expect from tho author Of old
field, q the subtle and sympathetic dcii-
cntion OF characteri the charming descrlp-
tive bits, the graceful fancy and pleasant
sentitnent--aflat these cininenty desifnnle
qualities nre conspicuously present IN
''rhe Little n H llls There Is plenty or
opportunity forltfe development OF thcln'
too, 80 leisurey and ruminnting is the
progress Of the uhcventful plot. Nothing
exciting happens until page 2s6, ana even
then 1t Is only %that an old gentleman
whom the reader had not suspected OF
tipping, breaks away to town and ac-
cumulates a I'll most Overwhelming Jag.
Judged by some standards which we cotld
Indicate If we wanted to, this occurrence
would not DO considered abnormally
startling, b,itfit 5isf certain that It stands
Z out in bold relief against tho plncld Level
& of Phoebe's life.
Poor Phoebe Gentle, kind. sweet, ioVn-
bic little soul that she was. Everybody
advised her, and several bullicd her. II
does seem quite hard that. with all she
I mad to bear, Mother Rowan whom she
had invited to come and 1.-Two with her'
should have turned out so difficult 10
know and to love. Bit Phoebe did not finch
with all her lnildness she had pretty
little Will Of her own, rs the Mrs. PotKe.
that queen Of social managers, discovered
on II memorable OCCASION; so she perse-
vered with Mrs. Rowan. and In the end
she had her reward Really the only
bright SPOT In sPheobe's life, even though
she didn't realize II. was in the minister's
"a r{ct Tn
biogra ply one might be tempted to
frame the general proposition that no
minister could come to that parish With
out marrying Phoebe. Mrs. Banks tells
us that two. at least. came TO Phocbes
town and she married them both. y VIII
be inferred, Of course. that those events
did not occur simultaneously. or Phoebes
two husbands. we believe we prefer the
Rev. William Rowan, even though Mrs.
BANS so obviously wants us to like Rev.
John Wood.
The village types-Alrs. Potke MRS,
Crabtree, Arabella, the widow Wall-are
all very we'll done. There is good deal
Of gentle fumor in much Of their talk
and demeanor. If '"rhe Little Hills Is
very uuiet and devoid OF much incident,
It must be remembered that the real VII
3lage which the author describes was al
most certainly that way. too: and that
literature is but an aspect Of life as It Is
Mrs. Banks set out to paint peaceful
scene, and she has done 1t uncommonly
well.
TIE STORY OF THE CONGO FRDE
STATE. BY Henry Wellington Wack.
PIP! GA. G. p. Putnam's Sons, New
York. Hunter, Richmond.
Mr., Nack, an American member OF the
- ~ CN<N<,t at nf
Britain, has written In this volume a full.
and presumably authoritative
account Of the origin and development
OF the great Congo Free State. 1nciden-
tally. he has written defense and JUS
tification Of the relations of Belgium to
the Congo country, the opening chapters
demonstrating the Integrity OF Leopold
.1I's motives at the time OF the 1ncep-
ton Of this State, and later one Icltlng
the testimony of various travellers to
show that the Belgian rule to-day is
humane and kind. f5IS
I According to Mr.. Wack. the Belg1ans'
success in the Congo Is something OF
lesson In modern scientific colonization
on socialistic and humanitarian lines.
Tho suppression of slavery In Central
Africa and the opening up OF those vast
tracts to the worlds commerce largely
actuated the King Of the Belgans IN
calling the Brussels conference on A1ri'
can affairs in 1876; but he did not fall TO
recognize the desirability5 of an outlet
of POPULATION for his own badly over
crowded little kingdom. From TINS con
ference grew the international Asso-
citation for the Exploration and Civiliza-
ton OF Central, Africa" which. after
some uncertainties and perplcxltles, re-
suited. as will he recalled, In the founda-
ton OF the Congo Free State under Bel
cian control Mr.. Wack traces me MS
tory OF this State from It's first begin
nings to the present day, giving a de-
tailed account of educational ana evan
eelical work, and economic progress as
exhibited In navigation rail ways {ioAus'
science, agriculture, trace revenue, $50. IN,
etc. The book Is an Interesting anu ~
slructiyc account of "a unique piece OF
colonization, which has contributed large
~ toward the hope OF universal c,vl4lza--
lion. It closes with the hint that tno
present Importance of the Coaso S.a.s
is such that the cupidlty Of Great b1'ta'n
is already aroused,
a. COURIER OF FORTUNE. BY Arthur
w. Marchmont, Pages aoo' si,oo
Frederick a.. Stokes Company Ne"
York.
Love, death, conspiracy and It's thWart.
Inc, swash buckle and royster -Soyster all
IN iudicIous mixtures make UP the story
of "a Courier OF Fortune In the open
Ing chapter we learn that the good c,t-
liens of Morvilix are profoundly dissnt US
fed under the cruel tyranny Of tne'I
governor, the Due de Rochelle ana ttlat
Tho great Prince OF Bourbon. the noble
Young Gerard, was in Morvaix, under dls-
l1,Ise to see what could be done toward
rlghtng tho sundry Rochelle wrongs,
rhings begin happening right away, put
unfortunately we can't trace them a.!
here. Ono Of the most interesting o.
these plot contributions lies In tho fact a.,
that Bourbon had CHANGED to choose the
temporary name Of Gerard de Cobalt,
which, by a strange coincidence, was me
very name OF the afllnced husband q
tho beautiful Gabrielle dc Mallne -
49,, ,.e tho strange WAYS In those