The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-06-03
REALM or BOOKS )

BY PAUL PRY.


"A Rock in the Baltic" by Robert Barr.
Robert Barr has already carved for
himself a favored niche in the memory
of numerous class of readers by his
spirited clever and interesting stories So
that the announcement Of new story
from his pen is a pleasant one and sure
TO meet with ready response from his
waiting admirers. 1t is not too much to
say that "A Rock in the Baltic Is about
the best piece of work that Mr.. Barr has
ever done; certainly it is up to the high
water mark of his own standard Mr.
Barr does not attempt the impossible in
his stories but is content with evolving
from his fruitful imagination good,
sensible plot, around which he twines all
sorts of vivacious incidents which serve
every legitimite purpose of high fiction
which is diversions and pastime of a
pure and salutary kind.
In his new story Mr. Barr takes one
central circumstance-the firing of n
bomb by an Englishman from cruiser
in the Baltic, on a forbidding looking
rock This rock answers the idle salute
and turns out to be a Russian political
prison The event is pictured on the
cover of the book most impressiYely and
attractively and the opportunities onered
the expert story teller are easily i'm
agined.
The opening scenes of the story occur
at Bar Harbor, Me, but the presence OIL
the English cruiser. Consideration. gives
an immediate piquancy and interest to the
story Later the scene shifts to England
and Russia and for climax to the
.'Rock in the Baltic" The character work
is especially good; the conversations and
situations are all crisp and clear and
dexterous and there is not a tedious line
in the entire book. A sprightly human
and fantastic quality of thought pervades
1t all which gives it the necessary dash
and color that is a charming development
on the part of Mr.. Barr; for this has not
always been a Characteristic of the au-
thor's work. the color Illustrations are
fairly good and are from the pen of Her
mann Meyer.
"Spriggs o. Mint" by James Bandy
Fllis.-The Neale Publishing company.
Says the publisher: Prom Kentucky
they somewhere do you suppose they
would come from, these 'Spriggs o.
Mint? For years" he says, the read
ers of the Louisville Courier-Journal have
turned 10 one specIal Vi eiit.. NC
sheet I9i - 60 hoo1-7 ard
f",,s5 - n lanes Tandv Fills, .sprigs
o. Mint which includes his Tales o.
the River sketches, short stories, pen
pictures and verses of the life OF the IN
~. t,1, ~ aoIlactad and unfinished
- 4ila,,,a,. hits In ono volume There
80 IT, 81 bon,esnun nbilosonhv negro
<,io,oo4 ~ ,.l,araetar local color vii
rathos and foncv-o bright mosaic
One selection is called I'm Yearnin' fer
the River" which begins:
s'You kin talk about the bluegrass
Where tho soIl Is rich and loamy
q ur,on, the INLAND IN the glade.
Where the meadows roll in splendor
Meath the softened summer skies;
Where the thoroughbred is prancin'
Mid this happy paradise
Rnt I'm longin, fer the river
An, the green of rugged hills,
An, I'm yearnin' fer the old haunts,
An, NV shirt wakes an thrills
When Iplcture in my fancy
That long. deep, majestic roll
OF the stream that seems is windin'
Thro' my very heart an soul.
Neale 'selna.y LeleT, Ny Aiiiiio - '''A ~
south s, oo pra more specifically the very
nrav1, nut afpus heroine of little story
scene opens justractively, published The
aiiiu 80 ,.,,a,, srre a spoiled and very
oeau'l Observation-Disclosures in all her pow
ei al,p vents Of try Later. when the
oisaS o's so,.rousZthe e war bring It's in
eNi. .at., and trle wpnate strength of
,l,a,, cahriene and n of the two
snn,,,,,,, nortrayed. The paosemary-