The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-01-21

before the roosters smell the coming day and awake to give the alarm-just when the darkness begins to quiver be- | fore the hint of encroaching day" | In his animal heroes Mir. Litsey
 makes us find a real individuality. In
 the old gray wolf whose Hide Is scared with many scar now realizing as he | grew older that in time he would be | overcome" The ghost coon, that by reason of his color. the one white coon. gets all hollow to himself till the | fearless yellow cur invaded his realm
 and brought death to both. The sheep dog who betrayed his trust and grew
 to be the pariah of the country side 1; the wise old coon of usual color, of un-
 usual cunning. who lived alone in
 aristocratic solitude in his tree; the
 meeting of the coon dog whose meet l ing with this last meant destruction to | both.
 | Here Is the makeup of a coon-dog, | that Indispensable treasure of the boy | on the farm or plantation. be it Ken | lucky or Alabama:
 | "A coon-dog is as distinctive a breed as the collie or the spaniel. It is true he is an ignohle mixture of many, but I 1t takes the certain and correct blend 1 ing of various strains to make a coon
 dog. He must have the nose of a pointer. the speed of a greyhound, the strength of a mastiff, and the stub bornness of bulldog. The model coon
 dog is low. short. and heavy-set: his
 back and sides are nearly black. and his ! throat, belly and feet are reddish | brown. !"
 | Mir. Bitsey knows his wood and wild creatures as well. He knows and loves
 his knob-land, rivers, beech-hollows,
 mountains and wales, he has the inten- | eitv nf ceIn ha af orf,,
 tion with him to make his reader see all vividly sentiently.
 | A book of strength, pathos, enchant- ment.
 l Reptiles, by H. W. Mcvickar: I have | heard a story to the effect that 1 Elizabeth Stuart Phelps once submitted
 a tale to the editors of a certain publi-
 cation, and it was returned with the verdict: Not a pleasant story" Now am minded to say much the same
 about the present story. Reptiles" and l wonder If the author agrees with Elm l erson that "A man cannot speak but l he judges himself" Has the author in thus dealing out what is presumably his view of mankind unconsciousiy giv- en us his own portrait? Let us hope 1 not. But:
 Let us see. let us see.''
 Says the Mole to the Bat" Why I think this an unpleasant sto-
 ry. In the prologue three men have
 met for the first time in twelve years
 in Paris. By invitation of Carstairs, they are dining at "Terre's Tavern" made famous by Thackeray in his Ballad of Bouillabaise." Inadvertently the
 Rev Robert Smith remarks that "it is apparent that Carstairs has remained
 as wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove" Carstairs immediately evinces
 emotion and remarks that he hates
 snakes. That he has reason to do so
 the story shows later. Moreover, he
 likens all people to snakes. and protests that love Is a mental and physical de-
 engagement which providentially, Is on- ly temporarily" In fact, nothing sa-
 cred escapes his carping criticism, so certain does he seem to be of shis posi- ton in regard to love, he enters into a bet with his two companions that five years from marriage 1t will not
 matter whom you have married will bet each one of you $500, and dinner
 which I assure will be far better one
 than I have given tonight, that on or
 before five years after your marriage you will be out of love with your wife, And very ingeniously does the
 story twist and turn to prove all wo- men faithless and ali men untrue Why
 of all the delightful asides and the charming realities of life, should this
 man choose to stir up only a nest of snakes? Hard, selfish, coarse-minded
 men and women do exist, but they are over er-balanced by the good and the pure. For one evil woman, willing to destroy a mans faith in life, there are innumerable high minded, pure women who exert the most beautiful influence on those with whom they come in con- tact.
 With the authors evident ability he should have delivered a better message to the world than he has chosen to give in Reptiles"
 Here are some of the things Car stairs utters: For a man to marry a beautiful woman is to initiate those foolish people who buy books to be read by their friends" The wives of the masses are more or less necessary, and useful; our wives are merely orn- amental" ITO love only your husban may be statutory, but there it ends; for a woman cannot guarantee her heart" in his epilogue, the author says: "No excuses are made for Car stairs: he was merely one of type. of which there are many. Charming, agreeable, with a rather superior intel lect, he nevertheless was as cold-blood- ed as any reptile could possibly be. But goodness does not of itself make any one interesting"
 There is some suggestiveness in this volume, but the pill Is for all that, too bitter. Some little good might have been dwelt upon to sugar-coat it ltt- tie. One needs a wholesome anttdote after reading through the list of cu- oddities and anxieties that the author uses to rob life of It's every good for his characters.
 Geographically the book is admira- ble. the illustrations are good) they are also the work of the author) and the chapter decorations exceedingly clever in design and execution. and one re- grets to the last that the author, so evidently a man of ability. should have employed it Tn the making of story so unpleasant. Let us hope that the au- thor's next seffort may be 10 suggest something helpful in life. Let him touch upon the simple, homely things of life. those that will add courage,