Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-14

humor is always fresh and his contribu-
tions are worth while.
Lady Baltimore is not heroine one
% a cake-a wedding cake to be-a we'd
ding cake the baking Of which is post
poned from time to time. the remi-
nine pronoun becomes dlf1cult-Was
finally baked, but for another bride IMAM
she for whom 1t was originally ordered
by the blushing, stammerlng, prospective
groom. The ordering or that CAKE was
what first brought Augustus INTO me me
game. Why should the groom order the
wedding cake? His inquiries polite ana
discreet led him into most complex
family difficulty He became the cham
MON OF the prospectively buncoed groom.
ta nlayed the part of an anti-cupid with
some success In doing so he brings INTO
effective contrast the quiet CIVILIZATION VI
the war-stricken southeastern sectloii anu
the mOney-tatnted CIVILIZATION VI tlIo
porthea stern portion. He comes INTO con-
tact with a phase Of the negro problem q
thfnIy yelled reference to the appoint
rnent of q colored man as collector OF Gus
toms at Charleston serving as motye
for certain OF the actions of the nero. he
strikes hard at some OF the soclai ioioleS
Of the very rich 5000 ,ory
we'll worthy to serve as the successor 10
The Virginian,' although those VINO rel-
fshed Mr. Wisters charming western
scenes Will be disappointed to find TINS
taIa toId in a softer key. 1t is so full OF
ouotable sentences and phrases tnat thS
temptation to repeat some of them must
Ice resisted. There would be no stopping
THE CHALLENGE. BY Warren Cheney:
author of The Way OF the North,
&c Illustrations by N { Wyeth; IN
dtauapolis: The Bobbs-M Merrill COM
pany.
This Is a tale OF the Russian occupation
., the northwestern corner OF America. 1t
deals with strange and striking characters
md ne-,iliar motives. A priest reaches one
~ the remote settlements that find that his
son has been slain by order OF the com
rnander OF the post as a measure or justice.
He loses his mind. and drives the com
mandant to death by his prosecutions
Meanwhile a tender love affair Is develop
ing between one Of the young men or the
settlement and the younger sister OF wo-
man whom he loved In the fatherland, and
from whom ne had been separated by her
fathers malevOlent intervention But com
plications arise. and the young people are
parted by a misunderstanding. she Is
hastily taken off to another post by her
father. and on the death OF the command
ant the lover follows on an official GRAND.
lie Is REQUIRED by the official there in charge
TO stand upon stump for certain num-
her OF hours in punishment for technical
orrense. The girl comes by, and the lovers
.oik over their differences. She challenges
him TO step off the stump He struggles pc
tween his duty and his love, ana nnaliy ne
Yields Indeed, to which OF these FORCES
does the lover usually yield? Then comes
an cIopement a pursuit and a tragedy fol-
lowed finally by happiness. Mr.. Cheney mas
produced a strong, appealing story win
dramatic reproduction OF the atmosphere
Of the pioneer days OF Russian rule In
Alaska His handling of the whirlpool
theme on two occasions is masterfuL
THE CONQUEST OF JERUSALEM,
Tale OF Today. By Miriam Harry Bos-
ton Herbert b. Turner & Co.
Memories OF Robert Hichens The Garden
Of Allah arise irresistibly on the reading
OF this story. The author has pursued the
same theme OF the influence upon the emo
tions of the vast oridlty OF the desert She
has set down IN Palestine a man who has
abandoned the faith OF his fathers. even as
Mr.. Hchens placed in the Sahara an es-
capped Trappist monk. She marries her I'M
believing savant TO a woman of the most
acute religious perceptions and emotions
But she causes her woman to lapse from
the great love which the desert inspires
when her religious instinct resumes its full
sway, whereas Mr.. Hichers made his man
turn back to religion In The Conquest OF
Jerusalem there is less purely descriptive
writing than in The Garden OF Allah and
more discussion OF the conflict Of faiths
around the scene OF Christ's martyrdom.
With caustic touch she exposes the frauds
praeticed IN Jerusalem upon the credulous
followers OF this. that and the other church
and sect She Is especially severe In her
indictment OF the hypocrisy OF certain
groups Of religionists. The man who re-
cants his religion comes 10 love thu pagan
worship. remains Of which he an archae-
ologist has unearthed. Then begin his mis-
fortunes He loses ali. wife fortune and
child and finally life itself. Tragedy fol-
lows tragedy. II IL all gloom and sadness
and much OF II is erotic TO a degree TO cause