Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-24

into thu wrong house. they having crossed
the street from their own residence to find
a more comfortable shelter while waiting.
From such circumstances flow the incidents
which comprise this entertaining bit OF flu-
morous fiction. Mistakes are made on every
hand Nobody seems able to get the straight
of things The handsome young woman.
who moves in the highest social circles OF
London, Is suspected of belonging TO
gang of thieves and almost arrested on thar
charge. The diamond tiara of lady OF
title is stolen and passes from hand to
hand in a manner to suggest the devices OF
the writer of farce comedy- Ridiculous
though the situations are. they make de-
fghtful reading and 1.-THE Girl In Waiting
thus becomes one of the notable books OF
the season.
CONCERNING PAUL AND FIAMMETsTA.
BY Allen Harker. author of "A Ro-
nance of the Nursery" With an in
PRODUCTION by Kate Douglas Wiggtn.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Washington: Woodward & Lothrop.
In her preface to this story Mrs Riggs
tells of her delight year ego In finding in
England book called "A Romance of the
Nursery by an author unknown to fame.
She at once secured promise that the next
volume from the same pen should be given
to American readers. Here 1t Is. sufficient
justification of Mrs. Riggs Judgment that
the hearts of the people on this side of the
water. Concerning Paul and Fiammetta"
is indeed a book to arouse enthusiasm. 1t
is Juvenile In that 1t deals with the doings
of children. but the adult who in reading it
falls to feel something akin to genuine ardor
of appreciation will never be aroused by
narrative which breathes the spirit of gem
uine humor, truth to nature and wonderful
love. Paul and Fiammetta are quaint,
lovable youngsters whose escapades and
sayings are recorded with charming fresh
ness OF style through the medium of Janey,
now grown up, but contemporary of that
pair OF attractive children. The story is, as
Mrs. Riggs says in her preface, very Eng
hsh In its atmosphere, and perhaps it Is the
more acceptable for that fact, for 1t pre-
sents clear picture of happy, wholesome
life In rural England in fashion to make
stronger the friendship which should al
ways exist between the two countries.
SILAs STRONG; Emperor of the Woods.
BY irving Bachelor, author of "Eben
Holden, &c. New York: Harper &
Brothers.
Mr.. Bachelor avows In his preface his
entire independence of literary conventions,
and thus his critical readers is disarmed
at the outset. There are features of the
narrative, or rather character sketch
which challenge question until the whole is
regarded as a single-fgure presentation
instead of a novel. Silas Strong is a quaint
parsonage, silent and simple hearted. He Is
given to writing aphorisms in a memoran-
DUN book and his speaking vocabulary Is
graced by some extraordinary expressions,
which the author is at pains to explain as
he goes. Although a very slender love
story is worked into the pages somewhat
intrusively the main interest, apart from
the delineation of Strong, lies in the tale
of the march of Business into the heart of
the wilderness, the destruction of the for
ests ana the cupidity of man. Mr.. Bachel-
Ter presents the evils of unrestricted tim
ber-cuttlng in q manner to ensure convic-
ton. The book is clearly the product of
pen guided by strong personal feelings on
this subject. 1t may not be rated high as
fiction. but it is undeniably attractive as
an introduction to a homely philosopher on
the edge of things, who loves children and
animals and trees and dies hero's death.
THE TITLE MART; a Comedy in three
acts BY Winston Churchill. New
York: The Macmillan Company Wash
ington: Brentanos.
The play produced in this city last week
Is here offered in book form so that those
who did not attend may become acquainted
with Mr.. ChurchiIls initial dramatic under
taking. and those who did attend and who
approved may possess themselves of the
text for purposes Of study and further
delectatiOn. The action deals with the
maneuvers of an American step-mother,
whose husband is captain of industry,
TO secure a foreign nobleman as a step
Son-in-law Owing to a bit OF laundering
at the outset the real wearer of a title
changes places with the wealthy son of
British plutocrat and the complications
which ensue give rise to some rather con-
ventional situations. 1t Is evident from
this dramatic play that Mr.. Churchill must
either stick to his novel writing or improve
remarkably in the dramatic field to hold
his prestige.
UNCLE WILLIAM, the Man Who Was
Shifless. By Jennette Lee. author OF
THE Son of Fiddler" &c. Fronts
piece by Frederic Dorr Steele New
York: The Century Company.
Mrs Lee always writes charmingly and
in Uncle William" she presents a type
which will add materially 10 her fame as a
delineator of attractive human nature. She
calls her hero "a homely, realistic charac-
ter" The world would be infinitely better
for more Uncle Williams This simple,
shif'less kindly old man, resident of Ar-
chat, on the Nova Scotian coast, is a Sa-
marian, forgetful of self and considerable
OF others, from his cat Juno to Serga. the
sweetheart of his young artist friend, who
finds him in the midst of the wonderful
beauties of his seashore scenes. He loves
Andy Halloran, with all the faults of that
close-hsted. suspicious fisherman. He loves
the memory of Benny, his boyhood play
mate. He loves, above all, amplitude of
space, and has made himself poor buying
long stretches of coast land to keep off
neighbors. How he plays Cupid and nurse
and benefactor in general Mrs. Lee tells
with simple effectiveness rarely to be
found in modern fiction. She eschews the
conventional methods and allows Uncle
William to develop naturally into a friend
of her readers. His memory will not soon
fade.
THE OPAL SEAS Continued Studies in
Impressions and Appearances By
John G. Van Dyke, author of The
Desert" &C. Frontispiece from a paint
ing by d. E. simmons New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons. Washington:
Woodward 81 Lothrop.
His years of reading, of studying and of
writing on subjects closely akin to the
worlds art have given Mr.. Van Dyke both
a viewpoint and fund of information from
which he Is today well qualified to Judge
the sea as both an artistic and a scientific
phenomenon. In the pages of this small
volume are compressed many interesting
and instructive facts But more delightfu