The sun., 1907-11-09
other Books.

Those interested In the Gaelic revival
will be pleased with Lady Gregory's ad-
nirable "A-BOOk of Saints and Wonders
Charles Scribner's Sonsl. The translation
Of the Celtic legends of ST. Bridget. St.
Patrick. st. COhimbkin. St. Brandan and
the rest Is offered in The form of the original.
without a word Of comment. That is the
right method, IL the legends are to be judged
as literature. There is much that Is trivial.
much that fs not very clear in these stories.
presented in the condensed shape Of the
old texts, which the later traditions amplify.
but there are also passages and phrases OF
the greatest poetic beauty, which can hold
their own with the poetry Of any Language
and any period. II might have helped tho
sympathizing reader who is not OF Irish
extraction II some hils had hee1 given ae
TO the. pronunciation Of the fearfully built
proper names or the meaning Of the Gaelic
terms that are retained. The modern
equivalents OF all geographical names
would be helpful. too. As IL is. however.
Lady Gregory's book is delightful and Il
is printed in attractive form.
Being the wife OF celebrated man is not
necessarily title TO distinction. and we
fear that in Madame de Lafayette and Her
Family" by NJ MacDermOtt Crawford
CJames Pott and Company the readers
interest will turn to the incidents OF the
French Revolution and 10 the letters by the
husband rather than to the subject OF the
memoir. This Is not the great Nine. de
Lafayette, the precicuse who wrote the
-Princesse de Cleves" and drew the picture
| of the court of Louis XIV. for us. but the
| wife Of our own American Lafayette. The
book welds together two important divisions
| in Lafayette's life, his career in America
and that during the French Revolution. but
| his wife was dead before the strange last
| act Of the 1880 revolution. Many letters OF
Lafayette are included In this biography
which suffers somewhat from too much sem
timentality.
A fairly good account Of miracle and mo-
rality plays has been written by Prof.
! Charles Mills Gayley Of the University OF
California in Plays Of Our Forefathers'
| CDuffield and Company. New York;. IL In
based largely on the English plays which
have therefore an undue prominence. but
the author has a scholarly knowledge OF his
subject which gives merit to his book. He
unfortunately has thought fit to give way
throughout TO an elephantine sprightliness
which is very trying to the reader and which
makes him use a stilted vocabulary that Ia
only comparable to Elizabethan euphuism.
To the visit Of Gen. Booth apparently We
| are indebted for two volumes Of British
manufacture on the Salvation Army. The
Romance Of the Salvation Army by Hulda
Friederichs (Cassell and Company. is a
sympathetic account Of the work the army
has done and intends to do. The intro
duction, written Oy Gen. Booth. Is ar
admirable bit OF English. On the other
hand Mr.. John MaDsOn's Tho Salvation
Army and the Public George Routledge
and Sons: f.. p. DuttOn and Company Il
an indictment Of Gen. Booths, 6nancia
methods and Of his administration, anC
severe1 and perhaps uncharitable. criti
cism OF the Salvation Army's work The
two books together should give the in
quIring reader pretty clear idea OF tina
extraordinary organization. Both are base,
largely on the work done In Great Britain.
Much interesting antiquarian knovledg
has been gathered tcgsther IN 'Litsl'