Evening star., 1907-10-19

earned success. There are several
characters in the book which offer tan
tdllzfng suggestions of possible devel-
opment. Col. Rupert Winter is worthy
of more intimate acquaintance than
the bustling narrative allows. And
aunt Rebecca cries for exploitation.
Ihere may be some readers, moreover,
who will have some sly satisfaction
In the lack of absolute respect shown
by the author to certain idiosyncracies
of the Daughters" But the story
does not admit of lingering with even
the most beguiling companion in the
breathless chase from the east to the
streets of what was once San Fran
cisco.
MAN OF SARK. BY John Oxenham,
author of The Long Road" Illus
trated by W. T. Benda, New York:
The Baker & Taylor Company.
Washington: Ballantyne.
The Channel Islands in 1900, at the time
when England was at war with France
and Spain, furnish the theater for an
idyllic love story The type of the "Men
Of Sark," men who counted themselves
English from their physique and their love
OF fair play, but who were French in their
corrupted language and in certain traits
which had crept in through the years
of nearness to the French mainland
makes fine actors in stirring drama.
Mr.. OXenham has managed to reproduce
distinctive atmosphere in this story of an
out-of-the-Way corner Of the earth. While
A Man of Sark' has not the unusual d s.
tnction of his former success. The Long
Road, 1t is Workmanllke production.
THE TRUCE IN THE EAST AND ITS
AFTERMATH; being the sequel to
The Re- Shaping of the Fac East"
BY L. Putnam Weale, author of
Manchu and Moscovite" With il
Iustratlons and maps. New York:
The Macmillan Company. Washing
ton: Woodward & Lothrop
In the belief that the present peace in
the east is a truce rather than a peace,
the author has given a summary of con-
ditions as they are today. The Man
churian question, he says. is just as acute
in new and more subtle form. as it has
ever been before. The position in Korea
is still highly unsatisfactory. The rise of
Japan as a military monopolistic power
may become a most serious matter for
China. Permanent peace can be secured
only by the steady growth of China. Mr..
Weale'S book includes a portion devoted
to Japan and the New Position" one
treating China and the Chinese" and one
on The Powers and Their Influence"
There is an appendix which includes the
text of valuable manuscripts and map of
the territory considered. The political sub
ject-matter is interspersed with records of
travel and description of localities which
serve to make clearer the conditions de-
sCribed.
UNGAyA BOB; a Winters Tale. By.
Dillon Wallace, author of The Lure
of the Labrador Wild" Illustrated
by Samuel NJ. Palmer. New York
Fleming II. Revell Company.
Bob Gray. fine. well grown lad of six
teen, finds that he must play mans part
on a remote and desoIate hunting trail
The journey is a labor of love, undertaken
that he may earn money enough to take
his little sister Emily to the nearest town
where a surgeon may restore her to
health. The story of the dangers and suf-
ferings that he encounters and the good
luck that crowns his efforts is simply and
vividly told.
LIFE OF JAPAN. By Masuji Miyakawa.
author of Powers of the American
People" New York: The Baker &
Taylor Company. Washington:
Woodward & Lothrop.
Mr.. Miyakawa in his concluding chap
ter, which discusses the possibility Of an
American-Japanese war, gives ten -ea-
sons which, If fostered, would prevent
such a catastrophe. He cites the inter-
national positions of the two countries,
their common interest in the As:atic COM
mercial fed, their pride in humanitarian
ism, the increasing knowledge of the civ
ilizations of the two nations, the present
Anglo-Japanese alliance, the closeness of
the individual relations of the people
that is, the recognition of the attitude Of
teacher and pupil-the high standards
maintained in each country of RESPONSE
bility to the general good, the realization
by both nations of the essential factors
to lasting peace self-respect and mutual
respect, the people of each country thor
oughly realize that material comfort and
material development are not the end of
human government, and, finally, the gov
ernment of each nation is conscious that
it is not the officials, but the masses of
the people, who are to be considered
To the reader who Is looking for an ac-
count of actual concrete conditions, these
distractions may seem far from the
world of reality; to the philosophic stu
dent or adept in international law, they
no doubt will be felt to contain body
enough.
The entire book, life in Japan" is
open to the same distinction. Mr. Miya-
kawa is well read, and his volume savors
more of his acquired legal information
from Europe and America than of the
a broad and idealistic spirit of the his
tory. institutions and aims of Japan,
but the analytic method has robbed the
volume of much of that picturesqueness
and charm which is associated usually
with all things japanese. Written for
Americans the book has become almost
too merely American.
1t may be questioned also whether 1t
has been wise to have indulged alto
gether a very proper pride in the use of
the acquired English. The author says,
There is consolation in the fact that he
can write out what he thinks and ex-
press his ideas without revision as to
literary form or to Eng ish. asking no
others idea. suggestion or assistance"
The fact is the English is somewhat Japa-
nese and the text somewhat International
New York's Bad-Boy School.
From the Springfield Republican.