The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-04-18
THE NEW PUBLICATIONS.
SOME OF THE LATEST BOOKS OF
 THE SEASON.

SOME OF THE LATEST BOOKS OF
 THE SEASON.
 ~Sheridan's Major Dramas" Edited by Professor NettIetOn of Yale--' The Thingfng Machine" by Jacques Fu-
 trelle-"PhantoIn Wires" by Arthur
 stringer-"The Morning Glory Club," by George \. Kyle--"The Diamond Key" by Alvuh NJ. Kerr-other Books.
 In their highly meritorious "Athene- um Press Series" Ginn & C., Boston, have just issued "Sheridan's Major Dramas" The Rivals, The School for Scandal, The Critic. edited by George II. Nettleton, assistant professor of English in the Sheffield Scientific school, Yale university.
 This edition of Sheridan's greatest plays aims to combine thorough criti- cal investigation of the text with ap- preciative study of Sheridan's work as a dramatist and of his place in the his tony of English drama. For the first time the texts of "The Rivals, "Tsle School for Scandal" and "The Critic receive complete annotation based on contemporary evidence. Explanations and Illustrations drawn largely from eighteenth century documents-me- moirs, diaries, letters, novels, poems, essays, newspapers and magazines furnish interesting and original side lights on the history and interpretation of Sheridan's plays. Thus, to explain the local color in "The Rivals" one of the Introductory sections to the play gives a picture of eighteenth century Bath drawn from such sources as Gold smiths Life of Richard Nash, Christopher Ansteys poem The New Bath Guide Fanny Burney's diary Horace Walpoes letters and Smollett's novels. Similarly, another section gives the history of the initial failure and final triumph of "The Rivals, based on the evidence of contemporary news papers and literary reviews.
 The text itself is a reprint by per- mission, for the first time in America, of Fraser -Rae's English edition of the authentic text of sheridans plays talk en from the original manuscripts
 The book has frontispiecei list price 90 cents; mailing price s1.
 "The Thinking Machine" by Jacques Futrelle, is empaatically an intensely interesting book. Sitting in an execu- tive position on a great daily newspa- per, the trained journalistic eye comes upon many strange stories of real life, which, with little establishment, be- come great stories. Jacques Futrelle, author of "The Thinking Machine" and "The Chase of the Golden Plate, ' has crystallized in fictional form some of these strange stories of mystery and, in the person of the Thinking Machine, an aged scientist has solved them. The newly published book, by Dodd, Mead & Co.,, therefore, is more than fiction It introduces a new type of story and a new character to solve them. The book is composed of secen stories, in all of which seemingly im- preferable criminal mysteries are most N. skilfully and astonishingly unravelled, or seemingly impossible things are ac- complished. The hero is a man of sup posedly marvellous mental capacity, a physician-scientist who holds that thought will solve all problems, and he bends his energies in these stories to the unravelling of criminal mysteries that are brought to his attention, main ly by Hutchinson Hatch, who is a sort of Dr. Watson to his Sherlock Holmes. In the opening story he wagers that he can escape from a prison cell within a definite period of time, and he succeeds in manner that is as entertaining as it is plausible. The titles of the other tales are: 'The Scarlet Thread" The Man Who Was Lost" The Great Auto Mystery" "The Flaming Phantom, :" "The Ralston Bank Burglary" and s'The Mystery of a Studio' Through them all MT. Futrelle succeeds in hold ing us in suspense over the outcome to the very end.
 The book mas not a dull page and is very skillfully and entertainingly writ ten. For sale at Judd's, $15O,
 "The Diamond Key" and How the railway heroes won it; by Alyah Mill ton Kerr, author of Young Heroes of Wire and Rail-, etc. Illustrated by F. B. Masters and others
 MT. Kerr, giftel author of railroad stories, was once train despatcher and knows thoroughly the skill bravery, and de- votion of those who do the actual work connected with the making and run ming of great railway lines. He tells in twelve chapters as many deeds of unusual heroism and fertility of re- source occurring on the Western Cen tral R. R." with scenes mostly laid on the "skygrades" in the mountain re- gions of Colorado and Arizona The diamond key" is a badge of honor given by the superintendent for con spicuous service, and each chapter tells of the thrilling deeds of one of the twelve who won it. It is impossible to describe the hold these stories take upon one. No more powerful tales of honor and courage have ever been told and if any ones blood is not stirred by reading this book, his is a hopeless case. (Price, $1.50) Published by La throp, Lee & Shepard Co.,, Boston.
 Dave Porters Return to School" by Edward Stratemeyer. Third volume of ''Dave Porter Series" Illustrated by