Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-30

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ed by the accidental physical and social
conditions adequately to appreciate the ma
ture of mans spirit and his action upon
society and it's influence upon him.
Professor Woodbury. is happy in having
perspective for his essay on Emerson, and
while he has, of course made no attempt
at that complete biography which will re-
veal the whole sage of Concord with much
critical insight and a sympathetic COM
prehension, at once scholarly and tender,
he has provided a distinct and convincing
portrait of the man. His final summary Of
Emerson'S influence may perhaps be found
in these words: He was exclusively man
of religion; his other thought Is a corol-
larry from his religious premises.
To those who live in the spirit he will long
be- as Arnold said the friend; to the young
and courageous he will be an elder brother
in the tasks of life; and in whatever land
he is read he will be the herald and attend
ant of change the son and father of revo-
luton
THE TURN OF THE BALANCE. BY
Brand Whitlock author of The Happy
Average" etc. Illustrations by Jay
Hambidge indianapolis: The Bobbs-
Merrill Company.
A clever study of some remarkably
pleasant people and a vitriolic arraignment
Of the law of the land. the administration
of justice and the punishment of crime
against society. Belief in the fundamental
accuracy Of Mr.. Whitlock's exposition of
present conditions would be almost suf-
f1cient to drive the ordinary American citi-
zen to the welcoming arms of Russian civ
ilization.
Gordon Marriott, the main figure In the
book, is an average sort Of lawyer-person
who doesn't even make love Particularly
we'll. His clients are extremely unfortu-
nate. Edes, public prosecutor, a district
attorney individual, who is evidently Of
addition to being something Of a cad
Mr.. Whitlock's patter of crime reveals
considerable study of his subject, and the
chapters dealing with the under world and
its denizens are as interesting and at
tractive as it Is possible for anything deal
ing with such vastly unpleasant subject
to be.
Altogether a gray book, one that was
written for purpose and may tend to
serve 1t In some degree. Not volume for
the abnormal the supersensitive or the
civicly sentimental
ROMANCE OF THE ITALIAN VILLAS.
Northern Italy.) BY Elizabeth w.
Champney, author of Romance of the
Feudal Chateaux, &c. Illustrated
New York: G.. p Putnam's Sons
Washington Woodward Lothrop.
This IS superbly illustrated volume of
some four hundred and fifty pages, delight
fully written, dealing with the traditions,
history and legends of the famous villas
Of northern Italy. Are the stories true? you
ask. Yes says the author; true as brain
and heart can make them. Sometimes the
story has come first the plot made familiar
by an Elizabethan dramatist but only half
believed, until the place itself has illus
trated and verified the almost incredible
scenario, as when, at Lante, the glorious
youths of the central fountain held high be-
fore my dazzled vision the star-crowned
mountains of the Montatos and I knew
that this was the villa purchased by Sixtus
v for Victoria Accoramboni.
Again, when history has told the ro-
nance, vouching mcontestably for the melo-
dramatic episodes, and the crumbling walls
of the degraded villa have been inspected
only to make the tale seem more far away
and improbable, I have continued to seek
diligently, like the merchantmen matching
his goodly pearls, until from enc of Botti-
cells fading frescoes a face like that Of
Giovanni Tornabuoni has shown FORTH the
one lacking pearl completing and clasping
the circlet, making the story possible and
the place real
And 80 the authoress passes from one
noted villa to another, relating the loves
and hates of its occupants of by-gone days,
whose tragic lives form the history Of their
times and country, weaving into the story
a charming thread Of romance and tradi-
ton to relieve the more somber background
of history.
THE MINISTRY OF DAVID BALDWIN.
A Novel. By Henry Thomas Colestock
New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
The theme Of this deliberately didactic
but interesting story is the constant
flict between the old and the new beliefs in
regard to the inspiration Of the Bible. evo-
luton and higher criticism. The story it
SELF however. is simply told and seems to
rest upon real experience. David Baldwin,
a young minister fresh from theological
seminary and imbued with many advanced
ideas. is called to an ultra -conservative pull
pit. He Is a sincere young man, though not
always tactful, and he breaches the truth
as he sees 1t. He is PROMPTLY declared ''un-
sound" and a battle ensues between his
desire to be true to his principles and to
keep his position. A counter picture Of the
congregation itself. with its little factions
and chickering's Is given SO faithfully that
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