The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-24

| Wharton. Published by Ohdrles Scribner's Sons.
 Reform is mighty fine thing for | this country though many may quib- | ble over the size of the dose to De | taken And with the continued ineom- | ing waves of reform the reader of much | of the present day fiction hopes that | one of the most potent waves of all | will sweep through the publishing ] houses of this country with consequent | purifying results. To be speeinc, the l title of Edith Wharton's newest book- 1 "The Fruit of the Tree" needs the sane right hand of some active 'legis- 1 lature" hold of it before it emerges | beyond righteous control For we are reminded of the old Chinese adage: l "Of the unspoken word thou art mas 1 ter, but the spoken word is master Of ! thee" It Is unfortunate that writer | capable of the clever, original and all | together entertaining work that Edlth Wharton can do should so misJudge | the desires and needs of the reading public as to formulate such story as her latest one. The conception, the | characters and the incidents all lead up to and revolve around the com- mitting of such q crime as scafeely any other conceivable can match. And surely it does not take reader with very great insight into things psy- chological readily to see the poisonous suggestiveness of such fiction. The opening pages of the story ring good I and strong and true and the reader gives quick sympathy and interest to the splendid creation of John Am herst. But it must honestly be said that the reader instinctiyely demands something better than that which de- velops next. The poisoning by trained nurse of the wife of the man she loves cannot be defended upon any plea whatsoever, and in it's selec- tion as a motif" in fiction cannot be condemned in too unqualified terms. It is inexcusable; it would cheapen and degrade the work of the greatest It, erary genius that ever lived. And the following summing up of Justine's experience gives the cue to the mind that could ever have conceived such motive.
 "She accepted the last condition as
 she had accepted the other, pledged to
 the perpetual expiation of an act for
 which, in the abstract, she still refused
 to hold herself to blame But life is not
 a matter of abstract principles, but
 succession of pitiful compromises with
 fate, of concessions to old traditions,
 old beliefs, old charities and frailties.
 That was what her act had taught
 her-that was the word of the gods to
 the mortal who had laid hand on
 their bolts. And she had humbled her.
 self to accept the lesson, seeing hu-
 man relations at last as a tangled
 and deep-rooted growth, dark forest through which the idealist cannot cut his straight path without hearing at
 each stroke the cry of the severed
 branch. Why woundest thou me% Isn't this enough to give the reader the blues for a month And the subtle tk |. fAfr tUn h heff caused 1t! That Justine was not in the least "humbled" Is proven on the next page where it reads: "A wave of an- ger swept over Justine at this last derisive stroke of fate"
 What Justine needed and needed | badly was glimpse of the inexora- | ble, immutable law-"Whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. Camp and Trail" by Stewart Ed | ward White. Published by The Out l ing Publishing company.
 MT. Whites books are always a call | to the forest with all It's freshness and | vigor and health and purity And no | one can peep Into his revealed life I there without receiving a wonderful | draft of inspiration and sweetness. The present volume Is practical experi- | ence book for those who love outdoor l life: and in it the author tells what is necessary and what is unnecessary Tor comfort and convenience In the camp and on the trail. And while 1t Is or special value to the practical summer campers it Is also of genuine interest to the nature lover. And all presented in such a perfect example of the print CTS best art as to make it's possession a delight.
 The holidays will soon be upon us and with it always come many Of the cholcese treasures of the book craft. First on the list because of its acknowledged charm ever. we place the "Chrlsty BOOK Ihs
 year 1t is "Our Girls" being an an
 tbology," and the illustrations, Of course,
 are by Howard Chandler Christy. Pub
 lished by Moffat, Yard & Co., The book
 is made up of poems about Our Girls
 in praise of '~The American Girl. The choicest bits from many of our best loved
 writers.
 From the press of The Bobbs-Merf1li
 company We have "The Jeweled Toad,
 by Isabel M Johnston, for the little folk
 the pictures are by ". w. Denslow and
 are exceedingly quaint and original
 .In Old School Days. by Will Carle-
 ton, may be primarily for very youthful
 readers yet it's perusal will bring back
 flood of happy, tender memories to ehe
 "children of a larger growth The DOCK
 is from the press or Mollde, isti u N M,
 and with its dainty border designs or
 green and white and color illustrations
 by James Montgomery Flagg 1t Is ex-
 ouisite beyond description.
 Holly" by Ralph Henry Barbur, pub
 lished by J. B. Lippincott company, Is
 another attractive little work that Will
 make suitable gift book for the holiday
 season. It Is a romance of southern
 girl and the illustrations are by Edwin
 F. Bayha.
 couple of books for the "sterner sex
 of youthful age are two stories just out
 by Herbert Strong, entitled Rob. the Ranger" and "On the Trail of the Arabs" published by The Bobbs- Merrill company Rob, the Ranger Is story of the fight In Canada and is necessarily filled with a series of exciting adventures but healthful ones of valor and manliness. Little Dinners With the Sphinx" by Richard Le Gallienne. Published by Moffatt Yard & Go.
 .Iittle Dinners With the Sphinx" Is a sportively suggestive title and the reader is not deluded in his pleasant anticipa- tions: and one of the choicest bits is the little dinner under the caption: New loves and old" It is clever conceit and will charm with it's witchery the weary searcher after the new and novel-even new loves. Poor old thing" laughed the Sphinx, when the philosopher confessed that his laziness was "emo- tional," yet she hastily added; "Tell me about falling in love-" and then follows the by-play on "old loves and new x,1 s.I,o