The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-06-16

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TILE PRINCESS AND THE PLOUGH
MAN. by Florence Morse Kings
~ Icy. From Harper & Brothers. OF
New York, through tho Boil Book
and Stationery CO.., OF Richmond.
PIP 26l. sl.25.
1t matters not ut nll thnt this little
book is written from q rather imprnc-
Teal standpoint. People who read
novels have grown somewhat weary OF
the deadly rcnlistic and thoroughly
commonplace style OF the twentieth
century fiction, which cithor appears
under this guisc or from tho moro So
rious and purposcful standpoint
Certainly '"rho Princess aud tho
Ploughman" liz n most romantic and
sentimental idyl, but It Is also love
story pure and simple. and tho world
hasnt.a yet grown SO stald that 1t
hasn't time or inclination to smile In
diligently over tho whlms and vagnrics
Of hoy and girl swoethearts. or the
more serious fancios OF men and wo-
mon.
And however idyllic. and consequent
~ improbable. tho 'Ploughman and
tho Princess may seem to tho unsenti-
mentally inclined, anything In the
. shape OF story which turns a wo-
mans attention from tho vague philan-
thropics of youth and jurisprudence to
hp n
lior own happy flreside 10 born OF a
tendency in literature thnt is sure to
win encourascment and support from
rational lovers OF fiction.
TILE SMITHS. BY Keble Howard.
From Mcclure. Phillips & Co.. OF
New York, through tho Bell Book
and Stationery Co., Of Richmond.
PIP. ais.
Tho author OF this story informs his
reader that 1t Is a comedy without a
plot. It Is n simple record OF tho life.
{ first of a young married couple and
then of the maturcr years of man and
wife. who see their hopes accomplished
and their children growing up around
them.
There is nothing brilliant or exciting
or superlativcly clover or intensely
mysterious in THE Smiths" But there
is much that Is wholesome and natural
ana pleasant. The book Is filled with
me sweet doctrine of contcntment, with
the aims ana desires OF a woman whosc
ambitions do not soar beyond reason
able limits. to whom the love Of lus-
bhnd and home and children represents
tho supreme good and blessing that she
can ask for or expect.
mo Smiths" begin life In much the
same way that many other young peo.
pie DO But though they have the
usual TIFF with the cook. and the usua
ullliculties In giving their first Dime,
party, they are always careful to Sc,
q, most excellent example by making
their income and their cxncndIt,,ra,
correspond. - =
Inc tale wherein is set down tn,
measure Of their daily round, tbonet
% SIMPLY related, bears, nevertlelc So
we stamp OF genuincness, and viii NO
lall 10 make It's appeal to the scnsihI,
and appreciativei reader. =
FAMILY IIl SECRETS BY Marion Foste,
Co. Of New Yo olom th TIE 4, Mhaeml1,a!
BOOK and Stationery Co'@of nich
,lnon d. PIP. 211. si.25.
tells nc ~ 'a mn secrets that the autho
lcins occupying the mind and though +
Of many OF the men and women Of TIA,
y
The secrets discussed begin with m,
removal OF family. under stress o
adverse circumstances. to the edge 8
the town. The advantages and the dis
a the !, that came to them from
keeping Of tho stock and poultry. th
difficulty Of getting an abundant waite
supply, and the peculiar features o
s ,n.o,E an society are most entertain
lhely told. the author saying, as sh
sums up her rctrOspcct:
our life was not all hardship Their
were, were times when sat on our from
at the gate; when the evening tint
died from the sky and tho four O'clock
fined HI the >ir with fragrance: whe
me dng lay warm against my feet tn
softly now and then for frendlinesl
where the gentle ripple of the rive
stole stole, family to my ears. and Mrs. Bren
neap was b sins ats her BABY
dear husband. At least this @' count Il.
life, which so greatly smplified on
contact with the primal necessitie
lifted part OF the burden from hi
patient shoulders, and I had the con-
fort Of knowing that we all worked
we all helped"
on In the telling Of the secrets Their
scrption Of tho first christmas sper r
on the farm and the thoughts it er
kindled; tale OF carly springtime an
Its attendant hurry and rcstessnes
and disorder; then chapter to app:
blossoms. sunshine, n swept and gal
nished house, order and happiness; ar
other on the desrnbility and necessit
of our-of-door eXcurst Sns and recre
ations for mon and w<1nen; a sermo
on tho joys of suburban hospltalit
alll concluding one on the sympatS
and comprehension that makes me