New-York tribune., 1907-11-30
Literary .Neses and Criticism.

-" 9'ii'e "iu legcnd or anecdote. Line drawings,
Aa'ttcnes from photographs, and clever sketches
IN colo" III out fascinating book.
Mr. Sladen's book on The Secrets of the vati-
can Is not. as the title rnight suggest. book
Of tittle-tattie, but a volume of extremely IN
terestinS Information about important things
Il treats in the first place Of the life that goes
forward in the great palace telling what hap
ren" al 'he death of a Pope and at the election
of MS successor. explaining the constitution of
Inc college OF Cardinals setting forth the Incl
deh's Of an audience with the Pope and in
snort making clear the !ulI significance of the
'd'icah as the seat Of ar ecclesiastical govern
meht In the second part of the volume Mr.
Siadeh describes portions Of the building. like
''N crypt the library, the papal coach house
the borgia apartments, and so on which are not
generally shown u the public Reproductions
OF old prints and halftones from photographs
enrich the record. The style of the book is not
at all distinguished. but Mr.. saden has brought
quantity of interesting facts together and has
arranged them with system. No other book
printed in English gives quite what he offers
10 the reader
Miss Lillian Whiting has composed her ITALY.
the Magic Land of six or seven discursive
chapters which are partly historical and partly
mace up of personal impressions. There are
some very pleasant pages in her essay on THE
Period of Modern Art in Rome" in which she
recalls the numerous Americans who have lived
and labored in the city She continues the
strain effectively in dealing with social life in
Rome, Her other chapters glance lightly and
often IN rather sentimental mood at scenes in
the South or at Venice, and al figures like St
Francis of Assist and Vittoria Colonna 1t is an
agreeable miscellany. Here, too as in so many
Of our hooks of travel. the numerous illustra-
lions printed in h9IftODeS frOy,, pbO pI,S
Miss Elise Whitiock Rose and Miss Vida Hunt
Francis, who published couple of volumes
year or so ago on the ecclesiastical monumentn
Of Provence, Languedoc and Gasconv have done
well 10 carry their Investigations further and
prepare two more volumes on the "Cathedrals
and Cloisters Of Midland France" Their travels
through Burgundy Savoy. Dauphine and
Auvergne have brought them into contact with
some of the most brilliant achievements Of
French architecture. Gothic and Romanesque
especially Gothic. Much of this material too is
unfamiliar save To the professional student and
it is not always well known to him. The au-
thors freely quote from their authorities but are
painstakng in the firsthand description of what
they see. Particularly effective are they in their
illustrations, making their photographs from un-
conventional points Of view and being lavish
of details. which are always suggestive 10 those
who care at all for architecture. They know
when TO make an essentially dignifed picture Of
such a subject. say. the interior Of Angou-
leme or Perigueux, and when to select the free
and romantic effect as at lie Puy. These illus
trations have been scattered royalty through the
volumes, which have, indeed. something Of the
character of pictorial notebooks. It is a good
method to pursue in such study
Mr. and Mrs. MarshaIrs Cathedral Cities OF
France Is a good popular volume based on
thoroughgoing study of the subject 1t starts
in instructive vein, with a description of the
manner in which the typical cathedral town IF
France has come into being. and then the aG-
thors go from place to place. considering their
buildings from an architectural point of view,
but drawing upon general history to good pur-
pose when occasion invites The illustrations
In color have the merit of always presenting the
subject from a sufficient distance. to bring
out the general appearance of the cathedral
portrayed. its place in the ensemble.
"A Spring Fortnight In France by Miss jose
phine Tozier, is one Of those books, recently be-
come more and more conspicuous, in which notes
of travel are intertwined with purely personal
adventures. eliminating in sentimental situa-
ton The love story in this case is kept enough
in the background to give the author plenty of
space in which TO set down her impressions or
places like Saumur. Carcassonne and Aries. The
tone is frankly informal and vvacious. One OF
the characters describes Rocamadour as the
most enchanting. deciously funny. fascinating
perchy place she ever saw. But this does not
make Miss Toziers pages any the less sincere
In their enthusiastic celebration of historic
scenes and buildings. 1t is sprghtly lltte
book The illustrations are the inevitable haf-
tones from photographs. save for few quaint
mans and a charming frontispiece drawing by
Mr. New of the village of Rocamadour
The character Of Mr. Allan Fea's hooks and
Corners Of Old England" IS exactly in harmony
with that entcing title. The author rambles up
and down Suffolk. Norfolk. Warwickshre Dew
on and divers other counties, pausing for
moment or for an hour the scene allures him,
ami finding everything fish that comes to his
net. whether it be authentic history, legendary
eossin or the visible souvenir of some past event
II is a book of odds and ends written by a man
who loves such things and so knows how to
make the most Of them in the record Of his
,xandcrings. If in Somersetshire he finds him
self in the neighborhood of a fine old manor
house he will describe it and tell you the ro-
mantle story which may belong to it. but he
will soon leave this theme and repeat some WI
lage superstition. The country doctor, visited
b,, farmers whose cattle had fallen sick and
usually received by him at midnight. when in
carnations were held and mysterious powders
burned" reminds Mr. Fea of an episode in the
East End of London. where young Jewess not
long ago endeavored. with tho aid OF a Russian
wise woman" to bring back truant husband
by magical processes used in the Middle Ages
This author is in fact discursive with ven
geance This means that he lures the reader on
in beguilng fashion lie is helped by his neat
little photographs, mostly two TO page. and
all OF them clear crisp pictures of delightful
ole buildings. Many of Mr.. Feas architectural