Evening star., 1908-01-18

hhiioiS, Is iUil OF suspense anu WOHueI.
An American hero, air, spirftuelle
English heroine and a Mohammedan IA
matte. follower of Cagliostro. ara the
leading personalities. and the scenario
moves from an olo ghost-haunted manor
| house in Sussex to the wild deserts OF
upper Egypt at the time of the sacrifice
| of the heroic Gordon.
Mr.. Evans maintains love to be the only
! true alchemy. and illustrates his conten-
ton by the overthrow of the scheming
Ramidan and his hypnotized spouse. to-
Sether with their miserable tool, the Eng
lish guardsman, and the successful termi-
nation of the turbulent love story OF
Hen-y and the fair lady of the house OF
the Sphinx. 1t Is a conquest of love and
Anne rica.
GIFT BEARERS. A Novel BY Henry
Rerman, author of "Worshippers.
New York: The Grafton Press.
The author. whose work has proved him
skilled in the analysis OF subtle modern
types OF character, has essayed. in his
latest novel, the portrait of predestined
spinste-. Jessie Braeme is a Philadel-
phian. admirably endowed. with family
traditions-as the author would have his
readers believe-beautiful. intellectual.
She is without the usual feminine foibles.
She is built on a rather noble plan. But
everything is marred by the self-centered-
really give herself to any relation. She is
vain of her own strong will, of her free
dom from mere emotion. The novel takes
her through two experiences. Two men
love her. and she attempts to respond
The first is shown to be flawed physically
and she recoils from the anxiety which
would fall upon her as his wife, and sends
him away to battle for health. alone. The
second man Is f1awed morally. but. with
her help, Is ready to turn his back on his
weaknesses. Jessie turns from him IN
horror and passes on on her proudly
solitary course.
1t Is undoubtedly true that Mr.. Ber-
man has seized upon one of the dominant
modern tendencies Of feminine develop
ment. In certain respect his analysis Is
excellent. 1t Is marred. however by a
tendency toward hai:splitting. Many of
the conversations are fatiguing to follow,
because they pursue questions which are
either too ellfptically expressed to be In
telligible or else deal with thoughts which
are unfamiliar to the average reader. The
personages of the story move in what
seems to be a complete isolation-and that
in spite of the authors insistence on the
fact that the Braemes are well-connected
Phladelphians. The atmosphere of the
book is really that of the Russian Jew
ish intellectuals that made so strong
claim in "Worshippers." In general 1t
may be said that Gift Bearers suffers
author claims for his heroine. There is
Little of flesh and blood humanity in it.
Yet the central idea, that of a finely en-
dowed woman who rejects the gift bear
ers'' who offer her that possibility of the
complete development of her personality
which lies in service alone, is an i'm
pressive theme.
CHARACTER AND COMEDY. By f. v.
Lucas. New York: The Macmillan
Company. Washington: Woodward
& LOthrop.
The essays and sketches that make up
this little collection have been collected
from the Cornhill Magazine. the Outlook,
T. P.'s Weekly, the Country Gentleman,
the Academy and Punch. They are lei
surely, sympathetic disauisitions, as hap
PLY meandering as one of Lambs let
ters. They are full of an old-world charm
and replete with quiet humor and medi-
tative pathos. In a word. Character and
Comedy" is stamped with that rare hall
mark. a distinctive personality. my
Cousin the Bookbinder,'' in its small COM
pass, conveys an impression of the Lamb
household from an angle from which 1t Is
not usually approached; and the impress
sion is vivid one. Two Irishmen" fur
nishes studies Of two last-century per-
sonalities. racy and not to be missed. The
various episodes in the epistolary series
of the second part display English country
and city types in situations of light COM
edy. They are thoroughly lifelike and
amusing.
THE HAUNTERS OF THE SILENCES.
A Book of Animal Life by Charles
G. D. Roberts. author of The Kin
dred of the Wild" etc. With many
illustrations and Decorations by
Charles Livingston Bull. Boston: L.
c. Page & Co Washington: Wood
I'd Lot
Mr.. Roberts new book is in his best
style. He has chosen. as the title indi-'
Gates, scenes in animal life from the
II. zen north or from the little-known life
of the deep seas. The great polar bear. in
it's hunt for. food after the long winter
fast, is the actor in these dramas or the
salmon that perishes in its attempt to
leap 'the last barrier of the falls, the
moose or the mink. creatures that must
take part in the ceaseless warfare of the
natural life. The pictures of the lonely
spaces in which the warfare goes on all
wonde fully impressive. There is no at
tempt to ascribe human attributes to the
beasts. The author has kept well within
the limits of observation or OF proved
knowledge. In "On the Night Trail the
author strikes a finer and more dramatic
note, while Under the Ice Roof" with
| its story of the peaceful winter lie of the
'us'~ations are spirited.
AMERICAN BIRDS: Studied and Pho
tographed From Life. BY William
Lowell Finley. illustrated from
photographs by Herman T. Bohlman
and the author. New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons. Washington: Wood
ward & LothrOp.
The difficulty of photograpning birds
in the field is we'll known. Where a
naturalist, therefore, can exhibit photo
graphs of birds with their natural set
ting as background he has furnished
proof of the careful study of his SUBJ
jects. The present volume is an ad-
| mirable example of this kind of work.
The author, as well as his wife. has an
enyiable reputation in this field. A
series of representative birds, from the
humming bird to the eagle. has been
selected. Each chapter represents a
close and continued study with camera
and notebook at the home of some bird
studies were made in the west, an eff
fort has been made to make q selection
| that is national in scope. The marvel
| Gus individuality and expressiveness of
| the pictures is, in itself, q lesson in
bird nature.
Co.
OLD STEAMBOAT DAYS ON THE
HUDSON RIVER, Tales and Remi
niscences of the Stirring Times That
Followed the Introduction of Steam
Navigation. By David Lear Buck
man. New York: The Grafton Press.
The approaching dual celebration of
| the tercentennial Of Henry Hudson's
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