The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-03

tire and this couple travel around to- gether with incident pleasures and dis appointments. The plot of this story deals with what happens to Cecil and Theodora-at Marseilles and Port Said, where they stopped on theiy way to Mesopotamia. The denouement of the story Likewise the aforesaid moraD comes in at Port Said; the book will have to be read to know it, for this review will not tell you in a hundred years. Of course the moral is there but the people, or a certain class of them who read Victoria Cross stories are not going around with any lantern hunting for morals-anyhow who does look for morals in books? There Is no doubt about the story being very intersting notwithstanding the moral If you read 1t you must not lay the blame on this review, because 1t will very truthfully reply, T teld you so." The Finances of Sir John Kynnersey.
 By A. c. Fox-Davies. CThe John Lane company.)
 If any one has read 'The Mauleverer Murderers," published a few months ago which was one of the best detective stories written in a long time, or 'The Dangerville Inheritanes," published last year, from the pen of MT. A. c. Fox Davies, he will know what kind of sit-
 
 Davies, barrister at law in London, sends forth "The Finances of Sir John Kyn- nersley'' is just as good story as the other two mentioned aboVe-and that Is saying a great deal. There is no moral in this story. there may be an 'un- moral'' if there is such a thing-if there isnt-there ought to be.
 "Sir John Kynnersley," a baronet had lost all his money when this book opens t1,,N Ia, fAf Ina otr was up against it." He had no money to pay for the next rent of his room, or apartment 1t is proper to call any hall bed room these days. Kynnersley was about to be dispossessed for non-pay- ment of his rent. Then begins his ad- ventures in finance-which are wonders from beginning to end. He starts off by finding, at the most opportune time for him, diamond locket which he dis poses of In a most ingenious way From this first adventure he settles down with some $3,000,000 as a respectable member of the English community, the interest in the story holds sometimes intense, all ways strong. It is really story of sue cessful rascality. Kynnersley success fully carries on his games of fraud on all kinds of people from an American mill lionaire up or down to an English duke. The good thing or bad thing, as the case may be, is that Kynnersley never IS caught. He always wins out Most of the books on thievery, rascaiity and such, al ways end up with the criminal on his way to prison. With, Sir John Kynnersey it was the reverse. MT. Fox-Davies' ideas of an AmericS flionaire are very absurd. When g l wished to im- rersonate an Ana an, all that was deemed necessary by the author of his doings, was to put on him false 'goatee'' aud give him loud, rasping nasal twang.
 The book is one which will keep the reader on the jump, which is pleasing at times. One would not care possibly, to read the 13 experiences of Sir John right straight through at one stting-but the next time he taBas up the book, the dose of interest k Il be just as strong and enlivening.
 A Sten1& the Crimson Dahlia. By
 JamesI Ike CMoffat, Yard & Co)
 There Was very nice young American gentleman who was taking his first trip abroad and on his journey he landed at Constantnople to see what was go- ing on down there. He found great deal-natrally he was looking for it. You always find what you are looking for-witness the muck-rakers in the yell low magazines. On the day of our friends arrival at Constantinople he met a whole lot of people-strange charac- ters, most of whom influenced his life, especially a "beeysootiful" young wom- an influenced his life for the next few months. While standing a bridge near the city our hero noticed the pass ing back and forth of broken stem crimson dahlia. Our hero noticed too, that mixed up in this flower passing business, was the aforesaid "beeyootiful' young woman. She becomes, of course, the heroine of the story-so these two young people had to be brought together and they are. This crimson dahlia was the sign or signal of a conspiracy brew ing in Servia-the object being to change kings. This lovely young woman had become interested in this conspiracy, not from ulterior motives as had all of the other conspiratOrs-this young woman wished by change of Servia's rulers to benefit the common people of that country whom she had grown to love. Now, the hero discovers, by Sherlock Holmes" methods that this lovely young, woman was being made cats-paw by the conspirators against Servia.
 He finds out that this young woman is being incorrectly told that the struggle for Seryia's throne was for the benefit of the poor people of that country-when, of course, it was not This young girl and her money--she had lots of it-were sim
 
 sist the bloody conspirators. So soon as the hero finds all of this out, in he jumps and pretty quick, too, to save the lovely girl whom he loves very desperately now, for it is most two days since he first saw her. Soon the scene of the story shifts from CoDstantinople to Sofia, Ser via--not before our hero gets mixed up in 100 or so-nore or leSs-exciting adven- lures in the former city. The hero on his arrival at Sofia, where is now also the charming young woman. "gets busy try ing to save his sweetheart. Of course in his strenuous efforts to save his sweet heart, who declines to be saved" he be- comes nightly 'misjudged, by that young woman. She spurns him a time or two, but her spurns were like water on a ducks back. Nothing could lose or phase him at all. He simply must save" her, whether she wished to be saved or not. Of course, this misjudging between lovers has to happen in books, otherwise books would be half as long as they are, but the reader can be sure that everything between the lovers is bound to turn out well--to have the happy ending. It al- ways does, and so it did in "The Stem of the Crimson Dahlia-" The hero won saved and married the lovely young woman. The stem of the crimson dahlia, it should be explained, was to show by it's prongs or whatever dahlias use for prongs, what time or date the conspiracy was to hap pen, hence the promiscuous passing back and forth.
 This book is light; 1t is filled with the moral which none of us are looking for or care for when found--that true love never in this world has or will run smooth, bl1t that there are recOmpenSeS. more