The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-21
Lite1ary Lights and Shadons
BY S. MAYS BALL.

1 Of course Miss Rives should have said l that the clock was fast-not slow-other-
 wise her anecdote is all wrong
 l Miss Rives does tell some good things i about the Virginia negroes and southern
 home life in the Old Dominion-but even
 that will not save the book. Then she 1 repeats often negro anecdotes, such as one
 negro woman naming her twin children ] "Glycereen" and "yasleen," and another ! who selected the named for her child 'Iwlla," on account of her love for the bible text 'I will arise and go to my Fath- er''-those are old worn-out negro stor- es. They are referred to in another re- view this week in this paper. Most of Miss Rives' book however are quotations so what's the use? But the best part of 1t Is really the descriptions. worked in be- tween-few and far between Meraud's
 mouthings-of Virginia. life. homes and dinner tables So If Miss Rives declines
 to remain in literary seclusion the ought to give us say "Virginia Cook Book
 and Recipes" for she certainly could do
 that better. at least than she did the ut
 terly useless "The Golden Rose"
 "The Stranger by J. F. J. Caldwell
 (Neale Publishing Co.)
 Published some time ago, but still fresh, charming and delightful is "The l Stranger" by Col. J. F. J. Caldwell. Of , Newberry, s. c. This reviewer has been l called upon to read great many books many dealing as this does with Recon | struction'-namely Dr. Thomas Dixon's l tommy-rot etc. but there Is nothing bet l ter, no book gives so fair and just an l Idea of those trying times right after the 1 Civil war than does Col. Cadwells de- l lightful book, "The Stranger"
 ;. The plot Is all right, but 1t Is the char l acter drawing that exces. A young girl 1 from the north just after the war had to 1 leave home to earn her living. She was
 offered position and accepted 1t to teach school In small village in South Caro- l lima. She goes to her work amid all the | stress and excitement of reconstruction , times. There she meets all kinds of so- l cial ostracism, but in the end even be- l fore that, her innate pureness of heart
 and her attractiveness win for her friends l from among the representative southern
 people. The slight plot runs through the i book, In which love and adventure are in- 1 cidents. but 1t Is the picture of the ter
 rible times of carpet-bag rule In Colum-
 bia before 1876 which will thrill the reader with It's fairness and strength It Is with
 out doubt the fairest one of the best pen l pictures of reconstruction times yet writ 1 ten.
 And as for the Rev Dr. Dixon and 1 his triology of yellow novels, "The Leop-
 ards Spots," "The Clansman"t and "The Traitor" those books are simply not in
 the same class with "The Stranger" And 1 by that Is meant everything. Not only is
 "The Stranger thrilling, but delightful l ly well written There is no preaching l in the book The facts are stated, the l reader must do his own mental work l as to the truthful statements made. The ] book Is so exceptional--so way ahead of 1 the average book-that 1t Is a pleasure
 really to emphasize what a superior pro- 1 duction ''The Stranger" iss. The pictures | of the beautiful Carolinian homes, of the
 people, of the magnificent hero and charming heroine-well, the reader will
 simply have to get the book to under- | stand what this department wishes to 1 emphasize namely, that one cannot get more pleasure out of a present-day book
 than from "The Stranger" Try it and 1 see! N
 1 The Woman Pays. By Frederic P Ladd. | Mitchell Kennerley.)
 l "The Woman Paysr Sure! Who dis putes 1t? Every man, woman and child 1 "pays" for that matter-whatever the l pursuit. There is no get-rich-quick bus 1 mess, successfully carried out-in any 1 thing. If there is one true saying in l this world 1t Is that the dancer must l pay the f1ddler-it has ever been so-it 1 will ever be so.
 | But this book, light one in which a
 woman pays" is simply the story of
 misplaced unfairly won affections of l woman, who trusted in the pastor of her l church with very sad results "Victoria
 Kent married to very successful edi- 1 torial writer in New York, Winthrop Kent, a dramatist in embryo too: is 1 devoted to church work, particularly 1 after a sensational pastor takes charge | of the congregation. This pastor, MT.
 Harry Arthur Leslie" was great suc-
 cess in the New York ministry. He drew 1 great 'houses' by great lectures he called
 sermons; he was the coming man of his 1 church. Victoria Kent was happy un- | til she met him-all know of that kind! l Well, the story runs dealing with MT. Leslie and Victoras love and of the happenings pertaining thereunto. Poor I Victoria pays; and so does the Rev. 1 MT. Leslie for after the timely death | of his wife, Victoria the injured husband
 while his cooler head prevailed" difficult l to understand below Mason & Dixon's 1 line, only compelled the pastor to resign l from the ministry. "If I ever hear of 1 you in the pulpit of a Christian church
 anywhere in this land, I'll hunt you
 out of 1t. I'll go to your people with
 this letter." said Winthrop Kent to the
 Rev Leslie, while he exhibited to his l pastor the wife's letter telling all." Then 1 Winthrop found another sweetheart and l married her, with the distinct under | standing that she wouldn't take up l church work under the Rev. Leslie The | book is fairly interesting not too much l to hurt it is written in an easy news 1 paper reporting style-short and snappy; l and the authors familiarity with news l paper work in New York, evidences his l no doubt former connection with the press.
 De Namin' ob de Withstand other sketches from the Cotton -land-by Mary Fairfax Childs, (B. W. Dodge & Co.)
 This book dedicated to "the United Daughters of the Confederancy-scat tered far and wide throughout our goodly land--these simple tales of theic own simple folk" Is a very creditable production Mrs Childs, living now in Brooklyn, N. Y. tells of how these in cidents recorded so pleasantly In her book, have so appealed to her In her north ern home, she has not been able to resist the pleasure of publishing them Thus living again as 1t were. odd moments with the simple and low ing folk whose real existence is a oh erished remembrance of her childhood in Kentucky" The book is handsomely produced by the publishers, quite in line with the unusual good things put therein by the author. There are 22 sketches and poems in the book with which there are seven full page ones. Mrs. Childs brings in her poem, "De Namin' of de Twins" one of the old