The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-18

that some of her readers are feeling that Mrs. Ward in writing this story "To my kind hosts beyond the Atlantic, from a grateful traveller IS defendlns so to speak the union of such thor- oughly unfitted man and woman as OH yer, the cad, and Diana the darling It is just such marriages as Mrs. Ward has so admirably portrayed that are turning our courts of justice into di- vorce mills until, as some one has put it, 1t has come to the point with us In America when our Mendelssohn and Lohengrin marches are suggestive of a funeral dirge.
 One of the chief pleasures in the read ing of all Mrs. Wards work Is that of feeling that we walk in a world Of real events, events of consequence amid plenty of people, people who do things in life There are many characters in this story every one admirably drawn, and while 1t is, as Mrs. Ward puts it, the testing of Diana Mallory" it might just as well have been called "The Testing of Oliver Marsham' or '"The Testing of Sir James Chide," the great criminal lawyer, defender of Dianas mother and devoted slave to Diana or even "The Testing or MT Ferrier." for these two latter men are the strong men of the novel. Every one in the story is strong character with the exception alone of poor Ollver' for Oliver had tilted Diana when ms mother threatens to cut him off. betrays the old friend who has put him in parlia- ment and tries shamelessly to lie out or the betrayal; so thorough a cad, that when he had in turn been tilted by an- other girl and later lies on his back wrecked In body and ruined in that capi- tai 70" career, which was m1ghtier to his small little soul, than the great, won derful love which had come into his lie, he sends for Diana and very kindly allows her to marry him. Mrs. Ward knew what Oliver was; that is the reason that we, through her genius, recognize him.
 Of course, '"The Testing of Diana Nal lory' Is a great big book. No review can do such novel anything like justice; the will to do so must be simply taken TOT the deed The few things of real good in our English literature these days, com- parativeiy speaking, should be cherished, and up at the head of the list should, and no doubt will be, "rhe Testing of Diana Mallory"
 ''The Man Who Ended War" by Hollis
 Godfrey Gittle, Brown & Co)
 The scenes in "The Man Who Ended war" change from Washington to New York, to London, to Folkestone. on the English chanr l, and to the dunes beyond scheveningsr twhereyer that may posi- lively be). back again to America pretty fair skip about, regular game of ping pong, Is it not for just one story? Well, rather.
 The man who ended war was lover of peace. This man caused a great deal or fun one day in the offices of the Secretary of War at London, Washington, Paris, Berlin and all around the circle Of great powers, by sending a letter on parch- ment (don.t forget that parchment busi- nessD, saying to the aforesaid great pow CTS of, the world that he would give them only a short time within which to disarm themselves-by themselves, of course; no foreign interference. Of course, the gov- ernments had great laugh over this letter from a supposed lunaitc. Just in- agine the President at Washington now getting a letter like thati Well. this man who intended to end war stated also fin his parchment communication that If the governments did not heed his warning and get very busy, there would be some thing doing. to-wit: he would on cer- tain day destroy a battleship belonging to the United States; on another desig- mated date a German battleship would disappear; then an English ship, French man-of-war, right on down the list. or course, this letter was treated with dig nified contempt; in fact 1t was thrown away in the waste basket of the Secretary of War at Washington, where 1t was found by a newspaper reporter who tells this story.
 The man made good; he kept demolish- ing ships; they were not blown up-they simply disappeared; the secret of the de- struction will be told right here. What's the use of keeping the reader worried? None! The secret was that this man had discovered some power or gas, what ever 1t was, the author naturally doesn't know himself but makes out he does but fails. This power caused the disin- tegration of all metal, poked at and turned loose on anything made of metal, the component clements of metal worked on would simply tear themselves aloose. and where, for instance steel battle ship once stood in the ocean, would be nothing save space, the clements of the iron and steel construction having evap- orated into the air.
 The newspaper reporter who fol- lowed the hot trail of the man who will end war, willy-nilly. for the love of peace tells us how he, together with a lovely really "beeyootifuf' girl traced the matter out, a wonderful piece of Herlock Shomes-stuff, or on that or der. But the story which is really an exciting novelette, (most of our so called novels are simply short stories with one incident extended into novel; lettes), is frst-class of its kind. The story will hold the interest. it will not
 cause any hard feelings toward any one, to the majority of readers, it will be considered simply lovely" and 1t is, of it's type. No sleep will be lost over it, but to kill lot of time at home or on a short railway journey four hours could very well be spent on "The Man Who Ended War" The book is something of thriller, tn ose who like that kind of stuff, this book will please. others who may care for something lit '. tie better than a lot of exciting in- cidents--might be bored intolerably- but it Is really worth the risk, thu book is. that is if the risk and result is not charged to the account of this re- viewer.
 "The Man From Brodney's," by George
 Barr McCutcheon, Dodd, Mead &
 Co.).
 Those who not so many years ago danced by, or even sang. "But Casey Would Waltz With the Strawberry Blonde; And the Band Played On" around about Coney Island, West End or thereabouts, will simply thrill over Mir. George Barr McCutcheon's new masterpiece, entitled 'The Brass Tipped Goat From the Bowery," beg pardon, 'tis truly "The Man From Brodney's," but what's the difference? Nothing in a name certainly not to MT. McCutcheo con, names, situations, blondes or "brunes do not phase MT. McCutcheon little