The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-26

Friday, the 24th instant new book called Some Ladies in Haste" The title to the book is slightly misleading in that
 one might judge that iE the cases de- scribed only were there some ladies m a hurry, whereas there were as there always are, just as many men as women (sometmes more) hurryng along, when ever the dear ladies' God bll@3 'em" give the signal. A great many times the men do not need nor wait for the signal | to be up and doing; when the notice | to double-quick does not come: Ambi- | tious men conclude that it is about time | for signal; that one should have been given, somebody has overlooked it, of | course, so up or down they go via the 1 pathway of love, getting there on innum- l erable bumps, throw-downs and not few l casualties. But it is all in a lifetime l and MT Chambers who does seem to
 write of club and ''sassiety'' life in New | York, not possibly as it is, but as 1t should be, tells us all about five cases
 of men and women who were compelled | to get busy on loves affairs.
 | A young club man by the name o1 Manners had more time and money on | his hands than he knew what to do l with Manners was in love with young l lady who allowed him to believe that
 he was engaged to marry her, but he
 wasn't Manners principal occupation | was gazing off into space from the win l dows of the Lotos club on Fifth avenue
 This chap. Manners, being unable to 1 break himself of smoking, went to a san 1 atorium where he was cured and where | he also became familiar to a great extent
 with ''mental suggestion; absent treat
 ment.'' etc Manners had four friends in 1 his club of whom he was very Iona. l These young fellows were entirely 100 l common place, too much on the gel-
 rich-quick, hurry American plan or nv 1 ing, with no romance at all in thelr con | stitutions to suit Manners. So after tax ing up this study of mental sugges- tion" and so on, whatever that may l specifically mean he decided that ne | would experiment on these four lflehus
 of his. Manners idea being that he would
 fill into their personality just those | things which in his estimation these
 vonng fellows lacked. This he proceeded
 to do. While making up ms hlino oh l this subject Manners sat gazing las 1 us,iaD off into space from his club VIII 1 dow and he noticed the passing crowds 1 through his monocle. He picked out hVe 1 young women, who, through ms eye ! glass he did not recognize ana ne pro- ] nosed and did mentally suggest to I them. at the same time that he began
 work on his four friends, fellow mem i hers of the Lotos club, namely kelVih' Billy West, Todd, called 'Toddy TOT
 short. and Gray. Three of these fellows
 were hard headed Wall street sorokers' 1 successful in business and rich, put With- 1 out a particle of romance in their make
 up. The other was an advertising agent l Manners ''demonstrateI on these l friends and sent them out to do their l worst. unconscious of thelr mehtai 1 change The story of Some Ladies ln l Haste" deals with the happenlnss 1 brought about by Manners mental ill-
 terference treatment Four young men | find that they love the simple life' that l thev dislike the things which they 1or- ! merly cared for and the young women
 arc affected the same way. These TOUT l young chaps meet in romantice way, l the four young women, one or the latler
 being Manners half-way fiance-kelvln
 proposes to her and is accepted on sight. i All of the young couples fall In love OH 1 sight all from Manners interference. i Manners losses all of his money in pau i investment and goes to live on oe- I serted farm, where he meets the young ! woman whom he had "demonstrateo
 on that she, too, should take up lariii, i ing Manners falls in love, is accepted ! promptly, and the book ends. Everything i which Mir Chambers writes IS interest," l ing. This book is very light, oriSht anu l attractive Mr Chambers compels his i club men and society women to talk as
 the illustrations in the book intimate | they should, but never do in real life. l More's the pity. l ..prose Every Child Should Know, edited l by Mary E. Burt. Essays Every child
 Should Know" edited by Hamilton w; | Mabie. Hymns Every Child Shouid
 Know edited by Dolores Bacon.
 doubleday, Page & Co.,
 These three books, published by Double l day. Page &, Co., belong to a Every Child | Should Know series which that pupiish- ing house is getting up
 The hymns are a unique collection or ! famous hymns, the words of which are ] all original versions-the old familiar 1 tunes being those most welded to the l words.
 l The essays contain IS gems of literature
 which for pleasure and profit, the editor
 says every child should know. It is really | a notable collection of charming essays I whether any parent can ever get a ''child' to read them, except at the point 1 of a good stick, with the threat implied | or made of a good whippng-is the ques- | ton.
 | The collection of prose, edited by Mary l b. Burt, is sent forth as a young peoples l (that is a better word than "child'o guide l to good authors from Homer to Aesop to l Stockton Lincoln, Ruskin, Cable, Mark | ham and other modern writers. The edi- | tor states that this book Is graded for con | venience of reference or for school use l with stories flor tiny people and with 1 questions of the day, money, labor, suf- | frage, reforms, etc., for older readers and ! debating societies" This book, as well as l that one of essays, is first-class collec- l tion of literature.
 | There is no doubt (possibly) that every | child should know about and read these 1 essays and prose gems, but unless chill l dren of this day and generation are very 1 different from what they used to be. not | over 15 years ago, then to introduce these | gems of literature to tiny people" the l .'big stick will have to be energetically employed. There is great danger in | forcing d healthy minded young child to 1 read Ruskn, George Eliot, Cables etc., 1 for fear that when that child does reach | the age when he could appreciate such l gems he no doubt will be like young | cadet at the University of Alabama, who, | being forced to march two miles every l Sunday in the year in close military file, l with coat buttoned up, eyes to the front | to church for three years and when he l left college it took. him three years of non 1 attendance at church to get back his i equilibrium. It is absolutely absurb to l expect tiny people" either to understand, | appreciate or care for Ruskin, Markham, ] George Eliot and Homer. And if parents l force such reading on children the danger l is that they will never forget their tor | ment with such literature. There was | another young fellow who was compelled l to read Dickens as child. or course ] he could not understand what he was reading at all. He grew to hate the very | name of Dickens and Thackeray and it | 30 years of age before he could convince 1,t, oIf t,fa t,v apd