New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1908-11-28
Literary Nese,s and Criticism

iAiS tpiituGHcns a DeiSo OF some
ne calls James" appear to hsve stroiled across
Spain with nc thought of taking their mission
too seriously. 4 they had eyes for picturesque
prospect or great monument they had also
quick sy'mpathies for the ordinary encounters CT
daily life To these, in fact, the book owes most
Of its charm. The two travellers liked the
Spanish people and understood them Mr. Mar
riott records their characteristics, and. While ne
does not indulge in elaborate description, save
on occasion. as at Burgos. where the cathedral
stirs him, he manages to fill in the background
with sufficient vividness. The book really has
in IT the spirit of Spain. Its Photographic IL
Illustrations are excellent. The author Of South
ern Spain" also has substantial qualifications
for his task 1t is true that he lacks that nov
elstic adroitness which is exercised 10 such good
purpose in the book just mentioned, but on the
other hand. he has shown before this, he
thoroughly knows his Spain. and his chapters
on Cadiz, Seville, Cordova. Granada and other
historic places are framed out of wise study
OF the past and cultivated view of the things
surviving in the present. This is color book,
and the numerous Illustrations painted by Mr..
Trevor Haddon make an important feature OF IT.
They are indeed above the average rot only
in pictorial conception but In technique. Publ
cations Of the sort are not often adorned with
sketches charming as those which he has
made Of the garden in the casa de Piatos, at
Seville. or the Tocador de la Reina, at Granada.
Another volume illustrated in color which de-
serves a cordial welcome is Mr.. omonds BEL
gium."' The subject is not precisely new, but
neither on the other hand, is II quite as well
known as it ought to be. The country of the
Van Eycks is country that has unquestion-
ably seen better days in the large historical
sense. Flemish picturesqueness has lost some
thing Of its warmth OF color. Flemish good
cheer has somewhat coarsened. 1t is not at all
difficult to experience moments of dulness IN
Belgium But these take fight il the traveller
remains conscious OF the past and Mr. Omond
is just the cicerone to keep il in mind sur
veying the landscape and the architectural
gories of the land. observing against them the
types of modern life he is constantly remem-
boring the pa geantry of old Flanders, which has
about it charm as OF rich tapestry. The in
Vulnerable historical issues touched upon in this
book are managed, too. with the right fexibil-
ity The author is never pedantic. MI For
estier's illustrations are uneven in quality. Some
of them are freely ard effectively drawn but a
good many OF them are commonplace. Men
ton may here appropriately be made of the new
edition of Mrs. Walters Through the Gates OF
the Netherlands" The picture of Dutch HE
presented in this volume is engagingiy intimate,
and has a sentimental tone which, oddly enough,
only makes it the more agreeable. In its pres
ent form the well printed book is Illustrated
with reproductions from Dutch paintings, in
cmding works by Rembrandt and other old
masters
Several Alpine books have recently appeared.
Mr. W A Baillie- Grohman's ''Tyrol," like Mr..
Omond's Belgium" has the merit Of supplying
a need The tourist in this region wants some
thing better than bald guide-book, and this
author sportsman who has. lived long amid
the mountains. and has written much about
them is uncommonly helpful. He gives rapid
account of one of the loveliest corners or Eu-
rome and fills in the spaces between his pictures
of salient hills and valleys with such informa-
ton as could be had only from one acquainted
for years with Tyrolese peasants and their ways
Mr.. Compton's colored illustrations are capital.
The frontispiece a view of Innsbruck, forms
promising introduction TO a series Of drawings
which is at DO point disappointing. Miss Esther
sngIeton's Switzerland" is one more of those
compilations in which she brings together de-
scriptions by other writer's. All OF her authors
are characterized on the title page as great
This is as you choose TO see it. The reader may
be able to adjust some of the contributors 10
this volume to the standard of Ruskin. Victor
Hugo or Goethe, who are also represented. But
Miss Singleton might argue that the writer's
she draws upon have all, at any rate, done jus
tice in way or another TO the dlHeTeht
phases Of the subject she has wished to Illus
trste. Her haIftoncs from photographs have
been well chosen.
A book of much greater Importance than
either OF the two just described is Mummery's
My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus, which
the scribners have imported in a fourth i'm
preston of the second edition. To this noun
taineerine classic. which made deep impress
sion Immediately its first appearance in the
summer or 1899 an introduction has now been
prefKed by Mrs. Mummery, VINO gives US some
interesting fragments from the letters her hus-
band sent while the Himalaysn expedition
which cost him his life. The brief essay has a
pathetic edge There are also few new pages
in which MI John A. Hobson pays charming
tribute TO his old comrade. The book is hand
someIv made and contains among its iustra-
tions some superb Photographic vie%s. por-
trait Of Mummery serves frontspiece. He
wrote well OF his exploits, and this perfectly
printed edition of his book forms ideal mon
ument to his character and career.