Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-27

Mrs. Hugh Fraser, the author of
1.-THE Heart of a Geisha," which the
Putnams are on the point of publish
ing, is the sister of Marion Crawford.
and in the above named story she
writes of a subject with which she is
perfectly at home. The tale is a ro-
mantle story of Japan, particularly
noteworthy for its interesting account
of Geisha life. The description of the
dance by which the Geisha saved the
life of her lover, a young noble at
tached to the cause of the mikado in
the days preceding his triumph over
the Shotgun, when such devotion meant
imminent danger to ones life and lib
erty, is a remarkable bit of description,
and forms the climax to a very dra-
matte tale.
The Heart of a Geisha. By Mrs.
Hugh Fraser. New York: G. p. Put
nam's Sons.
Out of the hoax the humorous hit OF
the present century. The first one OF
the Letters of Jennie Allen" which
Small Maynard & Co. have just pub
ished, was a joke epistle sent by Miss
Grace DonWorth to the San Francisco
relief committee of Providence, r. l.
1t requested with quaint humor and
archaic spelling that certain gar
ment should be returned to Jennie
Allen" whose address was given. The
communication was so killingly funny
and apparently sincere that copies of 1t
were made and circulated for the
amusement of friends of the commit
tee. One of them came eventually into
the hands of Mark Twain, who, suppos-
ing it genuine, used it as subject mat
ter for more or less serious discourse,
and even quoted it at length in speech
before the Associated Press. Finally,
the Simplified Spelling society actually
issued q copy of it in a leafiet. Mean
time, however, an answer which had
been written in reply to the original
letter was returned from the dead let
ter office, and members of the commit
tee, whose suspicious had already been
aroused, accused Miss Donworth, one
of their associates, of the authorship.
She at once pleaded guilty, and there
after amused herself and her friends by
adding to the communications until she
had a complete story describing the
trials and tribulations of the Allen
family. Some of the letters were pub
lished serially in the Ladies' Home
Journal, and now for the first time
with many further additions have been
issued in book form by the Boston
house which discovered Mr.. Dooley and
which made a great strike with THE
Letters from Self-made Merchant to
his Son.
Letters of Jennie Allen. BY Grace
Donworth. Boston: Small, Maynard
& Co.
In "A Physician to the Soul" just
published by the Putnams, DR.. Dresser
defines, for the benefit of others who
would serve their fellows in the way
he has sought to do, the methods and
principles of this ideal occupation. His
i he owl % Bn .
physician grows out of regular Voca-
lions, in a free and Independent spirit.
The souls physician is one who. with
ready sympathy and responsive intel
ligence, seeks the highest good of those
who are struggling and aspiring, above
all partisanship and unrestricted by
special creeds. His work is based on
recognition of individuality.
The volume begins with an exposi-
ton of general principles, and is then
devoted to discussion of special prob
lens eXemplifying the work of the
friend of the soul. Some of these dis
cussions are in the form of letters
written to those whose problems are
especially difficult. Others are con-
cerned with opportune questions per-
tanning to the mental healing move
ment. OF particular interest sat this
time is a chapter on the new ecclesias-
teal healing known as the Emmanuel
Movement" DR.. Dresser finds this
growing movement in line with his
own work for individuals, and prophe-
sizes for it a speedy assimilation of the
saner methods and principles of the
cruder mind-cure movement in gem
eraI. This chapter is followed by a
study of the therapeutic power of the
spirit, in which the author connects
the present book with his recent pub
lished work, 1.-THE Philosophy of the
Spirit" an elaborate study of the
spiritual nature of men from the point
Of view of the immediate presence of
God. While admitting that this age is
witnessing the growth of a new con-
seriousness of the divine presence, DR.
Dresser emphasizes the need of
psychological criticism and philoso-
phicaI reconstruction. The volume con-
cludes with an extremely suggestive
study of gospel teaching entitled 1.-THE
True Christian Science" intended to
be a constructive refutation of the
popular doctrine passing current I'M
der that name.
A Physician to the Soul. BY DR.,
Dresser. New York: G. p. Putnam's
Sons.
Bible stories are famous for succinct
suggestiveness, and few of them are
richer in elements apt for expansion