The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-29

with 'laurels, bit of green anyway, you would, if you were the right sort-which of course you are-have hunted up, as did Colonel Drayton, those now scattered about, old-time friends to say howdy-do to some give others gentle slap on the wrist-all that sort of thing.
 When Colonel Drayton was ordered to special duty at Khartoum for four years he knew his duty and did 1t (to hold his job, of course, but he was more than glad to get back to Piccadilly, as we find him when the book, "The Rescuer," opens.
 One of the colonels best friends; in fact, his closest friend in England, was Ed gar Maitland, who while Drayton was abroad securing the green things in his hair had died on the eve, as Maitland firmly believed, of demonstrating that the human brain in moments of tension was capable of throwing out rays, which, like the famous X-ray, affected photo- graphic plates. Six months before his death, writing to Drayton then in Somall- land, Maitland had said: "I believe the Maitland Rays will make the world re- wise some of it's notions on the difference between the inorganic and the organic" But Maitland died, leaving his disciple and secretary Percy Athelstan, to com plete his work In an interview with a representative of Science for the Peo- ple," soon after the funeral, Athelstan had not hesitated to declare that the dis covery of the Maitland Rays" justified him in the prediction that the photog- raphy of "brain processes" would be prac tical in the near future.
 No doubt such a discovery would delight science, but just think how awful it would be to feel that man or woman with whom you were talking and for politeness sake. say, you were expressing the most delightful lady-like things, had a camera focused on you that would show up your "brain processesn What an awful world this would be to live in if people went around with cameras taking one's "brain processes" or what you might be using in it's place!
 But to get back to Colonel Drayton re- turned to dear old London He wished. of course, to at once hunt up his dear friends, the Maitlands. To offer his help to the widow and daughter. This the good colonel proceeded to do and satisfied his own mind without the use of any Maitland Rays in which he did not be- lieve or the use of a camera as described above, that Mrs Maitland now. through the death of rich Australian brother. was the possessor of $1,0O0 900, a lovely grown daughter, but that the rich widow was absolutely under the control of
 
 husband, left on a good salary to work out the problem of the Maitland Rays.
 Of course, as general proposition, 1t was none of Colonel Drayton's business who controlled Mrs. Maitland. Again, he or anyone else, no doubt would have left the matter to work itself out, put for one thing-one charming thing-that thing, the reader easily guesses her name to be Audrey Maitland. Therefore. the colonel jumps into the game to protect the mother and. of course, the lovely daughter from the machinations Of the aforesaid Percy Athelstan. The colonel was on something of a semi-leave, he did not have very much to occupy hts time and there was Audrey who must be saved from the villain, Percy, aso must the mother be, if she would.
 Of course, the colonel was much mis- understood, but Audrey never failed him during all the time that he was working out the plot of Percy Athelstan 10 rob the widow and near-orphan of their money and good name through the talis- man of the Maitland Rays" which Col onel Drayton felt sure was a fake.
 The book. "The Rescuer," tells all about it. It is an interesting book. The colo mel won out in both his undertakings, to- wit: The unveiling of the crook, Percy Athelstan, and the winning. of Audrey Maitland's heart and hand. .f
 
 Rescuer,' Is an EnglshInan. As a gen. eral rule, the English excel the Ameri- can writers in his delineation of char acter, and no less an authority than Mir. w. D. Howells, in Harpers Magazine, said of MT. White: Ut is Thackeray most artistic method which Mr. White recalls in his studies of scamps and tho snobs he allows them as Thackeray al lows Barry Lyndon and the rest to tell tbpir sciousness of their own natures he finds play for an irony as keen and graphic as anything in fiction. He deals with the actual English world and the r'tss- ufe he gave us was such as to make us resolve to return to Thackeray's visions of his own contemporaneous English world at the first opportunity"
 "The Rescuer" is all right-quite an entertaining book.
 "The Need of a Change" by Julian
 Street. CThe John Lane Co.,
 MT Julian Street Is known to most readers. quite pleasantly for his very bright little magazine articles, usually dealing with motor cars.
 This little volume contains a story that was printed some time ago in mags- zine; it loses nothing, on the contrary by it's appearance in between in iyi1ual covers.
 It is simply the story of a young couple who met on an European trip a man and his wife, the "Cenbeghs." The man from his dress and department appeared to the young couple as possibly au Eng fish curate or something like that The | Danbeighs, however, invite the young couple to visit them in England and l the invitation was accepted.
 1 It turned out that, the Denbeishs were | the owners of the seat of the eighth and | last earl of Vibrat-occupied by his wid- | ow until death without issue--title be- l came extinct-estates reverted 70 Lady l Vibrats niece-married," of course, the Rev. Denbeigh who had invited the young couple, MT. and Mrs. Woody" to make a stay with them.
 | The story is the ridiculous account of ! MT. and Mrs. Woolys gong up against | the game with very few clothes; their struggles with valets and maids galore until Woody himself simply couldn't stand | 1t, for reasons fully explained in the | book, to-wit: ''The need of a change" | so he skipped out practically by the light 1 of-the moon; he couldn't stand the game | and from London wires his wife to come there.
 The book is very funny. Most every thing that MT. Street sends forth is. l "The Confessions of a Con Man." as | told to Will Irwin (B. w. Ruebsch) |. Regarding this collection of "con- | fessions" which appeared serially in a l magazine some time ago MT. Irwin, in l preface to the volume, explains that l they are not fiction. MT. Irwin in- forms the reader that this is genuine 1 confession; that he figured in the pro- duction of 1t, simply as the trans scriber of a life story told him. q