The Washington herald., 1909-06-27


scenes transpire in the best Richard
Harding Davis atmospheric style. and a
great many more exciting events handled
with a plunging dare-deviltry go 20 make
up story that is brimful of incident. and
( which contains not one single dull mo-
ment
RED HORSE HILL" By sidney Mccall Bos-
ton: Little. Brown & Co.
Red Horse Hnr' is a late novel by
Sidney Mccall with womans love as
the dominant element, but with a back
ground in which social and economic con-
ditions in the cotton milling regions OF
the South are touched upon. A girl OF
somewhat willful nature marries a
good-for-nOthing degenerate. and after
short but miserable existence with
him. they part, not, however be-
fore a daughter had been born, who
Is taken away by the father. who
takes up with a woman Of low character
and antecedents, yet with some faint
glimmer Of true womanliness appearing
az times. Some time afterward the wife
receives almost conclusive news Of her
husbands death. and circumstantial evil
dence that the little child had perished
also She is Unexpectedly offered the
love Of a real man OF fine character, and
she marries him. and grows to love. the
intensity OF her affection increasing with I
every hour Of association, her happiness
being suddenly shattered by the dlscov-
cry that her former husband was still
living. the situation being rendered more
pathetic by the suspicion that a little girl
Is in the custody Of him and his woman
companion.
Then begins the real story. for we take
it that the author has in mind the show
ing how a woman can rise 70 great
heights Of soul nobility from a beginning
OF caprice, uncertainty, and uttleness, |
provided the true elements are present. |
In other words, it Is the old test Of being
tried In the fire and not found wanting
She leaves her husband. believing the
union % be Illegal and devotes herself
70 the child, but Il developed that a
perfectly legal divorce had been procured
and secreted by the first man. and her
true love comes back TO her and accepts 1
the child. AL this Is interviewer with
descriptions Of scenes connected with the
cotton mills operated by her husband. and
If the episodes are approximately real. the
conditions must be bad indeed The
whole story IS interesting and without
purpOrting 10 be a crusade against a cry
ing evil. may serve the very good pur-
pose Of constituting an opening INT.
The telling OF the tale Is marred BY
what some critics characterize as femi-
ninity Of expression. which is. IN fact. an
unwaTTanted exuberanCe. This is espe-
clally noticeable IN the descriptive pas
sages, as, for instance. THE houses
march by Ike spectral mammoths through
dream" From the upper window one
can see how the blood on Red Horse Hill
has dried 70 a black night crust The
veins Of the day are clogged with It," and
Far 70 the west, where a succession OF
low hills led into puTpIing distance. the
great sun. subdued go long. was in
death grapple with dark, elemental
shapes" The use OF such language being
especially 10 be wondered at IN the face
OF her display Of simple descriptive power /
in the part describing Orbury. the South 1
ern mill village, which Is very effective. /
without recourse 10 strain for effect. I
Sometimes a few JudiciOus words will
create more atmosphere than a torrent /
OF exuberant expressions. The novel, IN
all its aspects, Is much more attractive
than the current run Of fiction
B @ OF PHILOSOPHY By Gnoe F. Lands
berg. New York: r. F. Fenno & Go.
The author OF this excellent little vol
ume tells US in the preface that in study
ing Goethe's Faust" IN order for
clear understanding Of her subject. she
needed a bowling acquaintance with phi |
losophy. and 70 gain this she went in
search OF a book which would give
me. in a simple clear. and concise man
ner. the elementary theories Of philoso-
l1rrff haF-
she determined TO compile such a work
herself
Miss Landsberg has succeeded very
Wen with her task. Her primer" as she
calls II. should be a very useful work /
Of reference for the student Of phIioso- /
ply and should serve the ordinary man
as means OF obtaining that general, # /
superficial. notion Of the philosoDhic Z
theories propOunded by the worlds great
thinkers, which most men desire 10 have /
The best and truest praise of the merits l
OF the a 3 9 OF Philosophy can be /
put in the authors own words-that il
gives in simple. clear, ard concise /
manner the elementary theories Of phi /
Iosophy.'
Besides presenting the outlines OF these
theories. Miss Landsberg has occasion
ally ventured an opinion OF The merits
and effect Of a particular system. show
ing therein insight and good Judgment.
The work covers the period beginning
with the pre-Socratic era up to and In
cluding the days Of Darwin, Haeckel.
and Huxley.
Records Of the Columbia Historical Society. Vol.
or extreme interest to the residents of
the District Of Columbia and OF great
value TO the ordinary student Of history
is the twelfth report Of the Columbia His
torical Society. This periodical publica- |
ton is devoted to the history OF the Dis |
trict OF Columbia and Of Washington. and
never falls to embody a vast amount OF
accurate and entertaining matter dealing /
with the inception and the growth OF the
Capital City and it's environs.
The latest volume contains a. paper writ 1
ten by Glenn Brown and read before the
society on February II. 1908 entitled The 1
plan Of rEnfant for the City Of Washing
ton and its effect upon the future de-
velopnent OF the city a paper by the l
Rev. Edward I. Dewitt, S. j., read March
10. 1908. entitled Georgetown in the early
days; most interesting article on HIS /
toflc ROCK creek, read by Louis p. Shoe /
maker. April Il. 1908; Allen c. Clark's /
article, The Abraham Young mansion, +"
April H. 1903; Sketch Of Fran I
els Scott Key" by r. S Key-Snith. /
Ii. NJ. read before the society May l2. /
1908; History and "reminiscences Of ST.
Johns Church" by Hon. Alexander 3. /
Hagner, read November 10 1908; The /
Virginia portion of the District" by Amos \
B. Casselman. read December s, 1908, and 4
an appendix containing various data re-
garding the society and It's purposes.
II is q valuable volume and should not
fail TO excite more than a passing inter