Evening star., 1909-06-12
OUR NAVAL WAR WITH FRANCE.
BY Gardner w. Allen. Boston,:
Houghton. Miffiin Company.

never finally declared between
France and the United States.
the hostilities at sea between
the two countries during the
years 1859 and 1900 have received
less attention from historians than they
deserve AS matter of fact. the
French spoliations on our commerce
which began shortly after the arrival
in this country of Citizen" Genet. the
minister of the republic. are re-
sponsible for the first steps toward de-
yeloping an American navy. After the
revolution the few vessels which bore
the American flag were dismantled or
sold and when. in consequence of the
failure of France to respect our neu-
trality in the conflict between IL ara
Great Britain. merchantmen were
seized as prizes and American ports
were used as harbors for privateers
proving against English commerce, II
became necessary to take measures OIL
self-protection, and the government
was compelled to create a new naval
force This was done. but not without
much grumbling upon the part or the
friends of the French in this country.
The famous Constitution and Constel-
lation were in the first fleet sent TO sea,
and these vessels and the others COM
missioned under the American flag
served so faithfully that the commerce
Of the states increased at remark
able rate. The cost of the American
navy from 1894 to the return of the
ships to port in the spring of 1901 was
about $4,000. 900. the actual expense OF
protecting American commerce being
about S6.ON.OO during the three years
covered by the hostlities. The value OF
the exports from the United States
thus protected was over 100000, 600
and the revenue derived from imports
was over so2 100000. Thus the first ex-
perience of the United States as a sea
power fully demonstrated the economy
Of a frst-claSs navy.
In his work on Our Naval War With
France" Mr.. Allen traces the course OF
events leading up to the breach OF re-
lations and also records the steps Dy
which the United States government
discharged the task of protecting Its
interests at sea. He has contributed q
valuable work in thus telling the story
of one of our least known national IN
cidents. 1t is especially interesting at
this time to read in Mr.. Aliens book OF
the achievements of John Barry, VINO
is soon to be honored in this city by
the erection of a statue and who took
an important part in the naval engage
ments of this war
THE KINGDOM OF EARTH. By An
thony Partridge. author of Pass
ers-By.' etc. Illustrated Boston:
Little, Brown & Co.
n
thizes with the oppressed subjects of
his uncle. the king. and constitutes
himself in secret the head of a revolu-
tionary party, and who then, both In
his own person and by proxy, proceeds
to establish a reputation the wick
eldest young man in Europe in order to
increase the hatred felt for the crown.
is certain to be an interesting figure
when utilized the chief M In
has given this tale of intrigue and ad-
venture in the Kingdom of Bergeland
realistic atmosphere which will satisfy
the most insistent reader. He makes
his man of mystery in the supreme
climax altogether human There IS no
more effective passage in late fiction
than his final fight for life when cor
nered by a mob.
HANDBOOK OF MODERN FRENCH
PAINTING. BY D. Cady Eaton, B. A.,
NJ a., professor of the History and
Criticism of Art (Emeritus), Yale
University. Illustrated. New York.
Dodd. Mead & Co. Washington:
Brentano's.
The usual volume treating OF art and
descriptive of the work of painters and
sculptors does not sufficiently tell the
stories of the examples selected for IL
lustration to suit the average reader.
overcoming this fault and supplying
this necessary information to arouse
the interest and satisfy the curiosity
of those who encounter his work. Tho
work is intended distinctly as a hand
book for travellers, and in that respect
1t fully meets the needs of great ma
jority of those who visit foreign mu-
seums and galleries. The author gives
brief biographies of French artists OF
note from the time of Vatican to the
do, al
Greuze, David, Delacroix. Corot. Gs-
rome. Millet, Bonheur and Meissonier.
Mr.. Eaton accompanies his biographl-
cal sketches with intelligent and sub
stantia1 criticisms of the masterpieces
OF the modern French painters. The
subjects chosen as examples for Illus
tration are of wide range of subject
and significance. The author is not
tendencies on the part of a few of The
modern members of the French school
whose works have been notable chiefly
for their offenses against the law of
taste.
LESS THAN KIN. BY Alice Duer Mil
Ter. New York: Henry Holt & Co.
1t is pretty hard on a man when. hav-
ing undertaken to impersonate a dead
man by returning to his long -aban-
doned home in order to please an aged
father and an attractive cousin. he
tries to disclose the generous fraud he
is practicing and make his own identity
known. and those to whom he tells the
truth refuse to believe him. This is
what happened to Lewis Vickers. who
finds it expedient to depart from q
South American country where he has
become unjustly the object of govern
mental suspicion. Mr.. Robert Lee hav-
ing opportunely died of too much drink
al that time, and Vickers strongly re-
sembling him. he rashly presented him.
self at the Lee home in New York as
the prodigal son and is warmly re-
ceived by his putatfve father and coldly
SO by the attractive young cousin. How
Mr.. Vickers struggles to regain his
own personality and Is enmeshed in
many difficulties, but finally wins the
greater goal. is told in sprightly
fashion which will keep the reader
bound to the book from the first to .ne
last page. The author is inconsiderate
enough to leave one chapter unwrIt-
ten-that in which Mr.. Vickers' for
tunes Immediately following his de-
parture from the ancestral home should
have been set forth.
BOX FURNITURE: How to Make a
Hundred Useful Articles for the
Home. BY Louise Brigham. Illus
trated. New York: The Century
Company.
Miss Brigham is not a mere theorist
in the matter of furniture making for
the home. She has put her propositions
Ohio. she established a cottage which