Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-18

in an age of harshness. and for a ruth
less cause. He was a faithful servant of
the church and the crown AS soldier
he was one of the worlL S foremost work
ers diiigent in his campaigns. single
hearted in his aims, unf1aggfng In his en-
terprises strict in his enforcement of dis
cipline. yet discreet in emergencies and
capable of swift adjustments in order to
gain the greater ends in view. 1t is in
such spirit that Mr. MacNutt tells the
DEMONSTRATING tale of Cortes' conquest
of the land of Montezuma, and his work
is in consequence a dramatic and liter
airy treat. while valuable addition to
the historical materials dealing with that
significant episode in American life
CANDLES IN THE WIND. BY Maud
Diver author of Captain Desmond,
etc. New York: John Lane Company.
India is a serious problem for England
to solve. 1t presents many aspects, So
Geological, religious. political. racial and
moral. In the attempt to rule an alien
people who cannot rule themselves, who
are constantly at each others threats
when left alone, whose caste system cuts
them into horizontal lines of cleavage,
impossible and everlasting. the British
soldiers and statesmen encounter many
troubles. not serious enough to call for
major measures of correction, but cumu
latively heavy to bear. 1t is an epitome
of the magnitude of this task which Eng
land has assumed in the east that Miss
Diver has written three long novels in
an effort to set forth some of the mani
fold aspects of the situation, and even
with these hundreds of thousands of
words. concluding with this thrillingly in
teresting narrative. the subject has only
been sketched. For there is an Indian
problem in every Individual career in
India. The encounter of divergent races
yields many FRACTIONAL points as there
are persons. In Candles in the Wind"
is set forth. wildly, the tragedy of mixed
marriages. the social catastrophe Of half
caste unions. The failure of James vi
dele. brilliant physician, whose father
was Scotch and whose mother was Hindu,
to mention the fact of his mothers In
dian, origin to his bride. whom he won
none the less acute for the fact that
Videlle meets death in the line of duty.
hghting plague. and his wife survives to
marry the man who has stirred her heart
to the depths. In the narration Of this
tale Miss Diver displays a remarkable
power of delineation and clearly sets
forth the difficulty of judging as to In
dian conditions and situations at a dis
lance.
A BOOK OF PRECIOUS STONES; the
Identification Of Gems and Gem
Minerals and an Account of Their
Scientific. Commercial, Artistic and
historical Aspects. By julius Wo-
diska. With Forty-six Illustrations
In Colors and in Black and White.
New York: G. P. Putnams Sons.
Jewels are always fascinating, whether
they figure in Fiction on In trade records.
The quest of the gem has inspired man.
kind from the earliest period, and any
work dealing with the treasures Of the
rocks and the sea is attractive. The OBJ
ject of the present volume is to present
information of all sorts about precious
stones and the minerals forming their
bases. The author has presented his ma
terlals in the form to serve at once as a
guide to the professional jeweler and
book of reference to the amateur and
of interest to the general reader. All
three of these objects are attained, espe-
cially the last mentioned The work is
of keen interest throughout in its discus
sion of scientific questions in plain terms
and in it's narration of bits of tradition
regarding famous specimens. A number
of color plates add richness to the scheme
of illustration, which includes many pic
lures of characteristic formations and ex-
amples of the jewelers. art.
SOMETHING OF MEN I HAVE
KNOWN; With Some Papers of a
General Nature, Political. Historical
and Retrospective. BY Adlai E. Ste
venson. Illustrated Chicago: A. c.
McClurg & Co.
From his home in Bloomington, Ills
Mr.. Stevenson has put forth this volume
Of "reminiscences, which Is both interest
ing and disappointing. While he has told
many tales of famous men and anecdotes
of half-forgotten personages, one feels
that he should be able to produce an
even more important and interes ing rec
ord of men and events. He took part in
public affairs during period of vital
Importance In the adjustment of national
affairs. He served first in the Forty
fourth Congress, which met thirty-four
years ago. That was famous assem-
blage of men. From the membership of
that House were afterward chosen twen-
ty-six senators. ten members OF the cabi-