The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-10-16

The ending of the novel busies itself
in telling us that Nehal Singh was not
an Indian at all, but the son of Steven
Carruthers, who after his fathers death
had been adopted by the then Rajah and
made his heir The latters wife, Sc
duced by the father of Stafford, is act
ually the mother of Lois Carruthers. How
old is Ann? isn't brought in, but you
feel as II it might have been.
1.-The Native Born" let us hope, is
forerunner to something better from l..
A. r. Wylie.
THE Country Boy a story of his own
early life, by Homer Davenport. &c.
| w. Dillingham; Coz
Everyone knows Homer Davenport s
cartoons. From cartooning to raising
| fiery Arabian steeds he comes at us now
with a book of his country boyhood,
which is all to the good, really.
! OF course, the book is not fiction. 1t
| is the story of Davenport's own boyhood
| In Oregon when he found that he wished
| to draw pictures instead of run the farm
his highly educated and far-seeing father
loved, but loved the boy moreover If
Homer wished to draw instead of go to
school-then he could draw!
Davenport tells how in his early child
hood a clean floor was his great drawing
| board: then came paper and whatever
| else he wished from his more than indul-
gent father, except instructions which
were not to be had in Oregon. Finally
Homer went to San Francisco and after
many ridiculous experiences found favor
| with an editor.
| 1.-THE Country Boy" ends when Homer
| gets to Frisco. But before he got there
the book is filled with ridiculous accounts
of things, people, whatnots.
There Is the story of the time for in
stance, when Homer started with the
| loveliest girl of all to go to a dance.
| Their progress halted when he found that
certain priced chickens, which he had
trained to roost on the back axle of the
buggy, but, for the moment had forgot
ten, had stuck to their post, but one by
one were losing their tenacious grip upon
| the narrow moving perch. Ho-
mer got out to locate the chickens. and
succeeded, but lost the loveliest
girl, who very properly couldn't appre-
ciate Eomer's division of love.
The tale of how Homer and his sister
saw Clara Morris play Camille" think
| ing they were to attend a comic opera,
| their failure to carry handkerchiefs;
how they both wept until their feet were
wet, he says, is very absurd.
But the book is not all humor. The
story of Homer's dogs, told by him in his
book, would repay anyone for the read
| ing of the entire volume.
THE Country Boy is all right.
Landscape Gardening Studies" by Sam
| uel Parsons (The John Lane Coz.
The work illustrated and described
in Landscape Gardening Studies" rep
resents, we are told, the authors own
undertakings with the single excep-
ton, the pond in Central park. New
York. These concrete examples are
| h, f,f., md
how some problems of landscape gard
ening were solved by Mr.. Parsons. They
represent certain leading types of work
and, he says, in simple way shows
some Of the basic principles of the art
Mr.. Parsons lays down certain broad
and simple principles of landscape
gardening. He states that in order tc
secure a good composition developed
from the surroundings to meet mans
physical needs and all the same time
secure due satisfaction of his higher
aesthetic and spiritual nature, the de-
signer sho.ld keep large motives II
view. That is to say, breadth, sim
lplicity, a skfllful adjustment of the re.
lations of the different parts of the
1place so that there will be proper bal
ance throughout the scheme. That the
place should not be all garden or al
i pleasure grounds or merely wei
groomed and planted farm fields. A
wind swept knoll with distant view.
should not be obstructed by many
trees On the other hand, when nool
at the back or one side of the house
II suggests q garden or retired valley
trees and shrubs should further EN-.
phasize. perfect and complete the sense
of seclusion.
Landscape Gardening Studies" has
81 chapters, a preface. an index and Il
profusely illustrated from photographs
drawings, etc.
Birmingham people will be particu.
larly interested in the chapter Qx) de.
voted to Homestead Parks" This
chapter, dealing with real estate devel.
II opment for the purpose of the sale OF
lots, discusses Mountain Terrace al
Birmingham. Albemarle park, the
/ Raoul hotel estate at Ashvflle. N. C..
land the Glenwood tract near Birming-
ham. Full descriptions are given OF
the treatment empI Dyed on these prop.
critics and why. Photographs and
drawings assist the reader to under.
stand Mr.. Parsons reasons.
Mr. Parsons tells how to arrange
lawns, a hillside park, seaside parks
play grounds. Landscape treatment OF
lakes and ponds, mountain roads, a
4 Japanese tea garden, an island home
in fact pretty nearly everything one
/ can think necessary to know of.
The book closes with chapter on
Mrs. Sage's mile of rhododendrons in
/ Central Park. N. Y.
my Mark Twain" by William Dean
Howells. (Harper & Bros)
Mr.. Howells' and Mr. Clemens friend
ship extended through As years. and in
his new book. where he is at his very
best, Mr.. Howells has drawn unique
picture of Mark Twain. Hardly anything
more personal, more sympathetic or truth
full will ever be written about him.
Mr. Clemens and Mr.. Howells met for
the first time in the little office of James
| T. Fields, over the bookstore of Tichnor
& Fields, 124 fremont street, Boston. Mr.
/ Fields was then editor Of The Atlantic
| Monthly and Mr.. Howells was his proud
/ and glad assistant, with a pretty free
i hand as to manuscripts and an unman-
| acled command OF the book notices at
the end of the magazine" Mr. Howells
wrote, he says, nearly all these notices
himself, and in 1869 he had written q