The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-16


 Tn every well appointed gentlemans house there was the front door for the gentleman and the side door for the tradesman. but there was also the top door for the gods. Tie chimney Is, so 10 speak, the underground passage be- tween earth and heaven. By the passage Santa Claus manages, like the skylarlx, to be true to the kindred points of heaven and home. Nay, owing to certain con- ventions. this door was. perhaps, little used. But Santa Claus's door was really the front door; 1t was the door fronting the universe"
 HIRAM BLAIR"
 By Drew Tufts. With four illustrations
 by H. S. DeLaye. A. c. McClurg & Com pany. New York.
 An Indiana tale Is MT. Drew Tufts Hiram Blair" concerning politics, horse trading, and the rivalry that exists between two small towns in this state into which is stirred a love story of sur passing interest. making the book really clever and readable conception.
 Hiram Blair the leading character, Is an uneducated, shrewd clever, big-heart- ed countryman, who trades horses for the sheer love of the sport, and Is a willy politician for the same reason.
 He says:
 Floss tradin' an polytilss Is ez like ez two peas" an expression which is the keynote of his life, and On which basis he works his way.
 Hiram is great talker and once he gets an audience he shoots off line of conversation that would do justice to the cheekiest drummer that you'd find on the road, and all the while he makes friends by the score. his shrewd philosophy and queer ideas gathering q following as he goes along
 He is, thanks to the authors clever ness of conception, vital living, breath- Ing, entity, with many good qualities, not the least of which is a keen sense of humor and generosity, combination which is sure to win In the long run either with hero in a novel or in real life.
 FAMOUS PRIvATEERSMEN AND
 ADVENTURES OF THE SEA-" By Charles II. L. Johnson. Illustrated. L.
 c. Page Company. Boston.
 Mir. Charles H. l.. Johnston has written a very clever and most readable book in Famous Privateersmen and Adventures of the Sea-
 many notable and famous men, and with out being anything of a reference book or a dry commentary upon such a sub ject, Is highly educational in its value. From the earliest days the sea rover has been a dashing, daring sort of devil and MT. Johnson aptly remarks ''The privateersman was a gentleman adventurer protected pirate, a social highwayman of the waters He throve | grew lusty and prospered-a robber legit- | inized by the laws of his own people," Many men of many nations are inter- woven in Famous Privateersmen and | Adventures, among whom may be men, | tloned Raleigh, Jean Bart, Du Guay- | Fromn, Capt. Otway Burns, pariot pri- | vateer and legislator; Woodes Rogers | scourge of the South Sea trade; Capt. Will | liam Death, the wolf of the ocean. sinis- | ter of name and of evil fame; Lafitte, ter | TOT of tho Gulf of Mexico and kaphoe | Semmes, "despoiler of American com | merce." Others are John Paul Jones, | Capt Silas Talbot, staunch privateers- man of New England; Capt. "Josh'' Bar ney, the irrepressible Yankee, and Rob- ert Surcouf the sea hound from St. Malo. There are handsome illustrations. in- cluding portraits and reproductions of ia nous pictures and there is scarcely boy | alive who will not revel in this delightful | book
 THE LADY FROM OKLAHOMA" "A COMEDY IN FOUR ACTS" By | Elizabeth Jordan. Harper Brothers | New York. Elizabeth Jordan. in her four act com edy, "The Lady From Oklahoma" gives | most charming and delightful delinea- ton of woman who struggles to be- | come a worthier help-meet to the husband whom she loves with an adoration that | Is at once sweet and pathetic. The comedy presents in the scene where the characters of the play meet at the Beautiful Specialists a particular ly amusing side of life and 1t is drawn with clever conception and delightful hu- nor. The picture of the 'lady who kept on peeling potatoes for her husband long after he needed her help. is very tender and appealing and when we arrive at the part where this sweet woman rescues him from the clutches of an adventures and a fearful entanglement with set of grafters, we thoroughly enjoy with her the triumph she experiences, and ~we realize what a splendid wife she has been all through. and how much her husband owes to her love. The finale is touching home scene between husband and wife, in which tears and smiles struggle for supremacy.
 YOUNG BECK" By Mcdonnell Bodkin. Little. Brown & Company, Boston.
  written in ages than those under the title of Young Beck" whoch the ingenious author, Mcdonnell Bodkin, has con ceived along the most modern ideas, orig inal, clever and altogether delightful
 Those who have read the former stories of MT. Bodkin's, concerning the exploits of Young Becks parent, will readily see the influence of heredity as shown In the young mans tendency during his days at college when he discloses conspicuous astuteness in detecting the trickeries of some fellow students.
 From this beginning, through series of dramatic events. we follow our hero, who proves himself veritable wizard of intuition and logic.
 Those who like this sort of reading will find a charming bit of interest in Young Beck" which is highly recommended for its perspicacity and ingenlousness as novel. f
 "EIsSA'S GIFT BOOK"t By Edith A. Sawyer. l.. c. Page & Com
 pany. Boston
 Wholesome and delightful in its sim plicity. teaching the beautiful lesson of helping those less fortunate in enjoying the benefits of society and life than ourselves, Edith A. Sawyer has woven Into her story. "Elsa's Gift Book a tale