The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-24

1 eyes or her 1atner and her lover, IS l rather vivid bit of descriptive writing. 1 The story. of course has a sad ending and Is not by any means rich in mental pabulum," but if you happen to be gong l away on the train, or wish in some other contingency to while away an hour or two without great mental effort. Hidden House" may be found worth while. FROM THE CAR BEHIND"
 By Eleanor M. Ingram. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. In these days of motoring when every body is interested in that sort of sport, a novel dealing with this amusement as q 1 prime motive Is hailed with exceptional | delight by the reading public. 1 The possibilities of romance and ad- 1 venture that can be wrought about such a subject limltless. and Eleanor M, 1 Ingram has grasped the opportunity to do | a pretty bit of worksin her story entitled From the Car Behind," which has re- gently been published.
 A love story of absorbing interest grows out of the situation which begins with | the occupants of two automobiles racing madly along a speedway when from the car behind a wrench is hurled which strikes the driver of the foremost car, stunning him into state of insensibility, | which causes his car to leap the track and
 
 ming the driver beneath the wreckage. For more than year the hurled wrench | remains a mystery and the story has to 1 do with this.
 1 In the home of Thomas Rose, a mil lionaire, up to his time peace and happi- ness have reigned supreme. l There are two girls Isabel Rose and Flavia Rose, in the story. the former young and reckless, who cared very lit- tie for any one save herself, while the latter (her cousin) the daughter of the household, possessed all the womanly qualities that are to be found in the best. Flavia has a brother Corre, 19-year- old college chap, who In spite of his fla ther's wealth and affluence. remains un- spoiled. which can't be said of all mil lionares' sons.
 Corrie is very much in love with Isabel Rose when complications set in by the appearance on the scene of Allen Gerald, who is the manager of an automobile manufacturing concern, who becomes an acquaintance of the family.
 Corrie's one fad in life is autoing, and in this way he and Gerald became friends and when the girls of the Rose family met him Isabel at once set to work her charms upon him, but without success, for he was very much smitten with Flavia all the while.
 She begged him to take her around the racing course, but time and again he re- fused, and then she succeeded in inducing Corrie to do it, which resulted in the memorable trip when the wrench was hurled and all the trouble began. Fearing the consequences, the person who threw the wrench succeeded In gain ing confidence from the companion on the drive to tell no one, thus shouldering the blame.
 Gerard refused to bring charges against fr tl,a lot home by his, father Gerard engaged him to drive his racers.
 Corrie proved a great success as a pro- fessional driver and Isabel married southern man and then-wrote a contes- sion.
 The story is clean and wholesome and full of excitement and especially will low CTS of automobiling and that sort of thing enjoy the manner in which the clever au thor has evolved the denouement. THE PATHFINDER PERSON By Margaret Cameron. Harper Brothers, New York.
 In her pleasing story, The Pretender Person." Margaret Cameron has done as pretty and clever a bit of work IS it has been ones fortune to read in many a day The people in the story are charming the plot of the story is charming, and the manner in which it is told is charming. In fact, Miss Cameron always says ex- actly the right thing at the right time, with a tact and diplomacy that make her worthy of the name of successful writer
 The story of the The Pretender Person" deals with trip from New York via Havana and Vera Cruz, to the City of Mexico, with many little side trips into the country.
 Written just before the overthrow of the Diaz government it is prophetically sen- tient of the successful revolution which landed Madero in the chair.
 A warmth of color and atmosphere which we are wont to associate with Mex ican life. gows from the authors pen in 1orid and exquisite style, while the dual love story is so entirely American and woven so delightfully."- throughout that tsfe combination makes an unusually bright narrative.
 Romance and description arc both well done by Miss Cameron and from the youngest reader of literature to the must blase there is to be found q fund of Inter- esting lore between the pages of this clever book.
 JOHN RAWN'
 By Emerson Hough Illustrated by M Leone Cracker. The Bobbs- Merrill
 Company, Indianapolis.
 Dramatic in treatment, important in theme and as entertaining throughout as any piece of fiction can possibly be, John Rawn'' must be given its place among the really notable contributions to current American literature The fact that 1t is by Emerson Hough is in itself a guaran- tee of it's merit and those wno have read The Mississippi Bubble" '5i-40 or Fight, The Purchase Price" and other of the Hough books. will realize at a glance that it is even greater than these. Mir. Hough has completely oyerstepped