The sun., 1913-12-19

only the dislgreeable or disgusting side
of things. but a photograph OF COM
monplace people and everyday hap
pcnings. His narrator Is minor OFF,
Cial in an out Of the way place in
Burma, wh0e trihuatons are caused
by the intrusion of an English party
on his solitude. lie does not disguise
from the reader his feelings nor the
motives for his actions Until near the
end il is n comedy of annoyances
what with his oiiicious native subor-
dinatc. an obstinate explorer, his So
phisticatcd wife and a couple of lovers,
all of whom make trouble. 1t turns to
tragedy. partly mysterious and partly
sordid. with the encounter with Il ma
tive snake charmer, which seems nat,
ural enough under the circumstances.
There are no hcroirs. the narrator
tries TO explain things To himself III the
matter of fact way in viii he might
make an official report. The reader
will rejoice in his escape from the
temptation that opportunity offers. lie
may wish that some Of the local terms
were translated even if they preserve
the Burmese effect.
Realism of the Zoa sort will he
found in abundance in Elcnor Nor
daunt's "I.u of the Ranges" tSturgis
and Walton Company handled with
much effect. even though II gives "A
deplorable impression of Australian life.
The opening scene of the children left
60 starve in the wilderness is power
full and horrible. The young \heroine
has the unhappy knack Of meeting
with only detcstablc people. Her farm
experiences are strongly reminiscent Of
Zola at his worst and the scenes in
H.. s,..l .,l,
Iul. Her strong character enables her
To overcome her handicaps in time.
and TO shelter the chief villain when
ne comes to the end of his tcthcr. He
is admirably drawn. with his self-in-
dulgence, his selfishness. his readiness
10 put the blame on others. He gives
distinction 70 the story even more
than the much enduring heroine. We
trust. nevertheless. that Australia in
the Melbourne district has pleasanter
aspects than are revealed here.
The Oriental legend of two lovers
kept apart in remote ages who are to be
united in some future reincarnatiOn.
which Is pretixed To Jewels in Brass.
by Jittic Horlock ,Brentano's), naturally
leads the reader to expect something Ike
a repetition in modern setting in the
story. Instead he will find the biography
of a charming young woman who yields
10 her impulses with remarkable i'm
punity, for her nature is of the kind that
can do no wrong. as is not infreQuently
the case with the heroines of women au-
;hors. She invites rich man to marry
ler, which he does in order to ob.ige
-er, though they live apart, as their
ties differ. In time she meets her
Unity. and when they have become
are Of the fact they dicker for while
to whether she shall procure an anul-
ant Of the marriage or shall cope with
.er lover. The latter course for some
aason seems preferable after years of
hesitation but ths~Nonventinns are saved
At the last moment by the husband =
eadiness to die. The story Is readable
md far less disagreeable that the af-
Unity muddle would lead one to suppose.
In the shape of letters to AN imaginary
over. to a female friend and 10 and
rom the man in whom the writer is in
crested a collection entitled The Quest
4 the Dream" &C. L. putnams SonS)
.dna Kingsley Wallace expresses in a
brightly manner opinions and impress
ions of many things: art, music, Htera-
IRE, New York city. various books,
iress. life in general, and even touches
N some social problems. The writer Is
Inclined to bubble over with spirits and
enthusiasm. The love story is not es-
,ecially interesting or clear. but the
orIn the writer has adopted allows of
nformal treatment of many things she
looses 10 talk about. Her heroine is
,dmirably fitted to be the central figure
4 a suburban womens club.
The fix in which the hero OF Anna T.
adlier's "The Silence OF Sebastian" lThe
we Maria, Notre Dame, Ind) is put,
lough decidedly melodramatic, Is GER
l!nly embarrassing. and the reader will
imire his conduct and sympathize with
IN in his troubles. His family was a
ard one TO deal with. for every member
it held aloof from the others in a
amer that would be astonishing in
ny country and must have been ex-
ptional among American Catholics.
hen they did not distrust and suspect
q hero they kept as silent as he did
mself In the end everything came
II right. as II should. The story Is very
ell written and is Interesting; the
thor would have improved II greatly
she had allowed her characters to un-
nd to each other more and behave
;e natural people.
In Divided" (Small, Maynard and
'mpany) Francis Bancroft undertakes
depict in a South African setting the
'nfiict of duties that rent many honest
IN when the civil war broke out His
iglishman born in the Transvaal Is a
le fellow. but We should think better
him II We heard less OF the outbursts
his termagant Boer wife. From be-
aning to end not "A good word is said
the Beers and all who appear in the
'ry are made repulsive. particularly
women. The book seems designed
reawaken animosities which most
lglishmen hope are ended for good.
Though the children in Francis j.
inns THE Fairy Of the Shows" (Ben-
Tiger Brothers. New York; are lifelike
nd often amusing and his little heroine
some phases is poetical. the one per-
GA TOR whom the reader will care is the
,riest who tells the story. with his pa
ience and charity for the often un-
deserving poor and his real fondness for
he imps he watches over. II is a Int
If real life only thinly driped as fiction.
Another heartrending tale to make
he Christmas time cheerful. "A Little
shepherd Of Bethlehem" by Annie
rrumbull Slosson ,Thc Sunday School
Zines Company, Philadelphia) A little
,oy In the New Hampshire bethlehem.
Second Adventist who is ne eplect ed hv