The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-17

that q. A. Birmingham has contrived In
"The Seething Pot" George H. Doran
Company and he hardly troubles him
self with the form Of fiction, save to
make his characters talk. His hero Is
simply an abstraction. for 1t is tncon-
ceivable that the son OF an Irish pa
triot should be as ignorant OF Irish
affairs or Irish feeling as he is made
out to be. or that youth with Irish
blood in his veins should be content
with passive part. The author. how
ever. needs an objective observer with
the love of Ireland in his heart. who
knows the ways OF other lands and
seeks to do what is right. Before him
he passes In review conditions In Ire
land now and the types of men who are
taking part in politics and In the vari-
Gus efforts to help Ireland on. Some Of
them are unmistakable portraits. as
the late Mr.. Parnell and the unspeak-
able literary man. Canon Hannay uses
plain language and does not seem to
care whether he gets disliked or not:
he measures out blame and praise pretty
evenly and shows sympathy for the
Irish and understanding Of them up to
a certain point, as in all his books: but
he seems to feel as hopeless as his
hero Of any good coming to Ireland or
out OF Ireland.
The convention Of the eccentric be-
havior of Anglo Indians Is observed
by A. z. w. Mason in The Witness
for the Defence (Charles Scribner's
Sons), a mystery tale that would be
much more exciting II the authors in
tention OF keeping the reader in sus-
pense were not so obvious. II looks az
though Mr.. Mason had taken special
pains with matters of subordinate i'm
portance to his story. The attack Of
delirium tremens is described with
something like professional accuracy
and the subtleties Of the two cross-ex-
am!nations of the barrister may escape
the average reader. BY the time the
heroine has reached England again 1t
seems immaterial whether she has
killed her husband or not: we want to
know whether she was justified in doing
Il; With all her charms. she never
seems to be quite right The humor
and the tragedy OF the barrister's be-
lated chivalry would be more impress
sve If he were trifie more human
Mr. Mason has taken great pains with
= story that Is not very interesting In
itself; one which he looks at apparently.
N spite OF his charitable words, with
the censorious eyes of the gossiping
neighborhood.
Though there Is no criminality in the
mystery which engages the detective
talents Of the hero Of Lee Foster Hart
mans The White Sapphire" (Harpers)
he suspicion OF wrong makes all the
members Of house party that should
be having a good time pretty uncom-
Portable. and the author has to manu-
facture unpleasant pasts for two other
wise harmless youths. The mystery
interferes a good deal with some pleas
ant love making and Is not very exciting
when 1t has been explained; there is
no excuse for prolonglng 1t so far as to
make one youth behave like a cur. That
Jars with the tone Of the whole story
and converts the detective business into
q sort Of ungentlemanly spying. Other
wise the story is pleasant enough, not q
bad specimen of the summer girl"
romances that are easily read and for
gotten.
A quick change romance with hair.
breadth escape in every chapter is
what Victor Bridges provides in
another Mans Shoes George II.
Doran Company. a remarkable re-
semblance enables an adventurer to
agree for a price to take the place Of
u stranger who has his reasons for dis
appearing for a few weeks. There Is
opportunity for fun in the complica-
tons which are likely to arise and the
author seems at times inclined to use
them, he prefers, however. to make his
hero the target for sundry South
American and British malefactors, some
of whom attempt to take his life every
night. An extensive South American
experience of his own enables him, with
the aid Of a capable friend, to dodge
these efforts. 10 win the heart OF q
desirable damsel and to obtain the capt.
tai he needs to carry ont his own plans,
when retrbution meets his double and
all is explained 1t is an exciting and
amusing tale, which somehow misses
being a big story.
marked novelty will be noticed In
c. n. and A. NJ. Willamsons latest
travel story, 1T Happened in Egypt"
Doubleday, Page and Company) the
authors do not use an automobile. They
have also dropped the guide book to
some extent, though not entirely, and
often content themselves with impress
sions They never forget the right
hotels. The sightseeing, which extends
from Alexandria to khartum, is COM
plicated with many matters besides the
inevitable love making; the efforts Of a
British peers son to personally conduct
a party Of tourists In rivalry OF Cook,
those Of British officer disguised as an
Egyptian to perform police duties and
keep a wiful heiress but OF mischief
those Of a party of Irish conspirators to
waylay some women they suspect. those
of several of the eXcursionists to rescue
the American bride of a polygamous
Turk, those Of the authors to make the
characters humorous. The love making
comes to head in the temples at PhlR
and the story ends with the noble re-
solve of the chief persons concerned to
leave undlsturbed the contents OF a
newly opened burial place Of an Egyp-
tian queen. The book Is readable, though
1t may take the reader some time to
straighten ont his ideas afterward.
In the form of a novel. THE New
Dawn" (Moffat Yard and Company,
Agnes G. Laut Is eloquent on the SUBJ
Jects OF capital and labor. Her hero
determines to succeed and obtains con-
troll OF the transportation, the iron and
coal mines Of the United States. How
he does this is not fully explained. but
We are impressed with the fact that