Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-11-05

Mr.. BingIe, by George Barr Nc
Cutcheon. The universal interest in
the christmas CAROL which has done
as much as anything else to endear
Charles Dickens to the book-reading
public. has again found expression in
a partial successor to the Christmas
Carol" The word partial is used ad-
visedly, because it will take more
{ than one man or one book to depose
Dickens beloved characters. George
Barr McCutcheon, in Mr.. Bingle, has
given us the nearest approach to
Dickens that has been published in
years. however. Mr.. Bingle is a real
person, which is something very difi-
cult for an author to create-but this
author has risen to his greatest height
in portraying the character. You
will laugh at Mr.. Bingle, you will
laugh with him, and, if you are of
lachrymonious disposition, you will
cry over him. And you will find this
believer in the three ghosts as queer
and dear and lovable as did his chill
dren, and his wife, and the charming
girl whose love affair with a gallant
youngster runs like a thread through
Mr.. Bingle's adventures. (Dodd, Mead
& Co., S1.35 neO. Full page illustra-
tons in color by James Montgomery
Flagg are an added feature, if that
were needed.
Dear Enemy, by Jean Webster.
The familiarity of "Daddy-Long-
Legs" to every single man. woman
and child who can read, either as a
book, or as a play, or simply through
having learned of it by word of
mouth, is the best recommendation
that we can offer for the perusal of
Jean webster's newer book, Dear
Enemy Century Co, $1.30). That
Sally Mcbride, who is the chief char
acter, is an individuality of a very
marked and fascinating type is evil
denced by the reading of any sample
of her letters, the sum total of which
are assembled into book form to
make complete the enchanting story
of Dear Enemy" The story is about
one hundred and thirteen orphans, a
erusty Scotch surgeon, and the afore-
mentioned Sally, who has been taken
to the hearts of a million American
people. She is the Sally Mcbride who
enters no heart except to make life
sing in it more clearly, strongly, and
sweetly. There is in the story the
same deftness and tenderness OF
touch and of wisdom and common
sense as is found in "Daddy-Long-
Legs" The pen and ink sketches by
the author. which frequent the pages
Of the book, are most expressive and
are an indication of the same humor
that is found in the story.
Contrary Mary, by Temple Bailey.
Temple Bailey is a philosopher as
well as a delightful author, and the
books she writes bear out in concrete
form just what she declares books in
general should do for the reader.
The books that we own are our
friends" she says, land the true lover
of books Graves more than a passing
acquaintance. We should read books
because all OF life is in them. The
man who does not read is mentally
dead. lie is without ears and with
out eyes. All the color of life is lost
to him, all the music of the universe"
Contrary Mary is not exactly a new
book, because it is already in the
hands of thirty thousand people, as
owners, and as many more borrow
ers. (The Penn Publishing Co, S1.25).
Contrary Mary is sure to reach your
heart, because the author is possessed
of a graceful and cultivated style
which render her books doubly at
tractive and bring the characters
close to you. John Wanamaker wrote.
''1frI had been a woman, i think I
would like to have been something
like Contrary Mary. standing up every
day on her feet, using her mind in a
womanly and sensible human way"
What is the cure for a man sick at
heart-one who has lost faith in him
self and God and his fellows? Roger
Poole found in the clear eyes of Mary
Ballard something that stirred him to
go out and win back a place in the
world. Was she really Contrary
Mary, or did she only appear so to
those who did not understand her
passion for work and independence
and real love? Read and judge for
yourself.