The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-27
'''POEMS AND PT,Ays ,

|
 By Harry Lorenzo Chapin, M. D. The
 shakespeare Press, publishers. No. 40
 East Thirty-second street, New York
 The first and longest drama in. the book IS The Royal Nurse' a propaganda play endeavoring to expedite the noble cause of woman suffrage. "Forsaken' IS @ play adapted from the Spanish, and The Love Test" a one-aet sketch adapted from the plot of "Forsaken," but giving the comedy aspect instead of the pathetic phase.
 Semeramus," a spectacular drama in Six acts, has an Assyrian setting, and was previously published in 1911. Shorter plays are The Eccentric Philosopher '' Aggression Won," and "A White Slave''
 About 100 poems are included, varying In length from 10 pages to a single stan ga, Perhaps the most notable of these are
 My Little Girl of Ten" and Light Re- lit. The latter was written immediately after pr. Chapin regained his sight, after two years experience in ''the darkness" He lost his vision through exposure in sandstorms in the Syrian desert, and many of his most touching verses were composed while he was blind
 Other striking poems are, T Hear Him Calling Me- Woman" "The Agnostic, ', I'm Going Blind" "Ode to Heloise,' Toys" and 'One Nocturnal Hour
 Two pleasing little poems are included by Anna Fries Chapin, and her portrait appears with one, "A Valentine for Val entine."
 pr. Chapin has previously published a number of plays and contributed to va rious magazines and newspapers, and is also the author of History of the Bible" in which the most familiar Bible stories are retold in 1nodern language for the reading of young people
 "OvER PARADISE RIDGE"
 By Maria Thompson Davless. Harper
 Brothers, publishers, New York.
 'Cver Paradise Ridge by Maria Thompson Daviess, is easily one of the seasons best stories. A southern belle, returning to her home in the Tennessee highlands after an extended stay abroad finds that her childhoods friend, the pride of his college, has chosen to be a practi- cal farmer, working his own neglected heritage, instead of the brilliant lawyer ever one had expected him to become. A friend of both, a rich New York writer. needing quiet surroundings and contact with real life in order to perfect his masterpiece, come to Paradise Ridge. And Miss Daviess' attractive young hero- he helps him in his literary career as she help9 the other in his agricultural ef- forts Then she has to decide the ques- tion of a permanent position as helpmate.
 Maria Thompson Daviess recently ad- mitted that after writing her just-pub- lished novel, "Over Paradise Ridge" she had been suffering spasms of doubt as to how it would be judged by the home community about which it was woven. Honey" said one old darky pessimist who brought basket of bluegrass seed to sell to the farmer-author, T heared you wrote a book about this here settle ment and I low fore the years out rolKs out over Paradise Ridge will be sending down a ark for us to all git in outer the deluge of wrath they think the Lord oughter send down on us-that is, if you told the truth about both black and white."
 Miss Daviess is we'll known all over the south and is one of the most pop uIar women who ever lived in Tennes-