The sun., 1916-01-08

Though the authors enthusiasm for
gypsy lore leads to the employment or
90 much Of the jargon that the reader
in some places needs the help Of
dictionary, and though the endeavor
20 be realistic is occasionally strained,
the love idyl in L. S. Stevenss AL
ward" (Dodd, Mead and Company Is
20 pretty and natural that the reader
Will feel amply repaid. The hero must
be taken for granted; all the explana'
ton about his previous life Is irrele-
want and the peculiarities in his char-
acter are unsatisfactory; the main
thing about him is that he is thrust
abruptly into the life OF the open road
and chooses to stay in 1t. lie keeps
his decency Of thought and manners In
his sordid surroundings for the author
makes no concession to poetry In the
details Of gypsy tramp life. 1t IL the
~irl who Is the whole story: she picks
up che man by the roadside. nurses
him hack to health, provides for him.
comes to care for him and shows her
love frankly and without shame. The
growth Of their passion. their struggles
aHainst 1t and their final yielding to 1t
are told with great delicacy and charm.
Another little gypsy girl fits into the
picture, but the other characters seem
out Of place the other gypsies are there
merely to show how much the author
knows about them; the interfering old
maid. amusing at first becomes too
meddlesome. and the people from the
hero's earlier life do not count. We
may not sympathize with the author $
desire 20 make the open road romance
attractive even under real. tramp con-
ditions. but the love story is delightful,
and the many descriptions Of nature
and the wild life are sincere and ar
tistic.
Az keen pleasure will he derived by
readers who preserve their memory of
the classics from tho whimsical poeti-
cal tales which Father &. &. Martini
dale calls "The Goddess of Ghosts" u.
]. Kennedy and Sons. New York;. The
story part is merely the frame for
rendering familiar Greek legends into
poetical equivalents that modern Eng
fish readers may understand. In some
the Greek poets are shown struggling
with their ideas among disturbing sur
roundings SUCH as hamper us: In
others the poem bursts its way through
the awkward brain OF a schoolboy: In
others again the old legend is recited
and then the modern tale that is an
aiogous The authors huIrfor is de-
lightful, but he conveys the impression
Of terror and Of awe equally we'll. and
the poetry of the Greeks dominates all,
The English Is such as is rarely found
In print nowadays. that OF English
scholars and gentlemen stepped in Hell
lenic culture and free from preciosity
a race that died out by the middle OF
Queen Victoria's reign.
The successive efforts OF deter
mined young woman to have her own
way are narrated by Maravene
Thompson I'm persuasive Peggy
Frederick A. Stokes Company. She
cinating that she is always forgiven
for her performances, but the reader
IL only allowed to see her persistenc"
and his sympathies will probably all
he with the long suffering husband
In earlier days the treatment she
would have received, which woulc
have cured her, is indicated in severa
rude English proverbs. When the au-
thor tires OF the heroine's exploits In
the domestic circle she is let loose
on woman suffrage. slum life an,
other seasonablc topics. The humor II
that OF the serial cartoons, II Is some
times funny.
In "Peter Bosten" CHerald Publish
ing House, Lamont, la, John Pres
ton relates the biography of youne
Kansas agnostic in search of religion
The youth drifts from one occupation
to another because he finds no interes
in any, and finally becomes "a journal
ist. Even this profession he gives up
because there are hypocrites in II al
in the other businesses he abandoned
and he starts in to making a Twins
by writing articles and books tina
he Is sure will not be published From
the start he explains his agnosti'
theories to various members OF name
less sect which he admires. and which
seems to be Mormon; he is answered
with invariable kindness and told tina
he needs faith. Ills arguments arr
confused somewhat by accounts of tn,
indiscretions OF a too susceptible frient
of his with several young women
from which the agnostic saves him
The end should be the agnostic's i'm
penitent death but in final chapter
seemingly an afterthought. the au
thor converts him suddenly and mys
ter.ously. like st. Paul. There ar
portions OF this narrative which show
that Mr. Preston might write stories
II he would.
The first part OF Cyrus Townsen,
Bradys "a Baby of the Frontier
(Fleming II. Revell Company de
scribes the fight between n small bod.
of soldiers and a horde of Indians. Il
the old time style with much shedding
of gore. In the second part the melo
drama becomes too incoherent and tn
slaughter Of the savages IL such as {,
satiate even the small boy. The ex
pansion Of a frontier incident into