Life — October 23, 1902 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

["® always difficult for a writer with a reputation as a humorist to gain a hearing for serious work. Jerome K. Jerome, however, deserves it for his novel, Paul Kelver. In some ways his picture of Paul's youth is unsurpassed in modern fic- tion. If Mr. Jerome's sense of humor still occasionally induces him to work a funny idea overtime, the fact is easily overbal- anced by the book’s merits. (Dodd, Mead and Company. $1.50.) Fame for a Woman, by Cranstoun Met- calfe, is an elaboration of Mme. de Staél’s saying, ‘‘ Fame is for women only a splen- did mourning for happiness.” Fame, in this instance, is represented by the rather cheap literary notoriety of the day achieved in the shallows of London Bohemia. The book has many faults both of style and taste. (G.P. Putnam's Sons. $1.20.) The Vultures is a new story by Henry Seton Merriman, in which a Polish political plot against the Russian Government fur- nishes the incidents for a characteristically exciting drama. Mr. Merriman has a con- vincing trick of seeming to confide State secrets to his readers. Their interest is HS 3 “ROWDLEION DORSN'T DRINK AN'THING.” “it's weneprrary. WIS PATHER Was cRazy TOO!” -LIFE- never allowed to flag until the curtain drops, the lights go out, and they re- alize that it is all make-believe. (Hare per and Brothers. $1.50.) It has sometimes been suspected that “S. R.Crockett” isin reality a syn- dicate, and it would indeed seem that one man could hardly tell so many Scotch stories in such rapid-fire suc- cession. Hard upon the heels of The Dark o° the Moon we now have The Banner of Blue, a tale of the disrup- tion period in the Scotch church, Man or syndicate, however, The Banner of Blue is one of Crockett's best stories. (McClure, Phillips and Company. $1.50.) Half adozen short stories by Thomas Bailey Aldrich come to us in dainty form in A Sea Turn and Other Matters. They have the charm of a pure style and an attractive simplicity, but show an obvious mechanism of plot which smacks of the early days of the art. (Houghton, Mifflin and Company. $1.25.) Richard Harding Davis's contribu- tion to the new season's fiction isa clean, quick moving, soldier-of-for- tune story called Captain Macklin, Captain Macklin is a young West Pointer who is expelled from the Acad- emy and seeks glory and a career in Honduras. He tells his own story, and for once the autobio- graphical form is used with artistic success. (Charles Scribner's Sons. $1.50.) Dr. Ralcy Husted Bell, in his volume upon The Worth of Words adds little or noth- ing to what has already been written upon thesubject. The careful and dis- criminative use of language, however, is a duty so gener- ally neglected that we can stand some repetition of advice upon the matter. (The Grafton Press. $1.50) Topseys and Turveys is avery clever little colored picture book by Peter Newell for children and grown-ups, showing that things are not always what they seem. (The Century Com- peer.) J.B, Rerfoot. EVIL TO HIM WHO EVIL DOETH, The Highwaynan: 1 BEARS PEETSTEPS, BILL } LET’s LOOK AN’ SEB WHAT DE GAME LOOKS LIKE. The Highwaymen: 1199 *1rtri:etle me OLD Bor’s Loose! O Schoene Zeit! Is it not gratifying to read that the new serum for scarlet fever recently discov- ered in Germany is not very expensive? The time is surely at hand when poverty will be no longer an excuse for parents send- ing their children to the public schools only half fall of seram. % HE hasn’t got any sense—one of those fellows who is always giving advice.” “Well, that isn’t half co bad as alwayr taking it.” comicbooks.com