Life — November 24, 1904 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

HERE are two divisions of the Out-of- Doors, In the one, Man, the demi-god, trains binoculars and cameras upon the tom- tit and the dicky-bird, and plays Providence to the violet and the field-mouse, In the other, Man, the pigmy, plays field-mouse in God's Among the many who love the latter game, Stewart Edward White is one of the few who are articulate, and his volume of advice, anecdote and glorious description, The Mountains, will be a delight to all those who have ever found themselves alone in the shadow of the hills. wilderness. Among the new books are two by authors whose first novels were almost equally good and dealt with equally typical contemporary politics—Mark Lee Luther, author of The Henchman, and Brand Whitlock, author of Tie 13th District, Me. Luther, in The Mastery, sticks to New York politics and gives us a story of a State Buss on lines distantly suggestive of Ford’s City Boss, Zhe Hnwable Peter Stirling. Mr, Whitlock, on the other hand, has done more than simply repeat hisearlier success, He has achieved a new one, In The Happy Aver- age he has voiced a deep-seated human sympa- thy for the unheroic, and created character to whom every one, with even a lingering memory of early diffidence or self-distrust, must feel akin, His genuineness is refreshing, and the simplicity of his methods almost hides their art. ‘There are certain plans of campaign in fic- tion of such ancient and known standing that they may be designated as are the openings in the game of chess. Ellen Olney Kirk, for instance, in The Apology of Ayliffe, employs what might be called the guardian and ward gambit, and the variations in the resulting game are peculiar rather than skilful, The book is well below the pleasant average of Mrs, Kirk’s writings. In his Presidential Problems, Grover Clew- land gives a history of his connection with four questions, which at the time of their presentation gave rise to the most bitter di:- pute, and whose settlement will long affect the policy of the nation. sentiment of the country has long since er- dored Mr, Cleveland's these matters, but the dignity and clarity of his review of them in this volume cannot but add to his reputation now, and prove a valuable asset to the historian, ‘The overwhelming action in The Hound from the North, by Ridgwetl Cullom, is a rough-hewn tale of crime and adventure, whose scenes are in Alaska and *LIFE- Manitoba. A distinct flavor of the gansh and theatrical, a dash of mystery and a certain effectiveness in the presentation of characters are combined in a story which should please those to whom nicety of feeling and of literary finish are negligible quantities. The Pagan's Progress, an amusing novelty by Gouverneur Morris, introduces that popu- lar character, * primitive man,” to the pages of realistic fiction, and while it is unlikely that either Mr, Darwin or Mr, Spencer would have wholly agreed with Mr, Morris, that other popular character, the “average man,” will enjoy this story of his ancestors. J. B. Kerfoot. The Mountains, (Me By Stewart Edward White. lure, Phillips and Company. $1.50.) The Mastery. (The Macmillan Company By Mark Lee Luther $1.50.) The Happy By Brand Whitlock (The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis. $1.50.) The Apology of Ayliffe. By Ellen Olney Kirk. (Houghton, Mifflin and Company. $1.50) Presidential Problems. By Grover Cleveland. (The Century Company. $1.60.) rage. The Hound from the North. By Ridgwell Cullom. (L. C, Page and Company, Boston.) The Pagan's Progress. By Gouverneur Morris, (A. S. Barnes and Company. $1.00.) Wy sc 4/7) “DOROTHY, DOES YOUR MOTHER BELON Eh, Buster? O of the leading publishers of New York has borrowed Buster Brown, and employs him to recom- mend books through the newspapers. Buster is conceded to be an authority on crime, but it would never have oc- curred to us to ask his opinion of a book. He commends ‘Mrs, Evan," who wrote “The Garden of a Com- muter’s Wife.” We have long suspect- ed her of being the author of “The Confessions of a Wife." Tell us, Buster, Hay? it she, or was it Secretary Awful! T would be interesting to the public to know how many gallons of whiskey have been presented to the author of ‘Ben Hur," since he in- quired of Chief Chemist Wiley of the Department of Agriculture where a little “pure rye whiskey" could be procured for his personal use. It would be interesting, further, to know what the W.C. T. U. thinks of General Wallace now, but we shrink from the revelation (a Hd Kegs TO THE DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION 2?” “NO; L THINK SHE BELONGS TO THE CONTINENTAL DAMS.” comicbooks.com