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Show I H' ''.' FINAL CEAWPOED STOEIES. : ;. Wandering Ghosts. By F. Marlon Craw- .'f:' ford. With frontispiece. Tho Mac- ' ii ' ' niI'la Company. Publishers. Now York. '"(1' ' It socins indeed like a wandering 'T', ghost ro read these stories from an an- I i' ! . ' thor so long dead. Mr. Crawford was i .' a prolific writer in his day, and his pub-Ushers pub-Ushers noto on the title page of this . !. ' book his authorship of " Saracinosea," ,1, r .' and "A Roman Singer'"; but ho was ',' ' ' the author of many other stories also, and some of them of far greater fame t . !'.' than those mentioned. Tlie stories eon-tninod eon-tninod in this work would almost seem $$M - like scraps beside the. full-fledged, well f few) rounded out stories to which wo are ae- i-'J"'WJ customed from Mr Crawford 's. pen. The "'k I r book carries seven stories. ''Tho Dead '-'M: Smile,; "The. Screaming Skull, "Man . Overboard ! ' ' "For tho Blood is the f-'-V, - Life." "The Upper Berth," "By tho '.mV Waters of Paradise." ''The Doll's , Ghost." They are all told du Craw- I' ford's well known skillful, vigorous ':f'i i style, with abundant imagination and I 1 great power of characterization and do- 1 scription. J lis admirers will welcome .') these lales, as probably tho last of tho frt&lu,. stories that will appear from his pen. I'Mil: BASED ON THE BOER WAR. I ' Forced In Strong Fires. By John Iron- ivV'"- side. Author of "Tho Red Symbol." ' -TilS Frontispiece Illustration by F. Stanley iiW-'J Wood. Published by Little. Brown, and j.jlf! .( Company. Boston. L This is a novel which has to do with conditions in England and South Africa t irS'-; during and directly after the. Boor war. The shadow of the coming war is felt -'; even more keenly in South Africa than . in England, midmost of tho scenes arc j 7l' laid there It ia a realistic stor-, sym- If "i1' pathetic in its delineations of character, h JS'! nnfl s marked by great depths of feol- ,! 'ug and intense dramatic force. It is a rS'-'fjV''' r9a life -story throughout, picturing con- ditions an England and much more ex-uSu ex-uSu 1 tensively in South Africa during the f r.l'.' troubled times which it covers. The Cjpfc-;! story necessarily deals very much with f,,f. I' public affairs, with public characters. W and with the ravages of the war. In fcj-if! , fill this it ds at times painfully rcnlis- 8yi j--: tic, and towards the Boers especially is &-5l "'osL tolerant. At the satne time, the ; true advantage of South Africa in its pjSn;i 1 union with Great Britain is never lost Pl3-'f sight of. There is in it all a very charmiing and touching love story, which adds sentiment and romance, "to the I book The ston' deals rather with tho i'i dissolution of social ties, tho separation p-, of families, than actual warfare. Joj-co, the heroine, is a fine, noble jl-' type of womanhood, distracted by her ;. love for her Boer neighbors and friends, , and her ingrained English sentiments m and loyalty to her father's pooplo. The j plot is' powerful, the local coloring clear n and consistent, and ihe love element is g charming and unusual. j REACHING FOR HAPPINESS. Si A Book of Dear Dead Women. By Edna VR W. Underwood. Published by Littlo. m Brown, and Company. Boston, fi This is an imaginative re-creation of g episodes in tho lives of famous women, I some ot them mistresses of illustrious j men, and the stories recall Poe most. & vividly. The first story, "One of Na- gj poleon's Loves," is n'n extract from ffj the diary of the Polish Countess Tnt- j?j jana Tsehaska. Then we have the story, ".Tho Painter 0f Dead Women,;' a very fine sketch the sccno of which is laid in Naples. We have hero tho story of "The Aloorish Mistress of Philip 1 V of Spain," the story of "Sister Sera-phine. Sera-phine. " "nho of the perfect month," and all others are ardently loving ladies, who move in rich panorama through the pages of tho book. The author vests them all with eager, throbbing life, and makes them keen npostlos of the creed that, "life is love and love is life." The work is very well done, and tho underlying note through all the scones is, that everyone is entitled to happiness; happi-ness; and each takes her own way to attain it. The stories hnve that almost indefinable inde-finable qualitv termed "atmosphere" to a degroe raroty found in English stories and more generally the property prop-erty of French and German fiction. Tli by arc, however, entirely original. Thoir theme is always of love eager, ardent, joyous love or of tho beauties, tho happiness, the ddlights of life. All of these "dear dead women, with such faces," of whom Mrs. Underwood Under-wood hns written, are charged with youth and beamy and jo and passion, and they play their parts in settings of exotic "clinrm, romantic and picturesque. pictur-esque. "A Book of Dear Dead Women" should appeal deeply to all live ones who havo imagination and sensitive perceptions, and to all men, for it nro-sontB nro-sontB new phases of tho " eternal feminine." fem-inine." AN EDITOR'S BRIEFS. Country Town Saylnps a Collection of Paragraphs from tire Atc:hlson Globe. By K W. Howe. Author of "Dally Notes of a Trip Around the World," "The Story of a Country Town," "The Trln to the West Jndios," etc. Crane & Company, Publisors. Topeka. Kansas. The author of this work is described as "a great reporter, who is also singularly singu-larly wiso"; a country editor, whose paragraphs have .been copied from one end . of the country to the other t for thirty years. This little book is filled with bright paragraphs from tho Atchison Atchi-son Globe, which shows in tho best possible form the qualities of the writer, and those qualities are certainly both winning and keen. A DEEP MYSTERY STORY, The Red Room. Bv William LcQuftux, Author of "The Lady In the Car." "Tho Pauper of Park Lane." etc. Frontispiece Frontis-piece Illustration by Cyrus Cunoo. Published by Little. Brown, and Company. Com-pany. Boston. This author is one of the most distinguished distin-guished and successful writers of mystery mys-tery stories of tho present day. His romances have given him a wido introduction intro-duction to the best reading public all over the world. His style is vigorous, dramatic, intense. He is successful in weaving his web of mystery thickly so that the ultimate solution is hiddon until un-til tho last moment. Tn this stor' a scientist of note ds found dead behind the double locked doors of his laboratory labora-tory in London, stabbed to the heart, and his face burned beyond recognition by some corrosive fluid. And yet there is" convincing evidonco that, on the night of his murder, ho wns on a train on his way to Edinburgh. Kershaw Kark, a devoted, friend to the. dead scientist, finds a difficult problem confronting con-fronting himself and another man who is drawn innocently into the affair. And all tho t i in o Kirk is himself supposod to bo deeply implicated in tho crime. Tho question. "Who hilled Professor Ctroer?" is tho vital one in tho story, and tho one. who killod him is very successfully suc-cessfully kept in the background until what might be described us the unmasking unmask-ing conies. It is a story of intense interest, in-terest, told in tho skillful, expert manner man-ner of which this author is so complete a master. The reader will bo irrosisti-blj- attracted on and on in tho reading, baffled, and yet his curiosity kept at tho exciting point all tho time, until finally the mystery stands rovoalod. A TOUR IN BRITAIN. Throe Weeks in the British IhIok. By John U. Illginbotham. The Rellly & Rrltton Co.. Publishers, Chicago. This Jjook will naturally bo compared with Howells's account of his itinerary in England and his visit to seven ff tho famous English cities. And this work certainly docs not; suffer in tho comparison, It takes in a greater scope than tho llowolls Work did, and although al-though tho trip was a hasty one. tho au-fchor'fl'lmhit au-fchor'fl'lmhit of careful and accurate observation ob-servation stood him in good stead, and ho has produced a work admirable in its nttractivo oualitics and in showing to the reader just tho things that he would liko to sec and to know about. Mr, Iliginbotham is described as author, narrator, traveler, lecturer, and business busi-ness man,'' and wo can well believe that he is all of these from tho qualitv of his book. For ho certainly, as stated, "traveled with a seeing eye, a. hearing car, and a rctcntivo mind,'"' and the record of it all is most entertaining. Tho human-interest foaturo in the book is Cronounced, and the author seoins to ave a happy faculty of getting at .just what every American wants to hear about with respect to the people, the places, and tho conditions of life in old England, with incursions into Scotland Scot-land and a pretty thorough traversing of Ireland. IN THE OLD SOUTH. Tho Colonel's Story. By Mrs. Roger A. Pryor. The Macmlllan Company. Publishers, Pub-lishers, Now York. Mrs. Pryor has delighted her read in hor former works, "Tho Mother of Washington and Her Times," and "Rcminiscenscs of Peace and War." The Colonel, who is tho contral character charac-ter of the story, is a fine old gentleman, with a plantation of his own, but who. lonely and surviving relic of all his own Kin, consents to make the homo of a friend his own. Here he becomes part of the famil' lifo. is adored by the children, chil-dren, and in turn is captivated by them. He is open, hearty, has a high sonso of honor, and is given to chivalrous deeds.' Mrs. Pryor, tho author, is upwards of eighty years old. but a remarkablj- ac-tivo ac-tivo old lady, who finds time not only to write, but to attend to the demands of "a very exacting old husband," as ho describes himself. The old Colonel is hardly as vivid a character as "Col oncl Carter of Cartcrsvills," but he is a very winsome old gentleman for all that. The story is a delightful one. A BOOK OF ACTIVE FOLK. The Bramble- Bush. By Caroline Fuller. Published by D. Applcton and Company. Com-pany. New York. The author of this work has delighted de-lighted tho public heretofore with hor " Brunhildo's Paying Guest," "Across the Campus," '"'The Flight of Push Pandora," "Tho Alley Cat's Kitten," and other stories. Her favorite characters charac-ters are young people of activity, oner gy, and resource. She puts a good many of such young peoplo into this book, together to-gether with some older people, a pnrt of whom are active and energetic, and another part worn out and useless, as is fitting in the makeup of a panorama of life. Tho principal characters, Cj'n thia, Noel, not forgetting Cosy and Patty, Brant, and Wayjio Tilman are lively characterizations indeed, and the way in which they weave their wob of life is at once energetic, compelling and expert. At the same time tho fates are busy, and circumstances and en vironment have their usual controlling influence. The author skillfully leads her characters through the various po sitions, scenes, and relations of tjic lifo which she .creates and in all makes it as realistic and skillfully imagined as a lively panoram.a can do. It is a book filled and brimming over with human interest, showing that tliq. author is full of power, skill, and.oruptivo force. All her readers will be charmed with the book. DREADNOUGHT BOYS. The Dreadnought Boys on Baltic Practice. Prac-tice. By Captain Wilbur Lawton, Published Pub-lished by Hurst and Company, Now York. Captain Lawton is famous for his stories of adventures of boys, putting them through their paces in tho aviator line in a series of exploits in Africa, in Nicaragua, in Arizona, in Alaska, in thec Antarctics, and in other ticklish localities. lo-calities. He now begins a new scries, "The Dreadnought Boys' Series," the first being the present volume. The hoi's are put through their practice just the same as the practice on actual shipboard, ship-board, and in the gun turrets. Tho ac-cidonts ac-cidonts that are liable to occur arc notr loft out: but. on the whole, tho boys have a fine time of it indeed, and enjoy en-joy themselves hugely. It is a series that is certain to be as popular with the boys ns the aviation series has proven. FINE SCHOOL BOOKS. Trom tho American Book Company. Chicago, we havo "Makers and Defenders De-fenders of America," a hnndsomo volume vol-ume by expert instructors in school work history. It comprises a collection collec-tion of biographies, presented in excellent excel-lent and concise form. We find here biographical notes on and the chief historical his-torical records of Patrick Henry, Samuel Sam-uel Adnms, fioorge Washington, Thomas Jefferson. Alexander Hamilton, and others oth-ers of tho great Revolutionary times. Then we are told of Daniel Boono and the Western settlements, of the chief characters of the war of .1812, of Lafayette, La-fayette, Andrew Jackson. Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and other "famous Americans. It is u first-class work, handsomely hand-somely printed and illustrated, cmi neatly desirable for school use. From the same wo have "The Story of Modern France," by II. A, Guerber. This is writton in tho most captivating style, is ample for nil ordinary purposes, pur-poses, is clear tuid correct in statement, and is, in fact, one of the best school books that we have aeon in a long time. From the same we have "Argumentation "Argumenta-tion and Debate," by eminent profos-sors profos-sors and rhetoricians. The work gives us in the first part, tho general rules for nnnimcntntion and debate, explains the 1 different formalities and successive pro-! pro-! cesses in anruiuentation, and in the presentation pre-sentation of facts and evidonco. Part j second gives illustrations of strong de- bates, inclucliup tho speech of Tatrick rTonry against fclio adoption of tho constitution, con-stitution, and that of James Madison in favor. Jt (rives the first Webster-Hay Webster-Hay no debate, tho Callionn-Cnss dcbalo, t he Lincoln-Douglas joint debate at Alton, Al-ton, the Bcvoridcc-IIoar dobato on the Philippine question, and the arguments in the inconio tax case of 1S95, with the opinion of Chief Justice Field nullify Ing Uie law. ft is a right, good, serviceable service-able book. From tho same we have "Old Testament Testa-ment Narratives," selected and edited by Edward Chauncey Baldwin. Tt is a convenient, small edition, bringing together to-gether the requisites for collego entrance en-trance requirements in English reading, so far as tho Bible is concerned. Tho selections nre very well mado, and usually presented with clearness. But the story of .Joseph is a hard ono to handle in a single narrative, and is trcatod with less success than anf of tho others. RUSSIAN BROTHERHOOD PLOTS. Out of Ttiifl.sla. By Crittenden Marriott. "With Illustrations by Frank McKornan. Published by J. n. Jjlpplncolt Company, Philadelphia. This is an exciting, sensational story, based upon Russinn intrigues, nihilism, ni-hilism, plots, tho Brotherhood, . and tho socrct moves of the plot-tens, plot-tens, who are always seeking to blow up some Russian official, or t) i'ii: it thoir design i by plots and violence of various kinds. In this novel full p'ay is given to All the poc-sibilitic.s poc-sibilitic.s of those underground workings, work-ings, and there is added u quest for sunken trensuro which forms an exciting ex-citing opisodo in the story. Tho plotting plot-ting revolutionists, the criminal plans, all are wovon together to form the plot of a most .sensational novel of intrigue and adventure. The central characters are Caruth, an American, and Murio Fitzhugh, who has bocomo involved in-tho in-tho plots of tho brotherhood and has done good scrvico, for which sho wins her rclcnse, and her happiness comes ns well. The novel is extremely well told by an author of fame, capacity and skill, who lias given us heretofore "Tho Islo of Dead Ships," "lfo'.v Americans Aro Governed' and other works that have been warmly welcomed by tho public. MORE OF HOPALONG. Bar-20 Days. By Clarence E. Mulford. With Illustrations in Color bv May-nard May-nard Dixon. Published by A. "C. Mc-Clurg Mc-Clurg Si Co., Chicago. This is a continuation of iho vnstly fentertaining cowboy stories which have bocomo so popular with the reading public, a real treat in lively narration. Hopalong Cassidy is tho hero of these stories, as he has been of others in the sanio series, and he always gives in excellont, muni- account of himsolf aggressive and unafraid. ITo stands for honesty, for faithfulness to friends, and for what is called generally that which is "white" and straight, against that which is dark and crooked. The stories are full of the most virile action; the men who are the characters in them are full of bounding rod blood, and they act accordingly. Their foes are the-toughs, the-toughs, the sneaks, tho bullies, and tho cowards. A decidedly healthy tone permeates thr- stories from first 'to last, and that is what makes them so lint-and lint-and cnjoyablu. LITERARY NOTES. David Graham Phillips's novel. "Tho fjrain of Dust," which tho Appletons ar lo publish early In April, Is not an ox-pose ox-pose of the weaknesses of American women, ns was his "Old Wives for Now" and "The Husband's Story " It Is. on the other hand, a rather remarkable story of tho olt'oct a .slnipie-mnnnoved, plain-spoken plain-spoken little woman can have on the carof.r of a powerful and unscrupulous corporation lawyer. llunryk Sicnkiewicz's lalost novel. "Whirlpools," has Just been brought out in .England, where It is pronounced "one of tho leading hooks of tho senson. "Whirlpools" was Urst Issued by Sien-kicwlcz's Sien-kicwlcz's American publishers last Hummer Hum-mer and Is now in its fifth printing. Selma LuKerlof's "Tho Girl from the larsh Croft," tho newest book of notion no-tion from the Nobel prize winner. Is about lo appear In London, vjn Boston. "The' Girl from the Marsh Croft" is in its third edition in this country. Tlcrman Whltnkcr author of "Tho Plantor," is one of tho group of young American writers who gained their knowledge of Mexican conditions at first i hand. Ho became so enthusiastic a supporter sup-porter of the cause for which the Insur-roctos Insur-roctos havo now taken the field that his lifo was thientened more than once. His j novel, "The Planter." is directly related to the present disturbances In Mexico, tho young New England cnglncor of tho story espousing- the cause of the Yaquls. Their struggle lo escnpe the slavery of the rubber plantations, as well as deportation, de-portation, so fired tho Yankee that his onthuslasm in "The Planter" caused it to be said that Whitaker had written "Tho Uncle Tom's Cabin of Mexico." "Gleanings from Fifty Yours In China." by Archibald Little, which was brought nit by the l.lpnlncott.s Inio In February, indicates by Its title what II contains, 'jut only those who know something of the long career of the author as merchant, mer-chant, scholar, and traveler in China will ook fur the rich mine of recollections and studies which theso gleanings will un--nver. The book wits prepared by the author shortly before his death and has heen finally revised by Mrs. IJUlo. It contains a portrait and many iliustra-llons. Mrs. Barclay, tho author of "Trevor Lordship." is the wJfe of Lieutenant Colonel Colo-nel Hubert Barclay of the Fourth Battalion Bat-talion Bedfordshire regiment, who served in tho South African war. This Hubert Barclay comes of an old Quaker family, I'oing a direct descendant of Robert Barclay Bar-clay of Uric, the woll-known "Apologist" who wrote "The Apology for Quakers" In 1G70 "In a word this is a vital book, one that stands out from the ruck of fiction manufactured to sell today nnd to die tomorrow," Milton Bronner. the editor of tho Kentucky Post, writes of Gustav Fienssen's "Klaus Hlnrlch Bans." "It, Is nol only different from much of our Anglo-Saxon fiction, hut It differs, too. from the German. There Is nothing of the sickly-sweet sentimental, so characteristic charac-teristic of much of tho former Gorman fiction. Life Is adhered to closely." An English writer who Is now to America and who merely signs herself "R. Mncaulay." but is known lo bo a woman, seems to be one of unusual promise. Messrs. Honrv Holt and Company Com-pany havo arranged with Mr. John Mur-rnv Mur-rnv of London, to Issue on Anrll Sth her novol. "Tho Vnlloy Captives." They do so upon the ndvlco of one of our best known American critics who said of It. among other things "It Is e.xeoptlon-allv e.xeoptlon-allv strong and attractive mora or less In the style of Thomas J lardy." It tolls the storv of a man who. after many disasters, dis-asters, finally wins "opon country." Tho characters include some very na jKf It is less than six months since EleanE! HallowelJ Abbott's "Molly M3ke-BelIeWK was issued, but .the eighth large tion is selling. Bhi Francis Arnold Colllns's admlra&Mf hook for lads big and little. "The BojKE Book of Model Aeroplanes," has "HKS sent to press for the fourth time to au.RJ: ply Iho demand. Kjb, A volume of nobert Louis StevensonMp writings called "Lay Morals and ,yu'KT Papers." Including "Father Damlen HBJ a number of other essays,, skotchea. caEf Icisms. etc.. which nro not includea:B tho standard editions of StovsnsoiJ works and some of which have 1!jHP appeared in this- country bctwoon MK, covers, will be published by Cn,nBI Scribner's S0113 In the latter part spring season. They will appear mp style uniform with tho Scrlbner blograMKe leal edition of Stevenson's works. Hyp A new edition of a comic masterptBR describing the ridiculous adventurofHs an American In England has ast.DMW brought out bv Doubleday. PftSe Kfc It tells humorously how the EnI19,M5l pe.ired to a plain American t"aK'-TH?l the burden of the text: the his observance was a fashionable nH An Elglish writer, "Rita" by did not see the humor, laowovor-. SWl undertook in a review to point ouiMB Whltefiold's mistaken sensu of Hf dlculous. This new edition .con'oins iha (quite unintentionally) Iaughab frjjiR9' In order to "supply," as the aliLor.oBi cateiy puts It. "the humor wnlcn says the little book lacks. . If humor were a contagious glseaflajHB bo Incontinently fled from. American in England" would be 0-uVv (luaruntlncd. 3Ril |