OCR Text |
Show I BooK. JVe&ws and Literary JSfotes. I One of the most unique and interesting books B offered the public within the past year is "The I Loom of Life," by Charles Frederic Goss, for I whom the Bowen-Merrill company of Indianapolis I are publishers. It is a story of an innocent young I Grecian girl, whose father is absorbed in the study I of ancient Greece to the exclusion of worldly I Knowledge, and who rears his child in total ignorance ig-norance of the world's wickedness in a lovely Southern home. An accident throws a blase sensualist sen-sualist into the home of the old student and his daughter and an acquaintance ripens into illicit love, which terminates in the usual unfortunate way; innocence ruined and vice triumphant. A native Egyptian nurse figures in the story as the instigator of a terrible revenge on the brute who has seduced her young charge, and together the hetrayed girl and the old adept in sorcery, snake charming and occultism follow the betrayer for years from city to city, across the seas and finally drive him to the Western wilds, where he becomes be-comes a squaw man, and falls a victim to the jealous frenzy of his Indian wife. The girl grows in wisdom and knowledge of the world and through the influence of Christianity taught by an honest man she discards her Oriental teachings and revengeful cravings and becomes the wife 6f her instructor. The story is well written, intense- Ily interesting and out of the beaten line of fiction. Josephine Dodge Daskam, a talented young authoress, has written a charming book of short stories entitled "Whom the Gods Destroyed." Some of the stories resemble in handling, the works of Kipling, but are written in a delightfully interesting and convincing vein, which carries the reader back to the halcyon days of youth, when all women were fair, sweet and pure, and life tinted Avith roseate hues and all the world was a grand play room, where shadows never obscured the sunlight and fairies and genii peopled the wildwoods and exercised a canny power in the lives of the little ones. The stories are charmingly told and appeal to the best instincts in mankind. The publishers are Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Bret Harte is too well known throughout tho West to need introduction through the press, and none of his former work more clearly illustrates the many-sided flashlights of originality which were possessed by this prince of story tellers. His last fledgling, "Condensed Novels," a series of burlesques on the works of modern writers, is a Panadora box of troubles for the writers whom this clever literary derider holds up to the searchlight search-light of cynicism and stabs to the vitals through the powerful medium of a trenchant, fire-tipped pen. Kipling, Conan Doyle, Marie Corelli, Anthony An-thony Hope, Caine and other writers of inflated romance are impalled on the virus-tipped lance of the writer and the X-ray of his merry wit exposes ex-poses the weak spots in the armor of each writer, with a skill and technique peculiarly his own. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. of Boston are the publishers. pub-lishers. Frank L. Stanton, author of "Up From Georgia," Geor-gia," published by D. Appleton & Co., tells a lively story replete with witticisms fresh tapped from the fertile fields of Southern romance. His style is not unlike that of Opie Read, but lacks the exquisite ex-quisite bits of descriptive coloring which have so endeared Read to thousands of American readers. It is, however, well told and handled with a strength which could only be gained by a complete com-plete knowledge of the place and people among whom the plot is laid. A. T. Quiller-Couch is just out with "The White Wolf, and Other Fireside Tales," published by Charles Scribner's Sons, which threatens to rival Baron Maunchaussen of Ananias clientele. The stories range from Norse love romances to composite com-posite photography, and cover geographically the earth's surface. Ruth McEnery Stuart, a Southern writer, has just given to' the world's readers a splendid tale of the old South called "Napoleon Jackson," filled with the pure drollery of negro life and cleverly-told cleverly-told witticisms found nowhere save south of the Mason and Dixon, line. It is fresh from the presses of the Century company of New York. ' One of the daintiest, quaintest of late publica- 1 jy. i 1 tions from P. U. Putnam's Sons' house is "Laven- Ji $1 der and Old Lace," a humorous romance from the p fli llB pen of Myrtle Read. The story is the work of a si 't if 11 beauty-lover, who fairly revels among the air 8 TL4ri ifM castles of life's best gifts and never descends to the R f ! ilffl stern solidities of life, but keeps its readers in Hll-iiB dream lands of perpetual light, song and pleasure. n f. f ' j "Ifr 'rB Richard Harding Davis, has just given his ju- fc v, f ?M venile worshippers a charming story of war life t '!rH entitled "Capt. Macklin," which is in line with his ; 1 , !ffl past works on similar subjects, and will doubt- '!''? less prove a bread-winner for the clever writer. u V jt i jlH The publishers are Charles Scribner's Sons. n I ' ifflM . n ill 4' vM S. R. Crockett's Scotch romance, "The Banner Ai , jogH of Blue," is dulled with dry dissertations upon T'f IPH church and state that blur the coloring of well- A ff 'r'jillM told love episodes which are the chief charm of " jfj f jH the tale. McClure, Phillips & Co. of New York " i NlllfB are publishing the book. (, iiU&JiM M if ' V !io fll A cousin of the late Nathaniel Hawthorne, who 'FtItBB lives in Salem tells the Boston Journal that there IT'; never was any house of seven gables from which viLlfcli'lH Hawthorne wrote his great story. He says that 1 tjp !njt jjfl the author told him the house existed only in his T'l: t'IH imagination and had no firmer foundation than J IIB a flight of fancy. LJ jj fjH The Santa Fe Railway company is out with one m , llplpjHH of the handsomest souvenir pamphlets ever pub- i wOB lished in this country. It is an up-to-date-folder, i3iffuHB profusely illustrated, original in design and per- n &4ffHfl feet in typography. It illustrates tho ease and ' 1 ,'PmH comfort with which tourists may travel the length l ifilH and breadth of this country and Mexico via its 111 1 JJMfi well-equipped line, and is a most creditable pro7 jti 1 tIBB duction for both the railroad and its illustrator, J 'lBB Mr. H. E. Townsend. Ipj'HMfi 'S initflfl The White Pine Miner, a neat little paper, pubr ' l U lished at Ely, Nev., is the latest aspirant for lit- li'f-JfflH erary fame in the Sagebrush State. May it find I! 'ffifffB an apex on its ground, sink on pay ore, and tap lllttillfll ground so rich as to be compelled to guard its ore 1 llf itfifl bin with a six-shooter to keep the ore from being milKI absorbed by less fortunate prospectors between K&flH shipments. jjfffraH |