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Show BOOK REVIEWS. Messvs. Kilner & Co. have just issued a novel called "The Five of Diamonds." by Mrs. Guthrie. It is a curious tale-cleyer tale-cleyer in its way, but more sensational in its incidents than "Mcnte Cnsto " The mysterious card drops down in places undreamed un-dreamed of by the Wandering Jew and is the center of more adventures than anything any-thing ever invented by Eugene Sue However, How-ever, the story is well told; the plot though intricate, well woven, and the style at times sparkling and always interesting. in-teresting. For those who lo'vg the thrilling thrill-ing and the sensational in their literary diet it is a good Christmas, gift book. A new Catholic book, and one which is attracting considerable intere.s- throughout through-out the country just now, is "The Orations Ora-tions of Henry Austin Adams," gotten ut ,ylr.e Adams-Canr.on conpany of St Paul Minn. The volume contains th principal orations of Henry Austin, who' during the past nine years, has been lecturing lec-turing continually and is generally admit, ted to be the greatest lecturer among Catholic laymen in America. This book is the first publication ever given to his lectures and is in such popular popu-lar demand that the first edition was entirely en-tirely sold before it had come off the press. A second edition has now been ordered or-dered and will follow closelv after the first.. The introduction is written bv His Lminence Cardinal Gibbons. The book is dedicated to Father McGivney. founder of the Knights of Columbus, of which order Mr. Adams is an enthusiastic member. The new book is made of the best laid paper, bound in cloth, ornamented with gilt and is in every particular an elegant, dressy volume. One circumstance which we believe hastens the sale of the book af this time is the fact that Mr. Adams' health broke down completely last September and he has since been under treatment in Europe. Eu-rope. : No agents , or solicitors arc to' be. employed em-ployed by - the "Adams-Cannon company, and nil orders for the bock must be sent direct to their offices in St. Paul. Another romance, "Love and the Soul Hunters,"-by John Oliver Hobbes (Mrs Cragie), who. it is understood, is a Catholic, Cath-olic, is an amazingly futile book, coming after "The School for Saints " "Love and the Soul Hunters" is a fooiish name unless it contains a cinher "A Kindergarten Kinder-garten lor Sinners" would be much mors applicable. Hivins? read "The School for Saints, the appreciators of that remarkably re-markably fine novel one of the very bet written in the last twenty years can only tear his hair and long to heap ashes-m?taphorical)y ashes-m?taphorical)y on the heads of the advertising ad-vertising men who "borned" "A Kindergarten Kinder-garten for Sinners." It seem impossible that the. deep sympathy. thevivid yet chastened imaginative powers, the results re-sults of ,, deen meditation -shown in "The School for Saints" should be so obsent from "Love and the Soul Hunters." as Mrs. Cragie calls it mystically. There is 'sotne good writing in it, ot course-Mrs course-Mrs Cragie cannot write In a commonplace common-place way but even "Robert Orange," inferior as it was to "A School for Saints," is a masterpiece compared with her latest work. And no amount of exaggerated ex-aggerated advertising can change this; a work of literature, after all, must live by its own merits. "The Wyndham Girls." by Marion Ames Tag;g;art (The Century company), is a first-rate Christmas book. "In the Days of King Hall," bv the same author (Ben-ziger (Ben-ziger Bros.), is not nearly so good, but it will pass. How is it that Father Finn has no Christmas book? However, that will not prevent the considerate pareni from ordering all his boys' books for the happy household.. "Tom Plavtair" and "Percy Wynne" are unapproachable. Laly Lindsay's "Christmas Posy"' is : thoughtful, sweet and high-minded book, such as one has everv reason to expect from the author of "The Prayer of St. Seolastica." Lady Lindsay has the poetic po-etic gift, trained, well and surely exquisite ex-quisite simplicity, which comes of the highest art and" the singing quality or the highest are hers "In a Garden Wild" manifests them both: "There is a garden, A-gardun v.-ild. And in it wanders A little child. "The angels arefraying A path for his feet, 'And high in the branches The birds sing sweet. , "And who can know How his heart may yearn, Or who can see His eyes discern? "But Mary is calling: 'Come home, my son; The shadows are falling. The day is done.' " The quaint translations of the Provencal Proven-cal and Burgundia carols for Christmas display the same qualities: "Deep in newly-furnished tower, , Curtains close around thee fitted, Neither' art nor paint's omitted For the beauty of thy bower. Jesus. He, alas! Is not to be found there present-Jesus, present-Jesus, Ht, alas!-Bides alas!-Bides within a meagre shed!" Conde Fallen's "Death of Lancelat." which has some 'of his finest ver.ses, with Frank Tooker's "The Call of the Sea," and Robert Underwood Johnson's "Poems." are ready . for Christmas. Thomas Walsh of Brooklyn there are two Thomas Walshes is a' genuine poet who ought to' be. represented by a volume. vol-ume. . Archbishop ..Kean's "Upward and Onward" is announced. Having, read n with pleasure and profit, I can say, with Angelo, in "Measure for Measure": "I know its virtue." |