Dale, Thomas F.Fox. $1.75. Longmans.
A recent volume in the “Fur, feather and fin series,” whose general aim is to treat the fowl, fish or beast under consideration from the standpoint of its natural history, its capture and its food value. “The present volume gives not only its natural but its psychological history adequately for the first time, and in a way that should attract all those interested in the question of the extent of animal intelligence.” (N. Y. Times.) The following headings suggest the extent of the treatment: The natural history of the fox, The education of the fox, The mind of the fox, How to preserve foxes, Home and haunts of the fox, The hunted fox, The fox as a captive, The fox as an outlaw, The fox in fable, Cousin Jack, The fox and his fur, and Hunting the fox.
“Had Mr. Dale kept within his proper limits, we should have had nothing but commendation to bestow upon his work.”
“Openly stating his sympathetic appreciation of the animal, the author proceeds with his study, combining faithful observation that carries conviction with it and all the compelling interest of a romance.” Mabel Osgood Wright.
“It is in short a capital monograph, and will be read with interest we are sure not only by those who delight in the sport of fox-hunting, but also by every lover of natural history.”
“Though this book on ‘The fox’ does not quite come up to the standard of certain of its predecessors, every one who cares about fox-hunting should read it. It would have been better had the natural history of the fox been entrusted to a zoölogist.”
Dale, Thomas F.Polo, past and present. *$3.75. Scribner.
“The selection of this book dealing with the polo of the remote past might it seems to us well have been omitted. Has written on the whole an excellent book, and we can thoroughly recommend it to all interested in perhaps the most fascinating game that was ever invented.”
Dana, John Cotton.Notes on bookbinding for libraries.75c. Library bureau, Chicago.
“The problem with which this book deals is purely a library problem. It makes no pretence of contributing anything to the art or craft of book making; its aim is to give to librarians such an elementary knowledge of this craft that they may intelligently decide on the methods and materials that are best adapted to their needs. The point of view is purely the economic one—how shall the library bind its books so as to secure the largest possible service at the least cost.”—Nation.
Reviewed by Henry E. Bliss.
“Library commissions are recommending it, and it is likely to become the standard text book on library binding in summer schools, apprentice classes, and in the more elementary of the regular library schools.”
Dana, John Cotton, and Kent, Henry W.Literature of libraries in the 17th and 18th centuries. 6v. *$12. McClurg.
Two volumes of this series of six have made their appearance. One of them is “The duties and qualifications of a librarian: a discourse pronounced in the general assembly of the Sorbonne, December 23, 1870, by Jean-Baptiste Cotton des Houssayes, to which have been prefaced an introduction and bibliographical note.” The other introduction is “The reformed librarie-keeper. or two copies of letters concerning the place and office of librarie-keeper” by John Dury. with a biographical sketch of this Presbyterian divine of the sixteenth century.
“A collection that should be studied by all library workers, and that might well be read by any student of educational and intellectual history.”
Daniel, James Walter.Maid of the foothills; or, Missing links in the story of reconstruction. $1.50. Neale.
It has been the aim of the author to depict the spirit of the times truthfully, and to give proper place to the importance of the Red-shirt movement which severed the shackles of a bound populace. The story treats of the grim humor of the oppressed citizens, the heroism of Southern women in that period of severest trial and oppression, and shows the infamous deeds and evil spirit of Southern men who joined the hosts of carpet-baggers and helped them to bleed the prostrate state.
Darrow, Clarence S.Eye for an eye.†$1.50. Fox.
Jim Jackson who tells the tale of his crime the night before the expiation of his guilt, is one of those unfortunate “submerged tenth” victims of negative circumstances. Not with the spirit of resentment but of discouragement over never having had a chance in life, Jim tells his story with a mildness that “is a more severe arraignment of social conditions than the fiercest tirades could be.” (Bookm.)
“If to create an illusion, to attain the effect aimed at, completely and entirely, is literary art, then Mr. Darrow’s work is literary art of the highest, in spite of an apparent neglect of all the canons of literary art.” Grace Isabel Colbron.
Dauncey, Mrs. Campbell.Englishwoman in the Philippines.*$3.50. Dutton.
“This is a series of letters written by an Englishwoman during a stay of nine months in the Philippine islands, and they are full of those definite details of living which satisfy the curiosity and give precision, without any special attempt at style, the innumerable phases of a life so foreign as to be interesting in all its commonplaces: they describe the climate and scenery, the costumes of the natives, their houses, their occupations, amusements, politics, religion. And they abound in criticisms of the American administration, indeed of everything American.”—Outlook.
“If [the great American people] read Mrs. Campbell Dauncey’s penetrating but not unkindly criticisms in the proper spirit, her book for them will be of real service. To the British reader it will appeal as a notable contribution to Pacific literature, worthy, at a reasonable interval, to be placed on the same shelf with Stevenson’s ‘South sea studies.’”
“Barring several ludicrous blunders thus almost wilfully made, the letters stick with great faithfulness to conditions as personally observed, and have the touch which comes from direct observation.” H. Parker Willis.
“Quite commonplace in all ways and practically valueless as bearing upon the Philippines. Scarcely a single general comment upon the Philippines or Philippine conditions is correct.”
“With every page a challenge, one may be glad to read the volume, regretting for the lively and confident author’s sake, that a competent editor had not revised some of its phrases.”
“It is told much better and more interestingly than we have seen it told before.” Montgomery Schuyler.
“It is distinctly above the average of such books.”
Davenport, Frederick Morgan.Primitive traits in religious revivals: a study in mental and social evolution. **$1.50. Macmillan.
“One may regret that not many first-hand observations of revivals in process are made by the author, that his material is almost exclusively historic; still his work of interpretation is vital throughout,—there are no dead pages.” H. H. Horne.
“The book is admirable in many ways. It is perhaps marked by facility rather than by great power and depth. The book should prove helpful to readers of quite contrasted training and sympathies.” G. M. Stratton.
Davey, Richard Patrick Boyle.Pageant of London; with 40 il. in color by John Fulleylove. 2v. *$5. Pott.
A series of word-pictures with pictorial accompaniment of the principal events that have transpired in London. It is called a “Pageant,” “meaning not only coronations, royal marriages, funerals, and other pompous shows and spectacles, but as signifying the unrolling, as in a sort of procession, of the story of the British capital from the day when Julius Caesar appeared on the bank of the Thames, to that which witnessed the funeral of Queen Victoria.” (Ath.)
“Mr. Davey is not always accurate, and his style is not always pure, but his book is as good a compendium of the history of London as we know.”
“In a work intended for the general reader rather than for the serious student it may perhaps seem ungracious to dwell on imperfections which a very little care could remove. It is a pleasanter task to dwell on the merits of a book which is replete with information, presented with a considerable amount of literary skill.”
“Thoroughly up-to-date, embodying the results of the most recent archæological researches, the new publication is indeed a most noteworthy one, full of curious information on all manner of side issues and giving token on every page of deep erudition.”
“The coloured pictures by Mr. Fulleylove are a serious mistake. Such a book could not have been too copiously adorned with old engravings. Properly selected, such a pictorial accompaniment would more than have doubled its value.”
“It is not always decreed that a man shall live to execute the work which his years have accumulated, but in this case the decree seems to have existed and seems to have been fulfilled. The world of history and literature is as much to be congratulated as the author.”
“Americans ... should find this book very entertaining and enlightening, and good reading before a trip to England—or even after one, as a pleasant reminder.”
Davies, D. Ffrangçon-.Singing of the future; with an introd. by Edward Elgar. *$2.50. Lane.
“A book which prompts thought.”
“Is a direct and serious appeal to the English-speaking singer.”
Davis, Henry William Charles.England under the Normans and the Angevins. *$3. Putnam.
Volume 2 of Professor C. W. C. Oman’s “History of England” to be complete in six volumes and to include the period “from the beginning” to 1815. “Mr. Davis seeks to focus his volume at a given point by dwelling on the inventive and experimental features of his era as contrasted with the spirit of consolidation which marked the age of the three Edwards.” (Nation.)
“An attractive book, at once well-planned, well-written, and scholarly. The narrative is crisp and clear and the characterizations pointed, and Mr. Davis treats his theme broadly.” Charles H. Haskins.
“To the author’s mastery of his sources as well as the literature on his subject is added the gift of writing in a bright and interesting fashion; while the excellent table of contents and the marginal headings will be found useful pilots by the teacher and the student.”
“As a popular history it is likely to take high rank.”
“Thoroly as it has been covered by many historians before him, he adds touches of freshness and vigor to an old narrative.”
“Mr. Davis is an excellent writer, and keeps at all points in touch with first hand authorities.”
“Mr. Davis is scarcely at his best with regard to Norman England and its great constitutional document, Doomsday Book.” Joseph Jacobs.
“Mr. Davis’s sympathies are manifestly with the native element, and perhaps as a result of this he scarcely does justice to some of the notable foreigners who were responsible at once for the spoliation and regeneration of England. His work further suffers from carelessness in identifying persons and places, and from eccentricities in the spelling of proper names.”
“The characters described are made alive, and the institutions real. We do not know a more suggestive or interesting guide to this important period.”
Davis, John Patterson.Corporations: a study of the origin and development of the great business combinations and their relation to the authority of the state. 2v. **$4.50. Putnam.
“Altogether, we must regard this book as materials collected with a view to the production of a definite theory, rather than any coherent statement of such a theory.”
“It is also highly suggestive, penetratingly analytical, and rich in information useful to the economist, jurist, and legislator; and if it is impossible wholly to agree with Dr. Davis’s findings as to facts or to deem his influences always sound, it is equally impossible to deny the value of his work as an aid to the more intelligent consideration of its important subject.”
Reviewed by Henry R. Seager.
“The work as it stands, is of very high merit, and covers a vast range of ground. It is a work that every library which wishes to be well equipped in the side-lights of history must possess, for, apart from the independent research and clear thought that distinguish it, it comprises the views and research of most modern thinkers on the difficult and often obscure subjects with which Dr. Davis deals.”
“As a whole, the work, while it shows careful thought and much reflection, lacks proportion, and is too plainly bent to a preconceived theory.” Simeon E. Baldwin.
Davis, Morgan Lewis.The gas offis, by the offis boy. $1. Broadway pub.
Dedicated “To everybody wot uses gas,” these observations of the gas company’s office boy will prove amusing reading for the gas burning public who will learn how the chronic kicker appears when viewed from inside, and of the many amusing devices to which human nature resorts to dodge or reduce the gas bill. It may even fulfill the pacific mission of rousing down-trodden customers to sympathize with an equally down-trodden head-bookkeeper.
Davis, Norah.Northerner. †$1.50. Century.
“If she lavishes ornamental words, she is never common.” Mary Moss.
“It is an unusually strong book, with an unusually strong man for its central character.” Wm. M. Payne.
Dawson, Miles Menander. Business of life insurance. **$1.50. Barnes.
“Any person intending to take out a policy who fails to read this or some similar work is certainly very short-sighted.”
“This book will be found good reading by all who are interested in life insurance.”
“In short, precisely because the book is more than a text, it is for textbook purposes better than a text.” H. J. Davenport.
Dawson, William Harbutt.German workman: a study in national efficiency. *$1.50. Scribner.
“In this volume William Harbutt Dawson gives an account of what the state is doing for the working classes in Germany. The book is a history, not an argument; a book of information not of philosophy. The reader will rise from the perusal of it impressed by the fact that the least democratic state in western Europe is also, at least in one sense of the term, the most socialistic state.... The book contains twenty-two chapters, each chapter devoted to a specific department of state provision of one sort or another for workingmen.”—Outlook.
“A volume which, if not attractively written, is probably the most convenient guide for English readers who would venture into the mazes of German ‘Sozialpolitik.’”
“A valuable addition to our information.”
Dawson, William James.Makers of English prose; new and rev. ed. *$1.50. Revell.
The author “traverses in one volume practically the whole realm of English verse from Burns to the men of our day and that of English prose from Johnson to Ruskin and Newman. The books deserve popularity in America for their helpfulness, sanity, and learning.”—Lit. D.
“The author refrains from wild theories or strange deductions, and is exempt from bias towards any especial domain of letters.”
“The discussion is trenchant, the style pithy, and the judgment pronounced is usually temperate and sound. An occasional statement may strike us as a rhetorical exaggeration, but in the main the criticism is intelligent and compact.”
“Mr. Dawson is admirable—in his application of common sense to criticism, and in his moral prepossessions of literature.”
“Mr. Dawson has insight, sympathy, and knowledge, but with these qualities combines others that are more rare in an essayist; he has practical aims, and his style has both clearness and distinction.”
“We know of no book that gives a juster, sounder, or, on the whole, a more interesting view of the group of writers selected by Mr. Dawson, and of the times in which they lived and labored.” Edward Cary.
“A volume of literary criticism of unusual importance.”
“Mr. Dawson’s breadth of view is remarkable and his memory extraordinarily retentive. His point of view is always eminently sane, sympathetic and impartial. His style, moreover, is delightfully clear, forceful, and smooth.”
“He is clearly familiar with the great body of first-class English fiction, and can write with force and common sense. But we doubt the necessity or demand for books of this character.”
“He says many true things, and says them well; he says some few things which do not seem to us true, but he always commends them by the manifest conviction from which they proceed.”
Dawson, William James.Quest of the simple life.$1.50. Dutton.
In form Mr. Dawson’s book “is autobiographical, narrating the happy escape of a London clerk, after twenty years’ drudgery in the city, to the free air and manifold delights of a horticultural, piscatorial and literary life in the lake district.” (Dial.)
“It is to be hoped that the seductive volume may not fall into the hands of any London-weary clerk who shall mistake its plausible fictions for the gospel truth. A student of social problems, he has things to say about the evils of city life and the advantage of country life that are worth saying and worth reading.”
“Animated by sanity, sympathy and knowledge, linked to a felicitous and forceful style.”
“Dr. Dawson’s account of his quest for a simpler and more satisfactory life has in it nothing extreme, nothing so austere as to make the ordinary man draw back and doubt its wisdom.”
“These essays have distinction and grace of manner, and they also contain not a little of philosophical value as relates to the social civilization and social movement of our day.”
Day, Holman Francis.Squire Phin.†$1.50. Barnes.
“Yet another story of Maine is ‘Squire Phin.’ His office was over Asa Brickett’s village store, and there and thereunder goes forward the chorus in this rustic melodrama. The protagonists, meanwhile, are variously occupied in practicing law, making love, adjusting quarrels, and preventing scandals, while over all is cast the limelight of burlesque by the return to his native town of the showman ... with chariots, parrot and elephant he shrieks and plunges and crashes through the story till, tired of his unchartered freedom, he sinks into the repose of wedlock.”—Nation.
“The dialect of this book touches deeper depths than even the usual New England coast story. The incidents bear the same enlarged relation as the dialect to the average village chronicle.”
“Rarely have we met a more amusing group of village sages.”
Deakin, Dorothea.“Georgie.” †$1.50. Century.
Broad shouldered, blond, boyish, frankly engaging, and wholly sincere in each passing fancy, Georgie succeeds in becoming engaged to any number of nice girls, sometimes in quick succession and sometimes all at once. The story of his loves is amusing and it is interesting to see how one can be such a trifler and still remain a gentleman at heart. As for Violet, pretty as paint, Druscilla, plain Anne, the goddess girl, Phillida, Dolly and the little Puritan, their cause needs no sympathy.
“But though belonging to the bubbles of bookmaking, the story is of an ingratiating kind, and serves to wreathe an hour in half-protesting smiles.”
“Making no pretensions that are not fulfilled, they disarm criticism and succeed in their mission of being diverting.”
“Such a book might easily be made silly, but in fact this is thoroughly amusing.”
Dealey, James Quayle, and Ward, Lester Frank.Text book of sociology. *$1.30. Macmillan.
“Sociology is in its infancy, but such a book as this will avail much to interpret it to students.”
“The treatment throughout the book is altogether constructive and non-controversial. The style is very clear and attractive, considering the character of the work.” R. F. Hoxie.
“Only those who have had considerable training in the biological sciences, history, economics, and psychology will be able to get much good from the book. To the student so prepared, however, who will read also widely both from Ward’s larger works and from other works mentioned in the text, this little book will prove of great value.” Henry W. Thurston.
“The book is very clever and very readable, but we cannot help thinking a trifle paradoxical.”
Decharme, Paul.Euripides and the spirit of his dramas; tr. by James Loeb. **$3. Macmillan.
An introduction shows the need of an “able” attempt to reveal the true Euripides. The author believes that both as a man and a poet he has been underrated from Aristophanes down. Part 1 of Professor Decharme’s discussion shows what were Euripides’ emancipatory views upon religious traditions, philosophy, society and politics. Part 2 is a critical study of Euripides’ dramatic art.
“The analytical index of a dozen pages is a commendable feature.”
Reviewed by F. B. R. Hellems.
“Excellent version.”
“Mr. Loeb has escaped the danger of over-literalness, and has lost nothing of the lucidity of Decharme’s French. It should be in the hands of all students of the drama.”
“We know, however, of no analysis of the character and work of Euripides that is, all things considered, as thorough, impartial, and convincing as that made by Paul Decharme.” George S. Hellman.
“In breadth of view, close analysis, and well-thought-out presentation, Professor Decharme’s work is very able, and Mr. Loeb seems to have done justice to his self-imposed task.”
Deeping, (George) Warwick.Bess of the woods.†$1.50. Harper.
Bess, the courageous heroine of this stirring tale, has been brought up as one of a rough band of English smugglers who quarrel over her among themselves, but when one of them tries to win her by brute force, there comes to her aid young Richard Jaffray, owner of a near-by estate, who rescues her and is wounded in her defence. How Bess is freed from Dan, and how Richard escapes from the toils of the passé Miss Jilian, and how they both come to their own, forms the substance of this story of brave deeds and social banter, of ball-room, of forest and of sea.
“A vigorous, full-blooded romance of the eighteenth century, in which the tone and temper of the age are most successfully realized.”
“Might have been written by any one of a dozen other novelists—and written rather better.”
“The characters are vividly drawn; the plot ‘marches’; the color is laid on freely and not without sureness.”
“Extremely interesting well-written and artistically framed romance, which has not had many equals in the action of recent years.” Wm. M. Payne.
“Marked by—clear style and a simplicity of diction. It is an engaging story, full of entertainment for those who ask no more of a novelist than that he should entertain.”
Deland, Ellen Douglas.Little son of sunshine, a story for boys and girls. †$1.25. Harper.
Sunny little Christopher, an orphan with only one leg and a pair of crutches upon which to begin his walk thru life, limps straights into the hearts of a kindly farmer and his childless wife who have taken the little waif into their home for a summer’s outing. At the end of his holiday, which is made merry by his escapades with Betty who with her aunt has come to board at the farm, he finds that two homes are open to him and later discovers that General Keith, the rich, lonely old man whose stern nature has melted before the sunshine of Christopher’s nature, is really his own grandfather.
“All told with much literary skill, and the storyteller’s knack of weaving incidents together to give them the flavor of reality.”
“A pretty, well-managed story of a dear child.”
Deland, Mrs. Margaret Wade (Campbell).Awakening of Helena Richie.†$1.50. Harper.
Helena Richie’s soul awakening seems so natural and possible amid the Old Chester people and Old Chester surroundings, with Dr. Lavendar at his best, as philanthropist, philosopher and mentor. This woman has violated the structural facts of the moral law. She is led by little David, a homeless child whom she takes, to discover the great religion of duty. As the light comes, her old standards seem the poor tottering things they really are and she struggles for permanent defences. When her life becomes known and Dr. Lavendar regards her unfit to keep David, her submission to the law of retributive justice which operates for a time then gives way, and her determination to make the remainder of her life “clear and sound” but give evidence to the genuineness of her awakened sincerity.
“The book has many of the merits and faults that are frequently met in novels written by women.”
“In this last story we feel that Mrs. Deland has, as never before, proved herself the creator, and not merely the finely-equipped and enjoyable story-teller.” Edith Baker Brown.
“It is a story that has seldom been told as appealingly and with such conscience-searching effect as in ... Mrs. Deland’s latest and best novel.” Wm. M. Payne.
“Strikes a deeper and truer chord of human passion, and indeed of tragedy, than most of the novels of the day that deal with a similar theme.”
“The story is beyond question a contribution to real literature. We are inclined to believe it must be coupled with Mr. Wister’s ‘Lady Baltimore’ as the finest fiction produced in this country this year.”
“It is a good thing to have a ‘text’ for your novel, if your judgment is so well able to bear it as is Mrs. Deland’s; if it warms you to so much sympathy and understanding as are revealed in this wise, deep, and tender story.”
“Mrs. Deland’s latest novel opens and proceeds with a firm tread which has not always characterized her larger books. At the same time the accustomed fine inlay work that marks all her dealings with Old Chester and its inhabitants is here peerlessly present.”
“Flawless in literary form, penetrated through and through with ‘an inward spiritual grace,’ surely it must come to its own—a permanent place among the books that abide.” M. Gordon Pryor Rice.
“Mrs. Margaret Deland’s latest and most successful novel.”
“Highly sophisticated cosmopolitan novels are so numerous that the success of this deeply human tale, told in the universal language of the writers who are born and not made, is a thing in which even the judicious may rejoice without loss of dignity.”
De La Pasture, Elizabeth (Bonham) (Mrs. Henry De La Pasture).Man from America. †$1.50. Dutton.
A story by the author of “Peter’s mother.” “The pretty granddaughters—one is a butterfly beauty but as sweet and good as good can be, the other an earnest thinker, but no prig—grow up and fall in love and get married to the right people, and learn in time that bon-papa is not really poor, but that he (and they) are very rich; and the little troubles they have passed through, the little white clouds that have sailed across on the summer wind, only make the sunshine of their sunny lives more golden.” (Acad.)
“That the work is fresh, human and altogether delightful, must be the verdict of every reader.” Wm. M. Payne.
“Crude as it is in execution, told with a frank disregard for the niceties of narrative art, it comes very close to being great.”
“We ... find in the author’s portraits of one or two not a little of the genius of Jane Austen.”
“Comedy of the most light and charming kind, with sentiment enough of a natural and healthy kind and wit enough to add savor to the sentiment.”
“A very genial and entertaining romance.”
De La Pasture, Elizabeth (Bonham) (Mrs. Henry De La Pasture).Toy tragedy: a story of children. †$1.50. Dutton.
The tragedy is a toy tragedy merely because it deals with children, and the things which make up their weal and woe, and it is a story of, rather than for, children because the tale of the four orphaned little folks and how they learned too early the harder side of human nature and how to cope with it, is really a story for thoughtful grown ups. The death of little Elsie, and the sweet chastened spirit of Jean cast a shadow over the story which the success of the two boys does not dispel.
“The story is well written.”
“It is an attractive children’s story, although the situations are just the least bit improbable, and there is a touch of false sentiment in the relations between the good little sister and the pretty spoiled one.”
Dellenbaugh, Frederick Samuel.Breaking the wilderness: the story of the conquest of the far West. **$3.50. Putnam.
“A very readable book, which has the great attraction of a thoroughly humane and reasonable point of view; nor is the drift of the main argument less interesting to follow because some conclusions differ from those of several who have gone before in the same track of adventure.”
De Mille, James.Cord and creese.†$1. Harper.
This new edition of an old story enables a new generation to revel in its dramatic scenes of love and mystery, in its graphic descriptions of the search for a stolen treasure, and to follow the many tangled threads of its plot to a happy ending. The cord of the title is one of curious Eastern manufacture, the creese is a Malay dagger, and the two form the principal clues in the search for the villain of this stirring tale.
“So far as style goes it is much superior to the novel of adventure of commerce, as put on the market to-day.”
“A story better worth reading than most of the more recent examples of its class.”
“Folks who like good measure, however, will find ‘Cord and creese’ a satisfying book, the work of a story-teller who knew his business as it was practiced in his day, and who knew the world.”
De Morgan, William Frend.Joseph Vance: an ill-written autobiography. †$1.50. Holt.
The autobiography of a middle-class Englishman of fifty years ago which unites the characteristics of the novel with the interest of a human document. The author turns analyst, and includes father, mother, friends and self in a sketch that runs close to the heart. He follows his boyhood days, and youth amid poverty, his Oxford days which developed an inordinate love for chess as well as mechanical inventive ability, and colors the latter happenings with his love for a woman whom he does not marry. The life-story reflects much of middle-class English thought and customs of fifty years ago.
“We wish that Mr. de Morgan had been content with a manner of construction as simple and direct as the actual writing of his book.”
“Is fresh, original, and unusually clever.”
“In my personal opinion this ‘ill-written autobiography’ is wise, witty, gentle and of unflagging interest, but then, I have been frightfully prejudiced in its favour—by reading it.” Mary Moss.
“It is not a book that the reviewer can boom, much as he would like to; nor can he give a more definite idea of it than to say that, if the reader likes both ‘David Copperfield’ and ‘Peter Ibbetson,’ he can find the two books in this one.”
“It is ill-written only in the sense of not being composed according to the present trim, abrupt fashion of novel-reading. We hardly know how to suggest the mellowness of this story, and therein lies its charm. We doubt if any reader who has a sense for true humour will find it tedious.”
“A work as admirable in detail as in mass effect, a book worth reading and rereading and keeping in your house.”
“This is a novel of the first order—one that aligns itself with the best English fiction.”
“Amuses by its willful divagations from the straight of narrative, quietly pleases by its wholesome sentiment, and leaves one with an impression of thorough enjoyment.”
“The style is strong and expressive, but very often clumsy and over-elaborate and would-be humorous. The strength and interest of the book lies in the fresh original observation of lower-middle-class life; in its shrewd characterisation and life-like dialogue and incidents.”
“Were it not that he challenges comparison with the classics, we might almost call it a great novel.”
Denby, Charles, colonel.China and her people. **$2.40. Page.
Uniform with the “Travel lover’s library,” this new work is in two handy-sized volumes. “The first volume is filled with reminiscences of the author’s stay in China and his personal impressions of the land and the people, and with accounts of court life at Pekin and social life and customs elsewhere in the kingdom. The second volume is concerned with Chinese politics and industrial and commercial problems and conditions.” (Dial.)
“The material is arranged in an interesting fashion. The books are readable and, more important, reliable.”
“It must be accepted as the most authoritative of late contributions to the literature on Chinese affairs, and is especially valuable in its observations on political topics.” John W. Foster.
“In general, the topics dealt with in both volumes are of the sort that would naturally interest a man of affairs, and Colonel Denby’s method of treating them will appeal particularly to masculine readers.”
“Particularly is it of service to American statesmen and business men.”
“A few ... inaccuracies ... are but minor blemishes in a very delightful and informing book.”
“Colonel Denby made good use of the unusual opportunities for observation which he enjoyed, and for absorption of the Oriental spirit and way of looking at things.”
“Especially interesting and important are the late minister’s own words on the Boxer rebellion and the missionary question.”
Dennis, James Shepard.Christian missions and social progress. v. 3. **$2.50. Revell.
The third and last volume of an encyclopedic work on missions. “This entire volume is concerned with the contribution of missions to social progress and every phase of the subject is accorded full and careful treatment, with abundant illustrations from missionary activities under all churches, and in all countries.” (Nation.)
“The work is valuable for reference.”
“The range is cyclopædic the details multitudinous and interesting throughout. Altogether, this is a unique work, without which no reference library can be considered complete.”
“In the twelve years in which Dr. Dennis has been engaged upon this great task, he has accumulated a vast store of interesting facts, most of which had never before been classified or grouped in systematic order.”
De Quincey, Thomas.Autobiography and confessions of Thomas De Quincey; with photogravure front. por. and biographical and critical introd. by Tighe Hopkins. *$1.25. Scribner.
Uniform with the “Caxton thin paper classics.” The volume is prefaced by the editor’s introduction.
Reviewed by Montgomery Schuyler.
Devine, Edward Thomas.Efficiency and relief: a programme of social work. **75c. Macmillan.
“The inaugural address of Mr. Edward T. Devine on the occasion of his taking the Schiff Professorship of social economy at Columbia University.... His subject is ‘Efficiency and relief,’ and he discusses modern methods of increasing the industrial efficiency of the individual and at the same time of providing adequate relief for those who are of deficient wage-earning capacity.”—Ind.
“Large and fine as is the outlook of this lecture, it lacks something of complete analysis of the aim of charity. The treatment is, indeed, broader than the definition; the spirit of the author is wider than the programme he outlines; and the lectures which will follow will pass beyond the territory which can be accurately named ‘economics.’” C. R. Henderson.
“Those who are interested in these great problems of social advance will find this address most helpful and stimulating.”
Reviewed by Winthrop More Daniels.
“The necessity of the scientific study of these problems in the analysis of conditions and the formulation of principles of action are clearly and forcefully stated.”
“The little book is packed with ideas and is larger than it looks.” Chas. Richmond Henderson.
“We commend Mr. Devine’s little volume to all who would intelligently co-operate in the work of social betterment.”
“We venture to predict that all who get to read it at all will be interested readers.”
Devins, John Bancroft.Observer in the Philippines. $2. Am. tract.
“The random and indiscriminating observations of a visitor in missionary interests.”
Dewsnup, Ernest Ritson, ed. Railway organization and working. $2. Univ. of Chicago press.
“To those acquainted with the literature of railway transportation it will not need emphasizing that the book really occupies a unique place. The numerous aspects of the railway service which it treats, the plain and untechnical way in which every subject is handled, the fact that more than a score of railway experts of the highest reputation, have collaborated in its production, all combine to make the volume indispensable to the ambitious young ‘railroader.’... It is also to be hoped that the book ... will have a stimulating effect upon the teaching of railway economics in our universities.”
“Should appeal to serious students of railway economics.”
Dexter, Henry Martyn, and Dexter, Morton.England and Holland of the Pilgrims. **$3.50. Houghton.
“The book is strongest on the side of opinion, theology, and controversial literature.” William Elliot Griffis.
“A very minute and learned study of the early founders of Congregationalism.”
“This work is absolutely unique in thoroness and accuracy.”
“Lightness of touch this volume does not possess in an eminent degree, but it contains a large amount of information which has been digested with affectionate and conscientious care.”
“This is by all odds the most complete record of Pilgrim origins yet published in this country.”
Dicey, A. V.Law and opinion in England. *$3. Macmillan.
“Clear thought, wide scholarship, and lucid writing make the defence as strong as the facts will warrant, and the facts are so conclusive that few flaws can be found in the proof.”
Reviewed by C. J. Hamilton.
“While carefully delimiting the field to be covered, presents a wealth and variety of fact,suggestion, and speculation on governmental concerns.” George R. Bishop.
Dick, Stewart.Arts and crafts of old Japan. **$1.20. McClurg.
“After the score of books on Japanese art and art industry, and by men who on the ground have studied the art of Nippon, this book seems shallow and of slight value.”
“The book seems also the best familiar study we have seen of the visible tangible work of art which we get from Japan, as distinguished from the subtle influences which lie back of it.”
Dickens, Charles.Mr. Pickwick’s Christmas. $2. Baker.
The account of the Pickwickians’ Christmas at the Manor farm, of the adventures there and tale of the goblin who stole a sexton, and of the famous sports on the ice, are here recorded as in the famous Pickwick chronicle. George Alfred Williams has written an introduction and has illustrated the volume.
Dickens, Charles.Tale of two cities; ed. with introd. and notes by James Weber Linn. 50c. Ginn.
A student’s edition well annotated. The editor’s aim has been principally to show the general relation of this novel to Dickens’ other works, and to point out the devices of Dickens’ art in the construction of the plot.
Dickens, Charles.Tales from Dickens, ed. by Hallie Erminie Rives. †$1.50. Bobbs.
“If the mature reader would enjoy Dickens he must read Dickens; but to children or youthful persons not acquainted with the marvelous stories of England’s greatest novelist this book will appeal.”
“Miss Rives’s book must have a good influence; her summaries of the famous novels are lucid, tasteful, and sympathetic; she gives much in little.”
“Not only is the book well suited to the peculiarities of the child mind, but it is also of no negligible value as a book of reference.”
Dickerson, Mary Cynthia.Frog book. **$4. Doubleday.
“An enthusiastic recital of close and critical observation.... The introductory chapter deals with the distinction between batrachians and fishes and reptiles, development and metamorphoses, classification, phylogeny, hibernation, poison, voice, color, change, behavior, and distribution of the ‘batrachia salientia,’ or frogs and toads.... The remainder of the book is given up to a detailed account of about sixty frogs, tree-toads and toads, of this continent.”—Dial.
“The scope of the work is not too great for the space allotted; the treatment is scientific, thoroughly modern and up-to-date, reflecting current university standards. The selection of material and the completeness and comprehensiveness of the treatment are commendable.”
“The need of a popular frog book is now well met for Miss Dickerson has given just the information wanted by the general nature student and in a form which will surely win popular interest for these interesting vertebrated animals.”
“Notwithstanding some examples of the prevailing nature-study gush or cant the style is generally simple and direct. Unmixed commendation cannot be accorded either the author or the publishers.”
“She gives the fruit of much study and personal investigation with a light, though none the less sure, literary touch.” Mabel Osgood Wright.
Dickinson, Emily Monroe.Patriot’s mistake; being personal recollections of the Parnell family, by a daughter of the house. *$3. Lane.
“The history of the great patriot Charles Parnell is too well known to need any comment here; but many others of the family, though not always through fault or sin of their own, met with misfortune and premature death. The entire story is peculiarly sad, but the fearful ‘mistake’ of Charles, with the shame and disgrace that followed hard upon it, overshadows all the other painful chapters in the record.”—Critic.
“Extraordinary indiscretion.”
“A narrative of most pathetic interest.”
“The radical fault of it lies in the fact that it was ever published.”
“We think that a little more reserve would not have been amiss; but there is romance about some of her pages that is real Irish.”