“P., Q.” How-to buy life insurance. **$1.20. Doubleday.
A book that “has been written and published in the interest of the policyholder primarily. It undertakes to free the subject from the technical obscurities that so frequently interfere with a clear understanding of its elements and to give the plain citizen straightforward advice and information as to the various types of policies in the market and the relative advantages of each.” (R. of Rs.)
“As a practical guide to the policyholder desirous of figuring out for himself the real cost of his insurance and of choosing between rival companies, ought to be found of substantial value by the busy man, because of the comparative tables and specimen blanks given in the appendix. These could be considerably improved upon in certain respects, but they are a distinct advance over what has been furnished by most other books on the subject.”
“It is a helpful and suggestive manual.”
Page, Curtis Hidden, ed. Chief American poets: selected poems by Bryant, Poe, Emerson, Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell, Whitman, and Lanier. *$1.75. Houghton.
“The selections have been made with good taste and judgment and the notes are ample and to the point.”
“Such a book would be a great convenience for the use of a class studying American literature.”
Page, Thomas Nelson.Negro: the southerner’s problem. **$1.25. Scribner.
“These essays are characterized by a sanity of spirit and a painstaking thoroughness.” C: A. Elwood.
Page, Thomas Nelson.On Newfound river. †$1.50. Scribner.
“In the story we meet ... the Southern life of an earlier day: hot-tempered men and gracious women, trusty slaves, negro-hunting whites, the grocery-store-town-meeting, and the open-air court of justice. The love-story, however, is the thing and is young, Arcadian, rough-running, happily arriving. Mr. Page explains that it is a story enlarged; explicitly not a novel, but ‘a love story, pure and simple,’ and such it will be found.”—Nation.
“A delicate, finished specimen of its author’s art.”
“It is a story pure and sweet amid the poisonous blossoms of fiction that nowadays spring thick, an idyll of loyalty and of love, thrilled through and through with ‘the tender grace of a day that is dead.’”
“The most appreciative comment that can be made on this story is that he has not spoiled it; the old charm still lingers.”
Paine, Albert Bigelow.Little garden calendar for boys and girls.$1. Altemus.
“This is one of the best children’s books in recent years. It is bright and entertaining and while holding the interest of the young in the story that is told, it imparts a vast fund of information which every child should know.”
Paine, Albert Bigelow.Lucky piece: a story of the North woods.$1.50. Outing pub.
A tale of the Adirondacks whose hero is an idle young man of more wealth than ambition, and whose heroine undertakes to teach him the definite purpose in life. A Spanish luck piece brings friends, wealth and happiness in its train of talismanic bestowals.
“This is a pleasant story, with some well-drawn characters and just enough plot to carry the reader comfortably along to the last chapter.”
Paine, Albert Bigelow.Sailor of fortune; memoirs of Capt. B. S. Osbon. **$1.20. McClure.
“Captain Osbon, whose memoirs are given practically as he detailed them to the writer, Mr. Albert Bigelow Paine, lived among some of the most stirring scenes of the past century, and his narrative presents with extraordinary vividness events of which he was an actor or an eye-witness.” (Lit. D.) “This lively record covers whaling, buccaneering, the Civil war, journalism, and almost everything but love.” (World To-Day.)
“Mr. Paine, the redactor of these stories of sea life, has succeeded admirably in preserving the personal quality of the actor-narrator, and we easily accept the ‘yarns’ as a long succession of fireside talks face to face with the man who lived them.”
“Cannot fail to be a joy to old and young.”
“His reminiscences of famous men are numerous and characteristic.”
“Mr. Paine has done well what must have been a difficult task. The book will amuse and enchain the reader who has a love for the unusual and picturesque.”
“Every chapter reads like a condensed historical novel.”
Paine, Dorothy C.Maid of the mountains. †$1. Jacobs.
To Carol, a mountain maid of North Carolina, comes a good fairy in the guise of Beth, a happy tender-hearted little girl, who brings real aid to the sufferings of the mountain family. Among other things, she gives a benefit entertainment in which it is discovered that Carol has a beautiful voice, and a wealthy but childless woman in the audience decides to take her north. The movement of the book is rapid, ranging from train wrecks to doll dressing, and is certain to delight the heart of adventure-loving children.
Paine, Ralph Delahaye.Praying skipper and other stories.$1.50. Outing pub.
“The fact that not one of this collection of seven stories is a love story, in the ordinary sense of that saccharine term, is a point in its favor. In making sentiment secondary to action the author has heightened the effect of both.” (N. Y. Times.) The stories following the title story are: A victory unforeseen, The last pilot schooner, The jade teapot, Corporal Sweeney, deserter, and two other thrilling sea tales which have the merit of not being told in dialog by an old salt.
“Vigorous, straightforward yarns, and as satisfactory as they are exciting.”
“There are pathos and humor in the book, and both the pathos and the humor grip the reader tightly.”
“These are stories of the kind men like—told with considerable vigor and dealing with active life.”
Paine, Ralph Delahaye.Story of Martin Coe; il. by Howard Giles. $1.50. Outing pub.
Martin Coe, gunner’s mate, deserts from the American navy to lead a revolution in a South American state. By a strange chance he comes at length to a little Maine village where his regeneration begins. It is love that clarifies his nature, and brings to the surface the broken oath, neglected duty, general culpableness. His honor demands atonement, and his obedience to the call sends him back to the navy to serve out his term.
“The best thing about the book, however, is the fact that, though Martin is regenerated, he remains he same Martin Coe to the end—a typical sailor hero—than whom there is not any better either in real life or in fiction.”
“The character is well enough conceived, but a touch of caricature throughout weakens the personality and decidedly impairs the love story. The book as a character-study is lacking in close interpretation.”
Painter, Franklin Verzelius Newton, ed. Great pedagogical essays; Plato to Spencer. *$1.25. Am. bk.
“This anthology of selections from writers ancient and modern, pagan and Christian, upon educational topics has the merit of bringing together from the most diverse sources the best thoughts that have been entertained of the educational ideal which is still the object of pursuit. It is a source-book of the history of this pursuit, embodying its major documents—a history not always marked by progress.”—Outlook.
“The chief objection to these selections is that there is no unified basis of selection.”
“The book will meet the demand among students of educational history for an acquaintance with the original sources of information, and will form an acceptable and useful volume supplementary to any standard history of education.”
“He has failed signally in his purpose, and not wholly or mainly because of space limitations, but rather because of manifest lack of broad historic scholarship and clear pedagogic insight. His selections are in the main inconsequential fragments, and the translations are often poor.” Will S. Monroe.
“An excellent companion book is this to any of the current histories of education.”
“The student of education who is without access to a large library will be grateful for what the editor has provided, and will profit greatly by a careful study of these pages.” W. B. O.
Pais, Ettore.Ancient legends of Roman history; tr. by Mario E. Cosenza. *$4. Dodd.
Professor Pais, connected with the Universityof Naples, brings together here a number of lectures on the early Roman legends which form the substratum of later political and social development.
“The translation is marred by some constantly recurring errors. Very few of the radical views advanced in these lectures will ever be generally accepted, but they cannot fail to arouse opposition and to stimulate fruitful discussion. The erudition and acumen of the author are truly remarkable.” Samuel Ball Platner.
“The book is a scholarly one, essentially for the scholar.”
“While in the main satisfactory, [the English version] frequently lacks in point of clearness, the involved parenthetical structure of the sentences making it difficult at times to follow the author’s arguments.”
“Professor Pais has sifted the origins of Rome without fear or pity. The style is not smooth. The lack of an index can only be excused by the consideration that such an index would have added materially to the bulk of the book. The maps are good.”
“The translation is very well done, although the paragraphing is often bad. The index, which is indispensable in a work of this kind, has been omitted.”
“Although technical and teeming with data of detail, Prof. Pais’s work ... should form the means of valuable supplementary reading for students of Roman history.”
“The book should challenge the attention of all who care for archaeology and early Roman history.”
Palmer, Frederick.Lucy of the stars: il. by Alonzo Kimball. †$1.50. Scribner.
“Mr. Frederick Palmer combines in admirable balance the functions of war-correspondent and novelist. When the piping times of peace are at hand, he will sit down to his desk and write you as pretty a story as you could wish to read in an idle hour, and when the war-trumpet sounds, he will sally forth until he is in the thick of the scrimmage collecting observations for a graphic portrayal of the scene of carnage. It is this dual activity that now gives us ‘Lucy of the stars’ as a successor to ‘With Kuroki in Manchuria.’ We like Mr. Palmer’s portrait of the imaginary Lucy, as we liked his portrait of the real Kuroki, but we object most strenuously to the fate that he has bestowed upon her.”—Dial.
“It is a pity that such good material should be used on so persistently pessimistic a theme. The characters are clearly and consistently drawn, the story is well, and in places wittily told, and ‘Lucy of the stars’ is a charming heroine.”
“The merit of the book lies in the presentation, under an unusually attractive aspect, of public life across the Atlantic in certain latter-day phases; yet it can scarcely be said to fulfil the conditions requisite for that difficult achievement, a successful political novel.”
“In order to write a great novel, it is necessary to sympathize with all your characters. Mr. Palmer has not done this; nevertheless, ‘Lucy of the stars’ is worth reading.”
“The story is more than worth reading for [Lucy’s] sake, even if its outcome does rudely shock our romantic sensibilities.” Wm. M. Payne.
“Sensible, normal people will not care for a romance in which sorrows and griefs are the only heroes and heroines.”
“Although written with spirit, and though the author has brought a keen observation to bear upon a wide range of experience, the story has been a disappointment.”
Palmer, William T.English lakes.*$6. Macmillan.
“We fail, in this volume, to find many of the interesting stories of adventure and sport on the fells, or glimpses of the dalesman’s life, such as made its predecessors readable in spite of a somewhat unchastened style. The style, indeed, is all there. Strange words abound.”
“His bright and chatty narrative, in spite of its want of style, is eminently readable.”
Pancake, Edmund Blair.Miss New York. $1.50. Fenno.
A story with a college setting. The heroine is a “discovery” made one day by a student who comes upon a rude hut in the mountains near the town. She and her mother are evidently in hiding. For what purpose remains a mystery thruout the course of a tale that defies the reader in the matter of making even a guess at the probation accompanied by sunbonnet and calico.
Parker, Edward Harper.China and religion. **$3.50. Dutton.
“We cannot conclude without congratulating him upon the research he has displayed and upon the readable style which makes an abstruse subject easily grasped by the general reader.”
“His method of composition is peculiar and his literary graces are not very great. On the whole, it is cool, clear, impartial.”
“Mr. Parker is a profound Chinese scholar, and is possibly the highest living authority upon the subject with which he deals in the volume under notice.”
“His excellent book should be regarded as the best and simplest English authority on this important subject.”
Parr, G. D. Aspinall.Electrical engineering in theory and practice. *$3.25. Macmillan.
“The present volume treats only of the elements of the subject and it is to be amplified later or possibly followed by a second volume, the new material to comprise electrical machinery and its applications.... There are three chapters dealing with the fundamental facts and laws regarding magnetism and statical and current electricity. Then follow three chapters dealing with the interrelated subjects, resistance, electro-magnetism and induction. The remainder of the work is of a more practical nature and covers measuring instruments, incandescent lamps, and the thermal and chemical production of electro-motive force.”—Engin. N.
“The work as a whole differs somewhat from other books on the market. In general its field may be said to be similar to that with the same title by Slingo and Brooker, which is also anEnglish book. It will be read with profit by practical engineers desiring a broad general view of the principles of electrical engineering practice.” Henry H. Norris.
Parrish, Randall.Bob Hampton of Placer.†$1.50. McClurg.
The Sioux uprising in 1876 furnishes the main incidents for this story of Wyoming and Montana, and of Bob Hampton, a gambler and disgraced army officer, who saves the life of Naida, old Gillis’s girl, at the risk of his own, only to discover that she is his own daughter. He does not reveal himself to her however, but gives her up for the sake of her future, then quietly renounces his old life and keeps watch over her from afar. In the end he dies a brave death, leaving her an untarnished name and a gallant soldier lover. It is a stirring tale of frontier life and Indian warfare culminating in a description of the Custer massacre.
“Its theme, indeed, is so like that of Harte’s ‘Protégé of Jack Hamlin’s’ as to make it seem rather more reminiscent than original. A certain racy quality of its own, however, it preserves.”
“Is one of the good Western stories—not especially literary, but thoroughly interesting, and excellent in plot and characters.”
Parrish, Randall.Historic Illinois: the romance of the earlier days. **$2. McClurg.
“The book will interest the general student of our national history as well as the people of Illinois.”
“Altogether the book is highly attractive, and will be found particularly useful in the schools, every one of which should be provided with a copy.”
“It would be difficult to find a picture of pioneer days at once so true to the spirit of the time and so accurate in detail.”
“Altogether he gives a very tolerable idea of Illinois history.”
“His book, in a word, is encyclopaedic in scope. No pretense is made to original research, but the authorities followed are sound, and there is little to criticise.”
“An entertaining volume of historic romance.”
Parrish, Randall.Sword of the old frontier; a tale of Fort Chartres and Detroit. †$1.50. McClurg.
“Mr. Parrish writes with colour and spirit, and his ingenuity in devising new variations in adventure is admirable.”
“One thing to be said in favor of Randall Parrish’s books is that the melodrama does not appear in streaks; it is part of their very essence; you recognize it at once from a certain trick of style that sounds like an echo of Ouida at her worst.” Frederic Taber Cooper.
“The story is strictly conventional in type, but the type is one that has justified its right to exist.” Wm. M. Payne.
Parry, David Maclean.Scarlet empire. †$1.50. Bobbs.
A book to make the socialist satisfied with things as they are. A young socialist weary of life plunges into the sea. He wakens in a lost Atlantis, known as the Scarlet Empire. Here is a social democracy in which people dwell in slavery; the state owes every man a living which it grants in a grudging sense, food, conversation, education and marriage, all being limited. The hero sickens of his satiety of scholastic practices, and after gruesome experiences escapes with three companions to his own New York world.
“‘The scarlet empire’ is not a discussion of socialism. It is rather a developed misconception of socialism. It is a house built on the illusive sands of fundamental error or false premises.” Ellis O. Jones.
“Crudely written as it is, it sets forth a skilfully constructed plot and shows a certain enthusiasm for his subject on the part of the author, but throughout the book the great aim seems to be not only to satirize all the doctrines that Socialists hold dear, but even, where possible, to burlesque them.”
“The satire is light but cleverly aimed.”
“As a story the book is fairly readable, but as a contribution to the discussion of the social problem it has no slightest claim to consideration.”
“Mr. Parry has missed a splendid chance and has missed it so widely that he almost obscures the chance.”
Parsons, Mrs. Clement.David Garrick and his circle; il. **$2.75. Putnam.
“Mrs. Parsons’s book is first of all a life of the greatest of English actors, a record of his triumphs and a study of his methods. It is also a broad picture of the social life of the day. Garrick is followed into all the circles he frequented, and we make the acquaintance of the great company of his friends and associates.”—Outlook.
“She has written a very charming and entertaining book, which clothes wide learning in graceful though transparent chiffon. The pity is that she has not always—or not often—distinguished between lightness of the right and the wrong kinds.”
“Among stage records the present volume will take an agreeable place. It is written with abundant verve, and shows a wide range of reading.”
“The chief fault in Mrs. Parsons’s book is its diffuseness. The author has done her work thoroughly, however, and carefully; such research commands respect, because of what it exacts in the gathering. Students will find her volume a mine of information, and an available reference-book, with its commendable bibliography and appropriate illustrations.”
“This is a work of vastly superior quality to the great majority of books, especially those of recent date, relating to the stage and its associations.”
“It has the easy cleverness of a clever woman’s letter, but it is perhaps a little too vivacious,too allusive, too up-to-date and too on-the-spot for a stately tome of 400 pages.” Brander Matthews.
“This book, besides being an admirable study of Garrick, is a gallery of admirably executed eighteenth-century portraits, a repertory of most delectable anecdotes that strike with perfect truth the keynote of the period, and a mine of curious and out-of-the-way information in regard to eighteenth-century theaters, the physical conditions of the stage, the tumultuous behavior of the audiences, the costumes of the actors and actresses, and no end of other matters of a kind that will be keenly relished.”
“She has humor, has this admirer of the great English actor, and a clever way of expressing it; she also has the knack of recreating the whole from a fragment. And, at the same time, she is a capable serious historian of stage and drama.”
“He has found here an admirable chronicler.”
Parsons, Ellen C.Christus liberator. **30c. Macmillan.
“The author has managed to pack in a surprising amount of concrete and stirring story.” L. Call Barnes.
Parsons, Frank.Heart of the railroad problem: the history of railway discrimination in the United States, with efforts at control, remedies proposed, and hints from other countries. **$1.50. Little.
Twenty years of study and observation have been brought into Dr. Parsons’ treatment of this subject. “The study reveals the facts in reference to railway favoritism—or unjust discrimination from the beginning of our railway history to the present time, discloses the motives and causes of discrimination, discusses various remedies that have been proposed, and gathers hints from the railway systems of other countries to clarify and develop the conclusions indicated by our railroad history.”
“It is by far the most important, authoritative and comprehensive popular discussion of the rate question that has appeared, and no intelligent American should fail to read it.”
“An exhaustive and authoritative work that is extremely clear and interesting, while affording the most complete and satisfactory view of the railway question and the true relation of the railways to commercial enterprises, to the government and to the people, that has ever been published in any land.”
“The merits of Mr. Parsons’s book are in its thorough and compendious presentation of the various evils that have come to pass in the making of railway rates. If the treatment is open to criticism, it is along the line of the genesis of these conditions.” John J. Halsey.
“As a critic of existing conditions, the author has done his work well.” William Hill.
“The book is a readable collection of single instances of railroad enormities. In the hands of one acquainted with the essentials of transportation, it may prove of service; in the hands of a novice, it is likely to engender prejudice and disseminate error.”
“The book is a useful one and brings the subject down to date, but it casts only the scantiest light ahead.”
Parsons, Henry de Berkeley.Disposal of municipal refuse. $2. Wiley.
“The book is mainly devoted to the characteristics of the material collected in New York, the uses to which it may be put, and the principles underlying its sanitary and economic handling.”—Nation.
“We take pleasure in commending Mr. Parsons’ book, within the limits covered by it, as a fair and able presentation of the main points involved in the disposal of municipal refuse, more particularly by cremation.”
Partridge, William Ordway.Czar’s gift. **40c. Funk.
A pretty little tale of how Paul, the wood carver, made for the czar a statue of his lost daughter so beautiful that it won for Paul’s brother, the nihilist, release from the mines in Siberia, and brought them both the czar’s forgiveness and protection.
Passmore, Rev. T. H.In further Ardenne: a story of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. **$2.50. Dutton.
This little section tucked away between Belgium, Prussia, France and Lorraine has not been much written about owing to its not being among the “Beaten track itineraries.” The author very generously offers to “pay your fare for you, so to speak, and take you there, and present you to its beauties and interests and simple kindly folk, without troubling you to move out of your chair.”
“The charm of this book is that the author has the power of communicating his ‘etat d’âme.’”
“If the author had restricted himself to what he knew and saw, or was told on good authority, he would have made a noteworthy addition to the very limited number of works on his subject.”
“Enthusiasm, spontaneity, kindly humor, and a sprightly style characterize the volume.” H. E. Coblentz.
“It is a real book, not a made book, that he has given us.”
“Would that Mr. Passmore had put all of his experience in simpler phrase. His command of verbal wealth and imagery too often leads him from standards safe astray.”
“This is no guide-book; it is far better—a book to read, and read again, and then to follow, not like the blind Baedekerite, but as one follows Walton.”
“A very entertaining volume, in which history, legend, folk-lore, and description are linked together by a mind attuned to the picturesque, the romantic, and—the humorous.”
“We think a style less wanton than Mr. Passmore’s and more sweet than Baedeker’s would serve the purpose better.”
“Mr. Passmore is both historical and descriptive, and in both characters shows much energy.”
Paston, George, pseud. (Miss E. M. Symonds).Social caricature in the eighteenth century. *$15. Dutton.
“George Paston’s book deals textually and pictorially with the various phases of social caricature and of the social groups, the places, the fashions which inspired the pens of the artists, who were ever on the alert for abnormal tendencies—‘Le Beau Monde,’ the Pantheon, Carlisle House, the Mall, Hyde Park, Dramatic and musical, Literary and artistic, and, finally, Popular delusions and impostures.”—N. Y. Times.
“It is perhaps inevitable that the text of the book itself, being obviously ‘written up’ to the illustration, should be less interesting as a whole, though abounding in isolated good things.”
“What is really the first complete work on the subject of English eighteenth century caricature that has yet appeared.”
“George Paston’s text is a splendid achievement of thoroughly sympathetic work, whether seen from the point of view of history or criticism.”
“The volume is full of the entertaining and curious from cover to cover.”
Paternoster, George Sidney.Cruise of the Conqueror: being the further adventures of the motor pirate; with a front. by Frank T. Merrill. $1.50. Page.
A sequel to “The motor pirate,” whose hero, it will be remembered, after bringing repeated terror to England shot over the edge of a precipice to certain death. How he comes to life and is in the present story the “same truculent hero in an eight-foot, gold-coated motor boat, capable of something over forty knots an hour at sea.” (Ath.) suggests exciting possibilities for the present tale of adventure. Nor does Mr. Paternoster make sure of his elusive hero at the end of the present story, the evasion suggests another reappearance.
“It is not strong in characterization or literary style; but it has go and vigour.”
“Aside from the glamourless love interest, the further adventures of the motor pirate form, as they should, exciting reading.” Stephen Chalmers.
“The author contrives that his melodrama shall be to a certain extent convincing.”
Paterson, Arthur, and Allingham, Helen (Mrs. W. Allingham).Homes of Tennyson. **$2. Macmillan.
The homes of Tennyson have been painted by Mrs. Allingham, and Mr. Paterson has furnished the descriptive portions which are written “from a personal rather than a biographical standpoint.” “The book pleasantly deals with Farringford, in the Isle of Wight, where Tennyson usually spent the winter, and with Aldworth, on the borders of Surrey, and Sussex, the summer home of Tennyson’s declining years.” (Ind.)
“There is not one word in his book that could have wounded the susceptibilities of Tennyson, yet the record is full of interest and charm.”
“Mr. Paterson’s share in this book, whose value is quite unaffected by his defects—sentimentality and exaggerated adoration of Tennyson—would call for no remark had he not loaded his pages with a construction that must give pain to the sensitive reader.”
“The descriptive letterpress, by Mr. Arthur Paterson, is worthy even of the work of Mrs. Allingham. He commands a style that is graphic in the best sense.”
Patmore, Coventry Kersey Dighton.Poems; with an introd. by Basil Champneys. $1.75. Macmillan.
“All the poems, with the latest changes in them (whether improvements or otherwise) are brought together in a single volume of clear and stately print. A remarkably faithful portrait is included in the six-shillings’ worth, and Mr. Basil Champneys adds an introductory discourse in which a sufficiency of biographical detail has place.”—Acad.
Patrick, William.James, the Lord’s brother. **$2. Scribner.
The author stands on debatable ground in his monolog which aims to show that the author of the Epistle of James is the James whom St. Paul refers to as “the Lord’s brother” in Galatians i, 19. “His conclusion is the one that Christian men would naturally wish to be true but it must be confessed that serious difficulties are in the way. These Dr. Patrick combats with great ability, but with a success that seems somewhat contingent on the predilection of his readers.” (Outlook.)
“We welcome his volume as a scholarly and reasonable contribution to a clearer understanding of the forces at work during the apostolic age.”
“With ample learning makes a very plausible argument.”
Patten, Helen Philbrook.Music lovers’ treasury. **$1.20. Estes.
An anthology of poetry, ancient and modern, referring to music and musicians.
“A volume that certainly merits its title.”
“The compiler has generally succeeded in avoiding the merely commonplace or distinctly bad, and the anthology is pleasing.”
Paul, Herbert Woodfield.History of modern England. 5v. ea. **$2.50. Macmillan.
“The value of Mr. Paul’s history lies in its being a convenient record of events or, as we have said, above, an enlarged Annual register. It will be excellent material for the historian of the future, when he comes to deal with the time of which he treats.”
“By judicious omission and emphasis, the author’s strong grasp of the subject as a whole and his sense of dramatic unity he has produced a sort of journalistic prose epic of the British Empire, centering about the two protagonistsBeaconsfield and Gladstone. This volume seems in many ways the best of the four which have thus far appeared.” Wilbur C. Abbott.
“Fair-mindedness continues to be a marked feature of this able and lively work.”
“On the whole, Mr. Paul deserves warm congratulations on the last volume of his attractive history.”
“Mr. Paul writes entertainingly and satisfactorily, and as this information can be found nowhere else, except with great trouble in scattered special treatises or in voluminous biographies, his book will unquestionably be heartily welcomed by a large number of readers.”
“His work is everywhere compact, but his terse and vigorous style gives emphasis to what might otherwise easily read like a mere summary of political events.”
“The effect on the mind is produced by the continual bias of the writer’s judgment, together with the bitter and ungracious way in which the judgment is expressed. We regret that so good a book should be marred by such tiresome defects, for Mr. Paul is interesting and painstaking and clear.” G. Townsend Warner.
“It is entertaining even where most exasperating; its sharpness and color will not allow the interest to flag; in fact, there is nothing on modern history comparable to it unless it be Hanotaux’s recent work on ‘Contemporary France.’”
“The book is not written by the Mr. Paul whom the House of Commons knows. But neither is it written by the delightful author of ‘Men and letters’ and ‘Stray leaves.’ It is written by that able and useful but less distinguished person, a daily journalist. There is nothing of great importance in it.”
“Here he is again bright, rapid, epigrammatic, free from all vagueness or hesitation, delivering positive and definite views, telling his story in short sentences, whose meaning no one can mistake. He is not a partisan in the sense of endeavoring to suppress the case for the side to which he does not belong while setting out the whole of his own. But he has strong opinions, and allows them to appear.”
“Alertness of mind and the ability to visualize and present pointedly are his to an extraordinary degree. They give his work all the sprightliness of a contemporary record. After the brave beginnings of his earlier volumes we are not quite satisfied with this one.” Christian Gauss.
“For him who wishes a brilliant account of English politics and the working of that great governmental machine, the English constitution, there is no better book.” Christian Gauss.
“It need hardly be added that his pages are distinguished by the ease, candor, honesty and incisiveness that gave such a charm to the earlier installments.”
“Mr. Paul is a clever journalist whose fascinating style of writing and peculiar type of humour succeed in making the dullest subjects entertaining.”
“This volume may be recommended as a work of reference and at the same time a very entertaining reading, for it is full of shrewd and philosophic sayings about political parties, is suffused with dry humor, and contains occasional flashes of wit.”
“In many of the transactions described by him, Mr. Paul, as an active politician must have taken some part. During most of the period covered by this volume, Mr. Paul’s opponents were in power. Yet the story is told with scrupulous impartiality: nought is set down in malice: and though in so concise a work there must necessarily be much suppression, the perspective is admirably caught and maintained. An absence of picturesque detail is the price we have to pay for sober style, relieved by touches of caustic but not ill-natured humor.” Arthur A. Baumann.
“He writes so well, his judgment is, on the whole, so sound, that we cannot but deplore the deficiencies of his narrative.”
“The new volume, like the volumes which have preceded it, is brilliantly written. Whatever qualities or defects Mr. Paul may have as an historian, his style is, in the main, beyond criticism. His narrative may occasionally be inadequate, but it is never dull.”
Paul, Herbert Woodfield.Life of Froude.**$4. Scribner.
Thru the personal assistance of Miss Froude and Ashley Froude, the historian’s only son, the biographer has gathered a generous amount of new and interesting material by means of which he traces Froude’s character and career. “He was one of England’s really great historians.... No historian has done so much as Mr. Froude to interpret aright the English reformation and its great characters, no one so much to explain Henry VIII, and no one so much to dispel the romantic mystery which has enveloped the character and career of Mary Queen of Scots, who deserves to be ranked, as Froude’s realistic portraiture has ranked her, with Jezebel of Israel, Lucretia Borgia of Italy, and Catherine de’ Medici of France.” (Outlook.)
“A book that from beginning to end is always attractive, although, for our part, we feel that the biographer has given too much attention to the controversies in which Froude was engaged.”
“His book is a series of essays about Froude; It is in no sense a biography, like Froude’s own work on Carlyle.”
“In Froude he has a spicy subject. He was sure to produce a lively book.” Goldwin Smith.
“Mr. Herbert Paul is well fitted to write a sympathetic life of Froude, both because, of his own historical studies and because, likeFroude himself, he possesses imagination and a sense of style.” H. T. P.
Reviewed by George Louis Beer.
“Whether it be that sympathy with his subject has imparted to him something of Froude’s own consummate art as a literary craftsman, certain it is that he has produced a very readable account.” Percy F. Bicknell.
“The biography ... which has something of an ‘official’ character, is made subordinate to the description and estimate of his writings.” A.
“No reader can finish Mr. Paul’s volume on Froude without a vivid impression of the life which it is written to commemorate. Had he contented himself with narration, and omitted the discussion of his hero’s merits as an historian, the volume would have been more useful and permanent.” Charles A. Beard.
“A work whose biographical and critical sides are, however, very uneven.”
“If Mr. Paul has failed to produce a masterpiece, he has written what will be accepted as an adequate life, and perhaps it may prove to be the final one. It is an excellent piece of work, considering the limitations imposed.”
“Perhaps the most exact title for this interesting book would have been ‘Froude: a sketch.’ It is alive from the first page to the last. It is full of Froude and full of his biographer.”
“Marked by his usual force, point, and vivacity.”
“His admiration lends a charm to his volume, but also imparts to it its two chief defects: it could be lessened in bulk with advantage ... and its tone is throughout too much that of one who is retained to defend an accused from attack. But in the main we agree with Mr. Paul’s interpretation.”
“There is, perhaps, nothing really new in the volume, but there is certainly a great deal of vigorous, pungent, and intellectually brilliant comment on the views and accomplishments of the late historian.”
“This is a very delightful and refreshing book. Is one of the best and happiest portraits we have seen painted with that most graphic of instruments, the pen, for a long time.”
Paul, Herbert Woodfield.Stray leaves. **$1.50. Lane.
“Ten brilliant papers by Herbert Paul the accomplished critic and historian.... As characterizations the essays on Bishop Creighton and George Eliot are most stimulating.... In his book reviews Mr. Paul ... defends his point of view with nimble wit and careless confidence. He differs with Leslie Stephen in his estimate of George Eliot. He analyzes the essays and addresses of Mr. Balfour, touching upon the political position of the ex-leader with caustic irony.... The review of Lucas’s ‘Life of Charles Lamb’ is favorable and highly appreciative.... ‘The study of Greek’ and ‘The religion of the Greeks’ show the cleverness of the author from another point.”—Outlook.
“The main reason why Mr. Herbert Paul is not a great critic is that he is not fundamental. An agreeable, witty and learned writer, he still lacks the patient analytical power and penetration required for any true illumination of his subject.”
“The articles reprinted by Mr. Herbert Paul under the title of ‘Stray leaves’ are pretty sure to repeat the success of his similar collection ‘Men and letters.’”
“Apart from this absurd notion as to the uselessness of a little Greek, Mr. Paul has written a good book.”
“Is as rich in pleasure-giving quality as its predecessor, ‘Men and letters.’”
“They are unfailingly pleasant reading. ‘Pleasant’ is exactly the adjective.” Montgomery Schuyler.
“Altogether, one could not read a more entertaining and enlivening book than this collection of papers.”
“The ‘Stray leaves’ were worth gathering together and preserving.”
Paulsen, Friedrich.German universities and university study; authorized tr. by Frank Thilly and W: W. Elwang. **$3. Scribner.
Here “the German university is surveyed from every side—compared with the universities of other countries, with its old self in former ages, its relation to German national life, the instructors and their instruction, the students and their studying, and lastly the separate faculties as they prepare students for four professions. Altho his exposition of present conditions leaves no feature neglected, what interests one most in the present book is the practical aspect, the bearings of each feature of the university.”—Ind.
“While useful and authoritative, the volume is not wholly suited to English readers.”
“A volume might be written in praise of this admirable book. A second volume might be written on the thoughts concerning American higher education which it suggests. It will at once be accepted as the authoritative book on its subject. Fortunately the translation effectively preserves some of the best qualities of Paulsen’s very readable style.”
“An all-round presentation of the most satisfying completeness—historical, descriptive, practical.”
“Fresh in the clear, forcible English of Professor Thilly.”
“Such a volume as this, so rich both in information, and in suggestion, cannot be too strongly commended to the attention of American faculties and students.”
“This translation of the elaborate work of Professor Paulsen, the leading authority on the subject, will therefore be welcomed by all who are interested in the question of university education, for its historical retrospects throw light upon the causes which have given to the German universities their exceptional position.”
Payne, John.Selections from the poetry of John Payne made by Tracy and Lucy Robinson; with an introduction by Lucy Robinson. *$2.50. Lane.
Mrs. Robinson says in her introduction that this volume of poems is published as “an appealto all lovers of poetry on behalf of one of its uncrowned kings—widely known, it is true, as a translator, but as a poet receiving less than insular recognition.” The selections include ballads, blank verse and sonnets, “they are exquisitely graceful, and yet profoundly impressive, pervaded by a moving undertone of sadness, which perhaps reaches its full expression in the beautiful poem ‘The grave of my songs.’ How the poet could have remained in comparative obscurity so long can only be explained by the pre-eminence of his translations, and his own exceeding modesty as to his original writings.” (Outlook.)
“These ‘Selections’ have been made with excellent taste and judgment by Tracy and Lucy Robinson, the latter furnishing the Introduction which is done with sympathetic insight and with fine appreciation of the subject.” Edith M. Thomas.
“Is supplied as an extremely interesting study of his work as a whole.” Wm. M. Payne.
“The first impression made by the selection is that of a marvelous virtuosity, an amazing metrical and verbal ingenuity. Of the poeticalness, so to say, of Mr. Payne’s literary impulse there can be no doubt.”