“It may be urged against his latest book that it is little more than an elaborate statement of orthodox socialism, and so perhaps it is.”
“This book is written for the student; no concessions are made to the general reader in the way of index or manageable chapter-divisions. The compensation will be found in a lucidity of exposition, wealth of vocabulary and epigrammatic crispness which mark all Dr Veblen’s works. The book will do much to stimulate American and English readers to clearer thinking on the task now confronting world-statesmanship.” Bruno Lasker
“We have seldom read a book written in a style so repellently ponderous.”
VENIZELOS, ELEUTHERIOS.Greece in her true light; tr. by Socrates A. Xanthaky and Nicholas G: Sakellarios. $2 Sakellarios and Xanthaky, 56 W. 30th St., N.Y. 949.5 16-25135
The book consists of “a collection of speeches of M. Venizelos. These speeches of a man who is not only the greatest statesman of Greece, but one of the greatest statesmen of his generation, aim to express the policy and situation of Greece in the world war.” (Educ R) “For the greater part the work deals with the events of the past two years. We have in full the two memoranda of advice addressed by Mr Venizelos to King Constantine, and the expounding of his policy before the Greek parliament. Also an address drawn up by Venizelos and adopted by the people at Athens in August of the present year for presentation to the king. Well condensed chapters in the book tell of the public career of Venizelos, his share in the work for the union of his native island Crete with Greece, his part in national Greek politics, leading the reform movement in Athens, his statesmanship in making possible the alliance of the Balkan states, his share in the London conference after the war with Turkey, his work in preparing Greece for the second Balkan war and his representing Greece at the Bucharest conference after that war.” (Boston Transcript)
“A human document of exceptional importance and fascinating interest. ... The translation has been excellently done.”
VERDAVAINE, GEORGES.Pictures of ruined Belgium; 72 pen and ink sketches drawn on the spot by L: Berden.*$3 (3½c) Lane 940.91 17-25516
Monsieur Verdavaine is art critic of the Independence Belge. “The text, printed in French and English on opposite pages, embodies the facts ascertained after careful investigation by official inquiry, and no attempt has been made to exaggerate them; and equally plain and straightforward is the story told by the illustrations, which consist of drawings made from photographs by Monsieur Berden, an architect by profession, who spent eighteen months in going from place to place gathering material for this record of German barbarity.” (Int Studio) The translation is by J. Lewis May. The book is dedicated to the relatives of Miss Cavell and Captain Fryatt.
“A terrible book. It is like a new canto of the ‘Inferno.’ Every page contains a heart-clutching horror. There is no attempt at fine writing; it is a plain narrative of the campaign of frightfulness waged by the German general staff. The illustrations have a sort of kinship with the famous engravings of Piranesi. They have only one artistic fault, and that is that too many details are introduced. Mr May’s translation is admirable. It deserves to be read by all lovers of decency and fair play.”
“Beautiful and moving book.”
“To any one who remembers Louvain or Dinant, M. Berden’s admirable drawings of their ruins will be inexpressibly painful. M. Verdavaine’s narrative of the massacres and outrages committed by the Huns is as temperately phrased as any right-minded man could make it.”
“M. Verdavaine drew from official records the story of those fateful weeks in 1914. If one lacks full measure of indignation, horror, or information as to the tragedy, it is here in abundance.”
“For a simple, almost matter of fact narration of a series of crimes, this one can be recommended to the general reader. He will find in it plenty of murder, arson, and ingenious cruelty—things the Anglo-Saxon discusses without blushing; but M. Verdavaine, perhaps warned by his publisher, has almost entirely suppressed reference to sins against chastity, to sadistic manifestations, and to the perfectly authenticated orgies of filth indulged in by the invaders of Belgium and northern France. The charge is, therefore, not complete; but it is enough.” C: C. Clarke
VERHAEREN, ÉMILE.Afternoon; tr. by C: R. Murphy.*$1 Lane 841 17-7037
A translation of “Les heures d’aprés-midi.” Like the volume preceding it, “The sunlit hours,” it is a book of love songs. Love has come to its full maturity, fulfilling its early promise, as the midsummer garden, pictured in one after the other of the poems, fulfils the promise of spring.
“Surely no translation will satisfy those who can appreciate the original. Take, for instance, this verse: ‘Je te regards, et tour les jours je te découvre.’ Mr Murphy renders Verhaeren quite literally: ‘And when I look at you I make discoveries,’ but the abyss that separates poetry from prose lies between the two. Still, frequently the translator catches the true rhythm of the original.”
“This man adds another to the immortal line of great witnesses who emerge at intervals to abash our skepticism with fresh proofs that loftiness and ardor, that purity and rapture, may interfuse in a passion which they combine to ennoble.” O. W. Firkins
“Carried away by the impetuous flow of this thought and emotion, he can paint a picture with the care, restraint, and the precision of the Parnassians.” E: B. Reed
VERHAEREN, ÉMILE.Love poems; tr. by F. S. Flint.*$1.25 Houghton 841 17-17076
“The cycle is strung on the thread of a life’s long experience. ‘The shining hours,’ ‘The hours of afternoon,’ ‘The hours of evening,’ are the divisions into which the poems are grouped. ... The imagery of the cycle is that of the garden, loved, sheltered, beautiful, with its roses, its ponds, its lilies, the garden of the glowing summer, of the autumn, still loved when winter comes.”—N Y Times
“In spite of the impressiveness, the fine rhetoric and dramatic force of the four poetical dramas, there is a charm about the verse of Verhaeren, which lingers longer and holds us more intensely than do the plays. A cycle of his love lyrics has been translated by Mr Flint, who also translated ‘Philip II.’” D. L. M.
“Translations in poetic prose of the author’s ‘Heures claires’ and ‘Les heures aprés midi,’ poems of serene and spiritualized beauty, picturing the joys of wedded love against the background of a beautiful garden. They have also appeared in the more satisfactory verse translations of Charles R. Murphy as ‘The sunlit hours’ and ‘Afternoon.’”
“These poems are exquisite—not only in the sense of a fair jeweled loveliness, but in a tenderness, a depth, a universal beauty and reality that make the most-sought-for words about them seem but trivial things. How much music of phrasing may be lost in [the prose] translation, those of us who read them only in English cannot know; but the beauty of their expression, in word and in image, of deep and exquisite human feeling, is here in the English version.”
VERRILL, ALPHEUS HYATT.Book of camping. il*$1 (2c) Knopf 796 17-18605
Contents: Camps and camping; How and where to camp; Camp housekeeping; Trailing and tramping; How to trap and why; Emergency hints. The illustrations show forms of blazes, how to make moccasins, camp furniture, etc.
“Aims to supply the beginner’s need for a primer in woodcraft, and in the main it succeeds in its purpose. Especially valuable for its practical hints about camp sites, camp housekeeping, cooking, and accidents. To [the old woodsman] the directions for homemade traps and moccasins are reminiscent of the days when he really believed all that was set forth in Dan Beard’s ‘American boy’s handy book.’ This fault—the fault of telling how to make clumsy things that can better be bought—often gets into ‘how-to’ books.”
“Up-to-date, practical book based on a wide knowledge of camping. Contains almost everything a camper would want to know.”
VERRILL, ALPHEUS HYATT.[2]Book of the West Indies. il*$2.50 Dutton 917.29 17-29601
“Mr Verrill in his ‘Book of the West Indies’ has a chapter upon our lately acquired Virgin Islands. He is enthusiastic over the beauty and the fascination of these islands, their possibilities as health resorts and their future as producers of sugar cane and bay rum, and in commerce. His volume of nearly 500 pages is appropriately named ‘The book of the West Indies,’ for no such comprehensive and thoroughgoing account of the archipelago has hitherto been attempted. The author carries you from island to island, big and little alike, and describes the scenes, the people, the manners and customs, the climate, sandwiches in an outline of the history, tells of the commercial and industrial possibilities.”—N Y Times
Reviewed by A. M. Chase
“It is a book that a traveler can use as a guide book, a man of business as a source ofinformation and a general reader for the pure pleasure of its colorful and informative narrative.”
“The book is well worth while.”
“A good description of the Islands, with so much of history as is requisite to meet an intelligent traveler’s demands for information.”
VICKERS, LESLIE.Training for the trenches; a practical handbook based upon personal experience during the first two years of the war in France.il*$1 (4c) Doran 355 17-17549
Captain Vickers is lecturer on trench warfare, Department of military service, Columbia university and late lieutenant of the Seaforth Highlanders. He states that he “intends this little book primarily for the use of those who are civilians in the process of becoming soldiers.” It includes chapters on: Health; Disease; Vermin; Protection of trenches: Artillery fire; Gas and liquid fire; The attack; Equipment for the field, etc. There are helpful full-page illustrations.
“The book ought to be read by every American soldier, present and prospective, who crosses the ocean to fight for liberty. No man in preparation for that duty could be given a more useful gift or one that, provided its advice be heeded, would be more likely to increase his value as an efficient soldier.”
“A practical manual based upon personal experiences of the first two years of the war. Capt. Vickers devotes considerable space to the all-important question of health.”
VINOGRADOV, PAVEL GAVRILOVICH.Self government in Russia.*$1.25 Dutton 947 (Eng ed 16-12746)
For descriptive note see Annual for 1916.
“The author, a Russian professor at Oxford, exiled for his liberal views, is an eminent authority on Russian institutions, and these lectures take on an added significance in view of recent events.”
“Had we more generally known the facts given in this book, we should have understood how the revolution came about and why it was so orderly and effective.” S: N. Harper
“No living man has a firmer grasp upon the political history of the Russian people or could display greater skill in making it clear, within such brief compass, to English readers.”
“The announcement of a book, on Russia, by the versatile Russian scholar, who is also our leading authority on English legal and social history, may raise more expectation than it can well fulfil. For it is not a thorough treatise that the author of ‘Villainage in England’ has here attempted, but rather a few popular lectures aiming to give us a general outline of the great changes in the legal status of the Russian masses.”
VIVIAN, HERBERT.Italy at war. il*$2.50 Dutton 940.91 17-21932
“Mr Vivian is an English traveller who happened to be in France on the Italian border at the outbreak of the war.” (Boston Transcript) “His book is a collection of thumbnail sketches of the Italian people in relation to the war, not an account of the campaigns of the Italian army. Thus he relates experiences before Italy decided to throw in her lot with the Allies; gives brief descriptions of the King, General Cadorna, and prominent politicians; and devotes short sections to the special qualities of the various kinds of troops in the Italian army, and incidents in some of the battles. The illustrations enable the reader to appreciate the enormous difficulties overcome by the Italians in their mountain offensive.” (Ath)
“The chapter entitled, ‘The preliminary war’ is an account of the work of the German spy system in Italy in the years of peace preceding the war. ... The author knows how to tell his story. Nothing worth while escapes him. His sense of humor is always in evidence when needed. He senses the significant things and describes them in an interesting way.” F. W. C.
“This is a different sort of book from Mr Alexander Powell’s volume of the same name and approximately the same date of publication. The Italian people’s attitude to the great issues of the day is presented with the insight and the accuracy of one familiar with the ways of the common folk and speaking their language. Noteworthy is the author’s emphasis upon the too little suspected perpetration of Austrian atrocities. Frightfulness he shows to be not exclusively a Prussian product.”
“This volume of impressions has little in common with Mr Powell’s ‘Italy at war.’ Mr Vivian is noticeably lacking in the perspective of the war critic; but he is an earnest observer of the beauty and life of the new Italy. ... There is some justification for the uncomfortable feeling the author betrays of having chronicled too many trivialities.”
“His work is quite different from that of such observers of the conflict as Mr Julius Price and Mr Sidney Low. It conveys less information on great matters, but it is more intimate in tone, and also more amusing and the records of conversations with people of no importance are really convincing and entertaining. The picture of the thrilling days immediately preceding Italy’s entrance into the war is especially graphic.”
VIZETELLY, FRANK HORACE.Desk-book of twenty-five thousand words frequently mispronounced. (Standard desk-book ser.) $1.60 Funk 421 17-10175
“The title of this volume by the managing editor of the New standard dictionary ... is obviously taken from Phyfe’s earlier book in the same field. It is somewhat misleading, as the vocabulary includes many words that are not mispronounced, but differently pronounced. ... The publishers’ advertisement states that the book indicates the correct pronunciation of English words, foreign terms, Bible names, personal names (Vizetelly is included), geographical names, and proper names of all kinds current in literature, science and the arts. Words which are likely to prove stumblingblocks are also included. A unique and valuable feature is the appending in many cases of orthoepic and historical notes or of quotations illustrating usage.” (Springf’d Republican) “In an entertaining preface the doctor pays respect in truly Shavian style to the self-satisfied class, both here and abroad, who know ‘that the pronunciation they have is the best which exists.’” (Lit D)
“A useful dictionary, presenting some original features. So far as our tests permit us to judge, the pronunciations indicated are, for the most part, such as would generally be accepted by English orthoepic authorities. ... In a deskbook, such as this, we doubt the usefulness of many of the references to obsolete forms of pronunciation adopted by Walker and other early lexicographers; and the employment of two keys to pronunciation is, we think, unnecessary and confusing. ... We disagree with some of the remarks in Dr Vizetelly’s introduction.”
“A careful study of his work should do much toward the standardizing of modern English pronunciation.”
“In the pronunciation, the preference of the leading dictionaries for nearly two hundred years are given. An indispensable addition to the slender collection of reference books which must be kept within easy reach. There is brief definition of hundreds of words but recently come into use in science and the arts. Dr Vizetelly has for many years been a foremost authority in English orthoepy.”
“Examination of the work will quickly prove its great value. The introductory material might well be printed and cast broadside in pamphlet form as an aid to the correction of the habit of slovenly speech.”
VOGT, PAUL LEROY.Introduction to rural sociology. il*$2.50 Appleton 630 17-18829
The author was formerly professor of rural economics and sociology in the Ohio state university, and is now superintendent of the department of rural work of the Methodist Episcopal church, and editor of “The church and country life.” Because over half of our rural population live in communities of less than 2,500, because the village is the “natural center of rural life,” because conditions in the country must be understood if the drift to the cities is to be adequately controlled, and because “the relation of the small community to the growth and ideals of the urban community makes an understanding of rural life and ideals imperative to the one responsible for leadership in urban life,” Mr Vogt has written this book. The field chosen covers rural life in the United States, and “particularly those conditions to be found in the great agricultural sections of the Central valley,” because in this area are to be found both the system of diversified agriculture and the intensive culture resulting from the increase of population. Six of the twenty-eight chapters are on the village, two on the rural church, two on rural health, two on farmers’ organizations, and one on the county fair. Questions, references, and topics for research have been added at the close of each chapter.
“We have here sociological materials, typical data, suggestively rich fields for further exploration—leads rather than actual veins; indications rather than fixed conclusions. Some of these data are original and thought-provoking as, for example, the chapters on Population movement and Rural morality. Some are not sufficient for generalization; notably, those dealing with the land question, tenancy and farmers’ organizations. The chapters on the village are a distinct contribution to sociological literature. The book is well written with a fresh, virile, optimistic pen. Because of its basis of fact, its general freedom from dogmatic statement, its constructive intent, its modest claims and its virility, this is the most valuable book dealing with rural sociology the reviewer has read.” A. E. Cance
“A real contribution to the literature on rural life. The author places the emphasis on the fundamental problems. The chapter on ‘Rural morality’ is a valuable contribution because it is based upon the author’s research studies. His data refute the generalized statements that have been made by writers who are not hampered by facts. His studies show that the open country is still morally cleaner than the village or city.” E. L. Holton
“Though based upon a thorough knowledge of rural life and problems, its chief value lies in its organization of material.”
“Professor Vogt has attacked the problem from an angle not as yet popular in the study of the American farm. He has presented it as a series of relations and reactions influencing our entire national existence. It is important to the nation as well as to the farm that a high rural civilization be maintained, and that we understand the forces operative within it. Professor Vogt has set himself the task of meeting his subject in a purely scientific spirit. His appeal is almost defiantly to the brain alone.”
“Furnishes an enlightening array of information upon the improvement of farming methods, the labor question, the tenancy question, health, morality, politics, education, religion, and the general social structure of rural communities.”
“The author has been at great pains to make his work as accurate and comprehensive as possible. In both respects he has succeeded admirably, and that, too, without becoming tedious. A feature of the book especially worthy of notice is the thorough discussion of the relation of the village to the life of the open country. The most important omission is the failure to discuss the eugenic problems of the rural population and to give more attention to the natural movements of population due to the varying birth rates and death rates in different groups and in different sections of the nation.” W. S. Thompson
“A somewhat laborious study of conditions in the rural communities of the West. ... Its generalizations outweigh its store of information, though one should add that its conclusions are sound enough.”
“Professor Vogt has laid the foundation of a study of the village for which we have been waiting. ‘Rural sociology’ presents two methods of study of the material—analysis and idealization. Under the former method, for which the writer displays uncommon ability, is the treatment of the Land question, Means of communication, Farmers’ labor income, Health-physical, Health-mental, and the Church. ... The method of idealization is not so satisfactory. There are two final chapters, the first of which contains rare and new material on Rural morality and Social organization. ... The writer is a man with an open mind, a fine hand for details, a capacity of delicate weighing of evidence and the ability to present his conclusions without dogmatism and in inspiring completeness.” W. H. Wilson
WADDINGTON, MARY ALSOP (KING) (MRS WILLIAM HENRY WADDINGTON).My war diary. il*$1.50 (1½c) Scribner 940.91 17-23949
Mme Waddington is the widow of a French statesman and ambassador, and author of “Letters of a diplomat’s wife” and other books on France and Italy. Her diary covers the period from August, 1914, to October, 1916, and tells of her activities during the war, of the German occupation of her château at Mareuil, etc.
“Vast as will be the accumulation of war literature when the great struggle is over, Madame Waddington’s contribution will occupy by right a place of distinction, as affording illumination of a unique character. The book is necessarily personal, yet it is most attractively free from any touch of self-importance.”
“An entertaining account of how the French aristocracy have fared during the war. The big Frenchmen of the war, the great statesmenand generals, do not appear to have been on Madame Waddington’s calling list. These today are of first interest.”
“A volume which all friends of France as well as all who seek a knowledge of the inner facts of the war will turn to with eager interest.”
“Mme. Waddington’s vantage point of observation, so to speak, is unusual; and with the charm and sincerity of her literary style we have had opportunity ere this to become acquainted.”
“Her style is at once simple, easy, vivacious. She outlines her portraits and paints her pictures with appealing directness. ... Particularly notable are her tributes to Ambassador Herrick.”
“Mme Waddington by reason of her position in diplomatic life is well able to form some enlightening opinions as to the real motives of French statesmen, but her book is singularly free from such revelations. ... She tells her story with simplicity, and occasionally repeats, but she is to be thanked for not dwelling on the depressing side of events. ... Nothing especially new or significant of French life and thought is contributed by the book.”
WADDINGTON, SAMUEL.Some views respecting a future life.*$1.25 (6½c) Lane 218 17-17191
“In this comely book, which is at once a personal statement and an anthology of what has been said on the question of immortality by sages and others, ancient and modern, Mr Waddington has written his ‘Religio poetæ.’ His own position, defined already in many sonnets and other poems, is the reasoned one of the agnostic.” (Ath) “The greater part of the book is devoted to a survey of what has been written upon the subject by modern philosophers, poets, and scientists. Shelley, Swinburne, Nordau, Haeckel, Huxley, Mill, Darwin, Spencer, Rossetti, Sir Oliver Lodge, F. W. H. Myers, Clough, Emerson are only a few of the many from whom he quotes or to whose beliefs he refers.” (N Y Times)
Reviewed by Bishop Frodsham
WADSLEY, OLIVE.Conquest. il*$1.40 (1½c) Dodd A17-1640
The hero of the story is a little gamin from Paris who begins his conquest of London at the age of ten. He passes from one odd job to another until he is taken on as a helper in a gymnasium. This chance occupation is the making of Bill Achat. He learns to reverence bodily perfection, becomes a boxer and finally a prize fighter, white champion of the world. He is introduced into London society, and the latter portions of the book are taken up with his love for Alexa Castlemayne. She is older than he and of a different social world, but they find their happiness in one another.
Reviewed by H. W. Boynton
“There are good bits of characterization in ‘Conquest,’ and an authentic air of sophistication and interest regarding prize-fights and sporting-events surprising in the work of a woman author—even a British one.”
“There is keen charm in the portions that show Bill fighting and lying for a roll, and kissing a maternaldemi-mondainefor a franc. ... It is regrettable that Miss Wadsley does not keep to this pitch throughout, instead of falling into commonplace.”
WADSLEY, OLIVE.Possession. il*$1.35 (1c) Dodd 17-6113
An unusual friendship existed between the little girl of eight and the boy of eighteen. Both were friendless in London. Valérie’s father had deserted her unceremoniously. Blaise was a stranger, looking for work. So they adopted one another. This relationship lasted up to the time Val was seventeen. Then Blaise woke up and found that she was grown-up, that she was very beautiful, and that he loved her. For his own sake as well as her own, he sent her away to Paris. The separation proved disastrous, for Val too began to realize that she was grown-up. She meets another man, and marries him. The romance is short-lived and she turns back to Blaise for protection, but since she fails to tell him the truth, a strained situation results.
“It is rather a headlong tale; that is, told with enough swiftness and enough high coloring to make it seem, in a day of comparatively leisurely and detailed novel-writing, an uncommonly near approach to the good old ‘intense love-story.’ Along the way, Miss Wadsley has given the novel certain modulations and graciousnesses that will serve to redeem it, at least in part, for her more discriminating and experienced readers.” F. I.
“The earlier part of the book marks its writer as one of more than average talent and imagination. ... The novel remains, in spite of expectations unfulfilled, more than relatively good.”
“While reading ‘Possession,’ we forget who or what we are, how or when the book is written, and live wholly in the life of Valérie Sarton.”
WÄGNER, WILHELM.Asgard and the gods; adapted by M. W. Macdowall; and ed. by W. S. W. Anson. il*$2 Dutton 293
“A complete English account of the religious beliefs and superstitions of the old Northmen, myths and stories of the gods, of the creation of the world, of Odin the father of the gods, of the Ases, the Golden age, and on through all the splendid legends to Ragnarok, the ‘twilight of the gods.’” (R of Rs) This volume is a reprint of an edition first published in 1880 and again in 1882. There is an introduction which deals with what is known of the history of these legends.
“The digest of Dr Wägner’s original work is so excellent that for the new generation there is probably nothing better.”
WALDO, FULLERTON LEONARD.[2]Good housing that pays. il $1 (5c) Harper press, 1012 Chancellor st., Philadelphia 331.8 17-28206
A study of the work of the Octavia Hill association of Philadelphia, from 1896 to 1917. The foreword says, “The pages that follow describe the effort of a thoughtful group of Philadelphians to provide cleanly homes and a healthy environment for families in modest circumstances or in self-respecting poverty. This effort has outgrown the stage of experiment, but it never will deny new light nor wholly abandon, however it may adapt, the ideals that are Octavia Hill’s own spiritual legacy.” A sketch of the life and work of Octavia Hill constitutes chapter 1. There are numerous pictures and plans. The by-laws of the association and various tables are given in an appendix, with the index following.“The story of the Octavia Hill association of Philadelphia is almost a history of the housing movement in that city, and shows the excellent work of women in this field.”
“Live and interesting, with practical, frank detail on both the business and the human side, which will make the book of value to other workers.” E. W. Dinwiddie
WALKER, HENRY FRANCIS BELL.Doctor’s diary in Damaraland. il*$2.10 (4c) Longmans 940.91 (Eng ed 17-28629)
“The author of this book volunteered as a medical officer in General Botha’s force which, by its dashing strategy and its great physical endurance, conquered German South-west Africa between March and July, 1915. He does not give a formal history of the campaign, but describes his own experiences in the rear of the army, with an occasional illuminating note on the course of the fighting.”—Spec
“All who wish to know the realities of war should read his very readable book. ... He has a good word for the Germans wherever it is deserved; and, generally, he extenuates nothing, makes no complaint, and sets down naught in malice. He deals only with what came under his own view, the grand tour of his own ambulance, not attempting to describe military movements or battles. His narrative is relieved by excellent descriptive touches, which make the God-forsaken country very real.”
“Dr Walker is eminently observant and has a keen eye for military tactics as well as natural history and geology. He has provided a detailed map of one attack, but a larger one covering the range of country he went over would have been a useful addition to his book. ... The book is well printed and has a few good illustrations, but it ought to have had an index as well.”
“He is coldly fair to the Germans, giving instances of their cruelty, but allowing them whatever credit may be their due for establishing well-planned and well-organized towns in places where no one would want to live.”
WALKER, STUART.Portmanteau plays. il*$1.50 Stewart & Kidd 812 17-13266
Stuart Walker has been actor, stage manager and general director for Belasco. In 1914, he conceived the idea of the Portmanteau theater which has a small stage, simple scenery, and unique lighting effects. The present volume includes four of the plays given at this theater: The trimplet; Nevertheless; The medicine show; The six who pass while the lentils boil. There is a forty page introduction by Edward Hale Bierstadt, and an appendix giving “The repertory of the Portmanteau theater in the order of production.”
“The little plays lack the beauty in strangeness of Lord Dunsany’s contributions to the Portmanteaurépertoirebut they are of distinct interest as a new art form based on a naïve convention.”
“This book is more than a collection of highly diverting little plays. It is the record of an astonishing experiment in the American theatre.” H. K. M.
“Of the four plays, ‘Six who pass while the lentils boil’ is undoubtedly the most successful from both a literary and a dramatic point of view.”
“Mr Walker’s plays make very pleasant reading, but they do not portend any romantic renaissance. ... The novel settings that Mr Walker has devised for his charming playlets have probably much more to do with his success than any real desire on the part of the public for poetry and fantasy on the stage.”
WALLACE, DAVID DUNCAN.Government of England; national, local, and imperial.*$2 (2½c) Putnam 342.4 17-25776
The author is professor of history and economics in Wofford college. He states that his book is intended for the general reader desiring “a brief, untechnical account of the British government” and for college classes where the time “is too limited for an extended treatment of so large a subject.” Prof. Wallace has attempted “to describe the English government as it is without distracting the reader with a long account of how it came to be what it is.” (Preface) Book 1 deals with The central government; book 2 with The local government; book 3 with The empire and colonies; book 4 with Social and political characteristics. The author has constantly “kept in mind the resemblances and contrasts between the government of England and that of our own country.” (Preface) “In the chapter on ‘Lessons England can teach us,’ the author dwells upon the greater flexibility of the English constitutional system. ... Other lessons concern the budget system, popular regard for law, and a civil service test in character and ability in addition to the applicant’s ‘immediate preparation.’” (Bookm) There is a reading-list of two pages and a table (tipped in before the index) to aid in understanding the court system.
“The chapter on ‘Aristocracy and democracy’ clarifies a subject rather indistinct to Americans who have not observed English society at close range. ... In the hands of instructors capable of supplementing it with an additional fund of historical illustration, this capitally written treatise should serve as an attractive text for college and university classes.” L. E. Robinson
“He certainly does not misinterpret our history, when he declares that the highest intellectual effort in the United States has been consumed, not in proving that measures are good or bad, but that they are constitutional or unconstitutional. He makes a strong argument for a closer coöperation of the legislative and executive departments.” F. B. N.
WALLACE, DILLON.Arctic stowaways. il*$1.25 (2c) McClurg 17-29730
Alfred Knowles and his friend Harry Metford were in danger of arrest for running a man down while speeding their automobile. Alfred had at first insisted that they turn about and take their medicine, but had weakly yielded to Harry’s desire for escape. So it was that they happened to take temporary refuge on board a schooner, to be carried out to sea. The vessel is a whaler, one of the last of her line, and the boys’ pleading and threats and offers of payment are of no avail. The boat is bound for the Arctic, and they must go with her, working their passage. Their experiences are not unlike those of Harvey Cheyne, of “Captains courageous,” and they learn the same lesson. The biggest of their adventures comes when they are cast adrift on the ice, to fend for themselves along a barren coast.
WALLACE, EDGAR.Kate plus 10. il*$1.35 (3½c) Small 17-23650
The author of “The clue of the twisted candle” has here given us another detective story. It moves around the great strokes planned by Kate Westhanger, the brains ofthe criminal gang in Amberscombe Gardens—a locality known to the London police as “Crime street”—and the efforts made by Michael Pretherston, the Scotland Yard detective, to outwit her. Kate had inherited power of strategy and also a tendency to crime. She had been trained by her uncle to be a thief on a great scale. Michael, who had great ability and a very pretty wit of his own, was filling the years in which he awaited his succession to the peerage in ways in which he could use his natural talents. Both were in the game for the excitement of it. How Kate used her wit, charm, and beauty and how Michael faced her at every turn; what the great coup was and how it ended; with other matters which pertain to life in English society furnish two hours of entertaining reading.
“An unusual combination of light humour and thrilling mystery.” H. W. Boynton
WALLACE, EDNA KINGSLEY.Feelings and things; verses of childhood.*$1 Dutton 811 16-24229
“One feels in reading these poems that Miss Wallace is writing from within out; she is not portraying childhood as she sees or remembers it, but interpreting it as she still feels it. In her choice of subjects and language, she is always well within the mood and psychology of her subject. In this slender book are to be found the vaguely defined imaginings, the sudden sharp impressions, the bubbling excitement and joyousness of childhood. Even the rhythm of the lines has the hop-skip-and-jump gaiety, the pause of perplexed wonder, and the sudden, ecstatic crescendo of discovery.”—Dial
“They are slightly reminiscent of Stevenson and will be even more appreciated by grownups than by the children themselves.”
“These verses are distinctive and individual, and because of their authenticity and lyrical quality must take a high place in the literature of childhood.”
WALLACE, WILLIAM KAY.Greater Italy [1858-1916].*$2.50 (3c) Scribner 945 17-13590
“I would attempt to trace in this volume the rise of the kingdom of Italy among nations, with more particular emphasis on the part played by the people of Italy in the affairs of the world during the past three decades. ... I have sought to lay particular stress on the relations of Italy with the Central powers, to trace the course of Italian policy in its dealings with Vienna and Berlin, and to show how the ‘mariage forcé’ of Rome and Vienna, brought about by the arbitrariness of Berlin, could not fail to end in disaster.” (Preface) Contents: The achievement of unity; Formative forces; The Triple alliance; The period of retrenchment; The dictatorship of Giolitti; The Libyan war; Economic development; The Vatican and the Quirinal; Italy and Germany; The problem of the Adriatic; The days of neutrality; Italy at war. The author writes of the war from personal observation. The book is provided with three maps.
“A businesslike and straightforward book, which is not, strictly speaking, a history, but a series of studies on the rise of a united Italy and on an important aspect of Balkan diplomacy. The title of the book hardly describes its contents. The narration of the peaceful penetration of Italy by Germany is most remarkable reading, and it differs from some other recent descriptions of the process in general by its restraint and balance. The story is perhaps more impressive on that account.”
“Mr Wallace portrays the Italy of politics, of diplomacy, of war, of realism. His task has been attempted before, with much success by King and Okey and by Underwood. But the developments of the past two years afford excellent opportunity to paint the picture afresh and on a larger canvas. Mr Wallace has spent some time with the troops on the various Italian fronts, and he describes in lucid and restrained manner the difficulties and triumphs of the operations against the Austrians. His book is well written, although there is an occasional inexact statement.”
“The book contains a map of what the author conceives to be Italy’s projected sphere of influence in Asia Minor and in Austria.”
“The pages that deal with the great problem which is Italy’s problem alone, the quarrel between the Vatican and the Quirinal, are full of valuable information. And none of the recent books on the present war gives a more useful description of the counter-currents of Italy’s growing national aspirations, Austria’s imperialistic inclinations, and the Pan-Slav movement, which combined to keep the Balkan region at a fever-heat of tension for many years and culminated in the present catastrophe.” G. I. Colbron