Chapter 125

6–38912.

“The aim of this book, as its title indicates, is to set forth in detail the manner in which the nervous system serves to bring together in united action the various parts of the animal organism.... The whole trend of the book, though it is primarily physiological, is a strong argument for some sort of ‘motor theory’ of consciousness.... The book is accompanied by an exhaustive bibliography, and the author supports each step in his argument by frequent reference to his own extensive and minute experiments as well as to the results found by other investigators. Numerous reproductions of myograph curves, etc., illustrate the text.”—J. Philos.

Reviewed by F. N. Freeman.

“We have in this book the most valuable contribution to the comprehension of the functions of the nervous system that has appeared up to the present time, not only from the records of the experiments quoted, but also from the logical and orderly way in which the dueinferences from the experiments are put forward, and the volume stands out as a landmark in our knowledge of the subject.”

*Sherwood, Margaret Pollock.Princess Pourquoi.†$1.50. Houghton.

7–31285.

The five tales in this volume are wonderstory fables. “The ‘Princess Pourquoi’ represents, let us say, the modern spirit of feminine inquiry in its dignified aspect; ‘The princess and the microbe’ and ‘The seven studious sisters’ represents the same spirit in an amusing light; and ‘The clever necromancer,’ its pathetic side. ‘The gentle robber’ is a more pungent satire upon the theoretical and the actual attitude of the world toward greed and dishonesty on a large scale.” (Nation.)

“They are very gracefully written, and the effect of each is something like that of an old piece of richly colored embroidery.”

Shoemaker, Blanche.Woven of dreams. **$1.25. Lane.

7–10279.

Under the four headings, Sonnets, Youth’s journey, Gathered petals, and Woven of dreams, are gathered more than a hundred exquisite verses, full of the joy of life and the depths of its emotions.

“The work is uneven and weak lines mar otherwise good sonnets. There is, too, no allusiveness or elusiveness. The author forgets that poetry is the language of suggestion and tumbles everything out before us with a forwardness that is occasionally unpleasant.” Christian Gauss.

Shoemaker, Michael Myers.Winged wheels in France.**$2.50. Putnam.

6–42912.

The “winged wheels” belong to a “great red touring car” in which the author made a trip through the Rhine valley to Switzerland. The snapshot method has been employed and there are no time exposures. The book is embellished with numerous reproductions of photographs.

“He is always interesting and entertaining in his books, but we prefer him when he travels at more leisure than the motor-car permits. The volume is pleasantly written and admirably illustrated.” H. E. Coblentz.

“The descriptions are graphic, and there is a wise avoidance of the geographical details.”

“Mr. Shoemaker writes with sympathy, although his pages might well have been more picturesque and luminous considering his subject matter.”

“A good bit of descriptive travel writing.”

“It is a succession of rapid impressions, which seems to require eyes and a brain especially made for the purpose, if any fixed recollection is to be carried away. Yet these impressions are clear, in spite of their quickness and slightness.”

Shorter, Dora Sigerson.Through wintry terrors. $1.50. Cassell.

“A struggling clerk and his silly young wife, a vicious little poet, an old maid, and a few of the submerged—these are the characters in ‘Through wintry terrors.’” (Lond. Times.) The tragedy of a hasty marriage is enacted in which misunderstandings lead to separation, and this, for the wife, to the sober trouble of London’s darker side. “The simple story moves straight to its end through troubles very real and affecting, shaped by the hand of an artist and touched with the spirit of a poet.” (Lond. Times.)

“The best that can be said for it is that no doubt it will yield a number of amiable persons a certain harmless enjoyment; the worst, that there is no reason why it should have been written at all.”

“Mrs. Shorter’s characters are skillfully and sympathetically drawn.”

“[Only one] small blot on a story that within its little limits has the qualities of a work of art.”

Shurter, Edwin DuBois, ed. Masterpieces of modern oratory. *$l. Ginn.

7–3094.

A group of oratorical masterpieces which have been collected with a view of offering them to students as models for study.

“Professor Shurter has made a good collection of orations, but he has committed the usual editor’s fault of presenting them incompletely.”

“Hence we are inclined to place a high value on a book which contains such well-chosen selections. Professor Shurter has done his task well.” H. E. Coblentz.

Sichel, Walter Sydney.Emma. Lady Hamilton from new and original sources and documents, together with an appendix of notes and new letters. *$5. Dodd.

6–1105.

The important contribution which Mr. Sichel has to make to the story of Lady Hamilton throws light chiefly upon her relations with Nelson.

“Mr. Sichel’s book is more than a biography of this remarkable woman; it might almost be called a history. His net is all-embracing and his capacity for taking pains is great.”

“There can be no doubt that the author’s treatment of the whole subject is far more complete and authoritative than that of Mr. Cordy Jeaffreson.” W.

“His volume is in large measure an apologia for Lady Hamilton, nearly always ingenious, but sometimes a little too ‘precious’ in tone and not very often quite convincing.”

“His pages continuously shock the reader acquainted with the period, not by gross lapses, but by constant petty distortions that are too minute to criticise, and that may be best summed up as indicating a complete lack of the historical sense. It is essentially this that robs the book of value.”

“He has collected an enormous amount of valuable material, which he has arranged with picturesque effect, and a real dramatic sense. His style is careless and diffuse, and in the attempt to be forcible and expressive, he becomes strained and affected.”

“This is a marvel of industry, enthusiasm, and of special pleading.”

Sidgwick, Arthur, and Sidgwick, Eleanor Mildred (Mrs. Arthur Sidgwick).Henry Sidgwick—a memoir. *$4. Macmillan.

6–18307.

Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.

“To all who can feel the attraction of a noble mind spending itself in the search for truth this biography must be of compelling interest.” F. Melian Stawell.

“It gives a reflected picture of the intellectual changes in British thought from 1860–1900.” John Dewey.

Sidgwick, Cecily Ullmann.Kinsman. $1.50. Macmillan.

7–4161.

Another amusing comedy founded upon a case of mistaken identity. A young Englishman having closed out his interests in Australia comes to England to visit his kinsman, Colonel Blois, whose heir he is. Upon his arrival he meets his double who is a distant cousin and a worthless cockney clerk. The clerk, believing that his cousin has been drowned while in swimming, impersonates him to the confusion of his well-bred relatives and the joy of the reader. But in the end everything is straightened out and several love affairs come to a happy ending. The whole is amusing and the character of the weak, pleasure-loving clerk is exceedingly well drawn.

“An entertaining book, one of the best Mrs. Sidgwick has written.”

“The story does not aim at a high standard of literary excellence, but is wholesome and mildly amusing.”

“A distinctly amusing story, in which there is not for an instant any doubt which are the real hero and heroine.” Frederic Taber Cooper.

“An exceptionally bright and entertaining work of fiction.” Wm. M. Payne.

“Is just conventional enough, foolish enough, pleasant enough, to be an excellent thing of its kind.”

“An amusing, neatly built story, entertaining enough while it is being read and of no consequence afterward.”

“Is rather rampant in fun, but is in that way decidedly amusing.”

“Capital specimen of fantastic comedy, bordering at times on farce, yet relieved in the case of Roger and Pamela with graceful and chivalrous sentiment.”

Siegfried, Andre.Race question in Canada. *$3. Appleton.

7–22822.

Canada in its social, economic and political aspects. “Part 1, considers the rival races and religions, and gives a full and instructive view of the influences exerted by Roman Catholicism and by Protestantism. In part 2, the political life of Canada is described in ten chapters. The balance of power and influence forms the topic of part 3, and part 4, treats of Canada’s external relations, and endeavors to discuss the question of her probable future.” (N. Y. Times.)

“His book is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of a subject full of interest.”

“This volume written apparently for the French kinsmen of French Canadians, is both interesting and illuminating for us.”

“This is an interesting book.”

Sigerson, George.Bards of the Gael and Gall: examples of the poetic literature of Erin, done into English after the meters and modes of the Gael. *$1.50. Scribner.

A second edition of this anthology of translated Gaelic poetry. “It follows the plan of the first edition in giving in historical series specimens of verses from the earliest known to that of recent times and in essaying to present them in the spirit, form, and structure of the originals. Several new versions have been introduced into this edition to illustrate different periods and show different styles.” (N. Y. Times.)

“Taken as a whole, we may say that the pieces have been well translated.... Had he omitted two-thirds of the pieces in the present volume, he would have strengthened his case considerably. By winnowing the chaff from the grain he might have convinced the average reader that ancient Ireland had a literature equal to, if not greater than, that of the Greeks.”

“A good index would have enhanced the value of the book”

Silberrad, Una L.Good comrade.†$1.50. Doubleday.

7–30840.

An English story with part of its scene laid in Holland. Julia Polkington the most self-respecting member of a family noted for “shifty expedients” takes a place as “lady help” in a Dutch bulb-grower’s family. Her aim is to get possession of a certain bulb, sell it, and so pay a home debt. Her honor prevents her. But she does steal from a Dutch chemist, by whom she is later employed, a valuable explosive and turns it over to her father’s creditor, who tried to secure it, and who is now her lover. The girl’s marriage finally crowns the meagre happenings of a restless life.

“She has given a description of ‘bourgeois’ Holland which is both vivid and true.”

“The author appeals insistently to our intelligence and sympathy, and has produced an exceptionally good novel.”

“In spite of the fancifulness of the plot and the conventionality of the hero the book is not a silly one.”

“Altogether it is such a book in its literary and artistic quality as American novelists do not seem able to write—or, if they can write such a book, which they are not able to get published. The get-up of the book deserves a word of reproof. Its proof-reading is so atrocious. errors frequently marring the sense, as to be a disgrace.”

“The ethics of a man, who is represented as ‘possessing the code of honor of a gentleman,’ seem peculiar. This is the only weak spot in the story that maintains its hold on the reader throughout. The character-painting is clever, the dialogue natural, and the humor gentle and pleasing.”

“Will do nothing to lower the high reputation which Miss Silberrad has made in the ranks of the novel-writers of to-day.”

Sill, Edward Rowland.Poetical works. $1.50. Houghton.

6–35717.

Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.

Simpson, M. W. Hilton-.Algiers and beyond. **$3.50. Appleton.

The author’s narrative covers two expeditions into remote parts of Algiers. “The first expedition extended into the Khabylie country, the mountain region close to the coast, and after that to Biskra, within the borders of the Sahara.... The second expedition was into the region called Petit Sahara, and the author was for a time the guest of the Khalifa of Roumania, Belcassem Ben Toumy by name, and a most genial and agreeable personage.” (N. Y. Times.)

“Where he allowed his own mother-wit to guide him, the author’s versions of what he saw are admirably shrewd and generally accurate. He writes as a sportsman, and his information under this head is of a useful and practical sort.”

“What one may see and do in the back country of Algeria is very agreeably set forth.”

“Likely to be helpful to the visitor to Algiers who wishes to extend his acquaintance with that most interesting country.”

Sinclair, May.Audrey Craven.†$1.50. Holt.

Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.

“The book is a competent study of ‘a small creature struggling with things too great,’ and it makes the reader uncomfortable.”

Sinclair, May.Helpmate.†$1.50. Holt.

7–25509.

While Walter and Anne Majendie are upon their honeymoon rumors reach the wife of scandal attached to her husband’s name. Anne at once enters the cloister of her own spiritual high mindedness thereby securing for herself a “sort of spiritual divorce from him, while she martyrised her body which was wedded to him.” Miss Sinclair delineates intimately the cold virtue of the wife as by degrees it drives away the half boyish, genuinely honest and wholly devoted husband who seeks consolation in a little shop girl. Only after terrible suffering does Anne realize that Walter has kept all his marriage vows except one, and she had broken all of hers, except one. Her understanding comes as a surprise, and permits the curtain to be rung down upon a happier group than seems possible from the stand point of logic.

“It is a tribute to Miss Sinclair’s skill that she has not made Anne a bore; she is interesting as well as unpleasant.”

“Whether it has a place in a large library or not, there is no excuse for the small library putting money into it, first because it has appeared serially in the ‘Atlantic’ during the year and is, therefore, accessible to those who desire it, and second, because it should be consigned to the restricted shelves for which there is no need in the small library.”

“Unusually well-constructed and interesting.”

“This novel of Miss Sinclair’s is one of more than ordinary power and with a more pressing raison d’être than have most novels, but it is almost certain that those who might draw from it a profitable idea are not the ones who will read it.” Dolores Bacon.

“We may say at once that it is not as remarkable a performance as its predecessor, but we must quickly add that it is so far above the run of novels as to afford a high degree of intellectual satisfaction.” Wm. M. Payne.

“The ‘Helpmate’ is one of the most truthful novels written in many a day and therein lies its dignity and worth.”

“Probably the most effective, the most humanly splendid story of the year comes from May Sinclair.”

“Not that the book is in any sense a sermon. It is far too artistically and honestly a novel, informed with sagacity of mind, and admirably distinguished in expression.”

“A novel which, though abounding in cleverness, must, for various reasons be held to have missed a success very nearly attained, must on the whole be regarded as a brilliant failure. I have been tempted to examine this failure—if so it be—in the light of the British convention.” Eleanor Cecil.

“‘The helpmate’ stands or falls by its fidelity to the fact. In spite of certain defects, we think it stands; and stands not only as a document but as an emotional story. We admire the book immensely; we admire its skill, its outspokenness, its reticence. Perhaps, most of all, we admire Miss Sinclair’s sympathetic understanding and tolerance, beyond that of most married novelists.”

“The book contains unforgettable scenes, persons, phrases, and such a picture of the hardness of a good woman as exists nowhere else in our literature. If there are minor errors of judgment and lapses of kindliness, there is nevertheless and always that large charity which is the outward and visible sign of the inward and spiritual thing which is Miss Sinclair’s most wonderful gift—the gift of understanding.” H. I. Brock.

“It is a good book for some women to read and a dangerous book for some men. A wider knowledge of life would have made ‘The helpmate’ a great story.”

“We flatly refuse to believe in the final development of Anne into a perfectly rational human being, but we strongly commend the novel as a powerful study of temperament.”

Sinclair, May.Tysons.$1.50. Holt.

A new edition of Miss Sinclair’s analytically keen inquiry into the relations of an ill-assorted pair.

Sinclair, Upton Beall, jr.Industrial republic: a study of the America ten years hence. **$1.20. Doubleday.

7–18298.

It is of America of ten years hence that Mr. Sinclair writes “not as a dreamer or as a child, but as a scientist and a prophet.” His theory of industrial suicide followed by resurrection has grown out of a careful study of the sociological problems of the day. He predicts that the industrial crisis will occur in 1912, following the presidential election of that year, that after that will be established an industrial republic with Utopian rule.

“It must be admitted that there is a great deal of prophecy, but little science in this latest attempt to define socialism, while the reader will be more interested in those portions of the book which deal with the present and not the future.”

“In many respects his work is comparable with Mr. H. G. Wells’s ‘A modern Utopia.’ More careless and less methodical with his data than is Mr. Wells, his analysis of social evilsis shrewder and clearer. His faults are haste and carelessness, an over-indulgence in his own intellectual caprices, a too unfaltering trust in the infallibility of his own judgment.”

“Some socialists are more emotional than others, and Mr. Sinclair is one of the more. He writes with great vigor and spirit, and makes his story very interesting. His vision is neither accurate, nor deep, nor broad, and he must be read with an elastic discount; he rakes the worst together, and makes the most of it.”

“His grotesque interpretation of history; ... his utter destitution in regard to knowledge of economics and political science; his vulgar and slanderous allusions to men and institutions that he does not like; ... his exploitation of writers and writing of the most ephemeral interest and importance; ... all these traits, in which the book abounds, deprive it and its author of any claim to the consideration of serious-minded men earnestly bent on improving the social and political conditions of the moment.”

Sinclair, Upton Beall, jr.Jungle.†$1.50. Doubleday.

6–6264.

Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.

“If it were possible to cut out the slaughterhouse and merely give the experience of the immigrant family struggling to find its level in a cruel new country, it would at once be clear that Mr. Sinclair’s work had reached a new plane of sincerity.” Mary Moss.

Reviewed by Madeleine Z. Doty.

Sinclair, Upton Beall, jr.Overman. 50c. Doubleday.

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