Chapter 46

7–11034.

A book which attempts in an elementary manner the consistent application of the all-embracing electron theory to the whole range of electro-magnetic phenomena. “A plea for the recognition of electricity as a fundamental natural quantity, and the addition of its unit, the electron, to the three fundamental units of length, mass, and time, of which all dimensional formulas are composed.” (Ath.)

“On the whole the book may be heartily commended as a well-executed attempt to grapple with a new and difficult subject.”

“Fournier d’Albe writes perfect English, agreeably and lucidly: and his book could be mastered by an intelligent boy. It would be easier to read, however, if the author would not interrupt his train of thought with paragraphs and even pages whose substance, however essential to the whole theory, forms no part of the matter he is endeavoring to communicate in the particular context.”

“A glance at the table of contents of this book is sufficient to show that it fills an acute want at the present time. In making this attempt, the author is to be congratulated both on the choice of his subject and the skill and originality he has displayed in accomplishing it. It is a relief to find that the treatment, though popular, is to the point, and little or nothing is said of these vague and vast speculations as to the ultimate constitution of matter which have unfortunately become identified with the words ‘the electronic theory.’” F. S.

“A lucid popular account of the main outlines of the electron theory as it exists at the present day.”

Fowler, Nathaniel Clark, jr.Starting in life: what each calling offers ambitious boys and young men; il. by Charles Copeland. **$1.50. Little.

Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.

“In view of the excellent purpose of the book, and of the general success with which that purpose is carried out, it may be unimportant to point out the slight defects of arrangement which we find in it.”

Fowler, William H.Steam boilers and supplementary appliances: a practical treatise on their construction, equipment and working. $5. Scientific pub.

“The book does not differ materially from others of its class, but it is largely devoted to English types of boilers which are but little known in this country.”—Engin. N.

“On the whole, the book may be considered a useful work of reference for those interested in the subject, but it will not take the place of any of the standard American works.”—William Kent.

Fowles, George Milton.Down in Porto Rico. *75c. Meth. bk.

6–13696.

Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.

“Too scanty to be of much value to a student, but accurate so far as it goes, and interesting to the ordinary reader of travel.”

Fox, John, jr.Knight of the Cumberland, il. by F. C. Yohn. †$1. Scribner.

6–37963.

Mr. Fox has created “the very model of a story” (Nation) out of ingredients a little old and a little new. His knight is a “quaint, picturesque conception, a moonshiner’s son who seems to have been born out of his class or out of his century.” (N. Y. Times.) His heroine is known as “The Blight” because “nor man nor woman nor sixteen-hand-high mule could resist her.” (Nation.) There is an unusual commingling of tournament, duel, and very American stump-speaking. “And it is this very incongruity which renders the tale fascinating.” (Acad.)

“Attractive and original tale.”

“Light, delightful little story.”

“The whole story makes glad the sense of symmetry, compact as it is of fun, manners, and motives, as they flourish in the land that we almost think of as created by Mr. Fox.”

“The story is a delight both in conception and literary execution.”

“It bears the mark of Mr. Fox’s charming talent, the fresh feeling, the naïve directness, the sympathy with everything that it touches.”

“Is but a pretty sketch that takes an hour in reading and leaves the fiction-hunger quite unappeased.” Vernon Atwood.

“The work is of the slightest possible texture.”

Francis of Assisi, St. (Giovanni Francisco Bernadone Assisi).Little flowers of the glorious Messer St. Francis and of his friars; tr. by W. Heywood; with an introd. by A. G. F. Howell. 35c. Crowell.

This translation of a succession of incidents in the great work of St. Francis and his friars is uniform with the “Handy volume classics.”

“Mr. Heywood’s rendering is far and away the best and most complete of those before the public, and he omits nothing that can make it useful or easy of reference.”

“Mr. Heywood’s translation strikes us as admirably done upon the whole, and it takes strength from the fact that he is, so far as we are aware, the first translator to keep before him and to use the Latin original of the ‘Fioretti.’”

Francis of Assisi, St. (Giovanni Francisco Bernadone Assisi).Writings of Saint Francis of Assisi, newly tr. into English, with introd. and notes by Father Paschal Robinson. *$1. Dolphin press.

6–717.

Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.

“A very useful and trustworthy version. Occasionally wanting in perspective.”

“Father Paschal’s work is a finished piece of historical criticism. He has gone to the sources, and brought to bear on their elucidation an intimate knowledge of all the later literature of the subject.”

“The English translation is almost as good as a critical edition. Both translators have a thorough knowledge of the recent literature of the subject, and where they touch on controversial points they both show modesty, good temper, and sound judgment.” A. G. L.

“Excellent translation of the writings of S. Francis, with its scholarly preface and valuable critical apparatus.”

“That St. Francis was a man of genius no one who thinks about this history of Christianity can possibly doubt; but the common estimate of his genius will not be enhanced by reading Father Paschal Robinson’s edition of his writings.”

Francke, Kuno.German ideals of today, and other essays on German Culture. **$1.50. Houghton.

7–15142.

This volume is made up of a series of essays and sketches on German culture and the higher life of the German people, which have appeared from time to time from Professor Francke’s pen, in a number of American magazines and one or two German periodicals. He admits that ‘the temper of the papers is frankly propagandist.’ They aim ‘to arouse sympathy with German views of public life, education, literature and art, and they try to set forth some German achievements in various fields of higher activity.’—R. of Rs.

“The style is easy, the spirit broad, the treatment interesting.”

“In the thought which they contain, rather than in the style of Prof. Kuno Francke, lies the chief value of these essays and lectures.”

Reviewed by G: Louis Beer.

Frank, Henry.Kingdom of love. *$1. Fenno.

7–24829.

Part 1 of this group of essays treats of love as a cosmic principle, the mother principle, the social principle, and deific principle and as the healing grace. Part 2 embraces some thirty and more essays on “Contemplations of life’s ideals.” “The human being is as comprehensive as humanity, potent as Deity, vast as the infinite, in prophecy and promise” is the note sounded thruout.

Frank, Ulrich, pseud. (Frau Ulla [Hirschfeld] Wolff).Simon Eickelkatz: The patriarch; two stories of Jewish life; tr. from the German. $1.50. Jewish pub.

7–12639.

The first of these stories is a pathetic tale of an aged Jew who had spent his life with a wife who despised him, and had seen his only son forsake his faith. The fact that this son had become a great philosopher and teacher did not dull his disappointment and he tells the story of his life as he has seen it sadly from time to time to the doctor who attends him during his last days and who gains much from him both in thought and inspiration. The second story. The patriarch, is a Jewish romance but it is also a picture of Jewish family life with its strong religious feeling and prejudices.

“The tales are well translated into clear, idiomatic English. Although lacking in incident, being rather chronicles of thought than stories of action, they will repay in more ways than one a careful reading.”

Franklin, Benjamin.Writings of Benjamin Franklin; collected and ed., with a life and introd. by Albert H: Smyth, 10v. ea. **$3. Macmillan.

Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.

“Is the leading contribution of the year to American biography. Mr. Smyth’s work as editor was dignified and suitable, while the new papers which he unearthed were of considerable number and importance.”

“The editing is exact and the text is clearly an improvement on previous editions, though the novelties are few in number.”

“Mr. Smyth has given only the outlines of a biography, making his chapters convenient pegs on which to hang material discovered since his earlier volumes were published. Some of this material is very interesting.”

Franklin, Benjamin.Franklin year book; maxims and morals from the great philosopher; comp, by Wallace Rice. **$1. McClurg.

7–33926.

A bit of Franklin wisdom for every day in the year.

Franklin, Frank George.Legislative history of naturalization in the United States from the Revolutionary war to 1861. *$1.50. Univ. of Chicago press.

6–20847.

Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.

“We regret that it does not cover completely a subject which it covers so well partially. There is no other book, however, which covers the subject at all.” Gaillard Hunt.

“Altogether the book is a very unsatisfactory treatment of the subject.” David Y. Thomas.

“The book has been written especially for the jurist and the legislator, but its clear style will also make it of interest to the ‘general’ reader.”

Fraprie, Frank Roy.Among Bavarian inns. $2. Page.

6–41527.

An account of little journeys to Bavarian highlands and to various quaint inns and hostelries in and out of the ancient towns, together with reminiscences of student and artist life in Munich. The volume is illustrated by a series of photographs of much merit well produced.

“The descriptive and historical matter will interest both past and prospective travellers.”

Fraser, Edward.Enemy at Trafalgar. *$3.50. Dutton.

7–28489.

“In the ‘Enemy at Trafalgar’, Edward Fraser has collected picturesque details of the great battle obtained from French and Spanish sources. The treatment is anecdotic, and is reinforced by a number of illustrations and portraits. One or two of the plans reproduced are of some interest for the controversy as to Nelson’s tactics, though the question is not dealt with in the text.”—Nation.

“An important contribution to the literature of the Trafalgar campaign.”

“The translations are for the most part satisfactory. We should without reserve thank Mr. Fraser for his interesting and important contribution to Trafalgar literature, were it not that he and his publishers are guilty of the sin of issuing this book—full as it is of matter bearing on recent controversy and living problems—with a most insufficient index, one scarcely deserving the name.”

“An excellent study of the battle and its circumstances from the point of view of Nelson’s gallant adversaries. It is written throughout with all the vigour of the author of ‘Famous fighters of the fleet.’”

“A book which no student of the naval history of Great Britain can afford to ignore. The portraits are not creditable, the sacrifice to economy having been too great. There is an adequate index.”

“A novel idea, and its manner of execution throws light on the last great naval combat between France and England.”

“Mr. Fraser’s account of the battle compiled from French and Spanish records will be very useful to check the numerous versions, good, bad, and indifferent, now in existence which have had to rely more or less on British sources for their information. The plates add considerably to the attraction of this fascinating and useful book.”

Fraser, John Foster.Red Russia. **$1.75. Lane.

7–29041.

Mr. Fraser has given an impressionistic picture of various phases of modern Russia. “It is the terrible story of the revolutionary terror from below in its struggle with the reactionary terror from above. There are some very striking illustrations.” (R. of Rs.)

“A convincing, vigorous description of Russia as it is today.”

“May be commended despite a slight tendency towards sensationalism.”

“It is a journalistic piece of work, and that not of the highest kind.”

“The scene is incontrovertibly, convincingly described in these hurried, disorderly memoranda. Mr. Fraser has ... travelled all over the country, and he tells what he saw, without much evident feeling, without much sympathy with anybody, but with great vigor of narration. The value of the book is not in its conclusions. Its value is in the self-certified accuracy of its picture of life and conditions in the Czar’s realm to-day.”

Reviewed by G: Louis Beer.

“Is more than a mere chronicle of bloodshed, and chapters like that descriptive of the great fair at Nijni-Novgorod are as valuable an aid to a clear understanding of the complexities of the Russian problem as those which deal with riot and massacre.”

Fraser, Mary (Crawford) (Mrs. Hugh Fraser).In the shadow of the Lord: a romance of the Washingtons. †$1.50. Holt.

6–32360.

Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.

“Mrs. Fraser has not succeeded so well with her novel of the life and times of Mary Washington as she did with her Japanese stories.”

“Is told with spirit and vivacity by a woman who has something to communicate and knows how.”

Fraser, Robert.Three men and a maid. $1.50. Clode, E. J.

7–16753.

“A country squire and his most villainous cousin, a vicar and his nephew, an innkeeper’s two handsome daughters, a scoundrelly lawyer or two, and a most excellently drawn detective furnish the personnel of the narrative, the special recommendation of which is that it is not put in the first person, and has not a visible trace of the tiresomely wise deductions and logical puzzle-reading that are the ordinary accompaniments of the detective story.”—N. Y. Times.

“Another of those ‘first books’ that turn up at pleasant intervals on the reviewer’s table and fairly amaze him with their all-around excellence of plot construction, and style, and their utter lack of any sign that would indicate a novice as their author.”

“An ingenious and absorbing and tantalizing mystery story.”

Fraser, William Alexander.Lone furrow. †$1.50. Appleton.

7–6653.

The thread of gold running through Mr. Fraser’s self-styled “homespun web” is a broken-hearted wife whose husband, a young Scotch clergyman, deserted her. “With its leisureliness, its element of mystery (in the vulgar sense), and its prevailing atmosphere of religious inquiry, it recalls some of the later stories of George Macdonald.” (Nation.)

“To put it kindly, not one of his happy efforts.” Frederick Taber Cooper.

“It is hardly more than a vigorous statement of an interesting situation followed by a prolonged and rambling commentary upon that situation.”

Frazar, M. D.Practical European guide: preparation, costs, routes and sightseeing. **$1. Turner, H. B.

7–16759.

Mr. Frazar has brought eighteen years of experience to his task of offering condensed information to the European traveler. He offers enlightenment on the following points; How to travel, Steamship lines and the voyage, The arrival in Europe, Some attractive routes, European railway fares, What to see, Guidebooks, Hotel-rates, Final suggestions.

Frazer, James George.Adonis, Attis, Osiris: studies in the history of Oriental religion. *$3.25. Macmillan.

7–15462.

“Mr. Frazer’s thesis is that the oriental religions here studied are based upon harvest rites which were intended to insure the fertility of the soil by methods of imitative magic.... Such a book as this ought to be of very great value to the student of the history of philosophy, for it was the blending of these eastern faiths with neo-platonism which formed the soil out of which Christianity arose.”—J. Philos.

“Dr. Frazer is read no less for his learning than for his style, and his latest book will not be found wanting in any of the qualities which lent charm to his former work.”

“These fascinating studies ... require ... no further recommendation from the reviewer. But there are also perpetual phases like ‘may probably be,’ ‘seem to indicate’; etc., which produce in the reader a feeling of vagueness and uncertainty.”

“The exposition displays the erudition, both literary and archaeological, that we are familiar with in Dr. Frazer’s writings; also, in spite of certain irrelevant chapters a more orderly method and relevance than he usually observes. His exposition of the great religious idea of the death and resurrection of the God is clear and sound and rests on solid evidence. Of much less value are the sociological hypotheses that he associates with the religious facts. Here the weakness of his work and method is most manifest. In spite of certain defects and hasty assumptions this book well deserves success and a grateful recognition.” Lewis R. Farnell.

“As compared with the first series of studies destined to be incorporated in the new edition of the ‘Golden bough,’ the ‘Lectures on the early history of the kingship,’ published last winter, the argument in the present volume is conducted with more reserve, and the conclusions are advanced with more caution. Mr. Frazer writes with rare literary skill.” Wendell T. Bush.

“We would suggest that, when the matter of this book comes to be incorporated in ‘The golden bough’, Dr. Frazer should make somewhat clearer what he conceives to be the relations of ‘the god of Ibreez’, Sandan, and the Baal of Tarsus respectively.”

“Whether we agree with his conclusions or not, the work is an important contribution to the study of ancient oriental religions and will have to be reckoned with in all future researches into the subject. The French lucidity of treatment, the full and excellent index, and the attractive style, make it singularly easy to read and understand. And the mass of material collected and co-ordinated in it will be a mine for other investigators to quarry. In some passages, more especially in the descriptions of scenery, the language rises to an oratorical height rarely met with in scientific books.”

Free, Richard.On the wall. †$1.50. Lane.

Stories of London’s East End told by a young vicar. “The reader who makes acquaintance with the life-tragedy of Granley, artisan, atheist, poet, bravely enduring domestic martyrdom and saving his wife’s good name, will not go away disappointed.” (Sat. R.) “Occasional hits at superficial and arm’s-length charity will be appreciated by people who have been annoyed by such efforts.” (Outlook.)

“Americans will find ‘On the wall’ most amusing. The stories offer entertainment of a very whole-hearted admirable sort.”

“There is no affectation about these short stories, and there is much strength and also insight into the humanity common to us all.”

“These sketches ... are oddly unequal.”

Freeman, Mary E. Wilkins.By the light of the soul.†$1.50. Harper.

7–5069.

In some strange byways of life is the fragile heroine of Mrs. Freeman’s story led. Motherless at an early age, she is soon to become a temperamental prey to a cold, dispassionate self-loving step-mother. A most illogical occurrence in the form of an untimely marriage upsets whatever of repose her young years were fostering. The only leavening influences in her bare life are the pathetic devotion of a loyal, tho weak, father and the child love of the little half-sister, Evelyn.

“A study in self-sacrifice, containing unusually strong and delicate delineation of New England character, and next-to-impossible situations.”

“Viewed from an artistic as well as human point of view, Maria’s story is sadder than it should be, and leaves the reader with a sense of dissatisfaction which detracts not a little from his pleasure.”

“It seems to me to exemplify all that the temperamental novel should not be.” Harry James Smith.

“In some years of novel-reading I cannot recall a more complete disappointment than this book has given me.” Edward Clark Marsh.

“The story has no real ending. As to the people involved in this drama, it is plain that Mrs. Freeman herself has not reached a clear conception of either their personal appearance or their character. The representation of Maria’s character is of a piece with the other vaguenesses and self-contradictions.” Herbert W. Horwill.

“The theme required a bigger philosophy of life than Mrs. Freeman could bring to bear upon the subject, and the end is lamentably unconvincing and unsatisfactory.”

“She has perhaps sounded deeper levels of the human heart than hitherto.”

“We recommend the novel very cordially as a piece of delicate and understanding work and also as an interesting story; but the reader must expect a monochrome and rather a hard one.”

“If the present work lacks the unity and beauty of a ‘New England nun,’ at least in it she is seeking an enlarged horizon and rather receiving fresh impressions than remaining satisfied to repeat those already used.”

“The story is told with its author’s accustomed skill. Mrs. Freeman brings some of her characters vividly before the reader with the skill in detail for which she is noted.”

“There is an effect of carefully wrought, delicate embroidery about the new novel.”

“The amount of spirituality under which the characters in English novels will fairly reel is borne lightheartedly by Mrs. Freeman’s latest heroine.” Cornelia Atwood Pratt.

Freeman, Mrs. Mary Eleanor (Wilkins) (Mrs. Charles M. Freeman).Doc Gordon.50c. Authors and newspapers assn.

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