Chapter 56

7–526.

“This volume contains the order of services as prescribed for vespers, compline, matins, the communion, the great feasts, ordination, marriage, unction, ‘the office at the parting of the soul from the body,’ the burial of the dead, requiem offices, services for the founding and consecration of churches, thanksgivings and various special prayers. For the Scripture lessons, as translated into English, the King James’s version is used, and for the ‘Psalms and verses’ the prayer-book version of the Psalter.”—Outlook.

“Reverence can call forth such labors of devotion as this compilation.”

“This laudable volume should be of value, not only to American ecclesiastics and their congregations, but also to students of liturgies and to sojourners in the various lands where the Eastern church exists, and to all who would become better acquainted with its undeniable majesty, impressiveness, and exquisite symbolism of ritual.”

Harben, William Nathaniel.Ann Boyd.†$1.50. Harper.

6–32356.

Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.

“Marked by genuine power and real emotion.”

“Easily the strongest piece of work that Mr. Harben has thus far produced.” Wm. M. Payne.

“For the first time the author has met the demands of literary art in the construction of his book.”

Harben, William Nathaniel.Mam’ Linda.†$1.50. Harper.

7–29431.

A story with a Georgia setting which involves the negro question, politics and romance. The champion of Mam’ Linda, a faithful negro mammy, and her “no count” boy who, however, is unjustly accused of murder, is a young southern attorney. He takes up the cudgels of defense, and in so doing overcomes time-honored prejudice, fights lawlessness, and outwits lynching bands. The story is permeated with southern atmosphere.

“At last the South has produced an author who writes with strength and beauty and absolute veracity about living issues. Here is Harben with his message told with such simplicity that few will recognize its great value.”

“Mr. Harben’s novel is the most significant book that has appeared relating to the negro since Bishop Haygood wrote ‘Our brother in black.’”

“This is a simple, straightforward, and readable book.”

“The hero and heroine behave themselves in the usual situations with about as much ease as an English peasant in his Sunday clothes. But this is insignificant beside the impression which he gives us of a vigorous young population striking out with arms and legs, careless as yet of the proprieties.”

“A modern story of the south with a pretty love story and a plot involving a significant new attitude on the negro question.”

“Mr. Harben, who may have sketched a Georgia cracker or two with some faithfulness, is not on that account a novelist.”

“The romance inevitable in Southern novels is as wholesome and sweet as possible.”

“Illustrates afresh his direct and effective style and his ability to tell a love story full of purity and sweetness in a natural and delightful way.”

Harboe, Paul, pseud. (Paul Christensen).Child’s story of Hans Christian Andersen. †$1.50. Duffield.

7–29563.

The life of deprivation and penury which falls to the lot of the man renowned for fairy tales was at variance with the results of his fine imagination. The sketch follows the cobbler’s son thru the sore trials of his early life to his day of fame, which proved a sad realization inasmuch as it was bereft of the fulfilment of his one romance.

“An interesting, trustworthy account, simple and straightforward in telling. Will, perhaps, be enjoyed best by the children of an age most interested in the fairy tales if read aloud to them, for the style is adapted, rather to older children.”

“There is not much attempt at coherent construction in the little book. Anecdotes are given sometimes without much point or much connection. And the style reminds us frequently that the author is writing in a language other than the one to which he was born.” Grace Isabel Colbron.

“There is a touch of quaint stiffness in the style of the book that harmonizes with the childlike temper of the Danish romancer.”

Harcourt, Mrs. Charles.Good form for women: a guide to conduct and dress on all occasions. $1. Winston.

7–12681.

Believing that all commendable conventionalities are more or less directly traceable to some altruistic or utilitarian principle, the author presents the fundamental features of good form by combining ethics with etiquette. She aims particularly to help girls who have not had the benefit of proper home training.

Harcourt, L. W. Vernon.His grace the steward, and the trial of peers: a novel inquiry into a special branch of constitutional government. *$5. Longmans.

A two part work. “The first describes the evolution of the Lord High Steward of England up to the reign of Henry VIII., and the second treats of the gradual working out of the principle that peers shall be judged only by their peers. In both sections it is Mr. Harcourt’s delight to show the fraudulent basis of what have been honored as historic English institutions.” (Nation.)

“The interest of Mr. Vernon Harcourt’s book lies less in the main theme than in his often original and always acute interpretations of men and motives, and the side-lights he throws on many disputed points of constitutional history.”

“We have here, in short, a notable contribution to our institutional history not merely for the results attained, but also for its rigid investigation, reminding us how often close inquiry may modify accepted views. One rises however from its perusal with the feeling that, however impartially the appendices may set the evidences before us, the author has throughout a case to prove, is a counsel speaking to his brief. And that case is prejudiced rather than assisted by the use of forensic methods.” J. H. Round.

“This lengthy and erudite work ... is scarcely intended for general reading.”

“We suspect that Mr. Harcourt is not really very interested in the stewardship; he uses it only as convenient padding to his pet theory that procedure in the trial of peers is founded on a forged document; and herein he has expended a great deal of useless energy.”

“He is steeped in the political and personal history of his period, he possesses a sense of humor, and that gift of imagination without which the past is a sealed book alike to those who write and those who read. We are paying a high, but not an excessive, compliment when we say that no better piece of work of its class has been accomplished since Bishop Stubbs penned the last of his prefaces in the ‘Rolls series.’”

“If the reader grants the right of the author to choose what subject he pleases he can feel only admiration for the manner in which the study is executed.”

Harcourt, Leveson Francis.Sanitary engineering with respect to water supply and sewage disposal. *$4.50. Longmans.

7–35189.

A valuable general text-book. “In addition to a very complete discussion of the subject of water supplies in all its aspects, including sources, collection and storage, purification, distribution and statistics of water consumption, and a rather brief summary of the methods of sewage disposal, the writer takes up very fully the whole subject of sewerage, and more briefly that of garbage disposal.” (Technical Lit.)

“Important book.”

“We think we do the author no injustice in saying that throughout his book he writes like a person experienced in general civil engineering construction rather than like a sanitary engineer, at least as we in America now understand that term. Nevertheless he has epitomized a considerable part of water-works and sewage practice, including purification in each field, and seems to have produced a book remarkably free from errors and vagaries.”

“An addition of undoubted value to an engineer’s library. Its pleasing style, moreover, makes it a very readable work, while the abundant references to historical and current engineering work, its general breadth of view and full citations of original sources of information, commend it, in particular, to the student and to the engineer in general practice or specializing in other branches. The book lacks proper balance as a book on sanitary engineering.” Earle B. Phelps.

Hare, Christopher.High and puissant Marguerite of Austria, princess dowager of Spain, duchess dowager of Savoy, regent of the Netherlands. *$2.50. Scribner.

7–25681.

A full biography which incidentally makes use of the interesting events of Marguerite’s life and leadership for reflecting the royal customs of her century.

“That writer has given evidence in previous works of various excellent qualities, such as sincerity and literary charm; but she lacks grip, and shows the defect much more in thisthan in her last book. Although the author is usually accurate in her facts, a few slips will be found in her text.”

“Character-study is not Mr. Hare’s strong point. He is more skilled in the art of setting forth his story and weaving his fairly copious material. It is a book worth reading, concerning persons not too well known. And the story is clear and well outlined.”

“Mr. Hare has written a book which at the lowest appreciation is creditable. Our worst censure is directed against a style of composition.”

“Mr. Hare has drawn with minute and loving detail—for his sympathy with his subject is evident on every page—a complete picture of a very interesting character. The reader wishes heartily for more of the historical background.”

“The subject and the period of this book could not be more interesting, the treatment perhaps is a little too ambitious.”

Harnack, Adolf.Luke the physician. (Crown theological lib., no. 21.) *$1.50. Putnam.

“In Dr. Harnack’s view, Luke as a historian is inferior to Luke as a stylist; he is uncritical, and blunders for want of exact information. But the author contends that the present trend of criticism is toward the belief that between A. D. 30 and 70 the primitive Christian tradition as a whole took the essential form it has since attained.”—Outlook.

“The assertion that the language of both Gospel and Acts betrays the hand of one familiar with Greek medicine is not new, but never before has the argument received such skilful treatment.”

“Whatever be one’s opinion of the proposition on which Harnack lays chiefest stress, the value of the book as a contribution to the history of the fixing of the evangelic tradition cannot be questioned.”

Harnack, Adolf, and Herrmann, Wilhelm.Essays on the social gospel; tr. by G. M. Craik. *$1.25. Putnam.

Containing “The evangelical history of the church,” and “The moral and social significance of modern education,” by Dr. Harnack, and “The moral teachings of Jesus,” by Dr. Herrmann. “Dr. Harnack insists that the chief task of the church is still the preaching of the message of redemption and of eternal life, and insists, too, that the church has a social mission.” (Ath.)

“The essay by Herrmann will be the most welcome part of the book.” Gerald Birney Smith.

“The essay is not light reading, but the reader who takes the pains to work his way into its spirit will be rewarded.”

“These essays by distinguished German theologians throw instructive side-lights upon the social problem of the modern church.”

Harris, J. Henry.Cornish saints and sinners. †$1.50. Lane.

7–35146.

Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.

“Assuredly Mr. Harris is not witty, but his animal spirits are inexhaustible.” Harriet Waters Preston.

Harris, Miriam Coles.Tents of wickedness. †$1.50. Appleton.

7–31979.

“Types of the New York smart set are vividly portrayed in this story. The chief female figure, is a young, motherless American girl, who has been brought up in a French convent. She is a Roman Catholic, and is shocked at many of the things she sees, and has only one congenial friend among her father’s many acquaintances. This friend is the hero, from whom she is separated through misunderstandings.”—N. Y. Times.

“The book treats in an able way a theme of the utmost practical importance to-day, and we bespeak for it an encouraging and hearty welcome.”

“If this book were not marred by one or two unnecessary bits of artificial coarseness, one would be tempted to say that after skimming through a dozen linotype historical romances here at last is a novel to sit down and read.”

“This is a novel of more than ordinary length, but it is by no means wearisome, and will better repay attention than most of the stories offered in such profusion to a long-suffering public.”

Harrison, Frederic.Creed of a layman: apologia pro fide mea. **$1.75. Macmillan.

7–16987.

The author calls his book “my simple story of conversion and conviction,” an account of a “regular and calm development of thought.” He expresses a hope that the story of how spiritual rest might be achieved may “prove useful to some ‘perturbed spirit’ in our troubled times.” The exposition of his creed includes chapters upon: Day of all the dead, Septem contra fidem, A Socratic dialogue, Pantheism and cosmic emotion, Aims and ideals, A positivist prayer, The presentation of infants, Marriage, Burial, Day of humanity, and a Valedictory, Twenty one years at Newton Hall.

“Mr. Harrison begins with a somewhat narrow egotism, and his first pages are irritating, meagre, and disappointing; but the latter half of the book becomes universal in its interest, and cogent in its claims, so that these essays well repay the reflective reading which they acquire.”

“May not attract new proselytes to the gospel of humanity as expounded by Auguste Comte; but, in spite of its rather uncompromising polemic, it compels respect by its manifest sincerity and genuine fervour of conviction.”

“A sense of humour is a sense of proportion. And if Mr. Harrison had had a deeper sense of proportion he would not have taken himself quite so seriously, and he would have been saved from some of the solemn absurdities of the positivist religion.”

“We do not ... know of any book which will give to the curious and interested reader so good an interpretation of the religion of humanity as this volume of Mr. Frederic Harrison’s.”

“This indifference to facts is characteristic of the whole book; it marks both Mr. Harrison’s criticism of Christianity and defence of his own creed. When we turn from Mr. Harrison’s criticism to this construction, we are still in the same abstract region. Facts are still held of no account.”

“It may be safely predicted that this book will take a permanent and conspicuous place among the too few similar works of distinguished men and women.” Arthur Ransom.

Harrison, Frederic.Memories and thoughts: men—books—cities—art. **$2. Macmillan.

6–35547.

“This volume is a collection of articles which appeared during the past twenty-four years in various American and English periodicals of the better class. By the author the book is described as ‘a chapter from certain Memoirs that [he] intends to retain in manuscript penes se.’ The articles are occasional in origin, and in character they are miscellaneous, varying in topic from discussions of card-playing and tobacco to appreciations of Tennyson and Renan on the occasion of their deaths.”—Am. Hist. R.

“At one time Mr. Harrison goes to the bottom of his subject, at another he merely touches its surface. Still these ‘Memories and thoughts,’ if approached with an open mind, will be found to reflect seriousness of purpose and insight into life. They frequently provoke dissent, they never forfeit respect.”

“It is the fine tone, the genial atmosphere, the rich suggestiveness, of Mr. Harrison’s writings that attract the reader and win him over to the cause of good literature.”

“But the papers are not all of equal value and interest. He presents them ‘as permanent impressions left on his mind by a somewhat wide experience.’ Some of these permanent impressions will appear to many readers to be not much more than rather violent and persistent prejudices.”

“The personal note is dominant throughout Mr. Harrison’s book, which leaves us with a sense of friendly and close acquaintance with a writer in whom seriousness of purpose, firm convictions, broad culture, and generous sympathies combine with the thinker’s love of truth, the artist’s love of beauty, and a keen zest for the joys of living.” Horatio S. Krans.

“If they are not marked by the quality which we call ‘artistic’ or ‘literary’ they at least express a freshness and alertness by no means common in men of letters who have passed their prime of years.” H. W. Boynton.

“About the bulk of [these papers] the most we can say is that unless one has an exaggerated opinion of the significance of Mr. Harrison’s personality, their interest expired with their occasion.”

“The American paper is particularly well worth studying. So much, doubtless, may be said of the whole of the volume, one or two minor articles possibly excepted.”

*Harrison, Frederic.Philosophy of common sense. **$1.75. Macmillan.

7–36260.

A companion to “The creed of a layman.” “It is designed to form a summary of the philosophical grounds on which the preceding work was based; and it carries on the autobiographical account of the stages by which the author reached those conclusions.”

“He has been well advised to gather these trophies of his skill for a newer generation, which ought to find them of interest.”

Harrison, Mary S. K. (Lucas Malet, pseud.).Far horizon.†$1.50. Dodd.

7–983.

“Mrs. Harrison’s first work in five years. It deals with the acts and opinions of a foreign-born man, who, after many years of hard work, becomes suddenly possessed of a moderate fortune and leisure. The time covered is from 1899 to 1901. Matters of modern finance, manners, and morals, theatrical and religious, are touched upon.”—N. Y. Times.

“The merits of the book are more obvious than its defects.”

“There is little humour in the book, no lovemaking, and the hero is a man of between fifty and sixty, and yet from what might be called unpromising material the author has given us a story of never-flagging interest, rich in thought and feeling.” Mary K. Ford.

“The book is a vivid, masterful, human document, fulfilling the strictest demands of great art. We need but add that any one who does not read it, and read it thoughtfully, will suffer a distinct loss. ‘The far horizon’ is worthy to take its place among the great English novels.”

“May be reckoned among the more considerable fictional productions of the season.” Wm. M. Payne.

“A story so well told; so finely finished, with such real people of the British middle-class sort moving thru its pages, that the critical faculty is disarmed from the first, and one yields to the charm of unique art.”

“Of Charles Kingsley’s purely literary talents and graces of style his daughter, the author, evinces hardly a trace.”

“A clever and an interesting book. But it would be more than that if the main story were only as good as its setting.”

“It does not strike one as a book which had to be written, or will have to be read. But it possesses the treasure of a really original and affecting central motive.”

“It is readable in no ordinary way. One does not hurry through its pages intent only on the story, but it both invites and repays leisurely attention. One reads, also, with no very distinct sense of the author’s style, which is unobtrusive and free from vagaries.”

“‘The far horizon’—with its very obvious faults—has one great virtue: creative spontaneity; and that is so precious, in the mass of perfunctory work, that criticism must be delicate.” M. B. M.

“A certain subjectiveness of style distinguishes it, a sort of reminiscent touch, which by some conjuror’s trick becomes the most objectivething in the world, and as a result the characters actually live and move and have a very real existence.” Madison Cawein.

“It is more than a little puzzling that a writer of Lucas Malet’s experience and skill should have produced a novel bearing so many dreary resemblances to a ‘first book.’” Olivia Howard Dunbar.

“One notes first that it has the negative merit of being entirely devoid of any passages of questionable taste. Affirmatively speaking, its highest merit is in the distinction and quiet nobility of its chief figure, Dominic Iglesias.”

“It seems incongruous, almost unseemly, as coming from the pen of one born a Kingsley.” Cornelia Atwood Pratt.

“Is the dreariest and dismallest novel we have ever read. Its tragedy does not make us weep; its comedy does not make us laugh: it bores us acutely.”

“‘The far horizon,’ while fully as clever as ‘Sir Richard Calmady,’ is free from the ugly blemishes which disfigured that brilliant but conspicuously uncomfortable novel. The theme and its treatment are higher and finer, there is less reliance on violence or sensationalism, and the narrative has ‘shining moments’ which transcend the capacities of ordinary talent. On the other hand it cannot honestly be contended that this is a pleasing or a satisfying book.”

Harrison, Newton.Practical alternating currents and power transmission. $2.50. Hedenberg.

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