“There is also in the book, besides its charm, a sympathetic insight into the past, born of wide and intimate knowledge, a sanity, a clearness of vision and perspective, all of which make the author a delightful companion.”
“The habitual grace of Vernon Lee’s style is present in these pages, and her unfailing vivacity makes her the most delightful of couriers and engaging of companions.”
“This is made up of just what the guide book leaves out, the personal equation, the temperamental interpretation.”
“What gives the book a permanent value is her thorough knowledge of the literature, the art, and the architecture of these countries in whose remote corners she has from time to time made her home.”
“They are not very deep, many of them are quite superficial, but they are charming, and if not full of thought themselves, may easily cause thought in those who read them.”
“The many little essays are very like ‘Vernon Lee’s’ other work, which is always pretty and delicate, and shows a capacity for arriving at the genius of places.”
“Her remarks contain much more than empty fancy and personal enjoyment; she sees, but she also thinks, and so the book is worth reading for its wisdom as well as its beauty.”
Leech, John.Pictures of life and character. $1.50. Putnam.
A collection of the cartoons of John Leech, taken mainly from Punch.
“They have historic value, no doubt, for manners and customs, for dress, etc. In some the humor of the drawing suffices; in many the legend is necessary for the smile.”
“It is pleasant to have in this book so full and satisfactory a collection of John Leech’s pictures.”
Lefevre, Edwin.Golden flood.†$1. McClure.
The story of a young chemist who outwitted both the president of New York’s largest bank and the richest man in the world by depositing assay office checks to the amount of several millions a week until the great financiers believed that he manufactured his gold in his laboratory is cleverly told. Wall street and the reader are excited until the young man has made his fortune and explained his methods.
“Mr. Lefevre’s delightful sense of humor would sufficiently commend his book, were it not also remarkable for its technical adroitness and its excellent character touches.”
“This is an exceedingly interesting story.”
“Mr. Edwin Lefevre has constructed an interesting story with a most ingeniously worked out dénouement. It is a dénouement in the very simplicity of which lies its strength.”
“That story, however, has more than its element of uniqueness to recommend it. The studies in the characters of great financiers, Gentile and Jew, are of unusual vividness and verisimilitude.”
Le Gallienne, Richard.Painted shadows.†$1.50. Little.
These are not stories, nor essays, nor a part of prosaic today; they are verily painted shadows, as clear, as fanciful, and as elusive. There is much charming verse and much poetic prose, and many truthful things which strike home to a troubled soul. “The youth of lady Contantia,” “The shadow of a rose,” “What of love? What of fame?”—they were real only so long as they ran before us, shining shapes of promise. They were real only so long as they were shadows. “Old silver,” with its exquisite song, “The woman of dreams,” “Household gods,” “Dear dead woman,” “The two ghosts”; they and the others form a book which will be dear to all who love what is good and beautiful in literature.
“Devotees of the realistic school in literature will never enjoy Mr. Le Gallienne’s work, but for those who value a story more for its fine literary quality than for its fidelity to the real conditions of life, his beauty of phrasing and delicacy of imagination hold a charm which never grows old.” Amy C. Rich.
“... In ‘Painted shadows,’ where pretty phrasing usurps the place of beautiful thought, where the mental amiability of the author’s attitude is unsupported by any vigor or nobility of utterance.”
“Le Gallienne’s style, when at its best, is one of the finest things in contemporary literature. It is distinctly at its best in ‘Painted shadows.’ Should add materially to Mr. Le Gallienne’s reputation.”
“He touches life with a delicate brush. His plots are not strong, or very purposeful; but they have the true aroma of my lady’s boudoir. He does not hesitate to use the impossible fancies of mediaeval romance to bring his stories to a desired consummation.” J. R. Ormond.
Le Gallienne, Richard.Romances of old France.**$1.50. Baker.
Daintily bound, with marginal drawings the floral designs of which, in pale green ink, wander across its pages, this small volume contains the old stories of King Florus and the fair Jehane; Amis and Amile; The tale of King Coustans the emperor; Blonde of Oxford and Jehan of Dammartin; Aucassin and Nicolete; and The history of over sea, all retold in the author’s own delicate fashion with little digressions and comments.
*“Mr. Le Gallienne’s style is graceful, piquant, and spirited, without being archaic; and he tells as much of the stories as most readers will care to hear.”
*“He is near enough to his readers in lack of deep learning and near enough to his subjects in romantic feeling to give his work an undoubted interpretative value.”
Le Gallienne, Richard,tr. SeeHafiz.Odes from the Divan of.
Legg, Leopold George Wickham, ed. Select documents illustrative of the history of the French revolution and the constituent assembly. 2v.*$4. Oxford.
The editor’s aim is “to tell the story of the Revolution ‘almost in the words of the Frenchmen of the time.’ For this purpose he has made his selections chiefly from ... such journals as the political part of the Mercure de France, edited by Mallet du Pan, Mirabeau’s Courrier de Provence, and Brissot’s Patriote français.... Occasionally the texts of laws vital to the comprehension of the period are inserted in the body of the work, while others fill about one hundred pages of the appendix.” (Dial.)
“Along with numerous capital features there are some grave defects. The finding apparatus is not what it should be. The dogmatic manner and the partisan spirit which mark these comments are particularly out of place in a work which will probably find its chief use among university students.” Frank Maloy Anderson.
“Mr. Legg’s selections are made with excellent judgment, and are all interesting.”
“Two volumes of extracts that are well worth the editorial care he has lavished upon them.”
“Mr. Legg’s book is admirably edited, it supplies not only a charming refreshment but a valuable and even an indispensable assistance to the serious student of the French revolution.”
Legge, Arthur E. J.Ford, The.†$1.50. Lane.
“The ford in question connects the lands of an old-fashioned peer with those of a new soap-boiler, and its use gives cause for a feud between the houses. On this basis it is clear that a love affair between the millionaire’s son and the peer’s daughter is, as the doctors say, indicated. But the peer’s middle-aged cousin and heir, Paul Gleddayne, unwittingly introduces complication. He had loved the soap-boiler’s wife, and Mr. Legge very frankly tells us that Ralph Harrold, thejeunepremier, might have been Paul Gleddayne’s son, though he happens not to be. Paul at any rate is very fond of him for his dead mother’s sake, and is distressed to find himself in the young man’s way alike in politics and love.”—Sat. R.
“The cynical indifference with which he depicts the lax morality of his men and women detracts much from an otherwise admirable piece of work.”
“It displays close observation and an unusual knowledge of life, and tells its story in excellent style, terse and graceful. The characters are drawn with vigor, and altogether the book is quite out of the ordinary in both its plot and its workmanship. While it is interesting, however, it fails to compel interest.”
“There is a pervasive air of marital infidelity about the book which should make it popular. Mr. Legge labours his points unnecessarily, and might with advantage refrain from working up to very obvious epigrams.”
“His novel is only incidentally melodramatic, and primarily appeals to the reader as a study in character, not as a sensational romance. A book which is characterized more by charm than by strength.”
Lent, Edward Burcham.Being done good.*$1.25. Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
A sufferer from rheumatism gives his experience with physicians of various schools in their attempts to cure him. “Blisters and red-hot cautery” is followed by disquisitions upon Turkish and electric baths, patent medicines, liver cures, hot-water treatment, and osteopathy. The humor is so genial it will not offend even those who are ridiculed.
“Here we have a satire, a humorous, but none the less biting satire, upon the medical science of today and those who apply its principles.”
“In genuine humorous style.”
Leonard, Mary Finley.Story of the big front door.75c. Crowell.
This volume of the “Twentieth century juveniles” tells of the doings of the Hazeltine children who lived behind the big front door, of Ikey Ford, and other boys and girls, of their aunts, uncles, and neighbors, their plays and their clubs. The children are good children who openly repent of their pranks, and the gentle strain of moralizing which runs thru the book fits it for Sunday school use.
*Leonard, William Samuel.Machine-shop tools and methods. $4. Wiley.
A third revised and enlarged edition of a book which represents Mr. Leonard’s “lectures onshop practice and machine design, given to the students in the Michigan agricultural college. The text is concise, comprehensive, and clear.... The description of the machines and tools is good and covers the principal details without useless words. The names of the machine parts, tools and fixtures are those used in general shop practice.”—Engin. N.
*“The book as a whole is undoubtedly the best one on machine shop practice that has yet appeared.” William W. Bird.
Le Poer, John Patrick.Modern legionary. $1.50. Dutton.
A story uniform with Roger Patrick’s “Frontiersman.” “The tale is told by the hero, an Irish boy of sixteen, who joins the French foreign legion and is sent to Algeria. He describes the life of the ‘legionary’ among Chinese, Berbers, and other semi-savage tribes; and recounts several adventures.” (N. Y. Times).
“The chief characters are drawn boldly and effectively, and the scenes are described with a certain raciness which makes the story worth reading.”
“It is not easy to dismiss the idea that a vast deal of fancy is intermingled with the fact, so extraordinary are the adventures accredited to the narrator. Book leaves an unpleasant taste. But with all its cynicism and unquestionable offenses against the canons of good taste, it is not without value as a protest against the evils of militarism and war, a forcefully worded indictment reciting the evils attendant upon armed strife.”
*Le Queux, William.Czar’s spy; the mystery of a silent love.50c. Smart set.
A young Englishman, the hero of this story, becomes involved in a series of strange happenings which occur in Italy, England, Scotland, Finland, and Russia, and include ghastly murders, robberies and plots. The maneuvers of a mysterious yacht owned by a band of international criminals, the dark deeds of the strangler, governor of Finland, and the sufferings of the beautiful young heroine whose enemies have rendered her deaf and dumb because she knows their guilty secret, form but a part of the thrilling and complicated plot.
*“It is a story that sets out to harrow your feelings and keep them harrowed till the end, which is as happy as possible.”
*Le Roy, James A.Philippine life in town and country.**$1.20. Putnam.
“Mr. Le Roy’s aim has been rather to set forth the social constituents of the population than to describe in minute detail the customs and manners of the people. He regards all Filipinos ... as the crude recipients of the blessings or curses of the American system. In this light he studies their religion, their tribal life, their family organization, and their social status. On questions which are still undetermined and uncertain he refrains from pronouncing judgment.”—Pub. Opin.
*“Mr. Le Roy’s writing is always fair-minded and non-partisan in attitude. Is both instructive and readable.”
*“Everything considered, it is one of the best studies of the essential character of the Filipinos which has yet appeared.”
Le Strange, Guy.Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, Mesopotamia, Persia and Central Asia, from the Moslem conquest to the time of Timur.*$4. Macmillan.
“Mr. Le Strange’s book is nominally a geography, but it is more than that—it is a fairly close description of Western Central Asia during the time of its greatest prosperity, with especial reference, of course to the geography of the country.”—N. Y. Times.
“We cannot express our gratitude to him better than by hoping that he will resume his laborious task and publish another volume as well indexed and as admirably provided with maps as that which he has already given us.”
“Of course such a book cannot be very readable, but its value for the students of mediaeval Hither Asia cannot be exaggerated, and even for the student of civilization in the broad it will be full of suggestion.”
“The book is extremely suggestive and provocative of thought; it tells such tales as it has to tell in an interesting way, and throws a strong side light on the civilization of the Arab ‘misbelievers’ at the time when Christian Europe was groveling in outer darkness.”
“Mr. Le Strange has earned the gratitude of students for the valuable work which he has done in the field, comparatively unexplored, of Arabian geography.”
Lethaby, William Richard.Mediaeval art from the peace of the church to the eve of the Renaissance, 312-1250.*$2. imp. Scribner.
“The book is divided into twelve chapters, of which the first deals with the age of Constantine.... Four chapters following this treat of the Romanesque and Byzantine.... Then comes chapter VI., which deals with the peculiar characteristics of the later Middle ages.... This chapter introduces the treatment of Gothic art, which fills the second half of the volume. The discussion of it stops with the fourteenth century. There are 66 full-page, half-tone prints and 125 text cuts.”—Nation.
“But while Mr. Lethaby has assimilated the important results of foreign research, he is thoroughly independent in his judgments.”
“The treatment is so cursory that the reader often finds little more than a list of monuments. Mr. Lethaby’s book as a whole shows no new grasp of the subject, no general principle or underlying philosophy whereby to coördinate many artistic movements.” George Breed Zug.
“In Mr. Lethaby’s book we have an admirable summary of the two chief styles of medieval art—the eastward culmination, or Byzantine school, and the western, or Gothic.”
“Two apparent characteristics of Mr. Lethaby are a laudable willingness to take pains, and a marked readiness to adopt positive opinions—to reach final conclusions and avow them.”
“His book is crowded with illustrations, yet there is not one too many.”
“It has one rather serious defect in the lack of clear bibliographical definitions of at least of all the more important books and sources referred to.”
“In this book, besides the lucid descriptions of the technical parts of the Gothic architect’s work, there are passages of rare insight into the spirit of mediaeval builders.”
Levasseur, Pierre Emile.Elements of political economy; tr. by Theodore Marburg.*$1.75. Macmillan.
Following practically the four-fold division of this subject, viz., production, distribution, exchange and consumption, M. Levasseur’s work is “characterized by clearness and originality of presentation, forcefulness of treatment, and conservatism of viewpoint.” (Outlook.) The work is inadequate on the subjects of the great industrial and economic questions of the day, monopolistic production, unionism and strikes, etc. There are no indexes and no lists of references.
“It is short, succinct, interesting. It may well be used to supplement other books. The translators’ work is well done.”
“Lack of logical treatment renders M. Levasseur’s book almost incomprehensible to the beginner, for whom it is evidently intended.”
“Levasseur’s ‘Elements’ is fluent, commonplace, eclectic.”
“On the whole the work is disappointing. It is decidedly inferior to several good textbooks which already exist in English.”
“The merits of the original are somewhat dimmed in the present version, wherein the phraseology is at times so awkward as to leave the author’s meaning seriously in doubt.”
“This work is regarded as valuable chiefly for its sound and well-balanced statements of economic truths, and for its clear discrimination in dealing with new theories.”
Levetus, A. S.Imperial Vienna.*$5. Lane.
An account of the history, tradition and arts of Vienna, according to the sub-title. “The volume ... is both more and less than its subtitle implies. There is a good deal of ‘history’ (141 pages out of the 416), an indefinite amount of ‘tradition,’ and a very little (ten pages) about ‘art, including sculpture and painting under Franz Josef’; but there is, in addition, something about literature, the theatre, dancing, court festivities, society, education, and the life of the common people. And, of course, the guide-book element is all there—description of streets, squares, buildings, monuments, churches, palaces, &c. The whole is enlivened by more than 150 well-selected, and for the most part, very clever illustrations from sketches in charcoal, pencil, and pen and ink.” (Nation).
“An admirable literary and artistic memorial of one of the most interesting of European capitals.”
“Unfortunately the numerous illustrations by Erwin Puchinger are scarcely equal to the text they supplement; they lack character and atmosphere, and are devoid of the feeling for their subject which is so distinctive a charm of the work of Miss Levetus.”
“Has consulted good, though not many, sources, and is not sensational in the treatment of hertopics. At its best utterly devoid of literary grace, it contains many sentences of almost incredible crudity, and some which make one wonder how they could have escaped the eye of the most careless proof-reader.”
Lewis, Alfred Henry (Dan Quin, pseud.).Sunset trail.†$1.50. Barnes.
Cattle days, and Dodge City, the crown of the Texas cattle region, furnish the time and place for this breezy story. Bat Masterson, who is a real person, is the hero, and as sheriff has many adventures and shows much courage, finally winning the love of a Boston girl by killing seven Indians before her eyes.
*“The book is not compelling in interest.”
“Mr. Lewis’s keen wit and almost hypertrophied sense of the ridiculous makes the volume intensely interesting to those who have any well developed humor of their own.”
“Except for Mr. Lewis’s ‘manner,’ they are much like other Western tales.”
“These stories have less fun and more gore than Mr. Lewis’s well-known ‘Wolfville days.’”
“Interesting adventures they are—full of roughness and readiness and gun play.”
“The story is packed with adventure, and there is so steady a flow of quiet, often grim humor in it that the reader forgets that for once he is not getting his customary scenes of sentiment.”
Libbey, William, and Hoskins, Franklin E.Jordan valley and Petra.**$6. Putnam.
Two volumes containing more than 150 halftones of photographs, record the interesting and instructive features of a journey from Baerut to Jerusalem, covering forty-one days. The first volume gives minute descriptions of the make-up of a caravan, methods of dealing with the natives, the itinerary of the journey, statements as to the history of the places visited, etc. The second volume is devoted to a description of Petra, where for five days the party camped in the heart of the city.
*“Many interesting, unique, and valuable features.” H. E. Coblentz.
“Apart from this unimportant drawback of mixing pulpit and physical geography, however, the book is excellent, and gives a good description of the present condition of the country through which the Israelites passed before they entered the Promised land.”
“Apart from its scientific and antiquarian interest, their narrative is enlivened with incident, adventure, and humor.”
Lillibridge, William Otis.Ben Blair: the story of a plainsman.†$1.50. McClurg.
The author takes Ben Blair, of worse than unknown parentage, starts him along that well trodden road in fiction—Western ranch life, then makes of him a real hero, true to his ideals, a supporter of law and order, a staunch friend, a dauntless lover, and he places this Dakota plowman in triumphant contrast to a New York clubman. While the situations are not new in type, they are certainly new in treatment and strongly handled, and one regrets that the book did not appear sooner, before the constant march of Western writers had won its ground away.
Lilly, William Samuel.Studies in religion and literature.*$3.25. Herder.
“A collection of nine essays.... Some of the subjects treated are: ‘What was Shakespeare’s religion?’; ‘A French Shakespeare (Balzac)’; ‘A nineteenth century Savonarola (Lamennais)’; ‘Cardinal Wiseman’s life and work’; and ‘Concerning ghost stories.’”—Cath. World.
“The ground covered is extensive, and the skill and versatility displayed are of the unusual order that we expect from Mr. Lilly. But whatever the topic, or whatever the attitude toward it, Mr. Lilly’s work is always interesting and instructive reading.”
Lincoln, Joseph Crosby (Joe Lincoln, pseud.).Partners of the tide.†$1.50. Barnes.
A Cape Cod story in which “a small boy is adopted on the death of his parents by two maiden kinswomen, goes to school, and falls under the influence of the captain of a vessel in the coasting trade. After some years on board his ship ... they become the joint owners of a wrecking schooner. The interest of the story is pretty well divided between the young fellow’s love for a neighbor and schoolmate and his business success.” (Dial.)
“Without being remarkable, the book inspires a hearty liking.”
“It is in the sketches of New England character threaded upon the narrative that its chief attractiveness lies.”
“The book is rural drama of the sort that appeals to the rather old and the rather young.”
“It is all written in the best sort of sea talk, and is altogether about as good an example of a sea yarn as often gets into print.”
“Honest fun and oddity of character make the tale lively reading.”
“A salty story, full of quaint characters with quaint turns of speech.”
Lincoln and Douglas debates; ed. by Archibald Lewis Bouton.*60c. Holt.
Professor Bouton, as a teacher of argumentation has felt the lack of available material illustrative of the thrust-and-parry of actual debate and has prepared these selections to supply the deficiency, choosing them because of their value both as masterpieces of the art of debate and as historical documents. Of the seven Lincoln-Douglas debates in the senatorial campaign of 1858 in Illinois, those at Freeport, Galesburgh and Alton are printed here entire, prefaced by Lincoln’s speech of June 16 at Springfield, with which he opened the campaign, and supplemented by the famous Cooper institute address of Feb. 15, 1860. The volume is well annotated for class use.
Lindsay, Charles Harcourt. (Charles Harcourt, pseud.).Good form for men.**$1. Winston.
The prescribed code is made the authority for this “guide to conduct and dress on all occasions,” yet the suggestions are flexible enough to include frequent conditions that are outside the scope of established rules. The book is convenient in form and concise in treatment.
“This is probably the most valuable book of the character that has appeared in America.”
“What he says as a rule is to the point and unexaggerated.”
“It is written in good faith, if not in good form, and contains hints that should be helpful.”
*Liquor problem,**$1. Houghton.
“The somewhat celebrated Committee of fifty for the investigation of the liquor problem was organized in 1893, and has since that time through its sub-committees published no less than five volumes embodying the results of its labors. Of these volumes two of considerable size considered the physiological aspects, one was occupied with legislative aspects, one with economic aspects, and one with ‘substitutes for the saloon.’”—N. Y. Times.
*“For the general reader this little book is the most important treatise upon the subject. It should receive wide attention.”
*“It is unfortunate that this final volume does not make any reference to the experience of the last five years, nor to the sharp criticism made upon the work of the committee.”
*“Constitutes, as might be expected from the character of the investigating parties, about as sane a statement of the real conditions of the liquor problem as can be obtained within small compass. The value of the book seems to be chiefly in the papers contributed by Dr. Billings and President Eliot.”
Litsey, Edwin Carlile.Race of the swift.†$1.25. Little.
Seven stories of wild animals and the tragedy which follows their trail in their quest of food. The title story tells of the plucky run of a mother fox foraging for her little ones; The robber baron is the story of a feudal hawk; The ghost-coon tells of a coon which was white but not a ghost; The spoiler of the folds, follows the hunt of a gray-wolf; The fight on the tree-bridge is waged between an old raccoon and a little coon-dog; The guardian of the flock is the tragic tale of a sheep dog turned traitor; and The King of the Northern slope depicts the last fight of a great wild cat. The volume is illustrated by Charles L. Bull.
*“The stories have marked individuality, though the subjects of them ... have been treated very often before. Each tale moves rapidly and firmly, with perfect adherence to the facts of animal life, and without sentimentality.” May Estelle Cook.
“These seven tales ... are unusually interesting reading.”
Little, Archibald John.Far East.*$2. Oxford.
“A volume of that excellent geographical series, ‘The regions of the world.’ ... The book is no mere compilation, but written out of a full experience. Most of the chapters are occupied with China historically and geographically.... The description of the Yangtse valley is especially good and complete, for on this Mr. Little writes with unique knowledge. There are also interesting chapters on Mongolia and Turkestan, and a very good and full account of Tibet and the various approaches to that land.”—Spec.
“The style of the book is everywhere lucid, its thought is everywhere original and stimulating, and even dry geographical details are vivified by their connexion with human history.”
“It is the kind of book of which there has been genuine need for some time.”
“Is a capital illustration of what may be accomplished by judicious condensation. Every sentence counts, and the ultimate result is not a confusing jumble of facts and figures—as it might easily have been—but a clear-cut picture, the details of which are unmistakable.”
“We congratulate Mr. Little on having given us a most readable volume, full of information, and yet with that local colouring which is an essential for a book to command the attention of the general reading public.”
“It is an admirable summary of the geography and peoples of the Far East, interesting to read, valuable for reference, and with an abundance of excellent maps that will well repay study.” Cyrus C. Adams.
“If not technically a geographical expert, Mr. Little possesses quite enough scientific knowledge to enable him to deal intelligently with the problems at issue; while his personal knowledge of the region and people enables him to infuse into his descriptions the special interest at which the ‘Regions of the World’ series aims.”
“Is a most comprehensive and scholarly work, written by one who has a lifelong knowledge of the Far East, and is, in addition, an accomplished geographer.”
Littlefield, Walter, tr. SeeNoussanne, H. de.Kaiser as he is.
Livingston, Luther Samuel.Auction prices of books. 4v.*$40. Dodd.
“The editor of ‘American book-prices current,’ ... not satisfied with that meritorious labor, has undertaken to combine selectively his own series with the English of corresponding title, and with earlier sources antedating both. Of the four quarto volumes to result we have the first—A to Dick, ‘Auction prices of books.’ ... This is one of those enterprises concerning which the bare statement as just made is all-sufficient for the connoisseur.”—Nation.
*“Mr. Livingston has evidently not spared himself trouble to make this section complete.”
“More and more, as it nears completion, does Mr. Livingston’s work commend itself to those who have to do with books.”
*“The value of the work will increase.”
“There is nothing very remarkable in this portion.”
Lloyd, Nelson (McAllister).Mrs. Radigan: her biography, with that of Miss Pearl Veal and the memoirs of J. Madison,†$1. Scribner.
A satire upon New York social climbers in which Mrs. Radigan climbs, her beautiful sister Pearl climbs with her, and young Jones, the real estate agent, is pulled up hanging to their skirts. The titled Englishman, the complacent bishop and the cotillion leader appear in the story, which overflows with good humor.
“The book is sprightly and clever without being over-clever, and it is written by one who knows his ground.”
“The story, being satire, but satire of a kindly nature, is very bright reading.”
“A rather clever satire, varying from the obvious to some delightfully subtle thrusts at modern American society.”
Locke, William John.Morals of Marcus Ordeyne.†$1.50. Lane.
A London bachelor, contentedly engaged upon a “History of renaissance morals” whose life is filled by his valet, his cat and Judith, his clever neighbor, comes upon a beautiful oriental child strayed from a Syrian harem and takes her to his home. This girl wakens his slumbering passions, she elopes with a daredevil fellow, but in the end, chastened and developed, returns to Ordeyne.
“His style is delightful, pointed, witty and finished. But for all his admirable craftsmanship there is something wanted, and that an essential—vitality.”
“The chief distinguishing quality of the story, however, is found in the literary and artistic merit rather than in its ethical worth. Clearly it is a tale written to amuse. The author possesses a peculiarly brilliant and finished style.”
“It is clever throughout, despite the sentimentalism.”
“It is a refreshingly whimsical book.” Frederic Taber Cooper.
“The story is intensely interesting from first to last, besides being rich in the sort of literary and scholarly allusiveness that appeals most strongly to the cultivated mind.” William Morton Payne.