The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 27, 1900, Page 4

world g to ing to talk Incident ** the poems rma Mr BSwift bizarre, d most for- of regret looking at The world the pres- who look nell does. hero was ot it s diffi- astes to be- is a man is physical is is 10 k le fr ling to desire ot intellectual or esthetic. o Dartnell's belief that impres- regone follows w el ! that tudy m yiel s and that the phy a beloved person are to be something inhere evil. il marries 2 beautiful girl with or- ¢ ries concerning the universe, it impessible to understand the ¢ her husband. Instead of i ith gratitude at having a nd with s of o much soul she is stmply ed when she is brought to a home light of day has been ex- n which the cluded as something vulgar, and where her plano is locked and she is forbidden reise her beautiful voice upon the her husband objects to the s of sound. Unhappily, Dartnell v human after all, and the con- resence of his beautiful wife makes > false to bis ideals that be indulged terms a “‘vojuptuous best ts he is »and. Wh e and Lord his peace wife free rein that he y ng to forgive—for what rea- le plain, When his wife's omised Dartnell aws Into pri- cte work on a book which t for Mr. Swift to describe In us way: he physical n vho had what 1t just story rom the the sway of eft with the state is much ibli H ‘Thz Man From Mars.’ « al ro ces our language and to spare. Every age has uy with one or more of the < when More wrote “[topia e. w new s of it may heir Among Hitous eve ilderness he afternoon with the O tne surrounaings, < and make his home there. He s the liberal laws of my country I have become pos- ed of this attractive and thu: r T have chosen to rets t in its nat- ural state. I came here a ung man. 1 am now old. Thirty-five ye of my life have been spent on this elevation, with a self-banishment from socleiy and without in. the least abating my interest in human affairs. My communication with the world is mostly through books. A weekly newspaper or two and such other publi- cations o= I may order are left for me in a hollow tree several miles by the district messeng nd thus no important event or new discovery in the world es- aw apes m Here is a of philogopher, and he has written range book. He tells us that his chief study is astronomy and his book Is dedicated to James Lick. His conclusion is that most of the evils of civilized men are due to superstition and the churches. The Man from Mars says: “The earth is your dominion. Tread firmiy upon it. Remember it has been put into your keeping and that your people are entirely responsible for its social condi- tion. He who assi to improve that serves the Deity better than he who spends his life in zenuflections and pray- ers.”” In another piace he : “There is perhaps no spectacle upon earth that in- spires more pity among the inhabitants of Mars than the constant waste of your best parts in submitting yourselves to the impositions of your seers. who lead vou away from your duties under the theory that the earth is merely a battleground and field of conquest for the perpetuation of their doctrines, all else upon it being blank vanities." 4 The book is well written and, despite the author's hostility to everything in the way of theology as taught by Roman or Protestant, contains much which can be read with interest by persons who delight in speculations of the kind. (Published by E. D. Beattie, 8an Francisco; §1 in boards, 50 cents in paper.) “The Toiling of Felix." In the winter of 1897 a party of English explorers discovered a fragment of a papyrus book written in the second or third céntury and hitherto unknown. This leat contained parts of seven short sen- tences of Christ, each introduced by the words, “Jesus says.” Henry Van Dyke has taken the fifth sentence, *'Ralse the stone and thou shalt find me; cleave the wood, and there am I,” and upon it built sort G.L. ","_Th':' . “The Toiling of Felix.” Tt came out first in a periodical. and is now col- lected with several shorter selections in book form. Seven small songs are espe- active and complete a litile book within it a collection of at- Charles “Was Savonaroa Really Excom- municated.” avon: la Really communi- * is the title of a historlcal skeich cated by Rev. J. L. O'Netl, 0. P., a local Do- minican, who made a profound study of his subject and nresents this as the first of a series of three works. The sec- ond voiu which wiil shortiy follow, will be in anzwer to the question, Was Savonarola a ¥’rophet? In the present work the author first the full text of the many facts, riefs and letters in the case and then himseli to a careful considera- the same, making scholarly and icing deductions from the proofs as writers assert that famous ape was written after Savonarola had of excommunication, from apparently well ed sources. proves to the con- ition that after this the - safe rt Rome for ht answer the tunately, be- tween tl »r and the Signory of Flore request was not complied with, despite the great efforts of the priest’s friend The au that the sen- tence of ¢ d net have been In by the fact tha orce, or, peing §0. was ser aside arola was permit- ted to celebrate immediately prior to his execution. Savonarola was a thorn in the sides of the licentious nobles of his day. and it was through their influen and palitical intriguing that the wrath the church was brought upon his hea Had he succeeded in reaching Rome and be allowed to plead his own cause he would most undoubted ve been tri- umphant. Nevertheless, after readins her O'Nefl's book the reader must feel that in epite of the influence brought cainst Savonarola and the brief filed against him, still he was not excommuni- cated. (Published by Marlier, Callanan & Co.. Boston.) m Some Selections From Philose- phers There has been published by the Her- bert 8. Stone Company a little book en- titled “Answers of the Ages.” It Is a compilation of selections from different authors, classlie for the most part, ar- ranged under separate heads. and reply- ing to questions which have vexed hu- manity from the dawn of intelligence. The first question. “What Is God?" will gerve as a type of them all. At the end of the book are added a few hymns and prayers. the best which have grown out of the different religlous systems. The book Is attractively printed and will prove entertaining to any one Interested in the different theories concerning man and his place in the universe. (‘‘Answers of the Ages,” by I. K. L. and L. C. W. Herbert S. Stone Company, New York. Price 75 cents.) “The Minx.” . The title of Mrs. Mannington Caffyn's novel, “The Minx," is misleading, as the herofne is not that type of woman which the word describes. The minx, Joyce Anstiss, belongs to that division of the class of new woman who take so serlous- ly their mission to right the wrongs of the world that in their theories and prac- tice of life the existence of sentiment is left out of account. Miss Anstiss is a very pretty girl who has been taught to forego the frivolities of life and to fill her thoughts with schemes for the better- ment of the working classes. All the ardor of her enthusiastic temperament {s expended upon furthering the progressive movements in the factory town in which she lives. When she goes to visit her aunt she is given for the first time a chance to lead the ordinary life of young zirls. She is wooed by two men. of whom ! TEALHER , MI2) SVLLIVAN one, a brilllant sclentist, appeais to her intellectual sympathies. while the other. who is a_happy, ordinary fellow. touches her sensibilities. T terest of the story ltes in the struggie of Joyce to determ for which man she cares the mo result which follows Is cne which usually attends a confict waged in a woman's soul betwecn the demands of the Intellect and the affections. Apart from the heroine there are two charming women in the book. who share with her the interest of the reader. The different characters are at times given to the utteranee of sententious sayings too edifying to be altogether pleasing in a light navel. Still, on the whole, the story is a eable one. (Published by Frederic s Company, Ne Price §1 “The Rebzl.” In ““The Rebel” H. B. Marriot Watson, The Princess Xenia.” has nd personages the author of written a story of e nts terested in the gue ich ater give rise to Monmo rebellion. the Eari who P stormy aging in plots against t Duke of York. At first by a love of libert i content against conditions which his family was conspicuous. Late the Duke of Yor an impetus to Cherwell's inachin ns against him and is personal ranecor to impersonal oppo- sition by trying to win the affections of the woman whom Cherwell has made his wife. he romance esting cither as inter- Mr. is not partic fiction. HELEN A. KELLER AND HER Watson h; for his scenes, chosen a romantic time »r has he cared to deplet not that time in its most agreeable light. The hero is much like an ordinary malcontent nd apart from engaging in the rescue of distressed damsel dees little to win the sympathy of the rcader. (Published by Harper & Brothers, New York. Prico $150) “Percy, or the Four Inseparables. “Perey ) & d the Four ve bee or The gt & Inseparables,” by better had Percy ree inseparables each a for one book ot iume to totally inadequate for s much material. It seems to the work an amateur, whose 1i has been weil stocked with paper-heund wels of a brilliant Never did Arethusa lead Alpheus such a chase as does the beautiful her bandit hu Her, m to this her ¢ from him and subseque aptures 1 plot which if not artistic is ce ied. Put one who Is not able to b cters with the rapidity of a deer would better stop at the fi chap- ter. Indeed, most readers will be content before that For one who cares for a highly sensa- tional book, “Percy, or The Four Insep- arables,” will be delightful reading. For those who welcome a book as a friend, such an acquaintance will be most un- congenial. The classic English emploved shown in the following extract; “She knew how to find that secret way, and fearlessly led my friends, risking her own safety to save Recco and I Such is the construction of a book that one cannot honestly commend. (Pub- lished The Whitaker & Ray Company, San Francisco. Price $1.) “As Talked in the Sanctum.” Hon.-Rounsevelle Wildman, familiar to all Americans as the active and efiiclent Consul of the United States at Hongkong, was a few years ago editor of a promi- nent and successful monthly magazine on the Pacific Coast. Out of the collected threads of talk in his editorial sanctum he has woven a mosalc of conversation which he now presents in a charming and attractive little volume, to which he gives the title “As Talked in the Sanctum.” There were many topics discussed behind that sanctum door as the editor and his friends—the Contributer, the Poet, the Parson, the Reader and the Office RBoy— met day by day to give their opinion on men and things, and upon the doings of the world as they appeared to the “'Sen- ate” of the sanctum. It Is a book that will be found amusing, suggestive, philo- sophic and delightfully real. Politics, lit- erature, manners, personalities and theo- ries all furnish food for debate in this friendship of the sanctum, which the of- fice boy invariably broke i with his impelling demand for “‘proof!” “‘As Talked in the Sanctum” possesses at once a pro- fessional flavor and a perpctual charm. It is a book of the school of “Back Loz in it is Studies™ Introduced Into the hurry of pro- fesslonal life at the busy close of the cen- tur nd the mingling of reflection and h is peculiarly American and therefore active. (Lothrop Publishing Company, ston. Price $1) “About My Father's Business.’ Mr. Miles, in his book entitled “‘About My Father's Busipess” describes the church as the *“Father's business.” in which there are employed many kinds wmnd conditions of men to carry out the work. He has been for nearly ten years en- gaged in collecting data. during which time he has visited many different denom- inations xtensive trave a has made personal observation to their reasons for failing to reach the masses; embodying his experiences and recep- tior the form of an interesting story, choosing lving characters to represent the different conditions of church life and the evile exis the part of to the ena of pleasure. All through the rative there is car- ried on an animated controversy between the social and deserib- ing the lack of force ower in spirit- ual life by the encroachment upon it of social pleasures. hows the abuses made possibla me of Its use the cement designs a also ¥ the power and influence of s ch members who equently church as a cloak for the adv of their sclfish ambitions and and are aften made social lions, licensad to do m s they ple because of their we depicts very truthfully Aow some of the clergy thoughtlessly lav- ish time .and affection upon these plous plutcerats while the more faithful are fre- quently neglected and allowed to slip away from church influences. While the book has a religious flavor, at the same. time it advances some very strong themes of morality and philosophy and through- vein of helpful humor is hed by the Mershon Co., ice §1 50.) “The Violet Flamz." “The Viclet Flame,” which is written d Dustrated by Fred T. Jane, an Eng- lishman, is ccrrainly novel in its 1 drawings. It is a wefrd narrative, which deals with the sups aturai experiments of a little Anslo-Freneh scientist. whose laboratory is in London. He becomes in terested in the heroine, the daughter of a Chicago millionaire, who is presumab well bred, but whose dialect is more com- monly found in English novels than in a typical American home She and the hero frequently witness the experiments of the scientist, who discloses to her some of his secrets. These she puts to good use, for it Is his determination (o exterminate the entire race, but she pa tially frustrates his plans. She learns that a metallic disk that he wears is alone able to resist the power of the forces he uses in his destructive work. She and the hero secure two of these, ar.d by wearing them they pass through tlrilling experiences, witnessing little by )it le the depopulation of the universe. During one of the last experiments she pulls off the disk which the scientist has always worn and he is instantly killed. She and her lover are then left entirely alone after the last fatality, which is a violet flame that puts an end to all things. They begin life anew as a modern Adam and Eve, and, let us trust, without meet- ing with the trials of their prototypes. The book is very original, and must cer- tainly be called a success If originality, humor and startling Incidents are all that are demanded. (Laird & Lee, Chicago. Price $1.) “Domestic Blunders of Women." Here is a book which in a peculiar man- ner will greatly please ail kinds of peo- ple. Husbands and brothers who are fond of criticizing their wives and sisters will welcome this champion of their cause. ‘With satisfaction they will hand this book to their companions of the “‘weaker sex" and advise them to “read, mark and in- wardly digest” its contents. Very likely they will pick out and mark sundry para- graphs dealing with particular shortcom- ings of the women in their homes, and will say, “There, my dear, this is the very thing I have spoken of so often. You see, 1 was right after all. Please try to re- form your habits in this matter.” On the other hand, there are women al- most without number who feel thoroughly competent to meet and vanquish a 2 mere men who may dare to criticize the These women will welcome this n tack upon their strougholds. If other reason than that they will forded another chance for an ea tory. Thiy will fly to the defense an the enemy to rout--if they ca In the book. Mere Ma among other “blunders x “Women's Ignorance of the Value of Mon “The Management of Se “The Mistakes of ‘the Missus.' Management of Children. “M Kitchen Utensils.” “The “The Purchase of a Chop.” “The of Food,” “Feeding of Child of Flowers and Bric-a-Brac ast, but not least. “Thing: (Published by Furk & Wagnalls pany, New York. Price §L) A Mental Index to the Bible For those who have not had a lifel familiarity with the Bible contents wish to escape some of the d caused by handling a cumbe cordance it is a great advants in mind a simple index with which ters, passages and languages of texts be naturally ted and readily fc This mental classification is made by a study of this helpful b Love of ssoci this ease of ready referc keep alive a consciousness of the and particular contents of the entire ble. The work constitutes a cc memory system, prepared Eelp in the remembering and apprec The fund - memory sy 1s upon the . has been applied to the application of this idea is that a verse, text, incident. name 1y » may not be e re- membered must be associated in the mind with something eas! remembered. The author has arranged simple rules and di- rections which, if studied, are ure to greatly increase the helpfulness and use- fulness of the Bible. (Published by Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York. Price §1 “The Slave.” obert Hichens, who gained a certain notoriety by his “Green n,” published his The novel is part of th er of m a passion for jew tion for her kind. She is comple ely I ¢ when wearing beautiful rder to indulge her tastes, arries an el an, whom she does not love and and has died, in order to rec onderful emerald which she ha ssed, she marries the thief who This is the 1pleas: out- : which Mr. Hichen has ified by the introduction of long con- itions held among uninteresting pe and by pages of wordy descriptions vents hose Importance deser byt a few lines. Altogether, the book 13 not worth the length of time which a perusal of it consumes, especially in this day when so many novels are published th, one does not have to search far to one interesting or Instructive. (Published by Herbert Stone & Co., New York. Price $150.) “Sandburrs."” “Chimmie Fadden" is so irresistibly fun. ny that the not unfrequent approach to coarseness can be forgiven. but in “Sand- burrs™ the tone is so unpleasant that one is mystified in finding the book again before the public. The storfes are varied, but in looking over them it is quite impossible to find one that is worth reading. One goes on from story to story hoping the tone will become more elevated, but, indeed, it does not, and all will arrive at the same ver- dict—the book is impossible and will not find a permanent place on one's shelf. (Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York. Price 31 50.) Literary Notes. William Stearns Davis, the author of “A Friend of Caesar,” is the grandson of ‘William A. Stearns, for many years pres- ident of Amherst College.- The writing of such an ambitious historical novel has demanded a pretty thorough reading in “ ring ron the classics, none too common ke days. The auther is now 23 and - senjor at Harvard. ‘He wrote his wor when he was 2. The Macmill pany publish it thi nth R. H. Russell announces that he nas purchased from M. Edmond an copyris ¢ his Amert which W nece greater ¢ Magazine f Chambe Robe Anthony mont, Eliza. “oncerning Cats™ is a bool anr a for early publication by the Lothrop i lishing Com for H M slow editor of the Clubwoman w known a club woman and journa The book is the result of years of loy study of the chief household pet, and deals with the cat in every story. Cats of history. of art, pet cats, prize cats, f the dear domestie “‘puss’ ace In t itten in 1 is part by devote 1 University. T tional, t kind of ¢ authors o W Mary Joh To H bution in i m' of th for the 1 B: r of Bucha Johnston was born st sixteen 3 abroad they sort on th 3 Queen Victoria was also there at the sar time. A very simple yet interesting a count of a chance meeting on the road Englan Queen was, we suppose, the first thing that the author of “To Have and To Hold' The Macmillan Company will publist within the next few weeks seven nov some of which are sure to claim a de att: lon on their appearance. Jam ever wrot for publication. Lane Allen’s “The Reign of Law; A Story of "'the Kentucky Hemp Fields,” for in- e. and Mrs ora _Annle Steel's : A Chromatic Fan- lcome to those w ful novel, “On the Volces in the Nig tasia,” also will b have read her su Face of the Watenr: the Light Led.” by James Newton Baskett, author of “At You All's House," is another book by this novelist of Missouri “The Banker and the Bear; A Story of a Cor« ner in Lard.” by H. K. Webster, is a s antie love story which runs course through some exciting episodes in the Chicago Chamber of Commerce. “A Friend of Caesar” is a historical novel by William Stearns Davis, who, by the by, is a grandson of the late President Davis of Ambherst Collegé, and at the early age of 21 has written a book in which schoiar- ship is blended with skill as a novel writer in a rather remarkable w “AE of " by W. Pett Bridge, and Bennett Twins,” by Grace Margue Hurd, complete the list. Books “From Sand lite. Received. by Bret Harte. Hov & Co., New York. $1 w i Awaken a dramatic epilogue in t acts, by Henrik Ibsen, translated by Will er. Herbert S, Stone & Co. T America.” Harper & Brothe: by the autoblography of a ¢ John S. Owen. srican P ompany, Detroit cents by lishing Dr. ment to the ( ory of the Uni 9 present time The W ker & Ray Co., Franc '8 25, cents. “Readi lected by & F C 'Gramm W. C tion, Care and Operatio E M. E. Herbert Stone E. & ¢ Chicago. $1 2 “The T al Trouble,” by John Hays Hammond. The Abbey Press, New York. 25 ce “Arden Massiter,” by Dr. The Century Compan: Willlam Par- York. New $1 50, ‘A Christian But a Roman Jokal. Doubleday & McClure York. 30 cents. oward Pretoria,” by Frederick A. Stokes Company arshfield the Ob: le. Herbert 8. Stc $1 50. “A Short History of Monks and Monas- terles,” by Alfred Wesley Wishart. Al bert Brandt, Trenton, J. $350. “Our New Prosperity,” by Ray Stannar. Baker. Doubleday ¢ McClure Co., New York. $125