L
Reading edition
L. Dark ages and other poems. $1. Longmans.
Fifty-five religious and secular poems. “Of the sacred poems we should put ‘Lethe’ first, and of the others ‘The English gipsies’ and the charming ‘Cottage inscription.’ Not all of 209the lyrics are Arcadian. Some are passionate outcries against contemporary follies.” (Spec.)
“A cultivated and reflective mind, dwelling upon themes of art, religion, history, and the legendary past, finding for its thoughts and fancies a striking form of individual expression.” W: M. Payne.
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Dial. 45: 62. Ag. 1, ’08. 320w.
“Uniformly effective work. Many examples of two tempers—that of the image maker and that of the meditative listener—mingled in a composite strain of sensitiveness to aesthetic and spiritual impressions.” E. L. Cary.
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N. Y. Times. 13: 424. Ag. 1, ’08. 200w.
“A serious and sensitive mind, with many deep affections, and his composition is both skilful and painstaking.”
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Sat. R. 105: 728. Je. 6, ’08. 200w.
“A little lacking in rhythmical finish, but has the merit of ideas, and now and then of fine verse.”
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Spec. 100: 463. Mr. 21, ’08. 80w.
Ladd, Frederic Pierpont. The woman pays. $1.50. Kennerley.
8–18368.
A melodramatic story in which the principal characters are a young New York newspaper writer, his wife and a clergyman. The latter, egotistical, self-loving, casts a spell over the woman, wins her from her husband and betrays her honor.
“It is a tale that is told with some power. Some of the descriptions of a phase of metropolitan life are interesting.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 375. Jl. 4, ’08. 320w.
Ladd, George Trumbull. In Korea with Marquis Ito. **$2.50. Scribner.
8–7156.
A study including statements of fact based on personal observation; expressions of opinion based upon the fullest obtainable knowledge of the facts; and certain conjectures ventured after facts have been studied and opinions weighed. Prof. Ladd went to the country to lecture and staid to absorb matters pertaining to international affairs and race psychology. His work is first a narrative of personal experience, and, second, a critical and historical inquiry with many a sidelight on Japan’s greatest statesman.
“Though he has an obvious pro-Japanese bias, it is impossible to doubt that his story, in the main, is accurate.”
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A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 140. My. ’08.
Ath. 1908, 1: 635. My. 23. 470w.
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Bib. World. 32: 224. S. ’08. 60w.
“The volume is well illustrated, and is in every respect a valuable work of its kind.”
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Dial. 44: 248. Ap. 16, ’08. 400w.
“Because Professor Ladd clearly shows the vital relation of mission work to its environment (and he is the only writer so far as we know who has done this needed work with such ability), he has done a most valuable and timely service to the growing science of missions. A well written book.”
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Ind. 64: 749. Ap. 2, ’08. 500w.
“The work is timely, the information fresh and reliable, the style is charming. The book is laid down with a feeling that the clouds have been cleared away from a very interesting and hitherto very obscure passage in contemporaneous history.”
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Lit. D. 36: 656. My. 2, ’08. 200w.
“For the serious student Dr. Ladd’s book by no means supersedes the works of Dallet, Hulbert, and others who have studied Korea in the perspective of history, language and literature.”
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Nation. 86: 558. Je. 18, ’08. 850w.
“Can hardly be accepted as [an account] of a disinterested and impartial student. Undoubtedly honest, sincere, and convinced, his book is nevertheless an ex parte statement of a professed friend of Japan.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 166. Mr. 28, ’08. 350w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 214. Ap. 11, ’08. 50w.
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N. Y. Times. 13: 340. Je. 13, ’08. 280w.
“From a competent observer and fair-minded critic and reporter, with very unusual opportunities for correct information, we have the truth about Korea, and Japan in Korea. So enlightening a volume should not lack a good map.”
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Outlook. 88: 839. Ap. 11, ’08. 500w.
R. of Rs. 37: 509. Ap. ’08. 200w.
“However much careful readers might disagree with the author in several of his opinions on things Korean and Japanese, they will not fail to appreciate the sincerity of his views, and wish that another equally sincere and able work showing the other side of the question might, if that is possible appear to enlighten them.” K. Asakawa.
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Yale R. 17: 350. N. ’08. 760w.
* La Farge, John. Higher life in art: a series of lectures on the Barbizon school of France. **$2.50. McClure.
Six lectures which inaugurated the Scammon course at the Art institute of Chicago, in 1903. They are as follows: The school; Delacroix; Millet; Decamps and Diaz; Rousseau, Dupré, Daubigny; Corot. Index.
* Lagerlöf, Selma O. L. Christ legends; tr. from the Swedish by Velma Swanston Howard. **$1.25. Holt.
Mainly from the apocryphal New Testament writings are borrowed legends of the early life of Christ which Miss Lagerlöf has made over and expanded into stories near of kin to Swedish folk lore tales. The miracle-working power of the child Jesus is revealed with spiritual discernment from which the ardor of her imagination does not detract.
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N. Y. Times. 13: 745. D. 5, ’08. 130w.
“All the stories, no matter what their claim may be to authenticity, are eloquent of that spirit of joy and imaginative fervor which from time immemorial has imparted its zest to the celebration of Christmas.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 750. D. 5, ’08. 100w.
Lagerlöf, Selma O. L. Wonderful adventures of Nils; tr. by Velma S. Howard. il. †$1.50. Doubleday.
7–33213.
A book which is the result of “years of study of animal and bird life by the author, with legends and folk-lore, which are woven together in the charming story of little Nils, turned into an elf, traveling on the back of a goose with a flock of wild geese, understanding the speech of birds and animals.” (N. Y. Times.)
“Will interest children who like George Macdonald’s fairy tales and the like; will make a place for itself but not be popular.”
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A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 22. Ja. ’08. ✠
“I should advise parents to give the book an examination, for its foundation is built upon national characteristics.”
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Ind. 63: 1479. D. 19, ’07. 110w.
“Said to be the best book of Sweden’s great fiction writer.”
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N. Y. Times. 12: 749. N. 23, ’07. 140w.
Lair, Jules. Louise de la Vallière and the early life of Louis XIV. (Memoir ser., no. 39.) *$3.50. Putnam.
The story of Louise de la Vallière who “was a favorite of Louis XIV., who bore him four children, was discarded for another favorite, and ended her days as a Carmelite nun. The narrative woven around this tale is a revoltingly minute description of the doings of court libertines and intriguers.” (Ind.)
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Ath. 1908, 2: 470. O. 17. 300w.
210“The book has all the appeal of the romantic novel. To such M. Lair’s careful and accurate work cannot be too strongly recommended.” G: H. Casamajor.
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Forum. 40: 391. O. ’08. 1800w.
“If there were any scheme of social regeneration that would put to hard labor the people who write and read such unnecessary, and to say the least, unesthetic rubbish, it ought to be welcomed by those who have a kindly interest in humanity.”
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Ind. 65: 785. O. 1, ’08. 400w.
“We have nothing but praise for a charming work charmingly printed.”
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Lit. D. 37: 397. S. 19, ’08. 420w.
“The translator of this interesting volume seems to have done her work faithfully, though her style is occasionally marred by unfortunate solecisms.”
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Nation. 87: 364. O. 15, ’08. 640w.
“The story of her life is neither instructive nor inspiring, and as told by M. Lair it is so burdened with unsavory detail and false sentiment as to make thoroughly unpleasant reading.”
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Outlook. 90: 363. O. 17, ’08. 220w.
“M. Lair treats his subject with good taste and delicacy, fairness and candour.”
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Spec. 101: 505. O. 3, ’08. 480w.
Lake, Rev. Kirsopp. Historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Crown theological lib.) *$1.50. Putnam.
8–5811.
“An examination of the evidence from the critical point of view, with a result unfavorable to the material view of the resurrection.”—Bib. World.
Bib. World. 30: 480. D. ’07. 20w.
“Even those who are unable to follow the author in all his criticisms and exegesis must admit the force of his reasoning, and the reverence with which it is presented.” G. E. French.
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Hibbert J. 6: 691. Ap. ’08. 1000w.
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Ind. 65: 45. Jl. 2, ’08. 200w.
“The work as a whole is an able piece of historical criticism, conducted in a reverential spirit, and recognizing to the full the limits of historical investigation and the privileges of religious faith.”
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Nation. 86: 306. Ap. 2, ’08. 250w.
“Has a fair claim to be reckoned as one of the really important works upon its subject.”
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Outlook. 88: 97. Ja. 11, ’08. 330w.
La Monte, Robert Rives. Socialism: positive and negative. 50c. Kerr.
7–21308.
A group of essays dealing with such subjects as Science and socialism, Marxism and ethics, and The nihilism of socialism.
“There is no connection between the essays and, on the whole, they do not present as satisfactory a statement of the socialistic doctrines as does Mr. Spargo’s book.”
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Ann. Am. Acad. 31: 280. Ja. ’08. 50w.
“He has studied his books, and he writes with dash and cleverness. But his tolerance of persons who do not see with him is by no means gentle.”
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Ind. 63: 1370. D. 6, ’07. 200w.
La Motte-Fouqué, Friedrich H. K. Undine; tr. from the German by G: P. Upton. (Life stories for young people.) **60c. McClurg.
8–23095.
“He takes the reader through enchanted forests and among mysterious gnomes and spirits. The malicious Kühleborn, the quaint old fisherman and his dame, good father Heilmann, the worldly Bertalda, the gallant but fickle Huldbrand, are characters full of interest; but most beautiful and lovely in her form of water sprite, and afterwards in the suffering wife when she had found a soul, is Undine.”
* Lancaster, G. B. Altar stairs. †$1.50. Doubleday.
“A novel which tells a tale of the South seas, in which a dominating man suddenly finds himself in love with a woman who is bound to another. The hero holds for months in his power the man to whom the woman he loves is bound, but ultimate happiness comes out of it all.”—N. Y. Times.
“The grip of the story can in no way be conveyed by an outline of the plot, each incident being so firmly built into the general structure that the whole must be envisaged in detail to be appreciated. It would seem as if there might be less wading in gore without sacrificing the sweep and vigor of the story.”
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Nation. 87: 553. D. 3, ’08. 250w.
“Mr. Lancaster’s style is not good, and in his endeavor to be characteristic he occasionally becomes unintelligible. But there is a fresh wind blowing through the book that sets the blood dancing.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 583. O. 17, ’08. 200w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 617. O. 24, ’08. 50w.
Lancaster, G. B. Tracks we tread. †$1.50. Doubleday.
7–28459.
A story which “leads us into the sheep-country of New Zealand, among a class superficially more like our Western ranchers than the official Englishman. Yet it is the Briton bearing the sacred torch to the farthest ends of the earth whom we are once again called upon, not unwillingly, to admire; the type of those ‘who go away many times to endings unchronicled; men who love, who conquer, and serve, on the downs, the harsh mountains, the unhandled plains.’” (Nation.)
“A book of uncommon calibre, rugged, sincere, tremendously virile—a book that pictures the rough, hard men of a rough, hard country frankly, without illusion or euphemism, but with a deep understanding of human nature that makes it a book to linger over.” F: T. Cooper.
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Bookm. 27: 102. Mr. ’08. 450w.
“Kipling’s hall-mark is upon it as a whole. Its salient traits are terseness and vividness of phrase, a grim humor prone to deal with the less savory aspects of the theme, and an unconquerable instinct for the romantic aspects.”
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Nation. 85: 545. D. 12, ’07. 380w.
N. Y. Times. 12: 655. O. 19, ’07. 20w.
Lanchester, F. W. Aerodynamics; constituting the first volume of a complete work on aerial flight. *$6. Van Nostrand.
8–26416.
“For the first time, as far as we know, this volume brings together in one place all that theory and practice have to contribute to our knowledge of the conditions which govern true flight. The final chapters, dealing with the experimental work of Langley and other investigators, is probably the most interesting to the ordinary reader, who will realise from it how complex are the problems that the aviator has yet to solve.”—Spec.
Engin. D. 4:55. Jl. ’08. 330w.
“Had the author extended the last chapter to include the work of continental writers ... and excluded some of the more shaky theoretical chapters, the work might without exaggeration be called a complete treatise on aerodynamics.”
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Nature. 78: 337. Ag. 13, ’08. 780w.
“A sound and conscientious piece of work which should be invaluable to the practical builder of aeroplanes.”
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Spec. 101: 199. Ag. 8, ’08. 230w.
211Landor, Arnold H. Savage. Across widest Africa. 2v. *$10.50. Scribner.
7–37937.
An account of the country and people of eastern, central, and western Africa, as seen during a twelve months’ journey from Djibuti to Cape Verde. Mr. Landor’s book is not devoted to adventure, “it is concerned with the characteristic features of that country.... The rivers, mountains, elevations and deserts, the flora and fauna, the various complicated tribal divisions and names, the languages and the customs of the tribes, and the host of details which of necessity must constitute the study of the observing traveller, are the objects which appeal to him.” (Dial.)
“All due qualifications being made, there is a large amount of interesting reading in these two handsome and well-illustrated volumes.”
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Ath. 1908, 1: 38. Ja. 11. 430w.
“Abyssinia and the Emperor Menelik form the subject of some very interesting chapters of the book” H. E. Coblentz.
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Dial. 43: 415. D. 16, ’07. 1870w.
“Apparently ignorant of those sciences with which an explorer ought to be thoroughly familiar, Mr. Landor states his observations, his deductions, his impressions, and also those of other people, as if they were infallible dogmas. The result of this, and of his inability to sift evidence in a scientific way, is a tissue of absurdities, enunciated with such a semblance of authority that an unwary reader would assume them all to be well-ascertained facts. Notwithstanding his many errors of fact and of inference ... it is only fair to admit that Mr. Landor’s book makes interesting reading all through; that in no single work is it possible to find so many details of the customs of so many central African tribes; and that, if the author lacks many of the qualities of an historian, he, at any rate, possesses those of a traveller in a high degree.”
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Lond. Times. 6: 330. N. 1, ’07. 1560w.
“Though much of the book is tedious, there is also much that is entertaining, and it enables one to realize vividly how life in the heart of Africa appears to the traveller.”
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Nation. 86: 289. Mr. 26, ’08. 700w.
Lang, Andrew. Tales of Troy and Greece. **$1.50. Longmans.
7–34175.
The author has regrouped the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” into two cycles, one called “Ulysses the sacker of cities,” and the other “The wanderings of Ulysses.” “Three other sections recount the tales of the Fleece of gold from traditional matter, being supplemented by Apollonius Rhodius and the fight between Polydeuces and the giant from Theocritus; and the stories of Theseus and Perseus, which depend mainly on summaries contained in Plutarch and Apollodorus.” (Ath.)
“Delightfully told in the fairy-tale manner.”
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A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 22. Ja. ’08. ✠
“Mr. Lang, though as simple in style as Mr. Church, differs from the latter in that he pauses to describe customs, arms, and mode of life.”
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Ath. 1907, 2: 514. O. 26. 340w.
“Mr. Lang ... puts into his text more substance than is found in the ordinary adaptation or rewritten classic.” M. J. Moses.
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Ind. 63: 1479. D. 19, ’07. 50w.
“Will prove a sheer delight to any boy or girl of imagination and a feeling for adventure.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 17. Ja. 11, ’08. 140w.
“Mr. Lang has attempted a sort of Biblia innocentum version of the Grecian Book of books. The result is an excellent narrative that often vividly recalls the original. The rest of the book is made up of the stories of Theseus, of Perseus, and of the Golden fleece, which are equally interesting, though marred with one or two misplaced modern touches.”
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Sat. R. 104: sup. 5. D. 7, ’07. 150w.
“Professor Church’s book is story pure and simple; Mr. Lang’s is story embroidered upon, and given a moral, philosophical, and historical complexion by turns. Yet Mr. Lang’s language is quite simple, and the child could accept the narrative at its face value with perfect comprehension.”
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Spec. 99: 713. N. 9, ’07. 1220w.
* Lang, Leonora Blanche (Mrs. Andrew Lang). Book of princes and princesses; ed. by A. Lang. **$1.60. Longmans.
8–28404.
True stories “almost as interesting as fairy tales.” They are concerned “with people, little people indeed, yet people of real flesh and blood.... The subjects of the stories, taken from English and French history, deal with the early lives of young persons, some of whom died young, while others grew up to be famous personages.” (Cath. World.)
“Mrs. Lang writes effectively, but has not altogether succeeded in attaining simplicity of style. The volume is an attractive collection of real stories.”
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Ath. 1908, 2: 505. O. 24. 120w.
“Though the stories are strictly historical in the main, Mrs. Lang has embellished the cold data with lively conversations, and parenthetical comment to suit the story to juvenile taste.”
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Cath. World. 88: 407. D. ’08. 200w.
Nation. 87: 550. D. 3, ’08. 100w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 756. D. 5, ’08. 90w.
“The young people who are bored by these stories, even though they are true, must be very hard to please.”
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Spec. 101: sup. 706. N. 7, ’08. 880w.
* Lanier, Sidney. Poem outlines. **$1. Scribner.
8–27138.
“This slender volume is a poet’s note-book. It records ideas, impressions, figures, pictures, which the poet proposes to use at some future time in a more complete way. It is a collection of fragments, of quick studies, such as a painter makes out of doors when the light is rapidly changing, and which he works up at leisure in his studio.”—Outlook.
“A little book of poetic outlines that lets [the world] into some of the vagrant moods of one of the most sensitive and sweet-spirited singers of our Southland.”
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Ind. 65: 1249. N. 26, ’08. 220w.
Reviewed by Bliss Carman.
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N. Y. Times. 13: 605. O. 24, ’08. 730w.
Outlook. 90: 594. N. 14, ’08. 400w.
Larard, C. E., and Golding, H. A. Practical calculations for engineers; for the use of engineering students, apprentices, draughtsmen, mechanics, foremen, and others practically engaged in engineering work. *$2. Lippincott.
W8–140.
“The general character of this work places it somewhere between the engineering pocket-book and the college text-book. The methods, formulæ, and appliances which a student encounters during a good college course in mechanical engineering are here, not demonstrated, but collected and described, systematically, and applied to such practical examples as are likely to occur in an engineering workshop.”—Nature.
“It can do best service to men who lack an education in engineering theory, but even many of these, technical college graduates, may find it a guide to improvement.”
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Engin. N. 59: 298. Mr. 12, ’08. 400w.
“The authors give some most striking examples of the great value of squared-paper work in the systematic plotting of variable 212quantities in all branches of a manufacturing establishment, and the lessons to be learnt therefrom. This section is extremely suggestive, and will well repay the careful study of all practical engineers.”
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Nature. 77: 555. Ap. 16, ’08. 350w.
Lathrop, Elise L. Sunny days in Italy. **$2.50. Pott.
7–29872.
“An unpretentious volume of agreeable, familiar gossip about a dozen or more of the chief points of interest to which the average tourist sooner or later finds his way. It is a sort of pot-pourri of miscellaneous impressions and information, vivid little pen pictures of a building, a landscape, a crowd at a railway station; useful advice, gleaned from experience, regarding the hiring of apartments, bargaining with cab drivers, traveling in third-class carriages; an accumulated store of observations regarding Italian traits and social customs.”—Bookm.
“Differs from other books on Italy in describing the little things about the life and customs which other writers have not mentioned, and yet are the things a traveler likes to know about.”
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A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 193. Je. ’08.
“Miss Lathrop has not any real gift of expression; her observation does not seem to have been more than superficial; and apparently her knowledge of Italy is merely that of a tourist.”
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Ath. 1908, 1: 447. Àp. 11. 300w.
“Flung together with a well-intentional sincerity, a pleasant and quite feminine enthusiasm which makes agreeable reading.” F: P. Cooper.
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Bookm. 26: 510. Ja. ’08. 100w.
“Unfortunately, at least two-thirds of the book is a perfunctory performance without ‘raison d’être.’ The worst defect of the book, however, is found in the errors in style, with which its pages bristle. Nor is the book free from errors in statement. Yet, in spite of these defects, the book may be recommended for its practical, sympathetic, and in many respects novel account of the Italian customs of to-day.”
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Nation. 85: 567. D. 19, ’97. 430w.
“This is a pleasant book, giving intelligent descriptions of rural Italy as well as of the Italian cities.”
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N. Y. Times. 12: 684. O. 26, ’07. 120w.
Reviewed by Charlotte Harwood.
Putnam’s. 3: 494. Ja. ’08. 450w.
Lauck, William Jett. Causes of the panic of 1893. (Hart, Schaffner and Marx prize essays in economics.) **$1. Houghton.
7–22103.
“Reviews the industrial and financial history of the decade preceding 1893, and then describes the panic itself. In the account which Mr. Lauck gives of the conditions in Germany, France, and Great Britain his work supplements usefully A. D. Noyes’s ‘Thirty years of American finance’; but in his discussion of events in the United States he adds substantially nothing to Mr. Noyes’s narrative.”—Nation.
Nation. 86: 90. Ja. 23, ’08. 230w.
“It may seem left-handed praise to hint that it is more interesting and useful as prophecy than history, when it purports to be purely and merely history. Yet we doubt that any such treatise could serve a more useful purpose than to light the way to avoidance of past errors and sufferings by the lessons of experience.” E: A. Bradford.
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N. Y. Times. 12: 565. S. 21, ’07. 510w.
* Launay, Louis de. World’s gold: its geology, extraction, and political economy; tr. by Orlando Cyprian Williams; with an introd. by Charles A. Conant. **$1.75. Putnam.
8–32340.
A work which examines the problem of the future supply of gold from a scientific standpoint and correlates the influence of this supply with prices and the movement of capital from the financial standpoint. The four divisions of the treatment are: The geology of gold; The geographical distribution of gold in the past and present; The extraction and dressing of gold; and The economy of gold.
Ind. 65: 1185. N. 19, ’08. 100w.
Launspach, Charles W. L. State and family in early Rome. *$2.50. Macmillan.
“Mr. Launspach ... devotes about a quarter of his book to the history of the constitutional struggle; his account is not, as the accounts given by lawyers frequently are, a mere string of facts and dates; he has tried to make the story intelligible.... The legal chapters on marriage, patria potestas, and succession, which follow the constitutional sketch, aim at doing no more than summarizing the legal aspect of the family.”—Sat. R.
“Is one of those books, far too common in England and America, which possess no particular value for scholars, yet do not serve the general reader. The author’s mind is legal and schematic, rather than historical, and he does not seem to realize that many of the foundations upon which he builds ... have been seriously shaken by anthropology and by historical criticism. The most substantial chapters are those on family law.”
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Nation. 87: 438. N. 5, ’08. 350w.
“There appears to be a singular lack of proportion in the space devoted to the various controversial topics, and also great arbitrariness in the distinction between those points which are discussed and those others which are dealt with dogmatically.”
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Sat. R. 106: 205. Ag. 15, ’08. 1400w.
“There is much of value in Mr. Launspach’s volume. We do not always agree with him. He makes too little, we think, of legend and tradition.”
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Spec. 101: 550. O. 10, ’08. 140w.
Laur, Francis. Heart of Gambetta; authorized translation by Violette M. Montagu; with an introd. by J. Macdonald. *$2.50. Lane.
8–13688.
“The heart of this book is the love-letters of Gambetta written to Madame Léonie Léon. Around them are grouped a certain amount of history, a larger amount of inference or conjecture, and a still larger amount of tearful sentiment by M. Laur.” (Nation.) “The new historical fact in the letters here translated is the revelation of the truth that Gambetta deliberately pretended to favour a schism such as would detach the Gallican church from Rome, in order to bring the pope to accept his proposals for the separation of church and state.” (Ath.)
“The translation is hardly good enough for the letters, which when they first appeared in Paris were praised, above all things, for their style.”
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Ath. 1907, 2: 616. N. 16. 1130w.
“M. Laur’s method is throughout too gushing to pass for that of sober history. He reminds one of a lachrymose Victor Hugo: ‘I wept. All France wept.’ The style is staccato drowned in emotion. But disregarding most of M. Laur’s sentimental embroidering, these letters of Gambetta must be taken as a real contribution to our knowledge of the man.”
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Nation. 86: 198. F. 27, ’08. 520w.
“The book is too good, too thoroughly an analysis of two human hearts, too personal, too intimate not to arouse suspicion that the author has frequently used his imagination in order to seek out dramatic causes for known suggestive results.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 129. Mr. 7, ’08. 1450w.
213“The letters in this volume ... constitute an important, but in parts slightly hysteric, contribution to the history of an extremely interesting period in the political development of France. It must be confessed that, from the English point of view, and as a transcript of human emotion presumably at its highest, they are rather disappointing.”
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Spec. 101: 369. S. 12, ’08. 1450w.
* Laut, Agnes Christina. Conquest of the great Northwest; being the story of the adventurers of England known as The Hudson bay company; new pages in the history of the Canadian Northwest and western states. 2v. *$5. Outing.
Tireless examination of records and documents, many of which are unclassified and inaccessible, lies back of Miss Laut’s 800 page story of the Hudson bay company. Beginning with the voyages of Henry Hudson, the author omits none of the exploration that precedes the organizing of the Hudson bay company, and then exploits the company “as adventurer, pathfinder, empire-builder, from Rupert’s land to California—feudal lord beaten off the field by democracy,” pausing for historical details where the empire-builder merges with the colonizer and pioneer.
“Unfortunately there is no index. Both author and publisher are to be congratulated on a most important and careful work, which is yet alive with human sympathy and full of vivid character drawing.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 700. N. 28, ’08. 2100w.
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N. Y. Times. 13: 745. D. 5, ’08. 200w.
Lawson, W. R. American finance; part first—Domestic. $2. Macmillan.
7–28928.
Mr. Lawson—not the author of “Frenzied finance”—is an Englishman who has written a number of books of this nature including “British economics.” This is a history and discussion of American financial methods in four parts: Evolution, Organization, Creative powers, and Destructive powers.
“The book seems to want a definite purpose. The writer betrays a lack of economic training and judgment, and at the end one is in doubt as to what Mr. Lawson really thinks about our monetary system and financial methods. Its value as descriptive material is vitiated by bad arrangement and incoherence.”
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Ann. Am. Acad. 30: 596. N. ’07. 370w.
“In general the discussion of these questions as of our financial experience as a whole is suggestive and stimulating. It is, however, rather picturesque than analytic.” James Cummings.
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J. Pol. Econ. 15: 438. Jl. ’07. 580w.
“A very readable account.”
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Pol. Sci. Q. 23: 192. Mr. ’08. 150w.
“Though we do not regard Mr. Lawson as a safe guide in matters economic, we gladly recognise that ... he has selected an excellent subject in which he seems to be much more at home.”
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Spec. 98: sup. 118. Ja. 26, ’07. 110w.
“The book is frankly popular and does not pretend to be a contribution to our knowledge on the subject. The author’s style is breezy and his treatment somewhat superficial, but the book is well written and decidedly interesting. The author possesses a clear and sympathetic, if not very profound, understanding of American financial institutions, and his attitude is remarkably broad-minded and fair.”
+ + −
Yale R. 16: 444. F. ’08. 250w.
Lawton, Frederick. François-Auguste Rodin. *$1. Kennerley.
8–35518.
A sketch of the celebrated French sculptor, written from first hand materials-from conversations with Rodin, from consultation with his friends and from his correspondence. It is neither a copy nor an abridgement of the larger “Life” but a fresh treatment thruout. The forces which have operated in Rodin’s career, his peculiar genius, and illustrations of his success are discussed with understanding.
“A good book for the library that cannot afford the larger life by the same author.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 193. Je. ’08.
“Mr. Lawton is keenly interested in the artist of whom he writes, but is so close to his subject that it somewhat overawes him.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 1: 135. F. 1. 200w.
Int. Studio. 36: sup. 59. D. ’08. 30w.
+
Outlook. 89: 529. Jl. 4, ’08. 700w.
“This little book is written with sympathy and insight, and will be appreciated by those who have not time to read the author’s longer book treating of the greatest figure in European art of the present age.”
+
Spec. 100: sup. 644. Ap. 25, ’08. 50w.
Layard, George Somes. Shirley Brooks of Punch; his life, letters and diaries. *$3.50. Holt.
8–6092.
Descriptive note and excerpts in Dec. 1907.
“His life, though in no sense dramatic, was an interesting one; for years he rubbed elbows intimately with all that was best and most brilliant in the upper circles of London’s Bohemia.” Beverley Stark.
+
Bookm. 26: 517. Ja. ’08. 970w.
“London of the sixties and early seventies and ‘Punch’s’ inner editorial circle, besides many more intimate matters, live again in its pages.”
+
Dial. 43: 424. D. 16, ’07. 130w.
“His letters are of the kind that must have filled the recipient with joy, but that somehow in cold print, half a century later, sound forced and schoolboyish.”
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Nation. 86: 34. Ja. 9, ’08. 270w.
“Mr. Layard, bound apparently to make a portly volume, has not digested, selected, and rejected from among his material as carefully as one might wish.”
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Outlook. 88: 43. Ja. 4, ’08. 340w.
“Mr. Layard is sometimes more expansive in this volume than the occasion demands. But on the whole ‘Shirley Brooks of Punch’ is highly entertaining, and a book for which we should be grateful.” H. S. Krans.
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Putnam’s. 3: 752. Mr. ’08. 500w.
“We do not wish that it had been shorter or substantially other than it is.”
+ +
Spec. 99: 1056. D. 21, ’07. 400w.
Layard, George Somes. Suppressed plates: wood engravings, etc.; together with other curiosities germane thereto; being an account of certain matters peculiarly alluring to the collector. *$4. Macmillan.
8–18752.
In bringing out old books in new dress, plates have been discarded for moral reasons, for lack of artistic merit, and for failure to illustrate the text adequately. The author discusses these suppressed plates, includes many of them in his illustrations, tho none whose moral tone is questioned, and deals at length with palimpsest plates—plates which have had objectionable portions burnished out and which have been adapted to their new use by re-engraving the erased sections.
“Mr. Layard writes with such extensive knowledge that it is not easy to find holes in his armour. The facts are brought together with so much skill that this volume will rank, both with those who sell and those who buy books, as an acceptable work of reference, entertaining as well as instructive.”
+ +
Ath. 1908, 1: 135. F. 1. 750w.
214“He treats in a most entertaining manner of a subject which cannot fail to be of the greatest interest to every ardent book-hunter, print-collector, and artist.” G: W. Cole.
+
Bookm. 27: 161. Ap. ’08. 1750w.
Reviewed by A. B. Maurice.
Forum. 39: 529. Ap. ’08. 2000w.
“People who care for the bypaths and curiosities of the pictorial side of literature will be much interested in Mr. Layard’s new book.”
+
Sat. R. 105: 53. Ja. 11, ’08. 150w.
Lea, Frederick Charles. Hydraulics. *$5. Longmans.
8–10845.
“In this work the author has endeavored to embody the results of the large amount of experimental hydraulic work which has been accomplished during the past decade—especially on the subject of the flow of water—and to indicate the methods used in obtaining these results.”—Engin. D.
Engin. D. 3: 526. My. ’08. 300w.
“The author writes as one having authority and altogether the book appears to the reviewer as the most satisfactory treatment of its subject for the English speaking student that has yet appeared.” G. S. Williams.
+ +
Engin. N. 59: 541. My. 14, ’08. 1000w.
“Altogether the work forms an excellent textbook, and is cordially to be recommended to students of this most interesting and useful science.”
+ +
Nature. 77: 530. Ap. 9, ’08. 700w.
Lea, Henry Charles. Inquisition in the Spanish dependencies, Sicily, Naples, Sardinia, Milan, The Canaries, Mexico, Peru, New Granada. **$2.50, Macmillan.
8–1774.
A volume which supplements the author’s series of histories on the inquisition. It throws light on the workings of the inquisitorial system as operated by the colonial tribunals in the new world, and the retarding effects upon the development of the Spanish-American colonies.
Am. Hist. R. 13: 689. Ap. ’08. 30w.
Reviewed by G: L. Burr.
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Am. Hist. R. 13: 847. Jl. ’08. 1350w.
“The volume is marked by the characteristic excellences of its predecessors: a style which is useful, without possessing much literary charm, an inexhaustible knowledge of his subject, and an organization of his materials so exact, and so natural that the reader easily follows the narrative.”
+
Am. J. Theol. 12: 311. Ap. ’08. 100w.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 141. My. ’08.
“Throughout the work, a closer chronological arrangement at times might have conduced to greater clearness.” J. A. Robertson.
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Ann. Am. Acad. 32: 455. S. ’08. 550w.
“Ranks easily with his strongest and best.” L. M. Larson.
+ +
Dial. 45: 294. N. 1, ’08. 80w.
Ind. 64: 1043. My. 7, ’08. 450w.
“He has always the great advantage of looking at the subject as a whole, and viewing it against the background of the parent institution.”
+
Nation. 86: 263. Mr. 19, ’08. 500w.
“The ground to be gone over is so large and the records are so scanty that the treatment is necessarily less detailed and vivid than in the other volumes.” Joseph Jacobs.
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N. Y. Times. 13: 99. F. 22, ’08. 1000w.
Outlook. 89: 392. Je. 20, ’08. 130w.
“To those who are interested in the theme it seems unfortunate that Dr. Lea should have omitted the history of the Spanish inquisition in the Netherlands, Chile and the La Plata provinces. An inclusion of these areas would have rounded out the view most admirably.” W: R. Shepherd.
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Pol. Sci. Q. 23: 328. Je. ’08. 550w.
R. of Rs. 37: 637. My. ’08. 50w.
Sat. R. 105: 563. My. 2, ’08. 1100w.
+ −
Spec. 100: 426. Mr. 14, ’08. 400w.
Lea, Homer. Vermilion pencil: a romance of China. †$1.50. McClure.
8–9531.
A young Breton priest, detailed to instruct the wife of a wealthy mandarin, falls in love with her and they elope. They are caught, the husband subjects his wife to the terrible torture of the lyngchee, while the lover identifies himself with the “Deluge family,” a secret revolutionary society, whose symbol draws to him crowds who aid in rescuing the condemned woman. “The book is more than a novel—it is a human document.” (N. Y. Times.)
“A lurid and grotesque impression of China.”
−
Nation. 86: 354. Ap. 16, ’08. 230w.
“The most remarkable piece of fiction the year thus far has brought. The story itself is not overpowering in its ingenuity, but in its opening of glimpses into a world all but unknown to the west, it is of very great interest, and in its undeniable penetration of character and power of description it merits the wide attention which beyond doubt it will receive.”
+ +
N. Y. Times. 13: 138. Mr. 14, ’08. 550w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 210. Ap. 11, ’08. 50w.
“A story full of exciting scenes and revelations about China and the Chinese.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 340. Je. 13, ’08. 230w.
“Mr. Lea’s story is rather too tragic and too horrible in its descriptions of Chinese tortures to be agreeable but it is a sincere picture of a beautiful character in the person of its heroine, and of her influence over a great Chinese official through her loveliness and brilliant mind in abolishing evil and injustice.”
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Outlook. 88: 839. Ap. 11, ’08. 200w.
“This appears to us the most valuable novel on the subject of China as yet penned in the English language, none existing, besides, that so well combines instruction with entertainment.”
+ +
R. of Rs. 37: 767. Je. ’08. 400w.
Lear, Edward. Letters of Edward Lear to Chichester Fortescue, Lord Carlingford, and Frances, Countess Waldegrave; ed. by Lady Strachey of Sutton court. *$3.50. Duffield.
8–28968.
Edward Lear, the pioneer limerick maker, caricaturist, and landscape painter, is self revealed in these letters in which “mingle tenderness, a whimsical humor, and the power to see the visible world as pictorial material.” (N. Y. Times.)
“Lady Strachey is to be congratulated on the publication of letters which reveal a pleasant personality. We have no doubt that Lady Strachey’s venture will come to a second edition, and offer some corrections in view of that event.”
+ −
Ath. 1907, 2: 760. D. 14. 830w.
“A volume of characteristic and amusing letters.”
+
Dial. 45: 217. O. 1, ’08. 300w.
+
Ind. 65: 787. O. 1, ’08. 400w.
“We have read these letters with continuous delight. They fully satisfy such expectations as may have been aroused by Lear’s long-famous ‘Book of nonsense’; in other words, they justify Lear’s reputation.”
+
Lit. D. 37: 562. O. 17, ’08. 1250w.
“These are delightful letters and fully satisfy any expectations about them which might have been aroused by Lear’s long famous ‘Book of nonsense.’”
+
Lit. D. 37: 902. D. 12, ’08. 80w.
+
Nation. 87: 336. O. 8, ’08. 90w.
215“They reflect the temper and interests of his prime, and are so personal in their tone that we gain from them a vivid picture of the quaint personality that so continually suggests Thackeray’s.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 493. S. 12, ’08. 2050w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 621. O. 24, ’08. 40w.
“The book is exactly of the kind which one can pick up from a shelf in an odd minute of spare time and dip into here and there with enjoyment.”
+
Outlook. 90: 230. S. 26, ’08. 240w.
* Leaves from a life. *$3.50. Brentano’s.
8–31145.
Supposedly from the pen of a daughter of William P. Frith, the English painter, these sketches contain anecdotes of Browning, Tennyson, Du Maurier, Leighton, Dickens, Trollope, and many other celebrities in arts and letters.
“It is a good-natured, simple-minded, humorous presentation of a great slice of mid-Victorian England, a canvas full of figures rendered with practically no technique at all. The slipshod condition of the author’s style is almost incredible.”
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Nation. 87: 360. O. 15, ’08. 400w.
“Laughter-loving pages. They are the record of a woman who has seen much of life, who loved it in its full course and loves it now in retrospect. Her book will amuse people from the first page to the last.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 437. Ag. 8, ’08. 1100w.
Leavitt, Sheldon. Paths to the heights. **$1. Crowell.
8–15159.
The record of the work of a physician who abandoned drugs and entered the field of mental healing. His experience lies between orthodox theology and Christian science and is full of practical suggestion.
“We read the book and find it rational and instructive in many respects.” R. E. Bisbee.
+ −
Arena. 40: 387. O. ’08. 450w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 340. Je. 13, ’08. 200w.
Le Blond, Elizabeth A. F. (Mrs. Aubrey Le Blond) (Mrs. Main). Mountaineering in the land of the midnight sun. *$3.50. Lippincott.
A narration of the author’s experiences in climbing thirty-three mountains. “It was delightful,” she writes, “to think that we could start when we liked, return when we liked, and have the cheering rays of the sun always visible. In the north, too, we found all the picturesqueness of Lapp and reindeer, all the repose of a land where no tourists are seen, all the magnificence of ice-clad mountains and spires of rocks mingled with the softer beauty of lake and fjord.”
“There is much detail which can interest only the keen mountain climber. The interest for other readers lies in the fact that the book shows, as no other within our knowledge does, how delightfully a summer can be passed in camp or in one of the little settlements in this region. To the vivid word pictures are added 71 reproductions of photographs, which show not only the wondrous scenery, but also many of the stirring incidents of the ascents.”
+
Nation. 87: 437. N. 5, ’08. 260w.
“There are some very interesting passages in ‘Mountaineering in the land of the midnight sun,’ for the author, besides being a good climber, is a charming writer, who relates her experiences wonderfully well.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 563. O. 10, ’08. 220w.
Lee, Gerald Stanley. Inspired millionaires: a forecast. $1.25. Mount Tom press.
8–17551.
Mr. Lee looks forward to the time when some millionaire will conduct a factory that “will rank with Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Homer’s Iliad, and the sixtieth chapter of Isaiah.” He believes that the question of human labor is one that belongs to the arts and humanities, and not merely to the sciences; that the factory, if enough soul is poured in, should be as spiritual as a church and as educational as a school. “His fresh way of putting some old facts and truths is not unlike the wholesome freshet that leaves behind it a fertilizing deposit.” (Outlook.)
“These essays are as light as gossamer in substance, and their intellectual quality will not appeal to the common mind at all. The spirit of the book is wholesome, the manner is pleasing, it is surely harmless, and it may have more than an aesthetic influence.”
− +
N. Y. Times. 13: 350. Je. 20, ’08. 800w.
“The author puts much that has been said on social problems into a breezy and original form which holds attention through all the amplification and reiterations of his central idea.”
+
Outlook. 89: 623. Jl. 18, ’08. 300w.
Lee, Jennette Barbour. Ibsen secret: a key to the prose dramas of Henrik Ibsen. **$1.25. Putnam.
7–32577.
Descriptive note and excerpts in Dec. 1907.
“It is not a safe book for beginners.”
−
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 194. Je. ’08.
“The ingenuity she displays in demonstrating her thesis is equaled only by her success in draining the plays of red blood and humanly vital signification.” Archibald Henderson.
−
Atlan. 102: 259. Ag. ’08. 360w.
+
Educ. R. 36: 209. S. ’08. 40w.
“Will be of value to many readers, especially elementary Ibsenites, not because it tells what the symbols are and mean, but because it tells how to track them.”
+
Ind. 64: 922. Ap. 23, ’08. 180w.
“As a whole, Mrs. Lee’s little treatise strikes one more as a series of somewhat iterative talks, loosely strung together and considerably too dilute for grown folks. Her ideals are sound and helpful for earnest young people desirous of writing papers on Ibsen.”
− +
N. Y. Times. 13: 158. Mr. 21, ’08. 670w.
Lee, Vernon, pseud. (Violet Paget). Limbo and other essays; with a new drama, Ariadne in Mantua. *$1.50. Lane.
A new edition of Limbo and other essays which also includes the new drama Ariadne in Mantua. “This is a little play in which the forces of Tradition, Discipline, and Civilization ‘triumph over the mere forces of Nature.’ It is a closet drama, and the action is improbable; nevertheless it rises to a moving, even pathetic climax.” (Nation.)
“‘Ariadne in Mantua’ seems to us an exceptionally charming closet drama.” F. B. R. Hellems.
+
Dial. 45: 82. Ag. 16, ’08. 860w.
Nation. 86: 376. Ap. 23, ’08. 70w.
“It is not always apparent what Miss Paget is talking about, and she is frequently guilty of rhetorical indiscretions which mar an otherwise pleasant style, but her essays contain much agreeable suggestion of an aesthetic nature.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 354. Je. 20, ’08. 130w.
“‘Ariadne in Mantua’ is treated, we need hardly say, with ‘Vernon Lee’s’ own peculiar distinction, and both in refined thought and beautiful prose the drama is worthy of her.”
+
Spec. 100: 869. My. 30, ’08. 470w.
Lee, Vernon, pseud. (Violet Paget). Sentimental traveller: notes on places. *$1.50. Lane.
8–3114.
Vernon Lee takes her readers into Italy, Germany, Switzerland and France and thru 216her impressionistic word-painting helps them to catch and retain “portraits set in frames of their own familiar scenery.” “Many interesting and important personages are mentioned or met with, and anecdotes are told of most of them. Churches and castles and peasant abodes are entered and admired, and works of art receive words of commendation or disapproval.” (N. Y. Times.)
“The descriptions are still admirably done; but there is a surfeit of them. The reflections are still those of a highly cultivated mind, but nothing new or moving.”
+ −
Nation. 86: 34. Ja. 9, ’08. 220w.
“It is all the work of a woman of wide and easy culture, possessing a pleasing fancy and no imagination. The book is obvious, but kindly, for all its condescension, a condescension none the less marked that it is probably unconscious.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 9. Ja. 4, ’08. 190w.
“The charm of her writing lies in its lightness of touch, a quality particularly evident in her slight but sure comment upon now this, now that place, as a butterfly might go from flower to flower.”
+
Outlook. 88: 378. F. 15, ’08. 320w.
“‘Vernon Lee’ has written many delightful things, but nothing perhaps more keenly suggestive and charmingly convincing than the first chapter of her new book. Full of human as well as artistic interest. No one will question their originality and charm.”
+
Spec. 100: 24. Ja. 4, ’08. 550w.
Lee, Vernon, pseud. (Violet Paget). Studies of the eighteenth century in Italy; new ed. *$6. McClurg.
A new edition for whose unchanged text the author offers some apologies, yet refuses “to lay indifferent hands, and even skeptical eyes upon it.” It was written out of the fulness of youthful fancies, and is permitted to remain the log-book of the author’s exploration, the inventory of her enchanted garret. A new thirty-five page preface “expounds and glorifies” the phase of her study dealing with music. See Cumulative book index for contents.
+
Ath. 1908, 2: 681. N. 28. 250w.
“The illustrations are excellent and contribute their share to the vividness that is perhaps the salient characteristic of the work.” F. B. R. Hellems.
+
Dial. 45: 401. D. 1, ’08. 2500w.
“Correctness, orthodoxy, can be had for the asking at any academic counter; Miss Paget deals in something better.”
+
Nation. 87: 578. D. 10, ’08. 250w.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 704. N. 28, ’08. 600w.
Lees, Dorothy Nevile. Tuscan feasts and Tuscan friends. *$1.75. Dodd.
8–18700.
The author’s experiences while living as governess in Florentine families who spent their summers among the hills of Tuscany have furnished the material for this description of life in and about a villa. “She draws a delightful picture of certain Tuscan children.... Among the particularly good chapters are those giving an account of a Tuscan fair, of the funeral of a contadina’s baby, of the exquisite Tuscan irises and the preparation of the orris-root perfume.” (Nation.)
“Two defects in the book are excessive sentimentality and the literal translation of Italian remarks.”
+ −
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 194. Je. ’08.
“Without any appreciable gift for writing, the author is yet able to bring before us the well-known scenes she describes just because she has felt their beauty and loved them.”
+
Ath. 1907, 2: 687. N. 30. 200w.
“The book has two irritating blemishes. Miss Lees is so stirred by Italy’s fatal gift of beauty that she pauses continually to soliloquize in platitudes with exuberant sentimentality. The other defect is her habit of translating the remarks of her Italian acquaintances literally from the Italian idiom and in the Italian order, and by this libellous method making the most graceful appear the most imbecile of tongues.”
+ −
Nation. 86: 351. Ap. 16, ’08. 350w.
“There is richness of legend, story, and customs in [this book].”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 319. Je. 6, ’08. 100w.
“The style becomes rather commonplace and monotonous.”
+ −
Outlook. 89: 866. Ag. 15, ’08. 170w.
“An agreeable book.” A. I. du P. Coleman.
+
Putnam’s. 4: 745. S. ’08. 100w.
“These bright vivacious sketches of hers call for no review, only for commendation. They are instinct with the true everyday life of Tuscany. The writer has a quick ear, a quick eye, the faculty of appreciation, the gift of enthusiasm and a very agreeable humour.”
+
Sat. R. 105: 237. F. 22, ’08. 100w.
Le Gallienne, Richard. Little dinners with the Sphinx, and other prose fancies. **$1.25. Moffat.
7–36411.
Mr. Le Gallienne resumes his conversation with the lady of the opals, bridging a separation of four years since the last “little dinners.” In addition to the title story there are other prose fancies as follows: The death of the poet; The butterfly of dreams; My castle in Spain; Once-upon-a-time; The little joys of Margaret; What’s in a name; Revisiting the glimpses of the moon; Eva, the woodland and I; and The dream documents.
“Mr. Le Gallienne’s hand has not lost its dexterity as long as he can fashion tales like these, and if his gift of philandering has a little failed it may be replaced by a more masculine and robust genius, and both he and his readers may be the richer.”
+
Ind. 64: 421. F. 20, ’08. 250w.
“These stories, in fact, with their exquisite images and lovely language, are like those creations of Norse mythology that appeared beautiful women when they faced you, but should they turn their backs, proved to be no other than empty shells. To be sure, if one kept the right point of view they were fair to look upon—and that is something to be thankful for.”
+ −
N. Y. Times. 12: 259. D. 28, ’07. 270w.
Le Gallienne, Richard. Omar repentant. *75c. Kennerley.
A temperance sermon embodied in a poem. It serves as a warning to youth losing itself on “the vine-trellised path to hell.” It is an antidote to the Rubaiyat in setting forth the subtle harmfulness of the vine instead of its glory.
“No matter the duration of the author’s mood, it is good sense and not bad poetry.”
+
Ind. 65: 613. S. 10, ’08. 300w.
“It is a book in a different vein from the author’s other volumes, perhaps, yet it possesses the distinct flavor of his art, and could not have come from another’s hand.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 440. Ag. 8, ’08. 230w.
Leger, Jacques Nicholas. Haiti: her history and her detractors. *$3. Neale.
7–25045.
Descriptive note in Dec. 1907.
Ind. 64: 693. Mr. 26, ’08. 250w.
“Haiti, at last, has a champion who is entitled to be heard; for he speaks from fullness of knowledge, and from a position of political eminence sends forth no uncertain sound.”
+
Nation. 86: 40. Ja. 9, ’08. 450w.
“This book deserves to be widely read.”
+
Outlook. 87: 830. D. 14, ’07. 180w.
R. of Rs. 37: 116. Ja. ’08. 120w.
217Legge, Arthur E. J. Pilgrim jester; a poem. **$1.25. Lane.
A poem whose subject is “contemporary society, the fermenting must of modern circumstance.” “‘The pilgrim jester,’ a symbolic blend of Socrates and ‘The beloved vagabond,’ walks through modernity wisely smiling, contemplating all forms of creeds. To the sandspinning multitude, the blind mouths of Law, Church and State, to the philosopher, the demimondaine, the poet, the frustrate woman, the laborer, he holds up in turn amid appropriate surroundings the mirror of a gently sympathetic scepticism.... He shadows forth a philosophy not unlike the clearer teachings of Stevenson, of Browning, of Whitman: that living is worth life, and only fear is evil.” (Forum.)
“Though his indictment of established modes of thought is not free from little touches of self complacency ... and his philosophy, in one of its aspects at least, recalls the unassailable optimism of Dr. Pangloss, the book shows much observation and humour, and its technique is admirable.”
+ −
Ath. 1907, 2: 796. D. 21. 120w.
“For all its casual beauties his book remains a breathless body, his idea a disincarnate ghost; great in conception, perhaps—but unexpressed for want of artistry in the expression.” Brian Hooker.
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Forum. 39: 525. Ap. ’08. 400w.
“The characters, including the jester, would have lived more intensely had the author been less hobby-haunted than he is. But there is vivacity in it all which proves the thought sincere, and gives it a value in spite of its being unoriginal.”
+ −
Sat. R. 105: 760. Je. 13, ’08. 650w.
“Mr. Arthur Legge is that rare thing among modern writers, a satirist who is also a poet. His ‘Pilgrim jester’ has passages which are not unworthy of the author of ‘Don Juan.’ Great skill in versification, a keen sense of the ironies of life, and something of prophetic wrath are joined with a delicacy of imagination and a capacity for sustained melodious flights which make his little book worthy of note by all lovers of good literature.”
+ +
Spec. 100: sup. 119. Ja. 25, ’08. 200w.
Leith, W. Compton. Apologia diffidentis. *$2.50. Lane.
8–16412.
A pathological study of the disease of shyness written in an autobiographical strain that carries conviction.
“The matter of the book, unfortunately, is not sufficient to carry all its superstructure. There are passages of pathos, and here and there a touch of insight; but on the whole the writer has scarcely enough to say to justify the decorated way in which he says it.”
− +
Ath. 1908, 1: 282. Mr. 7. 1550w.
“Distinguished on every page for beauty of style. The shy fraternity will need no word of ours to lead them to this book. But we hope that what has been said here will turn the lover of literature to the volume also, knowing as we do that it holds for him a pleasure not often vouchsafed in these days of universal scribbling.” J: J. Holden.
+ +
Dial. 44: 101. F. 16, ’08. 2000w.
“The style is so carefully elaborated, at times so precious, that it suggests insincerity. Perhaps the book, if taken in small doses, would seem a thing of firmer texture.”
− +
Nation. 86: 216. Mr. 5, ’08. 300w.
“This is a study in style as well as a study of shyness. It is a very flower of culture. One hardly finds anywhere in English prose a happier faculty of sympathetic description of nature, that nature which the solitary finds his refuge from man.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 138. Mr. 14, ’08. 700w.
“The book has high literary merit; the style is full of melody and colour, and the rich dreamy sentences rise into the air like wreaths of fragrant incense-smoke.” A. C. Benson.
+ +
Sat. R. 105: 368. Mr. 21, ’08. 600w.
Leland, John. Itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535–1543. ed. by Lucy Toulmin Smith. 2v. ea. $4. Macmillan.
7–25493.
v. 1. Contains pts. 1 and 2. It “comprises the antiquary’s journeys through twenty-three counties. Some of these are touched upon but slightly. The western counties, however, of Somerset, Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall are dealt with at considerable length.” (Ath.)
v. 2. Contains pts. 3 and 4, and an appendix consisting of the detached part of Leland’s ‘Collectanea’ found in Cheltenham. “Notes, chiefly concerned with men and lands, culled from rolls and pedigrees or set down by Leland from hearsay, go to make up part 4; Part 5 is narrative ‘Itinerary,’ but, the original being lost, Miss Toulmin Smith has been obliged to rely here on Stow checked by Burton.” (Sat. R.)
“Forms an indispensable book of reference to those interested in the history and antiquities of the west of England. Deserves a place in every well-furnished library.”
+ +
Ath. 1907, 2: 36. Jl. 13. 820w. (Review of v. 1.)
“For the editorial part of the work we have nothing but praise. The notes are few, but to the point.”
+ +
Ath. 1908, 1: 540. My. 2. 600w. (Review of v. 2.)
“The text of these two excellently printed volumes seems to be above reproach, and all students of English history will be grateful to Miss Toulmin Smith for the immense care she has devoted to the preparation of it. It would be a great pity if Miss Toulmin Smith’s excellent work were to suffer from the want of an adequate index.” A. G. Little.
+ + −
Eng. Hist. R. 23: 569. Jl. ’08. 730w. (Review of v. 1 and 2.)
“We congratulate Miss Toulmin Smith upon the manner in which she has edited this valuable work, which is admirably printed, with a satisfactory index.”
+ +
Lond. Times. 6: 246. Ag. 9, ’07. 1200w. (Review of v. 1.)
“His ‘Itinerary’ will always stand as a work indispensable to the student of English topography and life of the sixteenth century. Its value is chiefly for the scholar and the local antiquarian.”
+ +
Nation. 87: 99. Jl. 30, ’08. 980w. (Review of v. 1 and 2.)
+
Sat. R. 104: 175. Ag. 10, ’07. 1100w. (Review of v. 1.)
“The editing is well done, and though a proper name has here and there been allowed to escape, the index is satisfactory.”
+ + −
Sat. R. 105: 638. My. 16, ’08. 140w. (Review of v. 2.)
* Leland, Walter S. Boiler accessories: a complete and authoritative treatise on the various accessories of the boiler room and engine room essential to economical operation, together with practical instruction in their use. $1. Am. school of correspondence.
8–30357.
A handbook prepared for self-instruction and home study. Its three divisions are: Special constructions and mechanical aids, Control and supply devices, and Boiler troubles and tests. “The subjects embrace settings for boilers, types of furnace construction, forced and induced draft, steam and water gauges, safety 218valves, feed and blow-off apparatus and piping, including fittings and insulation.” (Engin. Rec.)
“One usually expects something more pretentious, however, when the words ‘complete and authoritative treatise’ are employed.”
+ −
Engin. D. 4: 547. N. ’08. 180w.
“The book seems to well serve its purpose of a not-too-technical manual of boiler appurtenances.”
+ −
Engin. N. 60: 537. N. 12, ’08. 480w.
+
Engin. Rec. 58: 652. D. 5, ’08. 190w.
Lemaitre, Jules. Jean Jacques Rousseau; tr. by Jeanne Mairet, Madame Charles Bigot. **$2.50. McClure.
7–39534.
M. Lemaître holds the view of the majority of critics “that Rousseau, in the last analysis, was a madman, rendered insane by the cumulative effect of prolonged disease and real and imaginary persecution; that his ‘pathology’ was the foremost factor in determining his career and ideas; and that it is impossible to acquit him of gross and unpardonable inconsistencies between his theories and his manner of life.” (Outlook.)
“Has faithfully presented all facts which are necessary for a complete picture of the man’s character and mind.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 195. Je. ’08.
“They are written in a free-and-easy style, and are rather familiar talks than formal addresses.”
+ −
Dial. 45: 45. Jl. 16, ’08. 240w.
“Interesting and very readable volume. Not a little of the decided charm of the book lies in the fact that the author reveals himself quite as much as he does his subject. The fatal defect of his argument is his neglect of—or shall we say unfamiliarity with?—the progress of thought during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.” G: H. Casamajor.
+ −
Forum. 40: 57. Jl. ’08. 1250w.
“A rather awkward translation. In the light of the Macdonald documents, M. Lemaitre would seem to be an unduly harsh commentator; and, granting their invalidity, he still is certainly most unsympathetic. It is unquestionably most readable and most stimulating. It possesses many passages of high analytical value.”
− +
Outlook. 89: 579. Jl. 11, ’08. 320w.
“Well worth reproduction in English. On the whole they have been adequately translated.”
+
Sat. R. 106: 641. N. 21, ’08. 270w.
“Treats the generally odious details of his countryman’s life with more philosophical indulgence, dwelling more insistently on that strain of madness which is the kindest explanation of some of Rousseau’s extraordinary actions.”
+
Spec. 101: 842. N. 21, ’08. 70w.
Lenk, Dr. Heinrich von. Marie Antoinette’s youth; tr. from the German of Dr. Heinrich von Lenk by G: P. Upton. (Life stories for young people.) **60c. McClurg.
8–23568.
A story from childhood to the perilous days of the Reign of terror gives a clear insight into the unfortunate queen’s character and the circumstances which led up to her death.
Lenôtre, Gosselin. Daughter of Louis XVI: Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte de France, duchess d’Angoulême. *$4. Lane.
8–33929.
The story of the daughter of Louis XVI, her tragic separation from her father, mother, brother, and aunt who were sent to the guillotine, her release and her exchange on the Swiss frontier for Austrian prisoners, and her residence in Austria and marriage to the Duc d’Angoulême.
“M. Lenôtre’s latest revolutionary study, though not perhaps so interesting as some of those that precede it, is marked by the same excellent qualities of exhaustive research, calm judgment, and lucid narrative. Mr. May’s translation has merit; but ‘sapiential work’ (p. 313) is scarcely happy.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 2: 471. O. 17. 1150w.
“Enough new material has been included to make the work interesting, even to those who are already tolerably familiar with the general facts of Marie Thérèse’s career.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 434. Ag. 8, ’08. 980w.
“Those who are fascinated—may we not say as Shakespeare was?—with the tragedies of royal houses are under obligation to M. Lenôtre, the writer, and Mr. J. Lewis May, his translator.”
+
Sat. R. 106: 22. Jl. 4, ’08. 470w.
+
Spec. 101: 545. O. 10, ’08. 450w.
Lenz, Max. Napoleon: a biographical study; tr. from the German by Frederic Whyte, il. *$4. Putnam.
8–3126.
A biography which aims to interpret phases of Napoleon’s character rather than to present an exhaustive history of the man or his times. Emphasis is placed upon the development of his mind, his literary attempts, his dreams and early ideals, his philosophy that man exists for the state, and the character of Napoleon as he reveals himself in documentary material.
“Details are not the matters in which Professor Lenz was interested. His eye is ever on the Titanic struggles of Napoleon’s genius amid the maelstrom of historic forces. The translation is of uncertain merit.” G. S. F.
+ −
Am. Hist. R. 13: 868. Jl. ’08. 950w.
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 195. Je. ’08. ✠
“The fact is that Dr. Lenz has narrated in too great detail the early part of his story.”
− +
Ath. 1908, 2: 40. Jl. 11. 580w.
“Although it is not free from errors that one does not look for in the writings of a distinguished Berlin professor, it delights the reader from time to time by its felicitous summaries of complex situations. The attitude of sympathetic observer, which Dr. Lenz assumes, often results also in well-balanced interpretations of Napoleon’s motives and plans, impossible to those who are always hunting for evidences of Satanic intrigue.”
+ −
Dial. 44: 279. My. 1, ’08. 400w.
“One must on the whole conclude that, although the book is not entirely without interest on the side of the character of Napoleon the non-combatant, it was hardly worth the honor of translation.”
− +
Nation. 86: 239. Mr. 12, ’08. 350w.
“A comprehensive study.”
+
N. Y. Times. 12: 644. O. 19, ’07. 50w.
“The translation is rather indifferently executed by Mr. Frederick Whyte. There are many ‘lives’ of Napoleon far more informing than this latest one—Rose’s, Fournier’s, Sloane’s, to mention a few of the best. Moreover, the value of Dr. Lenz’s work for the student is much diminished by the absence of bibliography or references.”
− +
N. Y. Times. 13: 16. Ja. 11, ’08. 500w.
“We do not recall any biographer of Napoleon who has recognized more clearly the psychological change wrought in his character by the process of events than has Max Lenz in this biography.”
+ −
Outlook. 89: 813. Ag. 8, ’08. 530w.
“From the trail of the serpent of Anglophobia this volume is certainly not free.”
+ −
Spec. 100: sup. 642. Ap. 25, ’08. 700w.
Le Queux, William. Lady in the car. †$1.50. Lippincott.
A collection of magazine stories. “This volume recounts a series of episodes in the career of a person known as ‘the Prince’—a species of Raffles on an international scale. Both in England and abroad he masquerades as the 219Kaiser’s cousin with striking impunity, and, fortified by a bewildering array of magnificent motor-cars, effects divers sensational swindles and robberies, contriving incidentally to deceive many confiding females in an apparently heartless manner, despite the author’s tribute to him as one who ‘has never, to my knowledge, played an honest woman a scurvy trick.’” (Ath.)
“The first chapter shows some sense of comedy, but those which follow are on conventional lines, and can hardly be considered up to the standard of average sensational fiction.”
− +
Ath. 1908, 1: 634. My. 23. 160w.
“Most of the stories are tiresome, and none of them are convincing.”
−
N. Y. Times. 13: 377. Jl. 4, ’08. 120w.
Le Queux, William. Pauper of Park lane; a mystery of east and west. 75c. Cupples & L.
8–8090.
A tale of mystery which centers about a Jewish financier’s methods of trapping a murderer—a secret agent in the employ of the Servian government.
“The threads of the narrative are many; and as some seem taken up only to be dropped, we are soon reduced to a fitting state of bewilderment.”
−
Ath. 1908, 1: 283. Mr. 7. 130w.
Leroux, Gaston. Mystery of the yellow room: extraordinary adventures of Joseph Rouletabille, reporter. †$1.50. Brentano’s.
8–19097.
“Here is a room with all its windows barred on the inside, no chimney, no openings of any kind but one door, which is locked on the inside by a young woman, whose father is in the next room and close to the outside of the door, a servant with him. Suddenly from inside the yellow room come shrieks and shots. When the door is broken down the daughter is found wounded on the floor, the furniture thrown about, and absolutely no one else is there. The girl could not and did not make all the wounds on her. Query, who did it?”—Outlook.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 245. O. ’08.
“‘The mystery of the yellow room’ has all but one thing. It fails to carry entire conviction.” Beverly Stark.
+ −
Bookm. 27: 603. Ag. ’08. 500w.
“The interest lasts to the end of the book.”
+
Ind. 65: 554. S. 3, ’08. 250w.
“For sheer originality and ingenuity we reckon this the best detective story published for some time.”
+
Nation. 87: 75. Jl. 23, ’08. 200w.
“The publishers advertise it as suited to reading on a railway journey. It is a correct appreciation, and places the book accurately as a literary effort.”
−
N. Y. Times. 13: 426. Ag. 1, ’08. 320w.
“The plot is elaborately worked out, and few can guess the answer before the author chooses.”
+
Outlook. 89: 957. Ag. 22, ’08. 150w.
Lescarbot, Marc. History of New France; with an English translation, notes and appendices by W. L. Grant, and an introd. by H. P. Biggar. 3v. v. 1. Champlain society, Toronto.
A reprint of Lascarbot’s “Histoire de la Nouvelle France,” published in 1609. “An introduction, by Mr. Biggar, gives briefly and clearly the little that is known of Lescarbot’s life, of his personal connection with New France and of the motif of his book. Then the translator of the book, Mr. Grant, describes the method and the aim of the translation, the various accessory materials and some further details of consequence.... There follows the translation of the first two books, made from the edition of 1618, immediately after which is an exact reprint, in smaller type, of the corresponding French original.” (Am. Hist. R.)
“It seems ungracious to note flaws in a work so good, and indeed they are few. We miss a bibliographical account of Lescarbot’s book, though we naturally expect it, and the notes, especially upon Lescarbot’s sources, are at times unsatisfyingly brief. And the system of connecting the pagination of translation and French is not the most convenient.”
+ −
Am. Hist. R. 13: 602. Ap. ’08. 540w. (Review of v. 1.)
“It must not be forgotten, however, that Lescarbot’s history possesses an importance of its own as literature, and that in this respect it has no rival in the early books of New France. Mr. Grant’s translation as a whole is admirable, and worthy of a place beside Otis’s ‘Champlain’ and Shea’s ‘Charlevoix.’ The text, however, offers opportunities for many more useful notes than Mr. Grant has seen fit to give, and Mr. Biggar’s introduction might have been considerably enlarged.”
+ −
Nation. 86: 583. Je. 25, ’08. 800w. (Review of v. 1.)
Lesdain, Count de. From Pekin to Sikkim, through the Ordos, the Gobi desert, and Tibet; with a preface by John Murray; with maps and illustrations. *$4. Dutton.
W8–118.
A remarkable wedding journey made by Count de Lesdain and his nineteen year old bride, from Pekin across Northern China, the Ordos and the Gobi desert, then south over the highlands of Tibet into India. It was undertaken to gratify a wish to cross country hitherto unknown, and to increase the geographical knowledge of the day.
“The interesting portion of his book seems to us to be that relating to the fairly well-known Chinese province of Kansuh.”
+
Ath. 1908, 2: 178. Ag. 15. 1200w.
“The narrative lacks color and action, and even the real geographical contributions are not clearly set forth.”
−
Ind. 64: 1451. Je. 25, ’08. 180w.
“It gives a vivid picture of life and conditions in little known parts of the empire.”
+
Nation. 86: 577. Je. 25, ’08. 320w.
“The blessed sense of humor was not absent, and the book is brightened by many pages of reflected experience, which must have served to ease the days and weeks of hardship.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 319. Je. 6, ’08. 320w.
“Adds a new chapter to geographical information.”
+
Outlook. 89: 958. Ag. 22, ’08. 100w.
Letters from a workingman, by an American mechanic. **$1. Revell.
8–28322.
“Familiar talks in the most unconventional and occasionally even slangy diction, directed to workingmen at large by a man who had actually been a mechanic and worked side by side with the men whom he was addressing.... Such titles as “Human nature in the shop,” “Spies in the shop,” “Exploiting the working class,” “Tenement-house neighbors,” “Settling the strike,” “Labor and the saloon,” and “The workingman and the church,” give a fair idea of the field covered by this book.”
“The writer is a man of intelligence who takes pride in his work and has a sturdy independence of character. His point of view is always interesting and instructive, although his comments on men and things and conditions may not be always of much value.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 541. O. 3, ’08. 180w.
220“It is not necessary to agree in every point with the views put forth in this book to appreciate its earnestness and its sympathy with the worker and the unemployed, and especially with the worker who belongs to the skilled class, and whose intelligence is lively and active, though not infrequently misdirected.”
+
Outlook. 90: 363. O. 17, ’08. 400w.
Lewes, Vivian Byam. Liquid and gaseous fuels, and the part they play in modern power production. (Westminster ser.) *$2. Van Nostrand.
8–13632.
“Treats the subject of liquid and gaseous fuels from a popular but comprehensive point of view, and it is not intended to take the place of the standard treatises on the several branches of the subject.”—Engin. N.
+
Engin. D. 4: 416. O. ’08. 280w.
“The author is a master of his subject, writes in a clear and often interesting style, and he has made a useful book which is worthy of a place in any engineer’s library.” W: Kent.
+
Engin. N. 60: 432. O. 15, ’08. 400w.
“There is one point which Prof. Lewes appears to have overlooked. He considers that the alcohol will be either manufactured from potato starch or saw-dust.”
+ −
Nature. 77: 98. D. 5, ’07. 930w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 584. O. 17, ’08. 80w.
Lewis, Alfred Henry (Dan Quin, pseud.). An American patrician; or, The story of Aaron Burr. **$2. Appleton.
8–5600.
A biography of Aaron Burr which in the form of fiction includes also a group of contemporaries. “Adopting the view that Burr’s scheme of western conquest involved no traitorous designs, Mr. Lewis contrives to arouse a good deal of sympathy for his hero.” (Outlook.)
“This is an ultra-lively galloping picture of the times. No modern newsboy could call the day’s news on the highways with more disregard of classic forms. That there is a vividness which puts the wars, factions, and policies of the day in gay colors before us is not to be gainsaid. The truth of the colors may well be questioned. As to the method of putting on colors there can be no question.”
−
Nation. 86: 492. My. 28, ’08. 200w.
“Apart altogether from the truth or falsity of his portrait of Burr, he draws a grossly distorted picture of the times and of the historic personages with whom Burr had to do. For this reason Mr. Lewis’s latest adventure in ‘fictional’ biography is far more deserving of censure than of praise.”
+
Outlook. 88: 882. Ap. 18, ’08. 200w.
Lewis, Alfred Henry. Wolfville folks. †$1.50. Appleton.
8–16469.
The honor of Wolfville reposes in the keeping of the Old Cattleman, who is the narrator of the “doings” of Wolfvillites; to Doc Petts, “the genteelest sharp, an’ the best eddicated, that ever dwells in Arizona”; to Sam Enright, “the soul of fairness”; to Cherokee Hall, “predestined kyard-sharp”; and other frequenters of the Red Light. This chapter of Wolfville excitement records the disappearance of the landlady’s husband, her willingness to install a successor and the alacrity with which the hunting for the lost man begins.
“Rollicking sketches.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 221. Je. ’08.
“We like these gentlemen of imaginative, figurative speech, and welcome ‘Wolfville folks.’”
+
Ind. 65: 550. S. 3, ’08. 100w.
“Taking dialect and story together, the book more nearly than any other we can recall tugs at those muscles of mirth that Artemus Ward first played upon. One feels almost like an Englishman discovering American humor.”
+
Nation. 86: 516. Je. 4, ’08. 270w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 210. Ap. 11, ’08. 50w.
“They are much more interesting and amusing than if they and their purely imaginary dialect were true to life.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 304. My. 30, ’08. 140w.
Lewis, Charlton Miner. Genesis of Hamlet. **$1.25. Holt.
7–39507.
A discussion which brings into composite view the theories of Coleridge and Werder in explaining the Hamlet of Belleforest, Kyd, and Shakespeare. The author in his summary says: “Coleridge finds that Hamlet’s delays are due to internal difficulties, for which he is to blame. Werder finds that they are due to external difficulties for which he is not to blame.... We will say with Coleridge that Hamlet’s difficulties are internal, and with Werder that he is not to blame for them; but we must add, in disagreement with both disputants that these difficulties are not the causes of the delay. The causes of the delay are those external difficulties which have vanished into the fourth dimension.”
“An eminently sane and readable essay toward a rational appreciation of Shakespeare.”
+
Ind. 65: 206. Jl. 23, ’08. 340w.
“The method employed in this book is suggestive of the process of qualitative analysis in the chemical laboratory.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 334. Je. 13, ’08. 730w.
“The book has none of the dulness which so often characterizes the discussion of pedantic problems and is as interesting to the layman as to the Shakespearian scholar.” S. R. Cook.
+ +
Putnam’s. 4: 237. My. ’08. 300w.
Lewis, George Randall. Stannaries: a study of the English tin-miner; awarded the David A. Wells prize for the year 1906–07, and published from the income of the David A. Wells fund. (Harvard economic studies, v. 3.) **$1.50. Houghton.
8–5604.
“The tin mines of Britain appear at the very dawn of our historic knowledge of the island as its special attractiveness to foreign traders; accompany its whole story as an influential and picturesque element; and are still today an essential part of the life of the southwestern counties, and a factor in the national policy. Moreover the tin mines and the tin miners have always stood in a peculiar and far from easily understood position; in a certain sense monopolized and exploited by the crown; in another sense privileged and favored beyond other interests and other classes of inhabitants. It is this interesting and obscure history that Mr. Lewis has elucidated in the present volume.”—Am. Hist. R.
“In this book, historians have at their service, for the first time, a clear, adequate and interesting explanation of what has formerly been a poorly comprehended institution, and the narrative of a previously unwritten chapter of English history.” E. P. Cheyney.
+ +
Am. Hist. R. 13: 841. Jl. ’08. 850w.
“Very scholarly study.” R. V. Phelan.
+ +
Ann. Am. Acad. 32: 634. N. ’08. 400w.
“For some topics, Dr. Lewis has not given sufficient definitions, assuming a knowledge of the terminology on the part of the reader. But this is due to his own intimate knowledge of the whole subject, which is apparent throughout the work.” D. C. Munro.
+ + −
Econ. Bull. 1: 120. Je. ’08. 640w.
“A piece of sterling work. It is true that the book lacks distinction of other than a workmanlike order. His conception of his task is scholarly rather than scientific; and while he sets 221forth minute details upon certain matters of minor import, he does not make clear what manner of man the Cornish tinner has been and is to-day, and how he has developed into his present estate.” W. C. Mitchell.
+ −
J. Pol. Econ. 16: 387. Je. ’08. 800w.
“His treatment of economic and social conditions in the tinmining counties is a distinct contribution to the social history of England—in some sections worthy of Green; while his book as a whole must for a long time to come be ranked as the standard work of reference in its field. The bibliography is especially commendable for its inclusiveness.”
+ +
Nation. 86: 377. Ap. 23, ’08. 220w.
“A subject well worth attention, and he has treated it in a manner reflecting credit on himself and on the ‘Harvard economic studies.’” C. D.
+ +
Yale R. 17: 240. Ag. ’08. 430w.
Lewisohn, Ludwig. Broken snare. $1.50. Dodge, B. W.
8–28063.
“More than most works of fiction, this is a story of a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all other personalities; of their love and its consequences, to the exclusion of all other interests. The woman is an ardent creature, cramped by the conditions of a peculiarly mean and sordid existence; the man has the artist’s temperament, and what he imagines to be deep convictions concerning the futility of the marriage-bond. The two agree to join their lives without the usual legal proceedings, and set out for a honeymoon in the South.” (Dial.) Then come a break, separation, suffering, reconciliation, and reunion according to the demands of human society.
“This is a strong and well-written study of one phase of the marriage problem.” A. C. Rich.
+
Arena. 40: 481. N. ’08. 500w.
“It is not a book for the young person to read, but it is one from which the mature mind can get nothing but good, and one which offers a singular satisfaction to the artistic perceptions.” W: M. Payne.
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Dial. 45: 295. N. 1, ’08. 300w.
“It is a novel of rather unusual quality in its serious intent, its clearness of vision, and its workmanship. The author might sometimes have developed his story, it is true, with more reticence and equal power, and so have run less risk of offense.”
+ −
N. Y. Times. 13: 612. O. 24, ’08. 300w.
Lidgett, John Scott. Christian religion: its meaning and proof. *$2.50. Meth. bk.
7–37982.
“‘An attempt to explain and verify the Christian religion by means of the fatherly-filial relationship.’... The author divides his work into three books, of which the first deals with the history and task of the Christian evidences.... [His second book on Christianity as the absolute religion] outlines the content of the Christian religion; for, as he says, we must know what a religion is before we can vindicate its truth.... The third and last book is entitled The proof of the Christian religion. The primary argument advanced for the truth of Christianity is that it is indispensable to the full realization of the noblest human life, and that its consciousness of filial relationship to God gives abounding satisfaction and spiritual power.”—Am. J. Theol.
“The author takes a comprehensive view of his subject, and his main thesis is consistently, even though somewhat awkwardly, worked out.” B: L: Hobson.
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Am. J. Theol. 12: 499. Jl. ’08. 1250w.
“The volume clearly evinces the author’s cultured and vigorous mind. But while it may seem that its arrangement of topics might be recast with advantage, our time requires a more radical betterment of it—a clear and consistent distinction between the constant and the variable elements with which it is concerned, the religion and its associated theology.”
− +
Outlook. 87: 877. D. 21, ’07. 340w.
Liebich, Louise (Mrs. Franz Liebich). Claude-Achille Debussy. (Living masters of music.) *$1. Lane.
8–8847.
A critical and biographical sketch of Debussy which emphasizes the originality of his genius. The contents are as follows: Hand and soul, in which his personality is described; Modus operandi; Choral, orchestral and instrumental works; Songs and piano pieces; Pelleas and Mélisande; As writer and critic. A chronological list of Debussy’s works and several portraits makes the undertaking but more complete.
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 195. Je. ’08.
+
Ath. 1908, 2: 134. Ag. 1. 280w.
Dial. 44: 316. My. 16, ’08. 50w.
Nation. 86: 223. Mr. 5, ’08. 700w.
“We have on many occasions expressed our objection on general grounds to the issue of biographies of living celebrities, musical or otherwise, while they are still in mid-career. Subject to this reservation, we can cordially commend Mrs. Liebich’s genial and enthusiastic sketch of the most advanced living representative of French music.”
+
Spec. 100: 339. F. 29, ’08. 250w.
Lilley, Alfred Leslie. Modernism: a record and a review. *$1.75. Scribner.
8–13710.
Mainly a collection of newspaper and magazine articles on the present problems of Roman Catholicism. “Although Mr. Lilley has confined himself in this volume to comment on the Modernist movement in the Roman Catholic church, and more specifically to the exponents of that movement in France, he has made it clear that modernism is a movement affecting the whole of Christendom.” (Nation.)
“Whatever may be thought of Mr. Lilley’s opinions—and we are far from sharing them all—he has done extraordinarily good service in calling attention to the present condition of thought and feeling.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 2: 435. O. 10. 300w.
“Mr. Lilley understands and appreciates the ‘Modernists’ position far better than anyone else outside their communion.” H. C. Corrance.
+
Hibbert J. 6: 930. Jl. ’08. 300w.
“Mr. Lilley is thoroly acquainted with his subject, and writes agreeably and kindly.”
+
Ind. 64: 1349. Je. 11, ’08. 70w.
“It is remarkable for the lucidity of its exposition and for its complete freedom from intellectual and religious frivolousness.”
+
Nation. 87: 16. Jl. 2, ’08. 1300w.
+
Outlook. 89: 364. Je. 20, ’08. 700w.
Sat. R. 105: 376. Mr. 21, ’08. 1500w.
“Mr. Lilley gives us the results of a careful and sympathetic study. We do not agree with all that he says.”
+ −
Spec. 100: 581. Ap. 11, ’08. 380w.
Lillibridge, William Otis. Dissolving circle. †$1.50. Dodd.
8–11084.
An impressionistic study of the life among a group of men and women in the “divorce colony” of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The principal character is a struggling doctor who, tho not a member of the colony, is working painfully to divorce himself spiritually from a girl who had given up his love for that of an unregenerate man. The doctor’s mission becomes that of compelling the unworthy suitor to be true to the wronged girl.
“Aside from a tendency to indulge in fantastic flights of fancy, the author on the whole keeps himself commendably in the background.” F: T. Cooper.
+
Bookm. 27: 306. My. ’08. 270w.
222“A want of unity in the plot and the heavy handling of a delicate theme are the most conspicuous faults.”
−
N. Y. Times. 13: 380. Jl. 4, ’08. 190w.
Lillibridge, William Otis. Quest eternal. †$1.50. Dodd.
8–22346.
The story of a boy’s and later a man’s reserve, struggle and self denial to see the playmate of his youth and finally the deity of his dreams become a famous singer.
“A prologue, which, taken by itself, is one of the best things he ever wrote. Taken as a whole it preaches a sane and wholesome optimism. And this, in a measure, suggests the technical shortcoming of the book—namely, that its mood is not sufficiently sustained.” F: T. Cooper.
+ −
Bookm. 28: 381. D. ’08. 370w.
“The story has originality, both in conception and development, and its pages carry something of that significance in which too much of American fiction is lacking.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 578. O. 17, ’08. 360w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 615. O. 24, ’08. 50w.
“The situation may be strained at times, but the author never fails to absorb the reader’s attention and command his respect for the characters he draws.”
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Outlook. 90: 503. O. 31, ’08. 200w.
Lilly, William Samuel. Many mansions: being studies in ancient religions and modern thought. *$3. Benziger.
8–21815.
“As a general introduction we find the sacred books of the East briefly tabulated under Max Müller’s guidance, but with special reference for Buddhism to Professor Rhys Davids, for the Avesta to M. Darmesteter, for the Chinese religious classics to Dr. Legge, and for the Koran (we prefer this accepted spelling) to H. E. Palmer.... Mr. Lilly is concerned with metaphysics, not with popular religion ... and quotation from experts overflows in his pages, which describe the old Hindu creeds merely in passing, while they are copious on Buddhism and Islam, and furnish monographs on Spinoza, Kant, Schopenhauer. The concluding essay sums up and appraises ‘the newest view of Christ,’ as set out in Professor Pfleiderer’s work, ‘Die entwickelung des Christenthums.’”—Acad.
“A learned volume. He employs a somewhat academic, though very readable style. Mr. Lilly’s authorities in every instance are the best, and commonly the latest.”
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Acad. 73: 135. N. 16, ’07. 900w.
“In riper quality, and with more mellow sympathy, Mr. Lilly presents or re-presents in his latest volume a good deal of the material which, nearly a quarter of a century ago, he published in his ‘Ancient religion and modern thought.’”
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Cath. World. 87: 248. My. ’08. 300w.
Spec. 99: 827. N. 23, ’07. 250w.
Lincoln, Joseph Crosby. Cy Whittaker’s place. †$1.50. Appleton.
8–27807.
Bayport, in the Cape Cod region, is the scene of this tale of village doings. Cy Whittaker after years of absence comes back rich to Bayport, effaces every bit of modern improvement in his old home, and restores it to the old homely, quaint conditions of his boyhood days. Cy’s village cronies, the child that walks into his home and heart, and the school teacher are the principal characters in a tale full of humor and human kindness.
“Here is a pleasant, homely, simple-minded story that gives the reader much the same sort of enjoyment he would get from a performance of ‘Shore acres’ or ‘The old homestead.’”
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Nation. 87: 525. N. 26, ’08. 230w.
“On the whole, if you haven’t been down Cape Cod way this summer—or even if you have—you may do worse than take a trip some quiet evening to Mr. Lincoln’s Bayport.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 592. O. 24, ’08. 500w.
“Humorous, human, and wholesome.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 615. O. 24, ’08. 10w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 745. D. 5, ’08. 160w.
Lindsay, C. H. A. Forbes-. Daniel Boone, backwoodsman. †$1.50. Lippincott.
8–24465.
A preliminary chapter is devoted to a survey of the country in which Boone’s life was passed and to a brief statement of the facts of his early career. The narrative proper begins with Boone’s migration with a band of forty neighbors to Kentucky, and continues with facts and some fiction to illustrate the trials and achievements, the disasters and triumphs of frontier life.
Reviewed by K. L. M.
Bookm. 28: 386. D. ’08. 40w.
“Would be commendable as a biography, if it were not partly fiction; where there is a paucity of authentic data, the author feels compelled to invent. But Mr. Forbes-Lindsay has a picturesque style.”
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Nation. 87: 550. D. 3, ’08. 40w.
“To cast much of the story into conversational form ... has its drawbacks, in the uncertainty of the reader who likes to be sure as to just where fiction ends and fact begins. It all weaves in together to make a vivid picture of the toils, perils, pleasures, and heroisms that went into the conquering of the frontier.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 549. O. 3, ’08. 280w.
“Interesting historical tale for boys.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 630. O. 24, ’08. 20w.
Litchfield, Grace Denio. Narcissus, and other poems. **$1. Putnam.
8–12552.
The volume “takes its title from the initial poem, which fills two-thirds of the book’s sixty pages, a narrative in rhymed pentameter of the life and death of the ill-fated youth. A dozen or more short poems on varied themes fill out the book.”—N. Y. Times.
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Ind. 65: 43. Jl. 2, ’08. 150w.
“The Greek story is told with grace and skill.”
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Ind. 65: 1006. O. 29, ’08. 70w.
“Miss Litchfield’s muse really sings, no matter what the measure, and there is fire in the love poems, and in the descriptive lines there is rich and beautiful color.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 524. S. 26, ’08. 270w.
Litchfield, Grace Denio. Supreme gift. †$1.50. Little.
8–9529.
The portrayal of a ruined man’s daughter staggering under the burden of her father’s debts. The scene is Washington, and poor people with small savings are the ones most involved in the failure. Joan’s supreme gift is honor which she preserves at the expense of happiness and finally health. While it is not the custom now-a-days for a heroine, glorious in her young strength and beauty, to lay down her life for a cause, it seems the only logical way out of this sea of difficulties.
“A well-intended book with a wrong-headed thesis.”
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Ind. 64: 1147. My. 21, ’08. 350w.
“One searching earnestly for the novel ‘as she is advertised to be,’ must be bitterly disappointed in this volume.”
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Nation. 86: 402. Ap. 30, ’08. 150w.
“If the emotional values had been more carefully considered the result would have been a novel of some intensity and strength.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 296. My. 23, ’08. 200w.
223Litta, Duke. Soul of a priest. †$1.50. Doubleday.
8–33161.
A polemical story whose attack is made against the Roman Catholic church. It describes first the influences which induced a young Italian nobleman to enter the priesthood, and then gives the progress of his disillusionment, and the rejection of his vows.
“The bitterness of the author’s strictures is of a nature to awaken in the fair-minded reader a considerable degree of sympathy with the institution attacked.”
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Acad. 73: 953. S. 28, ’07. 80w.
“Occasional statements betray imperfect acquaintance with rules and customs of the Roman church.”
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Ath. 1907, 2: 230. S. 21. 300w.
“The interest of the story lies in the struggle and awakening of a soul, not in an indictment of the Roman Catholic church. As it is, the Duke Litta has succeeded in marring what is otherwise an unusually forceful book.” F: T. Cooper.
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Bookm. 27: 305. My. ’08. 350w.
“Less a work of literary art than a pamphlet to promote deplorable and un-Christian prejudice.”
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Ind. 65: 153. Jl. 16, ’08. 90w.
“The bitter and even petulant spirit in which the book is written detracts from its value as a contribution to anti-clerical literature. The narrative, however, in spite of some inconsistencies and its lack of incident, has a certain unity of effect and holds the attention throughout.”