The Cumulative Book Review Digest Devoted to the Valuation of Current Literature Digests of reviews appearing in January—December 1905, magazines (continued 24)
Reading edition
+ + — Nation. 81: 470. D. 7, ‘05. 590w.
Sholl, Anna McClure. Port of storms. † $1.50. Appleton.
A young New York physician is loved by a dancer whom he has cured of pneumonia, by a lovely young girl, and by a rich and cruel enchantress, whose aim in life is social recognition. The little dancer hides her secret and sensibly marries someone else, the enchantress drives the hero into brain fever by deciding to marry a leader of the coveted exclusive set, and the sweet young girl is left to claim her doubtful reward.
“A strenuous story with a problem ending.”
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 263. Ap. 22, ‘05. 350w.
“An interesting analytical novel.”
+ Outlook. 79: 1015. Ap. 22. ‘05. 20w.
Shore, W. Teignmouth. Dickens, $1. Macmillan.
An addition to Bell’s “Miniature series of great writers.”
“Mr. Teignmouth Shore knows his subject thoroughly; his admiration is tempered by sound judgment, his praise is never exaggerated. The book ... is marked by scholarship, critical ability and good taste.”
+ + Acad. 68: 126. F. 11. ‘05 80w.
“The criticism is just on the whole.”
+ Spec. 94: 559. Ap. 15, ‘05. 80w.
* Shorter, Clement King. Charlotte Brontë and her sisters, **$1. Scribner.
A brief enthusiastic biography which supplements Mrs. Gaskell’s “Life” and includes many of Charlotte Brontë’s letters which had not appeared when that life was written. The depressing story of the whole Brontë family is given, and there is much minute detail about the strangely intertwined lives of the three sisters and the circumstances under which their works were produced.
* “He is able to correct Mrs. Gaskell on many points. His style, too, is of the sloppiest.”
+ — Acad. 68: 1149. N. 4, ‘05. 850w.
* “Written without prejudice, and with sincere love and admiration of the famous sisters, Mr. Shorter’s book is a welcome addition to Brontë literature.”
+ + Critic. 47: 575. D. ‘05. 110w.
* “But the little book cannot honestly be said to have much life or interest about it. Its most original point is the view taken by Mr. Shorter of the importance of M. Héger in the making of Charlotte Brontë.”
+ Lond. Times. 4: 381. N. 10, ‘05. 940w.
* “The task, on the whole, he has performed with much skill, with an entire power of making even less enthusiastic readers share with 318him something of ‘the glamour of the Brontës.’”
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 724. O. 28, ‘05. 1340w.
* “Mr. Shorter, to put it briefly, tries to compress far too much into one modest volume.”
+ — Outlook. 81: 714. N. 25, ‘05. 200w.
Shorthouse, Joseph Henry. Life, letters, and literary remains of J. H: Shorthouse; ed. by his wife. 2v. *$4.25. Macmillan.
The first of these volumes contains a critical introduction by the Rev. J. Hunter Smith, a great variety of letters written by and to the author of John Inglesant, and a detailed account of his quiet life which was devoted to culture, literature, and the family chemical works at Birmingham. The second volume contains his literary remains, including three short stories and other hitherto unpublished writings.
+ Acad. 68: 437. Ap. 22, ‘05. 1760w.
+ + Ath. 1905, 1: 683. Je. 3. 2840w.
+ + Critic. 47: 284. S. ‘05. 170w.
* + Ind. 59: 1163. N. 16, ‘05. 40w.
+ + Nation. 81: 169. Ag. 24, ‘05. 1760w.
“The book is a worthy and illuminating account of a man whose most characteristic work is not destined soon to perish.”
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 324. My. 20, ‘05. 1570w.
R. of Rs. 32: 254. Ag. ‘05. 90w.
“On the whole the first of these volumes gives a fair sketch of the man, though the growth and origin of the books, which should be the most interesting things in the life are scamped.”
+ + — Sat. R. 100: 22. Jl. 1, ‘05. 1440w.
+ Spec. 94: 713. My. 13, ‘05. 1870w.
Shute, Henry Augustus. Real boys. †$1.25. Dillingham.
The doings of Plupy, Beany, Pent, Puzzy, Whack, Bug, Skinny, Chick, Pop, Pile, and some of the girls are here recounted. There are snowball battles, fishing excursions, parties, races, fights and adventures. The illustrations catch the spirit of the text.
“The matter is but a variation on the old topics, while the manner has no startling touch of brilliancy; but the adventures of Plupy and his friends cannot fail to make comfortable reading.”
+ Critic. 47: 478. N. ‘05. 60w.
* + Lit. D. 31: 754. N. 18, ‘05. 330w.
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 555. Ag. 26, ‘05. 340w.
* + N. Y. Times. 10: 824. D. 2, ‘05. 140w.
+ + Outlook. 81: 89. S. 9, ‘05. 120w.
Sichel, Edith. Catherine de’ Medici and the French reformation. *$3. Dutton.
In this faithful biography the queen regent of France is shown in her true colors and appears as an ambitious woman in whom was both good and evil, not as the monster of cruelty which history has made familiar.
“Well written, authoritative, and sincere, it is a model of biography. Above all, the author has made a patient attempt to brush aside superstitions, and to arrive at the truth. Now and again we are not able to agree with Miss Sichel.”
+ + — Acad. 68: 439. Ap. 22, ‘05. 1650w.
“A high standard of literary ability pervades the volume in spite of a few lapses.”
+ + — Ath. 1905, 1: 521. Ap. 29. 1890w.
“Miss Sichel’s essays are interesting, and the book as a whole marks a distinct advance on the author’s ‘Household of the Lafayettes.’”
+ + — Nation. 81: 167. Ag. 24, ‘05. 530w.
“An extremely interesting and comprehensive history of the first two-thirds of the life of Catherine de’ Medici.”
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 326. My. 20, ‘05. 1690w.
“Is a subtle analysis and vivid presentation of the personalities and ideas of the reigns of Henri II. and Francois II.”
+ + + Outlook. 80: 245. My. 27, ‘05. 260w.
“An industrious and careful volume.”
+ + — Sat. R. 100: 183. Ag. 5, ‘05. 1080w.
“A series of interesting and attractive historical studies.”
+ + + Spec. 94: 896. Je. 17, ‘05. 2090w.
Sidgwick, Mrs. Alfred. Professor’s legacy. †$1.50. Holt.
A German professor bequeaths his work on corals and his only daughter to his favorite pupil, a young Englishman. The completing and publishing of the unfinished work prove a simple task in comparison with the undertaking to win a girl’s heart. To be sure this scholarly individual pursues one steady course instead of resorting to many devices, and it is due to a fault of method rather than purpose that the end desired is deferred so long.
“Is one of the most interesting and well-told novels of the season, and it should be one of the most popular.”
+ + Acad. 68: 1130. O. 28, ‘05. 370w.
* + Lond. Times. 4: 383. N. 10, ‘05. 460w.
* “The tale as a whole is quite as entertaining as any of the earlier romances of the same type.”
+ Nation. 81: 448. N. 30, ‘05. 320w.
* “Is a very readable little romance—a good companion for a railway journey or a rainy afternoon.”
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 797. N. 25, ‘05. 450w.
* + N. Y. Times. 10: 822. D. 2, ‘05. 130w.
* “The story is, all in all, well worth reading, although hardly likely to become one of the great literary successes of the season.”
+ Outlook. 81: 837. D. 2, ‘05. 70w.
Sidgwick, Henry. Miscellaneous essays and addresses. *$3.25. Macmillan.
“The many-sided activity of the late professor of moral philosophy at Cambridge is strikingly represented in this collection of essays and addresses. Sixteen in number, they take for theme subjects of an ethical, sociological, economic, educational, and purely literary interest.... An idea of the varied contents of this helpful volume may be conveyed by a few chapter titles: ‘Ecce Homo’ (a criticism of J. R. Seeley’s ’Study of the life of Jesus’), ‘The poems and prose remains of Arthur Henry Clough,’ ‘The scope and method of economic science,’ ‘The economic lessons of socialism,’ ‘The relation of ethics to sociology,’ ‘The theory of classical education.’”—Outlook.
Reviewed by F. Kettle.
+ + Acad. 68: 45. Ja. 14, ‘05. 820w.
“As an expression of the personality of Henry Sidgwick the collection has interest and value; as an embodiment of the Cambridge spirit it has enduring significance for all who care about tracing intellectual tendencies. The expression throughout is accurate; nothing is said more or less than is intended. The style is lucid, subtle, stimulating, never unpleasant, now and again humorous; never brilliant, persuasive, or charming. Stronger in criticism than construction. Entirely without magnetic quality.”
+ + Ath. 1905, 1: 75. Ja. 21. 2390w.
“The form of an essay or address is especially suitable to topics of this kind, which belong to the border land between the sciences rather than to the content of any one of them.” Herbert W. Horwill.
+ + Forum. 37: 250. O. ‘05. 1210w.
“What they give us is a series of side-lights on the development of a mind of singular openness to contemporary influences.” J. H. Muirhead.
+ + Hibbert J. 3: 604. Ap. ‘05. 3500w.
“It includes a wide range of subjects—economics, education, and literature—and it treats them all with a solidity, a fullness of knowledge, a many-sidedness, and an occasional sparkle of dry light which keep them alive and informing 319even when their immediate interest has begun to shift or wane.”
+ + + Nation. 81: 185. Ag. 31, ‘05. 3870w.
+ + Nature. 72: 149. Je. 15, ‘05. 660w.
N. Y. Times. 10: 41. Ja. 21, ‘05. 290w. (Survey of contents).
“... These characteristics are palpably apparent—the intellectual sincerity, the openmindedness, the faculty of acute analysis, the precision of statement, the discriminating taste that were so emphatically his.”
+ + — Outlook. 79: 246. Ja. 28, ‘05. 190w.
+ Spec. 95: 500. O. 7, ‘05. 570w.
Sidgwick, Henry. Philosophy of Kant, and other philosophical lectures and essays. *$3.25. Macmillan.
“The late Professor Sidgwick, a masterly critic, left unpublished lectures and fragments which occupy the larger portion of this volume. They discuss the philosophical teachings of thinkers so widely contrasted as Kant, Thomas Hill Green, and Herbert Spencer. The remainder of the volume consists of essays reprinted from ‘Mind’ and the ‘Journal of philology.’ Of the lectures much the greater part is devoted to a vigorous criticism of Kant, and these were finished to their lamented author’s satisfaction while the others remain less complete.”—Outlook.
+ + Lond. Times. 4: 266. Ag. 25, ‘05. 1360w.
+ + Outlook. 81: 280. S. 30, ‘05. 80w.
Sidis, Boris, and Goodhart, Simon Phillip. Multiple personality: an experimental investigation into the nature of human individuality. **$2.50. Appleton.
In the main this work is the analysis of a reactionary second personality resulting from an accident befalling the Rev. T. C. Hanna a few years since. When he returned to consciousness, he was possessed of an entirely different self, “which may be understood only by comparing it to the birth of a person possessed immediately of matured mental and physical functions.” The phenomena of this state, the return to his primary personality, and the struggle which the physicians experienced in establishing him once more on the mental basis of his former self—there being for some time a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tendency to alternate between the two human individualities—make a study as strange as it is interesting and important to the scientific world.
“The close and accurate study of Mr. Hanna’s case throws a flood of light on personality and cognate themes, and is a most valuable contribution to the literature of psychopathy.” Albert Warren Ferris.
+ + + Bookm. 21: 185. Ap. ‘05. 1480w.
“The most original as well as most interesting portion of the volume is given over to a painstaking account of a remarkable loss of personality, in many respects the most complete on record.”
+ + Dial. 38: 20. Ja. 1, ‘05. 390w.
“Dr. Sidis finds corroboratory evidence in support of his view that multiple consciousness is the law, not the exception.”
+ Ind. 58: 1419. Je. 22, ‘05. 720w.
“Truly one of the most fascinating of the fairy-tales of science, for the observing and recording of which Dr. Sidis and Dr. Goodhart deserve all credit.”
+ Nation. 80: 121. F. 9, ‘05. 940w.
“The volume deserves, as it doubtless will find, a useful place in the psychologist’s equipment for the comprehension of the varieties and the variations of personality.” J. J.
+ + Psychol. Bull. 2: 284. Ag. ‘05. 890w.
“Whatever its positive merits may be, the extraordinary jargon in which it is written and the painful dogmatism of its authors go far to obscure those merits.”
— — + Spec. 94: 613. Ap. 29, ‘05. 900w.
Sienkiewicz, Henryk. Quo vadis, a tale of the time of Nero. $1.50. Crowell.
This new volume in the “Luxembourg” series contains “Quo vadis” as translated from the Polish by Dr. S. A. Binion and A. Malevsky, and seventeen illustrations from drawings by Jan Styka.
Silberrad, Una Lucy. Wedding of the Lady of Lovell: and other matches of Tobiah’s making. $1.50. Doubleday.
Six short love stories in each of which unromantic Tobiah, the dissenter, acts as matchmaker. They are wholesome tales of crude times, and each has its own unique adventure in which there is the superstition and witchcraft found among the marsh-men; but the will of the Lord as manifested in the sturdy Tobiah, always triumphs, and the little blind god triumphs also.
“Miss Silberrad has quality; she has the power to create atmosphere. The stories in this book have all the hallmark of real ability, though their artificial nature makes them difficult to handle.”
+ + Acad. 68: 336. Mr. 25, ‘05. 260w.
“As regards actual writing and imaginative quality, this sheaf of short stories is above the usual, if not her usual, level.”
+ Ath. 1: 494. Ap. 15, ‘05. 160w.
Critic. 47: 94. Jl. ‘05. 60w.
“A thoroughly enjoyable book. Stories more interesting or more wholesome it would be hard to find; still harder to find any of equal originality and excellence of workmanship.”
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 140. Mr. 4, ‘05. 460w.
+ Outlook. 79: 654. Mr. 11, ‘05. 60w.
“Something of the dream-spirit of the Norse saga and folklore dwells in the stories, so full are they of atmosphere, of poetry, of true romance. Full of genuine humanity, too.”
+ R. of Rs. 31: 761. Je. ‘05. 210w.
Simpkinson, C. H. Thomas Harrison, regicide and major-general. *$1.50. Dutton.
“In this life of Thomas Harrison there is to be found the history of the leader of the Fifth-Monarchy men and one of the ablest soldiers of the seventeenth century.... Mr. Simpkinson’s book shows how noble a character this regicide had. Harrison was as brave on the scaffold as he was at Marston Moor or at Appleby Bridge, where his personal bravery saved the army.”—Acad.
“Had the story been written with a clearer style and with fewer digressions it would have been more valuable.”
+ + — Acad. 68: 273. Mr. 18, ‘05. 540w.
“A good half of this book consists of quotations, and long quotations. His quotations are inexact; he is not discriminating in his use of authorities; his evidence occasionally fails to bear out the assertions based upon it; and his judgment is not sound.”
— — — Am. Hist. R. 11: 153. O. ‘05. 550w.
“Mr. Simpkinson’s ‘Life of Harrison’ is scholarly and sympathetic without being marred by the parade of extenuation.”
+ + Nation. 81: 145. Ag. 17, ‘05. 660w.
N. Y. Times. 10: 243. Ap. 15, ‘05. 820w. (Abstract of contents.)
“[The story] is entertainingly, if somewhat unskillfully, told.”
+ — Outlook. 79: 1016. Ap. 22, ‘05. 260w.
Simpson, George. Naval constructor: a vade mecum of ship design for students, naval architects, ship-builders and owners, marine superintendents, engineers and draughtsmen. $5. Van Nostrand.
“This handbook is a compilation of rules, formulas and tables pertaining to shipbuilding, with just sufficient descriptive matter to make the application of the rules clear.”—Engin. N.
320“The author has endeavored to arrange the book in a logical manner, but he has not succeeded in attaining his object as completely as might be desired. He also repeats somewhat. The index is not as complete as it should be, and the table of contents is simply a list of headings for which no pages are given. The book is certainly up-to-date and should receive a warm welcome from all who are interested in ship design.” Amasa Trowbridge.
+ + — Engin. N. 53: 181. F. 16, ‘05. 920w.
“There is compactly stowed nearly, if not quite, all the material data needed by those engaged in the design, construction, equipment, and maintenance of ships.”
+ + + Nation. 80: 32. Ja. 12, ‘05. 80w.
Simpson, W. J. Treatise on plague. *$5. Macmillan.
The obvious need of scientific study along the lines of the history and therapeutic aspect of plague in India is partially met by Prof. W. J. Simpson’s work of four hundred and fifty pages “elaborately illustrated with maps, charts, and diagrams, in which are presented the results of the latest studies of the disease made by competent specialists throughout the world. Dr. Simpson speaks appreciatively of the Clayton gas process of disinfection in India.” (R. of Rs.)
* “It abounds in points of practical importance, and should, therefore, prove a most serviceable text-book to all whose duty brings them into contact with plague either directly or indirectly.”
+ + Ath. 1905, 2: 183. Ag. 5. 450w.
“It marks a distinct and important addition to what has hitherto been written about the subject. We have no doubt that it is destined to become a valuable and important aid to the student, the medical officer of health, to the epidemiologist, the sanitarian, and last, but not least, to the administrator.” E. Klein.
+ Nature. 72: 529. S. 28, ‘05. 2940w.
+ + R. of Rs. 32: 256. Ag. ‘05. 150w.
Sinclair, May. Divine fire. $1.50. Holt.
Savage Keith Rickman, son of a cockney book dealer, has in him the divine fire of genius which burns within him until, with the passing years, all the grosser parts of his personality are consumed. When the book opens he has written a tragedy, a classical thing, which makes friends for him among the critics even though they do not ask him home to dine because he is “not quite a gentleman.” In fact “his notion of pleasure was getting drunk and making love to Miss Poppy Grare,” of the Variety theatre. His meeting with Lucia Harden, typical of refinement and tradition, on whom he inflicts almost physical suffering when he “drops his aitches,” gives him an ideal to work toward, and he is never really untrue to it, even when he is engaged to marry Flossy, the little clerk. With a sense of honor almost too keen for the world in which he lives, he struggles on as journalist and poet until he reaches success, fame and his ideals. The book is unusual in its strength of plot and character, and it is most real when it forsakes the ideal and tells us that even the divine fire cannot shut out the coarser cravings of a man’s nature when he is young, a genius half-awake.
“Has an acceptable style, in all ways suited to the matter it embodies, a style with flexibility and humor employing a large vocabulary, cultivated and agreeable. As yet, she lacks that final touch of mastery by which a line condenses the whole result of ingenious mental processes.”
+ + — Atlan. 95: 699. My. ‘05. 630w.
“Author has accomplished the difficult feat of taking a genius for its hero and making him seem plausible. A sound plot. Its faults are mainly those of excess. But no page bears evidence of careless work. It shows throughout unusual knowledge and an unusual degree of skill in applying it, and it ranks unmistakably among the best of recent novels.” F. M. Colby.
+ + + Bookm. 21: 66. Mr. ‘05. 1070w.
“One does not hesitate to pronounce this book literature. A keen understanding, an ethical interpretation, and a lyric style have combined to produce one of the noblest, most inspiring, and absorbing books we have read in years.”
+ + + Cath. World. 81: 129. Ap. ‘05. 110w.
“It is scarcely a spontaneous work of genius; but it is at least a brilliant piece of workmanship, of unusual range and power. The comfortably ample canvas abounds in masculine characters, and it is not too much to say that there is not a failure, not even a commonplace achievement, among them. In dealing with her small group of women the author’s penetration becomes blunter, her power weakens. Supremely interesting. Admirably constructed. A positive hardness, almost a lack of fineness, somewhat disqualify her as a ‘mouthpiece of humanity.’” Olivia Howard Dunbar.
+ + — Critic. 46: 183. F. ‘05. 630w.
“Drawn with a firmness of hand that excites one’s admiration. It rises, moreover, to real distinction of style, besides being of absorbing interest from cover to cover. It is the sort of book that one begins by skimming, and ends by giving the closest attention to paragraph and phrase.” W. M. Payne.
+ + Dial. 38: 18. Ja. 1, ‘05. 260w.
+ + Ind. 58: 437. F. 23, ‘05. 1160w.
* “Aside from the literary shop talk in this novel the author has touched the heights and depths of inspiration. This is why parts of the book seem to sag so woefully.”
+ — Ind. 59: 1153. N. 16, ‘05. 130w.
“The aim is high, the treatment is eminently appropriate, the interest absorbing.”
+ + Lit. D. 31: 317. S. 2, ‘05. 1010w.
Reviewed by H. I. Brock.
+ + — N. Y. Times. 10: 150. Mr. 11, ‘05. 1150w.
“Pervaded by ... seriousness of invention and stamped with the distinction of high-class workmanship. This story has great nobility of spirit; although somewhat too elaborate, it is a novel to be reckoned as one of the real things of the time.”
+ + Outlook. 79: 772. Ap. 1, ‘05. 140w.
“It is to be regretted that the story, as a whole, does not reach the height achieved by the characterization. The impression one receives from the whole production is that of a tremendous and generous power; a power that includes humor, wit, analytical and philosophical power, scholarship, vivid and trenchant strength in characterization. Something that critics call ‘fusion’ ... is absent from the book, or is not there in full.”
+ + — Reader. 5: 622. Ap. ‘05. 1760w.
* “Though a mediocre piece of construction, marred by diffuseness and irrelevancies, this novel should be read for its splendidly successful character studies.”
+ — R. of Rs. 32: 759. D. ‘05. 170w.
“She writes remarkably well, though with a tendency to exaggeration and exuberance, and she has the usual feminine weakness for adjectives.”
+ + — Sat. R. 100: 412. S. 23, ‘05. 420w.
Sinclair, Upton Beall, jr. Manassas. $1.50. Macmillan.
This novel without a heroine is really a romantic history of the years preceding the Civil war. The story ends with the first battle of Manassas. The southern hero attends college in Boston, and there becomes an abolitionist; on returning home his eyes are more fully opened to the horrors of slavery and he eventually joins the Union army. “Manassas” is the first of an epic trilogy, the volumes to come being “Gettysburg,” and “Appomattox.”
“It is one of the most thrillingly interesting books of its kind that we have ever read. The real drama of the book is the historical clash of the two civilizations, and individuals seem to be made use of only by way of incidental illustration. It is history written with warmth and an eye for dramatic effect, ... but it is nevertheless 321essentially history. It is a work deserving of very high praise.” W. M. Payne.
+ + + Dial. 38: 15. Ja. 1, ‘05. 630w.
“His power is well sustained through the long narrative.”
+ R. of Rs. 31: 117. Ja. ‘05. 50w.
Sinclair, William A. Aftermath of slavery: a study of the condition and environment of the American negro; with an introd. by T: Wentworth Higginson. **$1.50. Small.
“This book gives the educated negro’s own view regarding the fitness of his race for full citizenship. It contains a complete record of the civil history of the American negro, showing what the race has done for the country in peace and in war, and what the negro has accomplished for his own uplifting.”—R. of Rs.
* “The style is clean and forceful. Of its kind it is the best any negro has written. It is the thesis of a special pleader making strong his case by ignoring the other side.”
+ — Ann. Am. Acad. 26: 752. N. ‘05. 240w.
+ — Ind. 58: 1422. Je. 22, ‘05. 190w.
“He is an able advocate if not altogether a wise one, and his book is very readable. He bases his case upon evidence which the other side refuses to admit and makes assumptions which they deny.”
+ — — N. Y. Times. 10: 354. Je. 3, ‘05. 1350w.
“He is not intelligent in interpreting Southern conditions or southern sentiment.”
— — Outlook. 80: 390. Je. 10, ‘05. 160w.
Pub. Opin. 38: 911. Je. 10, ‘05 430w.
“His partiality is not envenomed, his plea is glowing, and his historical facts have more than common value.”
+ + — Reader. 6: 594. O. ‘05. 230w.
R. of Rs. 31: 765. Je. ‘05. 100w.
Singer, Hans. Albrecht Dürer. *$2.50. imp. Scribner.
A critical essay upon Dürer’s work forms a preface to 48 exquisite plates printed in tints and mounted on paper to harmonize.
Critic. 46: 475. My. 05. 70w.
“In spite of the closeness with which Professor Hans Singer has studied the drawings of Albrecht Dürer, it can scarcely be claimed that he has succeeded in fully grasping the characteristics that render them unique. Moreover, in his efforts to be strictly faithful to his own convictions he commits himself to several assertions that will hardly pass unchallenged.”
+ — Int. Studio. 25: 180. Ap. ‘05. 140w.
“Compact for the use of students, and almost a necessity for any art library.”
+ + Int. Studio. 25: sup. 63. My. ‘05. 240w.
* Singleton, Esther. Great portraits as seen and described by great writers. **$1.60. Dodd.
This volume “contains fifty-two ‘process’ reproductions of famous portraits ... with words written about them (or inspired by them) by writers who are not all great.... The selections are well chosen and will be useful to the discriminating student. These is also a list of the abiding places of these pictures. Knackfuss, Moreau, Vauthier, Julia Cartwright, J. A. Crowe, J. B. Cavalcaselle, Humphry Ward, ... Larroumet and Lefroy are among the most authoritative critics of the fine arts quoted.”—N. Y. Times.
* + Critic. 47: 572. D. ‘05. 60w.
* + Dial. 39: 447. D. 16, ‘05. 140w.
* “Is likely to prove of great value to persons not very well-grounded in the knowledge of art, and of use, in its way, to many others, who are.”
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 764. N. 11, ‘05. 180w.
* “On the whole, the compilation has little to recommend it, and some of its faults are inexcusable.”
— + Nation. 81: 449. N. 30, ‘05. 110w.
* + Outlook. 81: 705. N. 25, ‘05. 60w.
Singleton, Esther, ed. and tr. Venice as seen and described by famous writers. **$1.60. Dodd.
Fifteen chapters which include extracts from Gautier on “The gondola” and “The grand canal”; from Yriarte on “The Rialto”; from J. R. Green on “Venice and Rome”; from Ruskin on “St. Marks”; from Taine on “The tombs of the Doges”; and from Symonds on “A night in Venice.” The volume is profusely illustrated with half-tone plates.
“A skillful collecting of the best things that have been written by the best authorities.”
+ + Critic. 47: 95. Jl. ‘05. 80w.
Dial. 38: 326. My. 1, ‘05. 60w.
“A book that is charming to read anywhere, and will be useful for travellers in Venice to consult.”
+ Nation. 80: 396. My. 18, ‘05. 260w.
“The book will be especially useful to those who have never seen and do not expect to see Venice.”
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 175. Mr. 18, ‘05. 120w.
“If an anthology of Venice was wanted, Esther Singleton has supplied it.”
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 195. Ap. 1, ‘05. 830w.
“Its editing has been done with judgment.”
+ Outlook. 79: 910. Ap. 8, ‘05. 140w.
Skene, Norman Locke. Elements of yacht design. $2. Rudder pub.
The author aims to give “‘a concise and practical presentation of the processes involved in designing a modern yacht’ ... so that the operations may be readily grasped by men without technical education.... There are chapters on displacement, the lateral plane, design, stability, ballast, the sail plan, and construction. A thirty-foot cruiser is made the basis of the calculations, and a number of tables is appended to abridge the figuring of important details. The book is illustrated with numerous outline drawings and plates.” (N. Y. Times.)
“The book will undoubtedly be serviceable to every one interested in the subject and possessed of enough technical knowledge to understand it.”
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 181. Mr. 25, ‘05. 290w.
Skinner, Harriet Pearl. Boys who became famous men. †$1.25. Little.
These “Stories of the childhood of poets, artists, and musicians” are founded upon fact but are colored to suit the taste of boy and girl readers, who cannot but feel a kinship for the young heroes of Beni’s keeper: Giotto; The victor: Bach; The little boy at Aberdeen: Byron; Tom Pear-tree’s portrait: Gainsborough; Georg’s champion: Handel; Six hundred plus one: Coleridge; The lion that helped: Canova; and Frederic of Warsaw: Chopin.
* “The stories are told simply, are readable, and the pictures are pleasing.”
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 722. O. 28, ‘05. 60w.
* + Outlook. 81: 524. O. 28, ‘05. 20w.
Slater, John Herbert. How to collect books. $2. Macmillan.
“Mr. J. H. Slater has been writing on the subject for twenty-five years, and is regarded as one of the leading authorities in England.... The book ... might better be called a ‘Primer of book-collecting.’ Much information interspersed with illustrations, is crowded into less than two hundred pages.”—Outlook.
“The text is generally accurate.”
+ Ath. 1905, 2: 468. O. 7, 990w.
“For a beginner the knowledge contained in the volume may be of great assistance.”
+ Critic. 47: 480. N. ‘05. 80w.
322* “No one but a real collector could have set forth what Mr. Slater has put into his volume.”
+ + Ind. 59: 1374. D. 14, ‘05. 250w.
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 625. S. 23, ‘05. 1020w.
“With these slight exceptions, which will prove almost immaterial to the beginner in book collecting, the manual may be taken as a most reliable, though somewhat dull, guide in this fascinating pursuit.”
+ + — Outlook. 81: 279. S. 30, ‘05. 160w.
* + R. of Rs. 32: 640. N. ‘05. 80w.
+ Spec. 95: 615. O. 21, ‘05. 390w.
Sloan, Anna L. Carolinians, an old-fashioned love story of stirring times in the early colony of Carolina. $1.50. Neale.
Mistress Damaris Johnson, the governor’s daughter, whose heart is as true to her lover as her father’s is to his king, in coquetry with her true feelings offends the man she cares for. He starts for England, is captured by pirates, a message from her miscarries, they become estranged on his return, and she is piqued into promising her hand to an unloved suitor, who in the end nobly releases her.
“It is a picturesque tale, prettily told.”
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 278. Ap. 29, ‘05. 470w.
Small, Albion Woodbury. General sociology. *$4. Univ. of Chicago press.
An exposition of the main development in sociological theory from Spencer to Ratzenhofer. The purpose of the work is to furnish a working syllabus for a year’s course of lectures and a three years’ program of seminar work given in Chicago university. “The main objects of this syllabus are, first, to make visible different elements that must necessarily find their place in ultimate sociological theory; and second, to serve as an index to relations between the parts and the whole of sociological science.”
Smart, George Thomas. Studies in conduct. *75c. Pilgrim press.
“In this survey of wisely conducted life the subjective interest of disciplined and rationalized feeling comes to its full rights, and carries the authority of experience.”—Outlook.
“A book that cannot be exhausted in one reading, or in two.”
+ + Outlook. 80: 395. Je. 10, ‘05. 130w.
“Altogether these studies in conduct offer a rational and agreeable program for making the most of ourselves and our brief span of life.”
+ + Pub. Opin. 39: 507. O. 14, ‘05. 280w.
Smeaton, William Henry Oliphant. Story of Edinburgh. $2. Macmillan.
“This volume, which belongs to the ‘Mediæval towns series,’ is to a considerable extent a reproduction of a book which the author published last year. Additions, however, have been made, and ‘it has been almost entirely re-written.’” (Spec.) “The scheme of the volume is sensible. The first portion, dealing with the history of Edinburgh, traces the general fortunes of the city without special regard to topography; it is briskly enough written, and suitably seasoned with classical anecdotes. The second, and in this instance more important, division presents a detailed description of the city itself, and discusses the places and objects of historic interest.” (Ath.) There are many illustrations.
“The instructions are clear and practical, the comments are generally to the point, and the illustrations are decidedly good.”
+ + Ath. 1905, 2: 468. O. 7. 200w.
* “The book is compact, comprehensive, and portable, and conveniently arranged in walks to points of historic, literary and ecclesiastical interest in the city and its environs.”
+ + Ind. 59: 1111. N. 9, ‘05. 180w.
“Has put together a charming volume, full of matter but with little in it either of the guidebook or the town history.”
+ + Nation. 81: 360. N. 2, ‘05. 90w.
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 640. S. 30. ‘05. 120w.
“This volume packs an amazing amount of information in small compass, and serves it up, moreover, with commendable freedom from dryness and encyclopaedic method.”
+ + Outlook. 81: 282. S. 30, ‘05. 170w.
“A book about Edinburgh can scarcely fail to be interesting, and as written by Mr. Smeaton, who knows his subject thoroughly and writes about it con amore, this may be ranked with any volume in the series.”
+ + Spec. 95: 533. O. 7, ‘05. 340w.
Smedley, A. C., and Talbot, L. A. Wizards of Ryetown. †$1.50. Holt.
A clever fairy tale interspersed with nonsense rhymes in which a fairy princess goes out into the world with her hero prince to help him conquer his kingdom. After wars waged against castles, witches and wizards they share their realm in proverbial fairy-tale peace and prosperity.
* + N. Y. Times. 10: 870. D. 9, ‘05. 270w.
Smet, Pierre-Jean de. Life, letters and travels of Father Pierre-Jean de Smet, S. J.; ed. by Hiram Martin Chittenden and Alfred Talbot Richardson. $15. Harper, F. P.
An account of the life and work of the missionary priest in the unopened West, recorded chiefly in his own simple words, as found in manuscript journals, and his printed works. There are copious notes and a life of De Smet by the editor.
“We strongly recommend this valuable work to all who are interested in the history of the North American West and in its aborigines. Also, and particularly, to those interested in missions.”
+ + + Nation. 80: 274. Ap. 6, ‘05. 2060w.
“The most valuable part of this book is that which deals entirely with Indian life, and the editors are to be congratulated upon their success in keeping this essential and vital part continually the most prominent. As no other man has so fully and so deeply understood the Indian, so no other has contributed so much information about his life and customs or served the cause of justice so well in uprooting the prejudice against the aborigines of this country. [The Indian] has received his meed of praise, and the final judgment upon his character.” Stanhope Sams.
+ + + N. Y. Times. 10: 66. F. 4, ‘05. 2310w.
Smith, Adam. Wealth of nations; ed. by Professor Edwin Cannan. *$6. Putnam.
This new edition of the famous work of the father of political economy follows the text of the fifth edition in all details. The editor has added elaborate notes and a comprehensive introduction.
“Will henceforth be the standard. It is hard to see how the editor’s work could be improved save by the discovery of new sources of knowledge.”
+ + + Ann. Am. Acad. 25: 135. Ja. ‘05. 130w.
“What promises to be its definitive form for many years to come. Along with his demonstrated insight into the heart of this classic, Mr. Cannan brought other gifts of a rare order to his task,—tireless scholarship in ferreting out the ipsissima verba of the text, and withal an invigorating freshness of vision into the realities of industrial life, a doughty logic, and a dash of cynical humor.”
+ + + Atlan. 95: 562. Ap. ‘05. 510w.
“Marks of extreme care as well as of full and critical knowledge are visible on every page. The editor’s notes are of great value even to students who are not greatly interested in the niceties of textual criticism. In a great measure they serve as cross-references, and serve also to keep in mind and define Adam Smith’s characteristic inconsistencies and limitations.”
+ J. Pol. Econ. 13: 136. D. ‘04. 310w.
323* Smith, Albert William, and Marx, Guido H. Machine design. $3. Wiley.
A volume which “treats in logical sequence the elements of mechanism and machine design, followed by construction in detail of machinery, and an excellent chapter on ‘Riveted joints.’ It is well written and illustrated, and the effort to lead elementary conception into actual construction is consistently followed out, giving the reader, or the student, the satisfaction of learning the means and the reason for the result obtained.”—Engin. N.
* “Briefly characterized this is a college treatise, broad and elementary in its introduction, thorough in detail, elaborate in formulas, limited in references to modern devices and inaccurate in some of its practical data.”
+ + — Engin. N. 54: 650. D. 14, ‘05. 890w.
Smith, Bertha H. Yosemite legends. **$2. Elder.
Six short legends each representing some folk song of the tribe of Ah-wah-nee-chee or Yosemite dwellers. The charm of the text is enhanced by the artistic work of Florence Lundborg, who has conceived a barbaric pattern, an Indian design for the margin, and has contributed thirteen wash drawings reproduced in half-tone. The whole make-up of the book suggests the “eerie and the unseen in air, crag, and water.”
“The stories are told with an attractive simplicity that retains a flavor of the primitive Indian poetry.”
+ Critic. 46: 94. Ja. ‘05. 100w.
* Smith, Rev. David. Days of His flesh: the earthly life of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. **$2.50. Armstrong.
A new life of Christ, simple in style. “It throws some light on incidents in the life of Christ from portrayal of Jewish habits of life and thought. It accompanies the words of Jesus with some interpretation, but not with exhortation. It is free from scholasticism on the one hand and from ecclesiastical pietism on the other.”—Outlook.
* + Lond. Times. 4: 336. O. 13, ‘05. 1500w.
* “Theoretically, the spirit of the writer might be defined as that of a broad-minded and free-minded evangelical.”
+ Outlook. 81: 428. O. 21, ‘05. 120w.
* Smith, Elmer Boyd. Story of Noah’s ark; told and pictured by E. Boyd Smith. **$2. Houghton.
“The building of the ark, the assembling of the animals, and the adventures of the voyage, are all made to yield their full measure of entertainment. The dinosaurs that had to be left behind because they were too big for the door, the host of other strange beasts ... that refused to go in and were therefore ‘doomed to be lost and become fossils,’ the other host that went in and, being tossed by the waves, regretted it ... all these episodes are pictured with remarkable expressiveness and a clever but never too extravagant caricature.... The plates are artistically reproduced in color.”—Dial.
* “An amusing book with illustrations gay enough and text simple enough to attract any well-regulated child.”
+ Critic. 47: 577. D. ‘05. 15w.
* “The pictures are the feature of the book, but they would not be half so amusing without the sly and subtle humor of the brief descriptions which accompany them.”
+ Dial. 39: 383. D. 1, ‘05. 200w.
* + Ind. 59: 1392. D. 14, ‘05. 30w.
* “Mr. Smith is too good a draughtsman to be side-splittingly comical, but he has a humorous imagination. His text is far less droll, and he should procure a literary running-mate for his next venture.”
+ — Nation. 81: 381. N. 9, ‘05. 150w.
* N. Y. Times. 10: 744. N. 4, ‘05. 150w.
* “A capital piece of story-telling by colored pictures—humorous but perfectly respectful to Noah and all his family.”
+ Outlook. 81: 684. N. 18, ‘05. 40w.
Smith, F. Berkeley. Parisians out of doors. *$1.50. Funk.
Parisians of all classes at play, sipping coffee in their pet cafés, pelting each other in the fete des fleurs, or enjoying the more serious joys of baccarat, fill these pages. But whether at home or jaunting by rail or motor car to Trouville, Normandy, St. Cloud or Monte Carlo, they are kept innately Parisian and carry with them their own distinctive atmosphere.
“It is never better than picturesque journalism, but, light and frothy as his writing is, it conveys a good and vivid idea of certain aspects of life in Paris, at Trouville, and other watering-places, at Nice and Monte Carlo, and so forth.”
+ Acad. 68: 935. S. 9, ‘05. 110w.
“He shows an absence of dictatorialness, a humor, and a modesty that make his volume most entertaining reading.”
+ Critic. 47: 479. N. ‘05. 60w.
+ + Ind. 59: 639. S. 14, ‘05. 100w.
“The style of the author matches its subject. Mr. Smith is not only an enthusiastic lover of Paris but he can express this taste for the perfection of worldly joys in a voice of exquisite timbre.”
+ + Lit. D. 31: 317. S. 2, ‘05. 490w.
“Is as bright and entertaining as either of its predecessors, ‘The real Latin quarter’ and ‘How Paris amuses itself.’”
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 457. Jl. 8, ‘05. 1350w.
“Sprightly, not always very dignified, cheerfully observant of the gay and the picturesque.”
+ Outlook. 80: 790. Jl. 22, ‘05. 80w.
“‘Paris out of doors’ has gathered in the spirit of the French festivity, has caught much of the nature worship that infects that festivity, and in every respect is a delightful and refreshing book.”
+ + + Pub. Opin. 39: 350. S. 9, ‘05. 140w.
“Mr. Smith knows perfectly well how to write good, interesting description, and what more interesting people can you find than the modern Parisian?”
+ + R. of Rs. 32: 254. Ag. ‘05. 80w.
“This is a very pleasant and readable book. Some of the illustrations are good, but the photographs are not invariably successes.”
+ + — Spec. 95: 263. Ag. 19, ‘05. 160w.
Smith, Francis Hopkinson. At close range. †$1.50. Scribner.
“This is a collection of nine short stories.... The object of the volume seems to be to bring together some little tales of plain things in life in which Mr. F. Hopkinson Smith discovers a grain of gold ‘at the bottom of every heart-crucible choked with cinders.’ ... He does not confine his stories to any particular stage setting, but wanders, as the digger should do, wherever the gold of life is to be found.”—N. Y. Times.
“Mr. Hopkinson Smith has the right knack, although exception must be taken to his literary style.”
+ + — Ath. 1905, 2: 44. Jl. 8. 220w.
“The chief characteristic of these nine short stories, tales of ‘the road,’ is a realism described with a poetic touch.”
+ + + Critic. 47: 94. Jl. ‘05. 240w.
“He has set down with humor, compassion and wit the real life that we live every day on the outside of story-books and made it refreshing with faith and virtue.”
+ + Ind. 58: 957. Ap. 27. ‘05. 410w.
“He has the snag-less style of long literary training, yet he shuns prolixity.”
+ + Nation. 80: 378. My. 11, ‘05. 280w.
324“The stories deserve reading, and the circulation of such a volume will not bring benefit to the author alone.”
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 235. Ap. 8, ‘05. 190w.
N. Y. Times. 10: 390. Je. 17, ‘05. 180w.
“This latest collection of short stories renews the impression which the earlier volumes from the same hand made of great clearness of sight, fresh and vital interest in all forms of life which express either beauty or character, a keen sense of humor, and admirable power of characterization.”
+ + + Outlook. 79: 906. Ap. 8, ‘05. 190w.
“Always Mr. Smith is the artist—not a photographer.”
+ + Pub. Opin. 38: 633. Ap. 22, ‘05. 280w.
+ + Reader. 6: 120. Je. ‘05. 320w.
“The author, who writes tersely and well, shows that he has keen powers of observation, he is also endowed with a sense of humour and a capacity for sympathy, and he can in a measure touch, as it has been said, both the springs of laughter and the source of tears.”
+ + + Sat. R. 100: 186. Ag. 5, ‘05. 250w.
“The problems contained in the book are not very subtle, but almost all the stories are pleasant reading.”
+ + Spec. 95: 228. Ag. 12, ‘05. 140w.
Smith, Francis Hopkinson. Wood fire in no. 3. †$1.50. Scribner.
F. Hopkinson Smith invites his readers to join a circle in Bohemia about a log fire “that can sparkle with merriment, or glow with humor, or roar with laughter, dependent on your mood.” The “High priest of the Temple of jollity” is Sandy MacWhirter whose “wide personal experience, his many adventures by land and sea make him the most delightful of conversationalists ... talking as a painter talks, one who sees, and therefore can make you see.” He and his group of friends draw up around the fire and swap stories, impressions and terse convictions. “Mac” on studio teas is especially convincing; “Art is a religion not a Punch and Judy show. Whole thing is vulgar. Imagine Rembrandt showing his ‘Night watch’ for the first time to the rag-tag and bob-tail of Amsterdam.... Sacrilege, I tell you, this mixing up of ice-cream and paint; makes a farce of a high calling and a mountebank of the artist.”
* + Critic. 47: 579. D. ‘05. 80w.
* “MacWhirter and his friends are thoroughly individual. They all know stories well worth the telling, and they tell them extremely well.”
+ + Dial. 39: 388. D. 1, ‘05. 170w.
* “Has the charm with which Mr. Smith invests all that he writes, a charm which is one of projected personality, and must therefore miss some uncongenial readers, though these will usually be few.”
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 823. D. 2, ‘05. 160w.
* “Mr. Smith never fails to infuse a certain invigorating good fellowship into his stories. The book as a whole does not reach the high level of Mr. Smith’s more serious fiction.”
+ + — Outlook. 81: 712. N. 25, ‘05. 140w.
* Smith, Frederick Edwin, and Sibley, N. W. International law as interpreted during the Russo-Japanese war. *$5. Boston bk.
“We welcome this attempt to estimate the present state of the science [of war] in the light of the new precedents created.... [The authors] have reviewed the whole history of the operations, and dealt with every point raised, from the volunteer cruisers to the use of wireless telegraphy, in a lucid and scholarly manner.... A large number of useful documents are reprinted in the appendices, and the authors have written a short but admirably clear introduction on the meaning of international law.”—Spec.
* “By far the most interesting part of the volume consists of the chapters, full of detail, and well considered, relating to neutrality; chapters so full and complete that they might with small change form parts of a treatise on international law. It is a piece of well-knit, solid work. It embodies research and care. A spirit of moderation, a sense of responsibility, is present.”
+ + + Lond. Times. 4: 299. S. 22, ‘05. 1480w.
* N. Y. Times. 10: 791. N. 18, ‘05. 650w.
+ + + Sat. R. 100: 690. N. 25, ‘05. 470w.
* “The work may be warmly recommended to all lawyers and students of public policy.”
+ + + Spec. 95: sup. 794. N. 18, ‘05. 370w.
Smith, Rev. George Adam. Forgiveness of sins, and other sermons, **$1.25. Armstrong.
“Sermons preached by Dr. George Adam Smith, in the pulpit of Queen’s Cross Free church, Aberdeen.... They are spiritual expositions of theology.... Biblical in substance but not textual.”—Outlook.
“His new volume of sermons offers an example of the art of expository preaching, the more persuasive in that it is not professedly expository.” A. K. P.
+ + Bib. World. 26: 155. Ag. ‘05. 750w.
“His discourses are direct, practical and earnest, excellent examples of the expository preaching for which Scotch ministers are famous.”
+ + Ind. 58: 500. Mr. 2, ‘05. 90w.
“They constitute good models for the minister and good reading for the thoughtful and the devout layman.”
+ + Outlook. 79: 958. Ap. 15, ‘05. 340w.
“The volume of his sermons just published may do something to dispel false notions of Professor Smith’s theological system.”
+ R. of Rs. 31: 254. F. ‘05. 70w.
+ Spec. 94: 368. Mr. 11, ‘05. 490w.
Smith, Goldwin. My memory of Gladstone. *75c. Wessels.
This volume is written by one who knew Gladstone, both socially and in a business way and who knew even better the men who were his associates in public life. He says that it is thru their eyes that he saw Gladstone and he gives his memory of the man and his colossal work in a concise and sympathetic manner. The little book will give a glimpse of Gladstone and his career to those who have not the leisure to read Morley’s Life, to which Prof. Smith pays handsome tribute.
* + Critic. 47: 284. S. ‘05. 60w.
+ + Dial. 39: 212. O. 1, ‘05. 200w.
R. of Rs. 31: 765. Je. ‘05. 80w.
Smith, J. Russell. Organization of ocean commerce. $1.75. Ginn.
This is one of the Univ. of Penn. publications and belongs to the series in political economy and public law. “The author confines himself exclusively to the presentation of facts and the description of processes.... The result is a careful, accurate and minute analysis of over sea commerce, which cannot fail to be of the greatest interest, not merely to the student of commerce, but to those who are actually engaged in the business of ocean transportation. The book is divided into three parts, viz.; Traffic, Routes and shipping and Harbors and port facilities.” (Ann. Am. Acad.)
“Dr Smith has produced one of the most satisfactory pieces of economic investigation which has appeared in recent years.” E. S. Meade.
+ + + Ann. Am. Acad. 25: 610. My. ‘05. 970w.
Smith, Rev. John. Magnetism of Christ: a study of our Lord’s missionary methods. $1.75. Armstrong.
“This book is composed of the Duff lectures on evangelistic theology, which were delivered in 1903-4 by the author, who is a minister of the United Free Church of Scotland.... He 325discourses on such subjects as ‘The distinctive method of Jesus,’ ‘Christ dealing with individual inquirers,’ and ‘Prayer as bringing in the kingdom of God.’”—Spec.
“Although Dr. Smith wrote his lectures for students, his style is almost as simple as that of a Welsh evangelist.”
+ Spec. 94: 119. Ja. 28, ‘05. 320w.
Smith, Mary Prudence Wells. Boy captive in Canada. †$1.25. Little.
This is the second story in the “Old Deerfield series,” and the sequel to, “The boy captive of old Deerfield.” It tells of the experiences of little Stephen Williams, son of the minister of Deerfield, as he lived a captive and a burden bearer among the Indians. It describes his wanderings with them in northern Vermont, the cold hard winter they spent in Canada, and it finally chronicles his liberation and return to Deerfield. At the end the varied and thrilling experiences of other Deerfield captives is given as revealed by the researches of Miss C. Alice Baker.
Smith, Nicholas. Masters of old age. *$1.25. Young ch.
The value of longevity is here illustrated by practical examples. The lives of Mommsen, Holmes, Geo. Bancroft, Victor Hugo, S. Weir Mitchell, Whittier, and numerous other masters of old age serve to show how much of the world’s work is done by its old people. There are some good ideas upon the value of keeping in the harness, and on the care of both mind and body.
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 588. S. 9, ‘05. 310w.
“As a record of the victories over old age and bodily infirmity won by men and women of many sorts this book has a tonic quality both of physical and moral efficacy.”
+ + Outlook. 81: 135. S. 16, ‘05. 100w.
Smith, Orlando Jay. Balance the fundamental verity, **$1.25. Houghton.
“‘A key to the fundamental scientific interpretations of the system of nature, a definition of natural religion, and a consequent agreement between science and religion.’ What Mr. Smith has really tried to do is to show that religion and science stand on the same rock, and that the law of compensation will explain away many philosophical difficulties. There is an appendix containing critical reviews by a number of eminent scientific and religious writers, most of which commend Mr. Smith’s thesis and the way he has worked it out.”—R. of Rs.
“Mr Smith in his book endeavors to deduce human immortality, and other things, from Newton’s postulate that ‘to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.’ The result is unsatisfactory to the materialists, who do not accept his demonstration as valid, and equally so to those who like the other side of the wall, because it is the other side.” T. D. A. Cockerell.
+ — Dial. 38: 88. F. 1, ‘05. 150w.
+ R. of Rs. 31: 128. Ja. ‘05. 110w.
Smith, Reginald Bosworth. Bird life and bird lore. *$3. Dutton.
A lover of books and of birds writes of his friends the owl, the raven, the wild duck, the magpie, the rook and others, giving his own observations of them and showing the place they hold in history, literature, poetry, and folklore.
“A well-written and attractive book, of which the only material demerit is the rather patchy and uneven effect almost inseparable from volumes made up of papers originally published at divers times and in divers manners.”
+ + — Acad. 68: 360. Ap. 1. ‘05. 850w.
“It is pleasantly and allusively classical, for Mr. Bosworth Smith is a ripe scholar, and it is written in a style which is always accurate and often picturesque.”
+ + Ath. 1905, 1: 495. Ap. 15. 710w.
“A series of capital essays on British birds.”
+ Country Calendar. 1: 221. Jl. ‘05. 60w.
“The book is one to be on permanently good terms with, for its genuine love of all feathered folk, its hatred of cruelty ... its delicate humor, and its poetical perspective.” May Estelle Cook.
+ + Dial. 38: 386. Je. 1, ‘05. 310w.
Ind. 58: 1152. Je. 1, ‘05. 120w.
“The particular claim of the book is that it has a local nexus and that the tale of the birds is not separated from the life of the place.”
+ Lond. Times. 4: 161. My. 19, ‘05. 1140w.
“Has the happy faculty of combining his personal observations with those of his predecessors and confreres into a series of pleasing and instructive sketches.”
+ + Nation. 81: 264. S. 28, ‘05. 250w.
“Besides giving excellent information tells some interesting anecdotes.”
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 389. Je. 17, ‘05. 120w.
Reviewed by Mabel Osgood Wright.
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 402. Je. 17, ‘05. 230w.
“Perhaps the best parts of his book are those in which he has brought together the references to his favorite birds from ancient and modern literature.”
+ + Outlook. 80: 244. My. 27, ‘05. 100w.
“These essays have a certain charm of style which should appeal to nature-lovers the world over.”
+ R. of Rs. 32: 127. Jl. ‘05. 80w.
“He is a real observer of the birds he delights in and he has written a very delightful account of the old Rectory and the old Manor house.”
+ Sat. R. 99: 601. My. 6, ‘05. 240w.
“Very pleasant book. The charm of the book ... lies chiefly in the writer’s great love of his subject.”
+ + — Spec. 94: 751. My. 20, ‘05. 1050w.
Smith, Sara Trainer, trans. See Denk, Victor Martin Otto.
Smith, Sydney Armitage-. John of Gaunt, king of Castile and Leon, duke of Aquitaine and Lancaster, earl of Derby, Lincoln and Leicester, seneschal of England. *$6. imp. Scribner.
“So far as we are aware, this is the first detailed study of the personality and career of ‘Old John of Gaunt, time-honored Lancaster.’ ... Mr. Armitage-Smith has faithfully explored all manner of sources of information bearing on the exploits and character of this favorite son of Edward III. and favorite brother of the Black Prince, this titular king of Castile and Leon and uncrowned king of England. The search yields to us a fascinating story of chivalry, pageantry, and war, a story of many personages and many scenes.”—Outlook.
“A scholarly but also a highly interesting work.” Laurence M. Larson.
+ + Dial. 39: 86. Ag. 16, ‘05. 1240w.
“He must be congratulated on a width of research and a clearness of judgment which more practised hands might envy. He has done much to reconcile apparent inconsistencies in the career of the father of the first Lancastrian king and to unravel the tangled skein of English politics in the last quarter of the fourteenth century.” James Tait.
+ + + Eng. Hist. R. 20: 563. Jl. ‘05. 900w.
“Is an ample and scholarly work.”
+ — Nation. 81: 342. O. 26, ‘05. 520w.
“He has turned out a book that is at once scholarly and eminently readable. Moreover, his work scarcely runs the risk of being superseded.”
+ + + N. Y. Times. 10: 300. My. 6, ‘05. 1180w.
“Told with feeling and intelligence by one who breathes the spirit of the times.”
+ + Outlook. 79: 1059. Ap. 29, ‘05. 180w.
326Smith, Vincent A. Early history of India. *$4.75. Oxford.
From 600 B. C. to the Mohammadan conquest, including the invasion of Alexander the Great. A great deal of space is devoted to the invasion of Alexander, while the chapters dealing with the mediaeval kingdoms of the north, the Deccan and matters of purely local interest are brief. The closing chapter outlines the history of the South.
“Will be welcomed for its very able research into Alexander’s India campaign. McCrindle, whom we had thought to have said the last word on the subject, is corrected in so important a matter as the place where Alexander’s army crossed the Hydaspes.”
+ Acad. 68: 47. Ja. 14, ‘05. 290w.
“Mr. Smith is unusually well qualified for the work he has undertaken. This knowledge, combined with a high ideal of the office of the historian, ability in the sifting and criticism of evidence, and finally the power of presenting in remarkably clear and attractive form the fruits of his investigations has led to the production of a work of exceptional merit.” George Melville Bolling.
+ + + Am. Hist. R. 11: 121. O. ‘05. 1010w.
“Nearly a third of the volume is occupied with Hellenic activity and influence in India, and there is nowhere so complete and vivid an account of the great campaign as is to be found in these pages. Even those not interested in India for itself cannot fail to be attracted by this chapter in the life of Alexander, which in some regards at least may be accepted by historians as a definite statement.”
+ Nation. 80: 117. F. 9, ‘05. 630w.
N. Y. Times. 10: 121. F. 25, ‘05. 300w.
Smith, William Benjamin. Color line. **$1.50. McClure.
The author is a southerner and a professor in Tulane university, but he tries to give an unbiased scientific treatment of the race problem, taking up the question of miscegenation, the danger of the “mongrelization” of the white race in the South, and social and political future of the negro.
“The argument is largely rhetorical and contributes nothing to our knowledge of what is going on. The book abounds in extreme statements. As a plea of an intelligent partisan the book has value, but otherwise is not to be compared with the recent volume of Mr. T. N. Page, who holds very similar views.”
— — + Ann. Am. Acad. 25: 594. My. ‘05. 230w.
“There is much that is new in the conception and in the detail of the present study. Whether the reader agree or disagree with Professor Smith’s conclusions, we can promise him that this is by far the most elaborate and important study of the American negro that has yet appeared, that it deals with fundamentals and not with the superficial manifestations of the conflict between black and white, and that its tone is such as to command respectful attention from the reader, whatever his prejudices. A style full of terse, vigorous phrases, at times enlivened by humor, and again and again shot through with illuminating allusions revealing the breadth of culture, the fund of reading upon which the scholar can draw at will.” Pierce Butler.
+ + + Baltimore Sun. : 8. Mr. 8, ‘05. 1140w.
“Professor Smith of Tulane University writes as an ‘irreconcilable,’ but his arguments are strong and well buttressed, and he views the subject on several sides.”
+ + Critic. 47: 287. S. ‘05. 50w.
“Mr. Smith’s book is a naked, unashamed shriek for the survival of the white race by means of the annihilation of all other races.” W. A. Burghardt DuBois.
— — Dial. 38: 315. My. 1, ‘05. 430w.
“It is only valuable as an effort to substantiate the South’s treatment of the negro. It contains neither scientific accuracy nor literary excellence.”
+ — Ind. 58: 843. Ap. 13, ‘05. 290w.
— + Nation. 81: 280. O. 5, ‘05. 1130w.
“It may be Professor Smith has allowed his predispositions to color his conclusions somewhat.”
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 82. F. 11, ‘05. 1820w.
“In six passionately written chapters brimming with science and statistics, Professor Smith makes a strong presentation of the position of the South on the negro question.”
+ + Pub. Opin. 38: 297. F. 25, ‘05. 500w.
R. of Rs. 31: 382. Mr. ‘05. 100w.
* Smythe, William Eilsworth. Constructive democracy: the economics of a square deal. **$1.50. Macmillan.
“This volume presents the evils of the present industrial system and proposes three remedies. The first is Senator Newland’s plan for dealing with the transportation problem.... The second remedy is Mr. Garfield’s plan.... The first remedy would put the railroads, the second the trusts, under the supervision of the National government. The third remedy is National irrigation for the development of our unused lands, and adequate protection of them from the land-grabber, that they may furnish an opportunity for the ‘surplus man.’”—Outlook.
* N. Y. Times. 10: 708. O. 21, ‘05. 280w.
* “We see no evidence that he is familiar with the economic history of the past. His book is journalistic rather than academic in its spirit. We should like to see his book read and pondered by all journalists and congressmen.”
+ + — Outlook. 81: 332. O. 7, ‘05. 290w.
* Pub. Opin. 39: 572. O. 28, ‘05. 320w.
* “His book impresses one as the work of a keen observer of modern industrial life and a thoughtful student of its problems.”
+ + R. of Rs. 32: 638. N. ‘05. 130w.
Snell, F. C. Camera in the fields. $1.25. Wessels.
“The first part of Mr. Snell’s manual is entitled ‘The camera and the dark room’; in this the processes are explained.... Parts 2-5 are devoted to the several subjects of Ornithology, Zoölogy, Entomology, and Botany; in each the special subject—how bird, beast, insect, or plant is to be best ‘taken off’ by the camera—is dealt with. The volume is amply illustrated.”—Spec.
“His sensible remarks on the matters of which he is clearly a master himself should be of great value to students of ornithology, zoölogy, entomology, and botany.”
+ + Acad. 68: 369. Ap. 1, ‘05. 170w.
* “An excellent handbook for those who are interested in the finer problems of photography.”
+ + Dial. 39: 313. N. 16, ‘05. 290w.
“It is of its kind excellent.” W. P. P.
+ + Nature. 72: 153. Je. 15, ‘05. 370w.
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 515. Ag. 5, ‘05. 250w.
+ + Spec. 94: 599. Ap. 22, ‘05. 110w.
Society in the new reign; by a foreign resident. $4. Wessels.
This book supplements “Society in London,” published by the same author in 1886. It gives a present day view of “persons and things, as well as of a social state generally” both in and out of London, under such chapter headings as—The new court and some state pillars, Society at school and at play, Where wit, wealth and empire meet, Hencoops and heroes, Counter and coronet, Society’s tradesmen and their social claims.
327Sociological papers, by Francis Galton and others. *$3.60. Macmillan.
“The volume comprises the papers and discussions at the first meeting of the (British) Sociological society, 1904.... Among the subjects discussed, ‘Eugenics,’ or what in this country is called stirpiculture, takes the leading place.”—Outlook.
“Marks the opening of a new stadium in the progress of sociology.”
+ + + Acad. 68: 103. F. 4, ‘05. 1130w.
“The book is welcome not merely because of the excellent papers, but also because of the light it throws upon the headway sociology is making in England.”
+ + Ann. Am. Acad. 25: 594. My. ‘05. 150w.
+ Ath. 1905, 1: 239. F. 25. 630w.
+ Dial. 38: 326. My. 1. 05. 120w.
“The sociological society is to be congratulated on the appearance of its first volume.” W. D. Morrison.
+ + Int. J. Ethics. 15: 507. Jl. ‘05. 1250w.
“The one real addition to knowledge that the volume contains is by an outsider, Mr. Harold H. Mann.”
+ + — Nation. 81: 42. Jl. 13, ‘05. 960w.
Reviewed by F. W. H.
+ Nature. 71: 605. Ap. 27, ‘05. 540w.
+ Outlook. 79: 605. Mr. 4, ‘05. 280w.
Reviewed by J. H. T.
* + + Psychol. Bull. 2: 422. D. 15, ‘05. 280w.
R. of Rs. 31: 510. Ap. ‘05. 140w.
* + Sat. R. 100: 724. D. 2, ‘05. 1090w.
Solberg, Thorvald. Copyright in Congress. 65c. Supt. of doc.
“A complete bibliography of all the bills relating to copyright which have been introduced into Congress, the resolutions and laws which have been enacted, and those reports, petitions, memorials, messages, and miscellaneous documents which have been printed, together with a complete chronological record of all action taken in Congress, in any way relating to the subject of copyright, showing how each proposal has been dealt with.” The record begins with April 15, 1789, and extends to 1904.
Am. Hist. R. 10: 949. Jl. ‘05. 100w.
“A work of great historic interest.”
+ + + Nation. 80: 269. Ap. 6, ‘05. 270w.
Somers, Percival. Pages from a country diary. $2.50. Longmans.
This diary of a country sportsman treats of English rural life in all its phases. There is social life, scenery, and a criticism of hunting customs and sporting laws. The whole is enlivened by clever anecdotes and original reflections in the things about them by the author and his wife, Belinda.
Country Calendar. 1: 492. S. ‘05. 130w.
“It can be confidently recommended to all who care for records of outdoor life flavored with the philosophy of a genial observer of men and animals.”
+ + Nation. 80: 249. Mr. 30, ‘05. 490w.
“A delightful raconteur is the author, and his stories are short and to the point.”
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 19. Ja. 14, ‘05. 1000w.
* Sonneck, Oscar George Theodore. Francis Hopkinson, the first American poet-composer, and James Lyon, patriot, preacher, psalmodist: two studies in early American music. *$5. O. G: T. Sonneck, Lib. of Congress, Wash., D. C.
“A piece of research in American history based on an examination of original sources.... Hopkinson, who was born in 1731, was a man of unusual talent; a writer, a politician, an inventor, and an enthusiastic musician....* Hopkinson himself laid claim to the title of first native composer in a letter dedicating his volume of ‘Seven songs’ to Washington.... His rival for historical precedence, James Lyon, is a substantial, if less interesting figure.... It is an extremely interesting monograph for those who are concerned with the neglected past of music in this country.”—N. Y. Times.
* “It is an invaluable contribution to the history of American music, and its production reveals the achievement of a formidable task.” W. J. Henderson.
+ + Atlan. 96: 854. D. ‘05. 180w.
* “Though the graces of English style are not Mr. Sonneck’s, he knows how to make his history not only minutely correct, but interesting.” Richard Aldrich.
+ + — N. Y. Times. 10: 448. Jl. 8, ‘05. 1060w.
Sorley, W. R. Recent tendencies in ethics. W: Blackwood & sons, London.
“This little book consists of three lectures on ‘Some leading features of the ethical thought of the present day,’ delivered at Cambridge (England) to a summer meeting of clergy held there in July, 1903. The chapters in the book are headed respectively: ‘Characteristics,’ ‘Ethics and evolution,’ ‘Ethics and idealism.’ In the first chapter Professor Sorley says that in ‘English ethical thought during the last century ... the controversies of the time centered almost exclusively round two questions: the question of the origin of moral ideas, and the question of the criterion of moral value.’ ... A misapplication of the biological doctrine of ‘natural selection’ is also responsible for a large measure of the present confusion of ethical thought. This brings the reader to Chapter II., in which this misapplication is dealt with at length.... Chapter III. deals with the ethics of modern idealism.”—Int. J. Ethics.
“Is avowedly addressed to those whose interest in life is practical rather than theoretical; its aim is obviously to be practically helpful to such people. It must be owned that to the present critic it seems chiefly to warn off from the realm of philosophy all students of the quality described. It is perhaps not too much to say that both in method and in implied point of view Mr. Sorley’s book is too slight and too old-fashioned to do justice either to recent philosophy or to Professor Sorley’s position in it.” May Gilliland Husband.
+ — Int. J. Ethics. 15: 232. Ja. ‘05. 2340w. (Abstract of book.)
“The qualities of careful and exact thought, of methodical arrangement, and of clear expression are found to characterize the volume.” James Seth.
+ + Philos. R. 14: 212. Mr. ‘05. 1560w.
Soto, Hernando or Fernando de. Narratives of the career of Hernando de Soto in the conquest of Florida; ed. by E. G. Bourne. **$2. Barnes.
“A complete and authoritative ‘Narrative of the career of Hernando De Soto,’ as found in the original documents, chiefly based on the diary of Rodrigo Rangel, his private secretary, together with an account of the great expedition to the Southwest of the United States, translated from Oviedo’s ‘Historia general y natural de las Indias’ by Buckingham Smith. There is an historical introduction by Edward Gaylord Bourne, professor of history in Yale university. The conquest of Florida is told by a knight who was a member of the expedition. Several portraits, hitherto unpublished, of De Soto himself appear in the volume, to which is appended his life and some of his letters.”—R. of Rs.
“Prof. Bourne’s editorship is of the best, and the translation excellent reading.”
+ + Critic. 46: 190. F. ‘05. 90w.
Ind. 58: 726. Mr. 30, ‘05. 130w.
+ + Nation. 80: 197. Mr. 9, ‘05. 960w.
“A boon alike to the student, to the ordinary 328reader, even to the romance-loving boy.” F. S. Dellenbaugh.
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 65. F. 4, ‘05. 2370w.
“The volumes will be regarded as a valuable and convenient addition to both history and literature.”
+ Outlook. 79: 96. Ja. 7, ‘05. 130w.
“It would be difficult to find in any language a more direct and forceful account of heroic adventures and careless lust for new sights and strange experiences. Together with the narratives of Coronado’s expedition in the Southwest, an earlier volume of the “Trail makers’ series,” it is the best possible account of the aboriginal condition of the southern United States.”
+ + + Pub. Opin. 38: 57. Ja. 12, ‘05. 360w.
+ R. of Rs. 31: 249. F. ‘05. 120w.
+ + Sat. R. 99: 814. Je. 17, ‘05. 100w.
Sousa, John Philip. Pipetown Sandy. †$1.50. Bobbs.
A story of Pipetown, its boys, its schools, and its grown people. Sandy, the hero, already a leader on the playground, leaves the foot of the class and wins the prize in arithmetic and geography thru the influence of Colonel Franklin’s weak little son whom he makes his friend. Sandy also helps the store keeper to win the widow Foley, and takes an active part in the tragic scenes which follow her worthless husband’s reappearance in Pipetown.
“Here we have the annals of a typical American village told with the simplicity and the charm of a Goldsmith and the added interest of a writer whose intensity of feeling and vivid imagination have enabled him to invest simple life and homely circumstances with compelling fascination.”
+ + Arena. 34: 551. N. ‘05. 200w.
“Parts of the story are really human and attractive.”
+ — N. Y. Times. 10: 744. N. 4, ‘05. 200w.
“It is difficult to see how it can be of any real value. It cannot contribute to the formation of an exalted taste in literature; and a boy with a good taste already formed would not care much for it.”
— Outlook. 81: 135. S. 16, ‘05. 90w.
Spalding, Rev. Henry Stanislaus. Race for Copper island. 85c. Benziger.
This is a boy’s story and tells of the adventures of young Paul Guibeau of Quebec and others who ventured into the Indians’ country in search of the copper mines in the region of the Great lakes. They encounter Iroquois, Hurons, and Miamis, unbroken forests and unknown waters, but after the copper ridge is located, Paul, undaunted, writes to his people, as the volume closes, that he is setting forth with Louis Joliet and Father Marquette to discover “the great river called the Mitchi-sipi.”
Spalding, Rt. Rev. John Lancaster. Bishop Spalding year book: comp. by Minnie R. Cowan. **75c. McClurg.
Quotations from the writings of Bishop Spalding for each day of the year.
* + Dial. 39: 448. D. 16, ‘05. 60w.
Spalding, Rt. Rev. John Lancaster. Religion and art, and other essays, **$1. McClurg.
Besides the title-essay the volume contains, The development of educational ideas in the nineteenth century, The meaning and worth of education, The physician’s calling and education, Social questions.
“The strongest and bravest voice that speaks for righteousness to the people of this country is Bishop Spalding’s. Bishop Spalding’s writings are brave and beautiful and inspiring.”
+ + + Cath. World. 81: 529. Jl. ‘05. 1050w.
+ + + Dial. 39: 93. Ag. 16, ‘05. 210w.
* Spalding, Phebe Estelle. Womanhood in art. **$1.50. Elder.
There are in this group of interpretations six of the best known ideal conceptions of womanhood in art; Venus de Milo, Eve, Mona Lisa, Beatrice Cenci, Madonna of the chair and the Sistine Madonna.
* “Any good book that celebrates good art is worth while, so Miss Spalding’s book is welcome.”
+ Critic. 47: 572. D. ‘05. 15w.
* “The text is intended neither for artists nor students of painting, but for the ordinary observer who is interested merely in the moral significance of the picture, caring nothing for its history or technique. Such criticism leans inevitably towards the fanciful and the sentimental, but it doubtless appeals to a certain class of readers.”
+ — Dial. 39: 389. D. 1, ‘05. 130w.
* + Ind. 59: 1376. D. 14, ‘05. 40w.
* Int. Studio. 27: sup. 31. D. ‘05. 40w.
* — Nation. 81: 449. N. 30, ‘05. 80w.
* “The book is of the popular sort—full of elemental, moving impressions but marred by insufficient historical and critical reading.”
+ — N. Y. Times. 10: 796. N. 25, ‘05. 240w.
* + R. of Rs. 32: 751. D. ‘05. 80w.
Sparks, Edwin Erle. Men who made the nation. $1. Macmillan.
The history of the United States from 1760 to 1865 is given biographically in an account of the lives and labors of Benjamin Franklin, Samuel and John Adams, Robert Morris, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Jefferson, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and finally Abraham Lincoln.
“On the whole, thanks to the author’s lively style, we get, in a very small compass, a better history than many a historian with a more ambitious method might have produced.”
+ + Nation. 81: 142. Ag. 17, ‘05. 160w.
“The process of the evolution of the nation is thus given a biographical character in a novel method of writing history.”
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 84. F. 11, ‘05. 630w.
Sparks, Edwin Erle. United States of America. **$1.35. Putnam.
This is essentially a history of our constitutional evolution, and treats of the great movements in our federal life and “those centralizing or decentralizing factors which have aided or hindered the unification of the states,” of finances, internal improvements, the tariff, slavery, and the constitutional aspects of the Civil war and reconstruction, little space is given to war and war-time events.
“His judgments are acceptable; he shows discrimination in the selection of materials, a fine art in presentation, a vivacious style.” James A. Woodburn.
+ + Am. Hist. R. 10: 883. Jl. ‘05. 810w.
“The purpose is well carried out, and the work is therefore eminently a timely one.”
+ + Critic. 46: 382. Ap. ‘05. 140w.
“One can hardly call the work a history in the truest sense; it is rather a prose epic of American nationality.”
+ + + Dial. 38: 418. Je. 16, ‘05. 630w.
“Hardly any former attempt to write our history has taken into account so many of the different forces that have influenced its progress. In fact, the book is a good summary of the best work done on American history. The style is clear and pleasing, except for a tendency to sententious truisms.”
+ + Ind. 58: 785. Ap. 6, ‘05. 360w.
* + + Ind. 59: 1156. N. 16, ‘05. 40w.
“On the whole, Dr. Sparks’s interpretation of the subject commends itself to us as sound.”
+ Nation. 80: 217. Mr. 16, ‘05. 830w.
“Prof. Sparks’ work is a rather agreeable reaction from the bellicosity which has been so 329much in vogue with writers of popular histories. Yet we cannot help thinking that Prof. Sparks pays too little attention to military affairs.”
+ + — N. Y. Times. 10: 13. Ja. 7, ‘05. 740w.
“Rather a commentary on history. All readers will find the book interesting, and to many it will give a wholly new point of view for the consideration of American history. Dr. Sparks prefers to treat American history as the story of our national expansion. A suitable sub-title of his present work would be, ‘A study of national development.’”
+ + R. of Rs. 30: 756. D. ‘04. 180w.
Spearman, Frank Hamilton. Strategy of great railroads. **$1.50. Scribner.
“A volume illustrating the field of railroad competition. The various subjects treated are the Vanderbilt lines, the Pennsylvania system, the Harriman lines, the Hill lines, the fight for Pittsburg, the Gould lines, the Rock Island system, the Atchison, the big granger lines (St. Paul and Northwestern), the rebuilding of an American railroad, the first trans-continental railroad, the early day in railroading.”—Bookm.
Ath. 1905, 1: 629. My. 20. 1660w.
“He writes with a familiarity with his subject that enlightens, and with a style that entertains and fascinates.” John J. Hasley.
+ + Dial. 38: 196. Mr. 16, ‘05. 820w.
“But, after proper allowance has been made for shortcomings attributable to Mr. Spearman’s optimism, it must be said that his book is on the whole, an admirable study of the American railroads of today.”
+ + — Nation. 80: 39. Ja. 12, ‘05. 620w.
Spears, John Randolph. David G. Farragut. **$1.25. Jacobs.
This volume is one of the “American crisis biographies” and accurately follows the life of the first American admiral from his birth in a frontier log cabin to his honored death and the erection of his statue in Farragut square. It is the story of years of hard work and ceaseless effort put forth in the service of his country. Maps and charts illustrate the volume.
* “Some of Mr. Spears’ eulogies and comments seem a little far-fetched.”
+ + — N. Y. Times. 10: 845. D. 2, ‘05. 520w.
* “May be especially commended to parents in quest of a soundly suggestive as well as really entertaining book for their boys.”
+ + Outlook. 81: 834. D. 2, ‘05. 140w.
* “The well-known accuracy of Mr. Spears’ writing on historical subjects insures in the present volume a painstaking regard to the facts of history.”
+ + R. of Rs. 32: 755. D. ‘05. 120w.
* Speed, John Gilmer. Horse in America: a practical treatise on the various types common in the United States, with something of their history and varying characteristics. **$2. McClure.
This interesting treatise “gives a great deal of information about the various equine types common in the United States. Mr. Speed is merciless in exposing false pedigrees. Some of his comments on origins of famous breeds of American horses will probably be unpalatable to partisans of this or that great name in the horse world. Yet on the whole the book is reassuring to the breeder and admirer of horses.”—R. of Rs.
* “Taken all in all the book should serve its purpose, to interest and forward the breeding of good types.”
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 706. O. 21, ‘05. 640w.
* “It points out the characteristics of the true thoroughbred with the unerring skill of the expert.”
+ R. of Rs. 32: 640. N. ‘05. 100w.
Sperry, Charlotte Grace. Teddy Sunbeam. **$1. Elder.
Printed in large type upon Teddy Sunbeam’s own gold these “little fables for little housekeepers” point many homely morals. Teddy Sunbeam is wise, and he talks about Princess Lend-a-hand, gives dissertations upon microbes, tells how to sweep, and how to perform a number of other daily duties, but tells it all in such an attractive manner that little folks will be glad to listen. The book is copiously illustrated by Albertine Randall Wheelan.
“Is a nice little book for nice little girls.”
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 744. N. 4, ‘05. 110w.
* “A rather original series of little fables.”
+ R. of Rs. 32: 767. D. ‘05. 130w.
* Spielmann, Marion Henry, and Layard, George Somes. Kate Greenaway. *$6.50. Putnam.
“In half a hundred colored plates and many black-and-white pictures we find beauty and delicacy pre-eminent and child-loveliness rendered with sincerity and sympathy. Such pictures measure a sweet, true soul, and the story of Kate Greenaway’s life and the gentle revelations of her letters and her friendships (the correspondence with John Ruskin most notably) bear out the inference.” (Outlook.) “It is a visit to Miss Greenaway at her home, a view of an active mind at work, a conversation with authors and artists led and directed by one whom they all acknowledged as leader.” (N. Y. Times.)
* “The authors have felt to the full the quaint charm of this art, they do justice to the ‘sweet and fragrant perfume’ that floats about the name of Kate Greenaway.”
+ Acad. 68: sup. 9. D. 9, ‘05. 1420w.
* “The peculiar competence of the present writers lies in their eager seizure upon all possible points of interest, and their strong sense of proportion, which assigns to each item its proper space in a volume that has not a dull page or a bit of superfluous ‘padding.’” Edith Kellogg Dunton.
+ + + Dial. 39: 437. D. 16, ‘05. 2320w.
* “With some of Messrs. Layard and Spielmann’s opinions we are not at all in agreement.”
+ — Lond. Times. 4: 394. N. 17, ‘05. 1630w.
* “The book is thus more than an ordinary biography.”
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 820. D. 2, ‘05. 190w.
* “Really charming book.”
+ Outlook. 81: 707. N. 25, ‘05. 120w.
* “One can read with real profit other parts of the book, notably the introductory chapter, and, at the close, Mr. Spielmann’s judgment on Kate Greenaway as artist, delicately worded, enthusiastic yet nicely balanced.”
+ + — Sat. R. 100: sup. 3. D. 9, ‘05. 1410w.
Spiers, R. Phene. Architecture east and west. *$4.50. Scribner.
“This volume of essays, nine in all, and printed in full, is illustrated by a photograph of a medallion portrait, a bas-relief, by Lanteri, and by many architectural views and details, some of them photographic, others made up by the author from different sources or drawn from recognized authorities.”—Nation.
Ath. 1905, 1: 439. Ap. 8. 640w.
Nation. 80: 421. My. 25, ‘05. 670w.
* “The writer of these essays has the power of making technical matters plain to the reader who has no special knowledge of architecture.”
+ + Spec. 95: 293. Ag. 26, ‘05. 170w.
Springer, Frank. Cleiocrinus. Museum of comparative zoology, Harvard college, Cambridge, Mass.
“A complete paper on one of the oldest of known crinoid genera—Cleiocrinus.... Various 330authors ... have had great difficulty in placing it in the system of classification.... Mr. Springer does not now establish the family Cleiocrinidæ, in so many words, but ... it is finally concluded that the genus is intermediate between the great groups of flexibilia and camerata; nearest, apparently, to the reteocrinidæ. The memoir is illustrated by a beautiful plate of drawings by K. M. Chapman and E. Ricker, showing not only aspects of cleiocrinus, but also reteocrinus and glyptocrinus for comparison.”—Science.
Reviewed by T. D. A. C.
+ + Science, n.s. 21: 388. Mr. 10, ‘05. 420w.
Squire, Charles. Mythology of the British islands: an introduction to Celtic myth, legend, poetry, and romance. *$3.50. Scribner.
Under such chapter headings as—The gods of the Gaels, Finn and the Fenians, The war with the giants, The gods of the Britons, The Gaelic Argonauts, The gods as king Arthur’s knights, and The treasures of Britain, are given the legends and traditions of the early inhabitants of the British islands, the Gaelic and the British Celts.
“Altogether, then, Mr. Squire may be congratulated on a partial success. His research does not penetrate into German authorities; he is not fully alive to the anthropological side of the argument; his archaeology is not complete. But he knows and loves his subject within the boundaries presented by these limitations, and he has the peculiar charm of carrying his readers along with him in an attitude of love for the subject.” Laurence Gomme.
+ + — Acad. 68: 58. Ja. 21. ‘05. 790w.
“A book which brings together so great a store of knowledge on an obscure and fascinating subject in so readable a fashion is indeed a treasure, and one cannot but praise the author for his work.” Louis H. Gray.
+ + + Bookm. 22: 58. S. ‘05. 960w.
“His treatment of this subject is thorough and conscientious, and he has realized his hope of presenting it in a lucid and agreeable form.”
+ + Nature. 72: 146. Je. 15, ‘05. 520w.
N. Y. Times. 10: 317. My. 13, ‘05. 240w.
“Mr. Squire has handled his refractory subject very ably, and has made the story of British mythology both lucid and interesting.”
+ + + N. Y. Times. 10: 358. Je. 3, ‘05. 1600w.
* “This book supplies a great literary vacuum. From some of the writer’s conclusions scholars may differ.”
+ + — Sat. R. 100: sup. 4. D. 9, ‘05. 1340w.
Staley, Edgcumbe. Raphael; with a short biographical sketch of Raphael Santi or Sanzio; with a list of principal works. $1.25. Warne.
Uniform with a series of monographs on the great masters, the “mode of presenting Raphael’s life’s work is particularly interesting, while so much is being written of his changing place in the rank of the great artists, as ascribed to him by current criticism. One has an opportunity of studying the various forms in which his genius expressed itself: Single figures of saints and angels; biblical and historical subjects; renderings of sacred and profane legends; and portraits. Then, again, there are the various mediums in which the artist worked, as on canvas, and in fresco, etc. In his mural paintings, we see how excellently his composition was fitted to the various exigencies of architectural decoration.” (Int. Studio.)
“An excellent volume of illustrations of Raphael’s work. In the clear, short, and eminently satisfactory account of Raphael’s life the author neither indulges in extravagant praise, nor accepts theories of scant foundation.”
+ + Critic. 46: 92. Ja. ‘05. 90w.
+ Int. Studio. 24: sup. 100. F. ‘05. 200w.
* Stanwood, Edward. James Gillespie Blaine. **$1.25. Houghton.
“The scenes and events through which Mr. Blaine moved in the most stirring years of his life are now matters of history, and a clear-cut biography, such as Mr. Stanwood has written makes a capital medium through which the younger generation of American readers and students may be made familiar with the post bellum period of our politics. Mr. Stanwood gives especial attention to those episodes in Blaine’s career which were most frequently represented by his enemies as more or less discreditable ... and ... makes an able defense of Blaine against the attacks of his political opponents.”—R. of Rs.
* N. Y. Times. 10: 712. O. 21, ‘05. 370w.
* “Nevertheless, the biography is in some respects highly valuable, and should be welcome if only for the new material assembled in a scholarly and interesting way.”
+ + — Outlook. 81: 835. D. 2, ‘05. 270w.
* “Mr. Stanwood has done his subject full justice without overdoing it.”
+ + Pub. Opin. 39: 763. D. 9, ‘05. 370w.
* R. of Rs. 32: 755. D. ‘05. 190w.
Statesman’s year-book: statistical and historical annual of the states of the world for the year 1905; ed. by J. Scott Keltie and I. P. A. Renwick. *$3. Macmillan.
The 1905 edition of this annual is its forty-second issue and shows extensive enlargement and revision.
+ + + Ath. 1905, 1: 527. Ap. 29. 360w.
+ + + Eng. Hist. R. 20: 617. Jl. ‘05. 80w.
Nation. 80: 396. My. 18, ‘05. 190w.
N. Y. Times. 10: 178. Mr. 25, ‘05. 110w.
“Not a page of the book is unnecessary or can be spared.”
+ + + N. Y. Times. 10: 356. Je. 3, ‘05. 410w.
“One of the few reference-books which may accurately be described as indispensable.”
+ + + Outlook. 80: 195. My. 20, ‘05. 40w.
“The editor has improved this annual from year to year, and the issue for 1905 is the best yet.”
+ + + R. of Rs. 31: 768. Je. ‘05. 220w.
“‘The statesman’s year-book’ continues to grow in size, while its arrangement is developed in the direction of completeness and convenience.”
+ + + Spec. 94: 682. My. 6, ‘05. 180w.
Staunton, Schuyler. Fate of a crown. $1.50. Reilly & B.
A tale of the revolt which overthrew the monarchy of Dom Pedro in Brazil. The central figure is young Harcliffe who is secretary to Dom Miguel the leader of the revolutionists. His hair-breadth escapes on his way to the home of Miguel in the interior, and the following intrigue and adventure which culminate in the overthrow of the government supply the historical setting of a romance in which the hero supposes himself to be at the mercy of a rival—one who turns out to be a spy, a woman masquerading in men’s attire.
“The character drawing of the book is splendid.”
+ N. Y. Times. 10: 524. My. 20, ‘05. 550w.
* Stead, Alfred. Great Japan; a study of national efficiency. **$2.50. Lane.
“A compilation from Japanese sources of all manner of facts calculated to throw light on the achievements, aspirations, and problems of Japan.... Mr. Stead’s purpose, briefly, is to exhibit the efficiency attained by the Japanese in the various departments of life, and to show how this efficiency springs from the ‘earnest, thinking and eminently practical patriotism of 331the people.’ With this as a text Lord Rosebery contributes a foreword.”—Lit. D.
* “Mr. Stead’s book largely repeats his work ‘Japan by the Japanese’ published last year.”
— Ath. 1905, 2: 792. D. 9. 680w.
* + Lit. D. 31: 625. O. 28, ‘05. 430w.
* “To give a full summary of the volume, which displays many of the characteristics of the encyclopedia and many of the handbook, is quite beyond the limits of a review.”
+ + Lond. Times. 4: 321. O. 6, ‘05. 3430w.
* “Mr. Stead’s book is one of the most interesting recently produced on the inexhaustible subject of Japan. It does for that country much what Mr. Bryce did for the United States with his ‘American commonwealth.’”
+ + N. Y. Times. 10: 851. D. 2, ‘05. 1670w.
* “His work abounds with the exaggeration to be expected from a professional panegyrist.”
— Sat. R. 100: 596. N. 4, ‘05. 990w.
* “A study, as we said, to begin with, the work has no claim to be, and even as a compilation it might have been better done. A great deal of verbiage might have been omitted, certain crudities of style might have been corrected.”
+ — Spec. 95: 714. N. 4, ‘05. 2160w.
Stead, Alfred, comp. and ed. Japan by the Japanese. **$5. Dodd.
A collection of papers written by many of the high officials of the Japanese government, and native men of well-known literary ability, including Sannomiya, Ito, Inouyé, Oyami, Ariga, Saito, Shibusawa, Naruse, Nitobe, Hozumi, and many others. Among the subjects treated are the army, navy, finance, schools, religion, commerce, politics, art and literature of Japan. There is a preface by the editor and a carefully prepared index.
“It is about as useful as an almanac and not half as good as a dictionary. A desk-book of facts and figures concerning political and economic Japan. Quite unique as a gazetteer.” Wm. Elliot Griffis.
— + Critic. 46: 185. F. ‘05. 180w.
“His profound ignorance of the real significance of the work of such men as Sir Ernest Satow, Mr. William G. Aston, Prof. Basil Hall Chamberlain, and Capt. Frank Brinkley is manifest. The bad proofreading and continual misspelling of Japanese names and terms are disgraceful. In its cast and scope, the book seems intended mainly for the British reader. The facts and figures concerning the army, navy, revenue, taxation, and things outward and material are invaluable in their way. In treating of art and literature, the writers correct some errors of foreign writers, but contribute little that is fresh or revealing.”