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THE SUN, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1M8. NEWEST BOOKS SEEN THROUGH REVIEWS AND COMMENT 10 85 CRITICAL REVIEWS OF THE SEASON'S LATEST BOOKS Book of Stories by L. P. Jacks Fiction by Robert Alexander Mason, Cynthia Stockley and Others. Books, Entertaining and Critical, on Architecture, Sculpture, Music and Other Arts. Accounts of Many Lands Books for the Young Christmas Cards and Calendars Other Books. The papers that 1,. V. JackH Includes in "All Men Arc Ghosts" (Henry Holt anil Company), though they cm hardly be called stories, havu the charm of being written precisely im tho author wished, with no regard to established form, In Knglish that Is rarely met with nowadays. They are all philosophical fancies, studies in the transition from this life, to another, told In an unaffected, conversational tone, with frequent and natural references to every day llfo and matters that men nre discuxsliiK, nearly all of them pointed by a short story or Incldent'that is made extremely vivid. Most read er! will probably wish that Mr. Jacks hod kept to tlctton, for his peo ple are lifelike and interesting, so that we should like to know more about them, or else that he had presented his psychological theories, If that term describes them, more precisely and dis tinctly. As it Is they cannot miss the Idea, common to all the stories, that the change from this life to the next Is almost Imperceptible, nor the other Idea, that ourselves and our realities may seem like ghosts and illusions to those In another existence. Mr. Jacks Dlavs with many other guesses about other worlds and standards that the men of science Indulge In, he takes us through several nightmare dreams, he draws a delightful picture of an Kng libit farmer, and the last episode, which comes nearer to a formal story than the others. Is very pretty. The materials und the characters for good story are to be found In Itohcrt ) Alexander Woson's "And Then Came Jean" (Small, Maynard nnd Company. Boston), and every now and then the author gives hopes that he will use them properly. Ills reminiscences are ho diffuse us to be tiresome, however, and he unfortunately thinks it is hu morous to mako his hem use ora torical bombast. That young man's virtues must be taken for granted: his pranks are related with t.pirit and ver boMty. though they have Uttl to 1 dii with I lie tule. If he were eliminated th ktnrv w.ml.i w inmroved. for the placid storekeeper, tho keen old lady, the hermit veteran and the wild 'lrl i of the woods at first are capital, and other eccentrics begin well. In his chronicle of an Indiana small town the author has used little incrimination be tween matters that haw meaning and tho"e that are trivial, and his melo dramatic plot Is rather absurd. There is enough that 1m gooi' in the book never- , tlieless to make those who have read It feel that they have not wasted their tlfne. I In "Wumlerfout" iti. P. Putnam's f Sons) 'ynthla Stockley leliteH tho suf ferings of a brilliant but misunderstood woman Journalist In great detail. Sho 1 is singularly lucking In dignity nnd executive ability, which causes her to be bullied and cheated by domestics, tradespeople nnd nil persons of the lower clashes thai slit- baa to do with. She) nlfo bus marital troubles, having, married on man under the mistaken Impression that she was a widow When her unworthy husband turns tip again f-be separates with gnat pro priety, but without explanation, from number two and suffer!, for years till things can lie set tight ucaln. The Im pulsive Irishman whom she bus married has lived lone enough in Aniei icatomuke Ills conduct tn his wife seem very strange, but the author's purpose Is to harrow the feelings by the steady torture of her angelic heroine. She succeeds In making lur very at tractive, though all her other char acters suffer in the process, and she writes smoothly. With an unknown Wand In the South Seas for his scenery Cyriw Towns-end Brady In "The. It-land of tho Stairs" (A. C. Mcflurg and Company. Chicago) indulges In a riot of eighteenth een turv revelry, piracy, bidden treasure and athletic prowess that should satisfy) Jaded tastes. There Is no pretence of i probability or of originality; he Is writ ing a thriller after the approved fash- ' ion and succeeds in Ills object. The coy heroine of coutse marries her res-' cuer. It is a pretty and rather Ingenuous tory of conservatory dreams tlml Ru dolph Herzog has written In "The Story of Helga" (K. P. Dutton und Company), which Adele lewiohn translates, though we can only attribute the great popularity "Das I-ebensllcd" has at tained in Germnny to a literary nuallty, which tho excellent translation does not reveal, or to the paucity of good novels in the Fatherland. The heroine, a pupil in the Frankfurt Conservatory of Music, with a remarkable voice, I asked In marriage by three men, a merchant, who dies soon after, a fellow student in composition, who t rally loves her, and another student, with a moro re markable tenor voice, whom she accepts for the sake of urt. The two nt once enter on a career of conquest, but tho tenor Is mercenary and tegards art merely from the commercial point of view. After the years the wife finds this out and yeurns for affection und life. She leaves her husband, who di vorces her. Meanwhile tho com lser hna attained success with eipial rapidity; he sees Unit the heroine gets tho proper Intellectual and moral nutriment, wins her back to tho stage, and they marry fur love. His chivalrous caro for the girl in Iter time of dejection Is full of a delicacy that ia new In German Met inn. There aio humorous bltH about Frankfurt char acter, there are two tine renunciations of love and a charming tramp through the woods. Tho discussions about art are not tiresome, and the book, In this translation at least, Is thoroughly clean. This probably nppruls to Germans, who at heart ore decent and romantic. There are greater possibilities In the Ingenious Idea of an Injection which will enable a man to read thoughts than have occurred to the French authors of The Inner Man" (O. V. Dillingham Company), which Florence Crewe-Jones has translated. That the power Miould he applied to tho di'tectlon of a com monplace crime, with tho trudltlonnl Incident that such storlc In French to call for, seems a pity. The beat part of the story Is tho incident where the hero discovers a secret that im perils his country, and Is clapped Into an Insane asylum when he reports it to the authorities and cannot explain how he found it out. The story, however, Is only clumsily sensational and the trans lation Is very slipshod. The horrible story that gives point to .lane Stone's "The New Man" (Thomas Y. Crowell Company) Is suggested but Is left untold for the sake of propriety. The book resolves Itself, therefore, Into a discussion of what Is termed "the sin gle standard" of virtue as the effective remedy for what Is termed "the white slave tratlle." Tho author writes with restraint and with more sense than Is used usually In treating of such subjects. The Arts. Out of the accumulation of books on art in some form or other It is as well perhaps to pick out those first which have a practical application and which make up by tanRible statements for a possible inferiority to the others In Horary quality. Tho "Colonial Archl tecture for Those About to Uulld," by Herbert C. Wise and H. Ferdinand Beldleman (J. 1). Llpplncott Company), is a delightful book whose artistic and antiquarian interest should have been indicated In the title rather than Its practical applications. It Is In sub stance a survey, and apparently a pretty thorough one, of the region around Philadelphia and a pictorial record of the old houses found In It, a district that the seekers for Colonial buildings havo rather neglected. The vision of the au thors extends over udjacent New Jer sey, Delaware and the country districts of Pennsylvania ns well as over the Quaker City and its suburbs, and a re markable collection of beautiful houses they have gathered In their book. These nre all described In the text as well as in the pictures, with the details of external and Interns! architecture that are note- wortny. it is run or suggestions to ar-i chltects and to "those about to build." i chltects and to "those about to build." i lo 1,0 e. but most readers will be Dfjawrs by CVjb.-r"ias H Brock. Tkwv'sVi "by 3affvy Fi.-rvsol (,litt1-r-owrt X Co) more Interosted In them as noble re mulna of a clvlllzutton that expressed m own nerds und Ideas and was not content to Imitate. KntertnlnliiK, aa well as valuable, are tliu rrltlclMna of famouu statues that Walter Wlnans mukcu In "Animal ciculpiute" (O, I'. I'utnam's Sona) and uncivil up with many IlliistratlnnH. The author, who has taken up sculpture ainonK his many occupations and has attracted much attention to his statticK of horncH, him had unusual op portuulticH In tho couifio of liln uport Inu adventures to watch anlmalH In their imiur.il ttute. He not only pleads that tho truth be observed In repro ducing them In efllKy, hut also gives practical directions for other sculptors to follow. He naturally pays most at tention to the horse, but the other, wilder beaHtH nro not neglected. As regards theory and criticism read er.! will Und a sane view of art, nnd es pecially of painting, with clenr, nut HpnUen expreHHlons of opinion in Hoyal I'orllaxoz's collection of nssaya, "Art nnd Common fsenHo" (Charles Bcrlbner'a conn). Ihesu Include paper on Ingres. on the Dutch painters, on tho Upanlsh painters, on the Italian mural paint ers, on Whistler and Sargent, as well ns sound sense on modern phases of art that are not usually tlliicuunetl with out loss of temper. In "The Conception of Art" (Double day, I'ago and Company) Henry Ran kin I'oore Is moro philosophical; he en deavors to seek out first principles and produces a theory of his own. Ho em ploys many pictures to Illustrate his points, and an he knows what he Is talking about the reader can follow his arguments with interest, whether he agrees with him or not. Mr. I'oore Is very charitable to all tho recent out JbursUi of eccentricity In painting! he i at least discusses them seriously. ! It Is a trcntlso on resthctlcs that Kd- , I ward Howard Griggs has written In1 I"T1ih IMiKosoDhv of Art" (II. W.i Huehsch, New York), and following Greek precedents ho Includes poetry among them. After tho academic fash ion he picks out nnaloglcs In sculpture, painting, music and poetry, nnd with much eloquence builds up his theories on these. Kven more acndemlc and less original are the efforts to sum up in sincie sontences the meaning of sculpturo painting, the decorative arts and music, which Eleanor Itowlnnd makes in "The Significance, of Art" (Houghton Mlfltln Company). The author has studied the literature of lestheUes, and has been a pupil of JJrof. Hugo Muensterborg. In tho sister art of music l'hlllp II. Ooepp concludes his work on ".Sym phonies." As before, he explains the symphonies one by one, beginning with lU'HIoz and I.lsit, arranging the com posers by nationality, and ending with Hlchard Strauss. In his last chapter ho atialyies four American symphonies, by Hadley. Strube, Chadwlcl: and I.oef fler. The reader Is not told "How to Listen to an Orchestra" by Annie W. Pntterron (James Pott and Company, New York). Instead the author describes the orches tra and every Individual Instrument In It, nnd also explains the character of orchestral music. The Information Is In teresting and Is put clearly. In "Old Fogy" (Theodore Presser Company, Philadelphia) we have James Huneker In his iiiiiM sportive mood In stead of hopping from one branch of human knowledge to another, according to his wont, however, he sticks to music and emits charnrte ristlc opinions in his amuslng parailoxlcal manner. Tho ar ticles an- rather slight ami ate per haps reprints from the author's earlier class. Mnuy l.undn. An instructive and entertaining ac count of a land that few travellers vls.lt and very few see with any thorough ness has been written 1 lr. Lewis Uas- ton I.enry In ".Syria: The l.and of Leba- non i.Menriiie. .xast ami t ompitny New York). The author restricts the New York). name to the region north of Palestine, J nittrjtioTS Va"mFaTJu.' (rlinpe'r'ej a Iriiiti that ho travelled thruimh as the natives du, when he was teaching at the American CqlleRe In Uelrut. He tells not only of tho town ho lived in, of Damascus, of liaalbok and of tho ruins of Zeuobla'H Talmyra but of wnndorlnH In the Lebanon und Hebron nnionK peo ple whOHQ hand Is always raised uKalriHt their neighbors and of visits to places ouce famous and even now Important, though tho outside world does not hear of them, lllto Kmi sa. Hh describes tho people In the land and the difficulties that tho Turkish rulers encounter, Hia accounts of hla per tionnl experience nro always interest ing und occasionally humorous and hn provides many fine photograph). A book of travel that any reader can enjoy nnd profit by. Much Important lnfonti,i lion 1m pro- Isented in a compact form in .1. Caotell Houklna'a "French Canaria" ti tnhn iiiliaBi Actresses Are at Odds JOAN K!r' ...AWM mmmmmmmm t-SmmmmmmmmM Lauretta Taylor ("Per O' My Heart") Dotsn't Like "Joan." "My honest opinion, if de sired, is frankly unfavorable. The book is dull, uninteresting and untrue." (Signed) LAURTTE TAYLOR. Georgia Caine (of "Adele") Says "Joan" Is Typical of Certain Phases. "Juan Thurvlnj-' Is Interest ing she Is so typical of lertaln phasr or e,ir Muse. Khfortu ntl' I'm thr plot Is really k-rotesqye ami lmrrolib!c Nnnr t'Ut an IhMtie jlrl Mould lairy on th way hf did, still. I v.jpiiojr It kiuihIh thrilling to the culHblf renfler. It's a pity that Mr Vance aacrlficed truth to action, thoush " i.Sljnedi Cr.01iGIACAl.NC. Third Large Published by LITTLE, D vjsw-n y Oetav C6,r4or "Jod---j TVitve,lasy"by L.otis Jo a a.-jVj V-n e a C Lit tin 12 -j-ovtj S Co) i'. Winston Company, Philadelphia). Mure than half the volume Is historical, tho author relating uKutn tho pic turesque, story of exploration and coloni zation till the British came; the rest he devotes to description of existing con ditions, concluding with thu roll of dis tinguished French Canadians. They aro dealt with In a tone of eulogy, and throughout the. author Inclines some what to the point of view of the British iitflclul; ho provides, however, n. satis factory account of tho French In Can ada In a slnsle moderato sized volume. Tho splendid photographs aro' real works of art. Modern Kgypt and particularly the now Egyptian havo been studied with nomo euro by Clayton Sedgwick Cooper, who writes "The Man of Egypt" HM. tier and Htoughton, Now YorJf. We sees certain changes and Improvements 1)1 the land and the people and la In clined to bo enthusiastic about them, except that he Is not ulto sure that they would lit In with the retention of Hrltlsli Influence. The author has Eng lish readers In mind; he tries to explain to them fact! about Egypt, which they JSBSBSBSBSBSBSS Over Truthfulness of This Novel of the Stage THURSDAY By Lout Joseph Vance This "tale of he New York theatrical underworld, which belongs to the sex family, but is sound fiction and good reading," to quote J. B. Kcrfoot in Life. Sonw ac tresses, however, do not like the means Joan used to achieve success. CHARACTERS RECOGNIZABLE? Despite the fact that Mr. Vance says he did not draw any of his characters from life, the S'ta York Dramatic Mirror assctts that "som: characters ate easily recognizable by the initiated. . . . Her (Joan's) esperienrei might easily pass as the biography of some score or more of our best known fostlight favorites. EXPLAINS MANY A "STAR." "The big thing is that the book does in its way explain many a star. For stars are made out of just such material as Joan," says the Kentucky Pott. ITS TRUTHFULNESS. "A true picture of life . . . it is a portrait of a woman which deserves a place on the line with the best in fiction's gteat art gallery." The Btaiman. New York. Janet Beecher (of "The Great Adventure") Says "Joan" Is Not Unreal. I have read 'Joan Thurs day' with the ureatrM InterrM The tyle l o vivid, sn full of and It realism I sn con-Mm-lnc that I mnnnt hrp re nettlne that llr Vance has devuteJ It tn dpplctlnc one ,hi!,e only ot th'atrlcal lite, and the ery phase thnt, uhlle most in evidence, perh-ips, to the t-aeual otsfrver. Is hy no means the vital one lty nrsi lda would lie to say that 'Joan Thursday' li unreal Hut she Isn't. There are thousands Hie her, of fours', ' If they ,to not carry matt-rs In ex tremes." iSlcn-d ja.nit nixcHcrt. Natalie Alt (of "Adele") Says Mr. Vance Should Try Again. " To say the least Mr. Vance's plot Is r.otcl. Me utile fto cleverly, too' Hat I do hope he lll try analn, for -he Is suih a reflection on the rest of Us, It Is not tatr to make us out all Joans. If Mr Vance would only use his talents to show the fairer Md of th Mae! Hut he s tot to study It more h'fore he can do that. And when he does-well, then I'll he the first to voice my appreciation.- (Sliced! .VATAI-in ALT. Printing. $1.30 Net. Postpaid $1.41. BROWN & CO., Boston TWO NOTABLE BOOKS DA DIC MlaTUTC nd Other Impressions r Mil IO BlSy ifl I O off Places and People By Arnold Bennett m48m-ttJt!ff8 A book of travel-sketches exultations of lands. Arnold Bennett establishes at once that aenae of intimacy which makes the reader his companion. He hna a faculty for endowing places with peraonality and with the whimsies of personality. The book is a companionable adventure into many odd places and situations. It is sympathetically illustrated with sketches by E. A. Rickarda, F.R.I.B. A., of whom Bennett aaid, "If I can't get Rickarda to illustrate my book, I want nobody." QUALITY STREET W. M. Barrie lllua. with Color Plat f by HUGH THOMSON. Boxed. Qaarto. Ntt S5.00 Limited Edition da Luxe. Full Vellum. Net $25.00 The delicate old-world playfulness of Hush Thomson'a work moat fltlv illtiatrataa Barrie'a quaint claasic. It is a book, about the text and illustrations of which, hangs the elusive happiness ot Fairyland. The two flower-like aisters, Susan and Phoebe Throasel are drawn in delicate tints and with an appreciative sympathy that holds the reader with the irreaistible charm of perfection in text and picture. AT ALL BOOKSELLERS GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY, misunderstand. Tlu book is Illustrated with gooJ and uncommon photographs. A delightful book or travel In a rt-pion wholly out of the tourist H track writ ten by a muster of Kitphsh. 'n whom fame ciune after ilutli, Kamuel Hutler's "Alps and Sanctuaries of I'kdiiini.i and tho Canton Tlrtno. ' appe-tr- in a new revised edition (IC. l lmttou and t umpany). Headers will In- fully as much Interested In the; author and hla iliKiesslons as in the out of tl.-' way places ho visited and s-kttrheu: Ills drawings are very pretty. Tho book Is an excellent Introduction to llutK r'a other works. From his Impressions of navel, "The Soul of I'aris and Other Kssn y" (John l.ane Company), Winer V., tn t-oeks to draw a philosophy of some sort. He records his Impressions of 1,-l.ituls. des erts, cities and so on nt a p'ensant and readable ninuti"r, though his rellectluiis nre not especially profound or novel. The .M run I hi; r lirma. A volume of absorbing intercut, a per fect encycloprtHlla of beliefs and cus toms. "The Curious l.utv of I'riclous Stunt a," bj (Jeornu FivderlcU Uutu '.I H. I.lpplncott Company), appears as a by-product of the sni'iillMc lesfilfolie.' to which the author lias doted him self. Apart from their vului, and their natural properties, precious slimes ever hinci: mail has cam! for tluin have had histories of their own and have been . associated with siiiieistltiinis beliefs, some of which are still widely ptruilvnl. i Knowledge of this kind is sc.ittertd in! nil forts of out of tho way places, so 1 that It Is a real service that Ur. Kunss' has rendered us In collecting In u single I book the. varied Information he baa ac-! quired while ho wan studying I ho nre- cious stones. After hoinn remarks on superstitions and their sources, he lakes up the vrcn eral subject of tnllsntaiiH and amulets, following this by an examination of th beliefs attached to cuch kind uf stone, In j iiipnuuexicui oraer. a chapter on en graved gems Is followed by a long essay on crystal balls and crystal gazing. Next come a description of the rellclous uses of stones, then ono of blith stones nnd of tho planetary and ustroloulcnl attributes of tho spvcral precious stones. He winds up with an ncoount of tho therapeutical uses to which they wero put. His volume U therefore a complete conspectus of the beliefs men havu had concerning precious stones, with the In formation arranged systematically, so that It can be found readily. II is a book that will chnrm tho foIUiorlst and tho general reuder. will In t west the collector und will tallvwt scientific labors. Tho .-VJ i Jan Cowl ("Within the Law") Says "Joan" Is Exceptional. " 'Joan Thursday' is an ex ceptional, but existent type," but, she adds."it is regrettable that this particular figure who merely represents one phase should be chosen by the nov. elist desiring the centre of the stage."(Signed)JANECOWL Katherine Grey Saa "Joan" Accurately Pictures Stage Life. " 'Joan Thursday' is one of the very few novels dealing with the stage and its people that I have read that accu rately pictures theatrical peo. pie and their life. A most in teresting noel well written and original." (Signed) KATHERINE GREY. For Sale at All Booksellers travel and memories of travel in several New York Publishers In Amarica far HODDEK & STOUCHTON buck is illustrated with many lntcrest ir.c and pertinent plcl.ir.!,, eomo In c jlor. Hunks for She Yuutis. Trailing behind th precession, but still In time for notice before Christmas, c umcs an assortment of booka for chll etren, big and little, tent hi nt the elev enth hour. The n-tond collection of cout advuntures that John Fleming Wl!ir. Includes In "Tad .Sheldon's Fourth of .Iui" (Hiurxlh and Walton Company) has the strong inerltb and the fault of the first. T.V tales, dealing w th a wild part oi' the I'aclllc coast and with a life 'MWtin station also, are exciting In sub ject and well told. They emphasize the qualities that the scout movement hopes to develop. At the same time the doings of the young men are usually somewhat beyond the capacity of boys, and the adventures may not only arouse the envy but may also discourage eager boy scouts who lle in turner portions of the country. Among thi- books containing Informa tion, "The Hoys' Hook of Aeroplanes," v T. o'Hrien Hubbard rititl Charles C. Turner f Frederick A. stokes Company), Is unusually well done and will be found fully us valuablo for general use as for youth, It explains the principles of tlluht nnd Ihu practical worklr.K of tha air machines, the theories on which the C'oiitiiurd on Ktcvcnth I'nge LAURETTE TAYLOR Slar in ''Per Of Mf tttari" writes to all berlritnds; "Many ot you have wondered what it Is like to be an actress what the world behind the footlights really Is. If you want to nna out, i suggest that you read a new novel ANNE, ACTRESS Br JULIET O. AOER It'a a wonderful story -not only exciting, butreal, true and 6ne." tlJS met, Wtaiif 'l.tr rmOEStlCK A. STOKES COMPANY sVsBBatSk Scribner Christmas Books aW GiaslBaBv STEYENSON'S KIDNAPPED beautifully Illustrated with full-color pic tures and t.tnlntr I'aprr by N. C. Wyeth. SV-l.as net; postage extra. THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS By KENNETH QRAHAME With to Full-Colored Illustrations by Paul Hrantom. a.OO net: postage rs.tr. PACIFIC SHORES FROM PANAMA Written and Illustrated by ERNEST PE1X0TT0 Autliu.- of "flom.iiitlc rnlltornla" and "Tbroui-n t tic I'reti li I 'rot mces," etc. SO net; liojusr extra. THE TOILING OF FELIX By HENRY VAN DYKE A Beautiful llull.liy Edition nt this Fa mous: A lie cor list 1 Pivni. flavins IUu tlon In t'oloss ly Herbert Moore and Decorations hy Kdvrard H. IMwards, I .SIS nrtt pottaso extra- Charles Scribner's Sons Fifth Aro. at 48th St. New York. BOOKS need time and care in choosing An ideal place in which quietly to examine our latest books nnd to secure appro priate gift s (or all at reason able prices may bo found at 16 East 40th Street, New York Open All Day Saturdays HOUGHTON MIFFLIN CO. srrr JaWl4V JT'Wi'ie'-fAf. i 1 7,