The San Francisco call. [volume], March 31, 1907, Page 13, Image 13

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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The San Francisco Sunday Call
BOOKS REVIEWED
"The Turn of the Balance/ 9 by
T~\ 1 TT T 1 1 V
"East of Suez, " by Frederick Courts
land <Penfield
"Jjntonio by ZKCaud
Gruttwell
"The Spirit of Labor, " fcp Hutchins
Hapgood
"The Value of Pure Water/ 9 by
" The Messiah Idea in Jewish His
tory/ hy Julius H. Greenstone
"Complete Automobile Instructor,"
iy Benjamin R.
"The Turn of the Balance"
A iwwpl by IJrand WWtlock. author of "The
Hapry Avcrape." "Her Infinite Variety.
"TUt Thirteenth District." Illustration* ny
3»T Harnbldge. Published by th«» BnW*-
Mcrrlll Company, Indianapolis. Prlc* $1.53.
BRAND WHITLOCK. most conspic
uous of the young American echoe-1
of realists — the Brand Whitlock
who, as Mayor of the large and
busy city of Toledo, is having a unique
opportunity to put into practice some
of his theories of civil government —
i has' written another book and named it
. — not so happily, one might suggest —
"The Turn of the Balance." Whatever
the title was designed to convey as in
dicative of the purpose and spirit of
the story will hardly make itself plain
to the average reader and it is this
came average reader who makes "bebt
Sellers'* and flat failures. However,
the foreword, a fragment from W. D.
llowells' *'A Hoys' Town." is sufficient
ly illuminating of Mr. Whltlock'B mi
i tontion, thus:
• •. In fact. It seems best to be
/very careful how we try to do justice
in this world, and mostly to leave
retribution of all kinds to God. who
really knows about thing*, and to con
tent ourselves as much as possible
*rith mercy, whose mistakes are not
60 irreparable.
There you have the keynote, the
essence of this novel: the injustice of
&11 human justice, the failure of cor
rection to correct. It is a novel lack
ing almost wholly in dramatic con
struction or arrangement. It is power
ful — that none will gainsay — but Its
strength is the strength of a searching
realism, not that of artful composition
and subtle shading; also it is somber,
4gr!m and hopeless, a little In the fash
•\u25a0 lon of Zola, or, more nearly, of the
later Russian realists. It does not in
dict, save as the facts it sets forth
accomplish that end; It does not ar
raign, except in so far as it arrays
picture on picture of the savage cruelty:
.with which organized society, blunder
ing always and sometimes crushing
brutaliy. deals with its delinquents.
One may guess that the city is Mr.
Whltlock's own Toledo and that the
men and the places of the book are,
\u25a0thinly masked, those with whom and
among which he lives and works; about
his description of them there is the un
mistakable air of actuality. But for
the Wards, prosperous business folk,
and the after-business-hours side of
Marriott and Eades, the two young
lawyers who love Elizabeth Ward, the
tale has wholly to do with the under
world and its ill-deflned line of con
tact with the world" above it. At the
center of it — and here is something
remotely Zolaesque — is the Koerner
family: 'Gueta, the buxom maid of the
Wards; Archie, young and stalwart.
Just home from soldiering In the Philip
pines; the father, crippled by an acci
dent in the yards of the railway which
lie had served for a lifetime, and the
heavy, helpless mother, little Katie and
Jackie. The main current of tragedy
Jirars the Koe.rncrs resistlcssly to ruin
— 'Gusta to shame, Archie to crime,
.prison and a felon's death, and the
others to what the police reporters call
a "quadruple horror." Marriott, ever
for the defense in the criminal court*.
ever loses, and Eades. the prosecutor,
never fails to convict. It all goes
wrong; for the Korrners there is never
any hope of escape from the justice
machine, and yet they are. in the be
ginning, honest, Kindly, pimple folk — •
they are merely meshed in the web of
circumstance, caught in the trap set
for real criminals. The misery of it is
that any big city lias its company of
Koernrrs.
Without effort to satirize* or ap
parent design to dissect, the tale goes
to the heart of more than one of the
institutions through which society
deals with its own ills. Orfiranizcd'cbar-
Hy Ik painted as any reporter for a
newspaper has seen it; the police sta
. tion, the "upper office," the "third de
cree," are done with a terribly .' de
i pressing fidelity; the mockery of trials
In the Police Court and the futility of
the poor man's appeal to law c gainst
the rich corporation with its juggled
statutes and perverted doctrines and
complaisant courts — all these are pow
erfully depicted and yet are but in
cidental to the almost plotless nairm
• For the most part, the book is* of
• thieves, of crimes, of prisons and of
prison-keepers. It- is rich-7-almost too
rich for the uninitiated — In the argot
of the underworld.. It is criminal jar
gon brought down to a later date than
that of Josiab Flynt and it might very
well have had a glossary to make it
intelligible, but Mr. Whitlock has
chosen to weave into the tale enough
of explanation to enable 'the reader to
find out for himself the significance of
"broad," "boob," "gager." "lamas,"
"frltzer." "hip" and so, on for a multi
tude of unfamiliar terms. In this direc
tion the masterpiece of recondite slang
a letter from a "yegg" in a work
house to anotner at large, in part thus:
I'm only hero for awhop, and» I'll hit
-»» ros.6 before tlic *'x " up. I h.*v«
THE SUNDAY CALL'S BOOK PAGE
filled out a country jug that can- be
ff£ S Tleht - Wo can J) » ako v Ba '«
lamas. There is a John O'Brien at 1:30
a. m. and a rattler at 3:50. The shack
next door is a cold slough, and the
nearest kip to the joint is one look and
a peep. There is a speeder in tha
finality, and we can pet to the main
stem and catch the rattler and be In "
the maJn fort by daylight.
There is no special pleading for the
criminal, but some of the sketches
of the <onditions that surround him
make it easy to understand how.
having once gone wrong, it is
next door to impossible for him
to get right again. There is the sleuth.
Kouka, prideful of his office, ambitious
of preferment, shallow-brained and
swollen with authority, forever hound
ing and prodding Archie down the easy •
descent to habitual criminality. Kou
ka is typical, part of a system that
recks little of scientific theory in pen
ology and denies entirely that a crim
inal can ever become anything else.
Archies downfall begins with, the
theft of a tfifle from in front of a shop.
He goes to a workhouse for thirty
days, stamped "thief" from the moment
of his arrest. On his way down there
is one fearsome passage that tells of
his punishment by hanging wrist-sus
pended in the "bull rings" at the "stir."
It goes:
At first Archie found relief in chang
ing his position. By raising himself
on tiptoe he could ease the strain on
nis wrists; by hanging his weight from
his wrists he could ease the strain on
his feet. He did this many times, but
he found no rest In either position.
The handcuffs grew tight; they cut
into his wrists like' knives. His hands
were beginning to go to sleep; they
tingled, the darting needles stung and
pricked and danced about. Then his
hands seemed to- have . enlarged to a
preposterous size, and they •were icy
cold. Presently he was filled r with ter- '
ror; he lost all -sense of feeling, in his
arms. Rubbing his head against them
he found them cold; they were no
longer his arms, bufthe arms of some
one else. They felt like the arms of. a
corpse. An awful "terror laid hold of
him. In_- his insteps there was - a
mighty pain; his biceps ached; his neck
ached, ached, ached to the bones of It;
his back was breaking. The pain
epread through his,- whole body, mad
dening him. With, a great effort he
tore and tugged and writhed, lifting
one foot, then the other, then stamped. '
At last he. hung the.re,nuinjx, limp, in- *
ert.^ In the cell it was dark and still.
No sound could reach him-from^tho
outer world. . • • • The next day,
and the next, and the next — for neven
days — Archie hung in. the bull rings.
In the middle of the eighth day. after
his head had been rolling and lolling
about on his shoulders between his cold,
swollen, naked arms, he : suddenly-be
came frantic, put forth a mighty effort,
lifted himself and began to bite hi
hands and his wrists, . gnashing ,li
teeth on the steel handcuffs, yamme:
ing like a maniac. • • •*• WJien thC
guard came and flashed his lamp -on .
him Archie's body was hanging there,
still, his chin on his breast.. Down his.:
arms the blood was trickling from : the \u25a0
wounds he had made with his teeth.
The description of the scene in -the -
death chamber is: the climax. If climax
there be, of the tragedy:
He heard Beck lock the door of the
death chamber, locking it hurriedly, so
that he could be in time to look^on. \u25a0
• • • The doctors held their watches
in their hands; and there before him
/ "
was the chair, its oilcloth cover: now
removed, ' its cane bottom exposed.
• - • • But- there were-hands onhls
shoulders pressing him down,-until,.he
could feel hl»^ back touch; the chair
from his shoulders down , to the very
end of his spine. Some one had' seized
his legs,' turnediback the sliutrousers
from his calves. • • • -There were
h ands, too, at . his head, at -. his . arms —
hands all over. him. He took one last
look. Had the Governor \u25a0 ? Then
the leather mask was strapped over his
eyes and It was dark. He could only
feel and hear now — feel the' cold metal
on his legs, feel the moist sponge ; on
the top of his head where; the -barber
had shaved him, feel the leather straps
binding his legs and -arms, to; the legs
and arms of the chair. \u25a0•\u25a0•\u25a0.* • Help
less be lay there and waited. He heard
the loud \u25a0 ticking of a watch; then ' on
the other side of him the loud ticking
of another watch;. fingers were-, at- his
wrists. • • \u25a0 • Some , one- said: , 'All
rei^r!" • • * rmifienly It ; seemed
as .If he must Heap, from ; tho chair.thls
body, was swelling •to - some monstrous,
impossible, unhuman shape; his ' mus
cles *were stretched,. millions of hot; and
dreadful needles, were -piercing." and
pricking him, a stupendous roaring
was ; In his ' ears.*, them a'; million ; colors/
colors he had ' never x seen ; or : imagined
before.* • • Suddenly they. -were
shattered'by a "terrific explosion in his
braln-»-then darkness.^ •- • • 'But
no, -"there was:stlll sensation; a dull
purple, color slowly* spread'.before; him;
gradually 1 grew lighter.' expanded,- and
with a.mighty pain he struggled," grop
ing 1 -.his ,. way \u25a0 in;! torture ;and .' torment
over I fearful - obstacles s from * some - far
distance,' remote' as black stars , in the
cold^ abyss t of the universe;? he' strug- 1
Sled ' back ; to ' life-— then 'an appalling:
confusion, i a' grasp > at i consciousness ;'he
heard 'the. ticking of the;twoiwatches— \
then, { through his :' brain * there 1 slowly!
trickled l , a",;; thread of thought "that
squirmed and glowed, like a; whitehot
A taint groan escaped .the pale llpw
eelow the black, leather. mask, a. tremor
ran , through , the i form- In \u25a0 the chair, then
It relaxed and' was \u25a0> still." •• •_ -•; "
" Someone. flung up a? window and a
draught of cool airJ sucked through the
room. On the, draught was; borne from
tho . death chamber/- the ' stale odor ; of
Russian, cigarettes. \u25a0 :.' (
(\u25a0 This new; book >l 3 '. characteristic -of
>£r. v Whitlock » in '\u25a0 its; deep ', earnestness,
its strength' and * Its ; somberness of ' ou t
look^TKere ls^no 1 relief of illghf against
shade", s - no \ sunbeams \ through
its i melancholy "gray— it f is r humanity's
gaunt, stark ugliness.'- And. yet It grips
interest' and 1 compels; attention. It .will
be \u25a0' much r ead -
"East of Suez"
\u25a0i Bt : Frederick \ Courtland " \u25a0 Penfleld, author p - of
""Present: Day : Egypt" Published by 'th«
Century -, Publishing t Company, New Tork.
' Price *2.
"If books of travel ; were"not written,",
nays'. Frederick,*' Courtland/', Penfleld
in his > introduction , to""J."East; of * Suez,'.'
."the stay-at-home millions w6uld know
little r of .'\u25a0 the Estrange ' and^ interesting
Eights " of -this ' beautiful; world' of .'ours;
and It 'surely,; is i better* to , have ft vicari
ous knowledge of (what - is " beyond > the
rislon"; than* dwell i'ln'i ignorance* of .1 the
ways i'and •» places : ; of j* men* and - women
included in « the universal v human fam
111 .1 milt liHUjJiii/llllihi^li \ 1 1 ' Will II in miff
. Mr. i-L-PcnfleldS needs c ,no: introduction;
his . previous ;\u25a0-.'-, booki i'V'Present ,- .Day
Egypt," . did that ' for,! him', better 'than
any 'word- now, ; but v the'; fact; that) he
was-'Consul , 'General .' in v , Egypt v and
knows t the; East *' as". do i few » Americans
will; give added swelght'to;these",further5 welght'to; these", further
writings/,,: ItHs'a'book.of-Journeyings
through*- Ceylon.;^ lndia,"/'- China and
Japan.'- '.\u25a0 Something,^ of ii a. 4 sermon i runs
through \u25a0\u25a0 1 t-^-an i address j to ""America" and
'Amcricahs.iwhom.the'author^lndictsfor
commercial f drifting, 'for [gross neglect
of market of ..the
worldCtliat'isTriow/openitoHhem.
; * From 5 the f, tl me t: he 2 passes "> the Sues
canal "till his ': arrival", in', China" orj Japan
the' ! traveling 'American] finds few,, traces
of anything American"; [f he" finds l.\ ho
productfof (American* Industry. il"Hei Is
rewarded,*;; saysfMr.^ Pen field. tTiy; flnd
ing.'that'thV^Llght of 'Asia^is 'American
petroleum,^but Uhat J is * aboutnhe.only
We'sternTcommodity^ he i is .sure iof - en
counterlng-ln'.monthstofjtravel. • .• •
We have t had ij such];', years Jof 3 material
prosperltyi arid iprogresstas*f.were] never
known J lni the] history JoffanyTpeople^ It
is^true;" but"; every j cycle i ot
has '.been ) succeeded fcby 3 lean' years, j and
ever, will [be.\Whenithel inevitable :over
productiohand'lessenedihomeTconsurnp^
tiqni'cbmc/ : Eastern vmarkets,\' H ; though
suppiledTat' moderate; profit, \u25a0'.will'be'in^'
valuable. "'\u25a0'-':. f U ;^ A--' . - \u25a0 HHHI
"We are building; the Panama. canal,
whose V corollary .must be, a > mercantile ;
' fleet -j of ; - our,' own t upon v the ...seas, v dlsj
"tributlng; the t pfoducts of ;oiir soil and
."throughout ', the world,
and : ; Secretary of J State I Roqt t has made '
\u25a0it 'easy for a .better, understanding; and'
augmented trade .wjth'the , republics; to
the -south of us.". But 'America's" real
opportunity; Is In i- A.sia. .where dwell
more than half <the ' people' of , the earths
for the possibilities : of ; commerce' with
the , rich . East ',- exceed : those , of South
America tenfold.; Uncle. Sam; merits 1 a"
' goodly share of ; the trade of, both ; these
dlvislons;of the globe.',- The. people] of
". the iUnlted ', States - must . cut 1 loose \ from
the ; idea • that has' lost its loglc ; in A re
cent years.; that the Pacific .Ocean sepa^-,
rates ; America' f rom ,the J lands ; and ' igl
; ahds of Asia; ' and , ; : look • upon 'it *as a
' body ! of water connecting us 'with the
'.bountiful: East.;
I , "We should. seeito- It speedily - that
our plows 'and harrows .are' .being
used r on . the , Nile," our j agricultural : ma- .
chlnery In -the ; fields 'of .r* India, Vour,
lathes and- planers '.: and'Jdrllling.Cma
chlries ' In ": Eastern* shops, l substituting.
.* those t made )in England ;; or : Germany.
iAmerican •\u25a0 locomotives v : should; :' draw
American cars,' over rails rolled In Pltts
burg, i Manchuria' and . Korea."
' Most 'of ', this,? Mr.V Penfleld f tells .,' us .
In ; his introduction.'. but {there : is : : moro .
" ; of It. In homeopathic doses: all .through '
tne-book. ' ' j
i nls collection - travels -is out /.of .
•the,- beaten ".track". .After,;' passing the,
•'World's .Townsite at Suez," ; the ! reader
is* taken 1 through Colombo/ Ceylon's sea-;'
port!- the'description" of. which ; Is -better..
: than * anything v seen : in ; . recent i years in f
books . of :: \ travel;. \u0084Ther ; pearl ; : : fisheries
are ''excellently \u25a0' pictured: a;yislt ;
to the! shrine 'of Buddha;; thence; to jtho
:beautiful-hill-c6untrylof^Ceylon.'jßom^: beautiful- hill- c6untryIof^Ceylon.'jBom^
bay, i'Jeypore,"' Benares,! canton'; and* Ma-J
•cao <are: glven'^all !,toos little- space,-; and
thc.Taj" Mahal, '.that,: most; marvelous;
tribute to'a much!adoredVwife, ''•. is 'given \u25a0"\u25a0
a \u25bachapter}, by l itself, under Uhc"; title, "of
V'The';' World's Most : ; Exquisite •; Bullu-':
Ing-V-.'/r ..". '-I. '.•-\u25a0,', \u25a0- ..'..' \u25a0 . ..•.',
- InVthe: final, chapter, of \u25a0 the 'book,
"Japan's] Commercial ? Future," i the r Jap^T
\u25a0anese \u25a0*» 'enterprises rand /encroachments
\u25a0 recelvok - some l^sucnv attention '< as :'; must'
\u25a0Inevitably l be ;: given .them before long.
•by ; the ' world's > statesmen.';. ; -?i.~ !
. ,The : book is vitally \u25a0\u25a0: Interesting, fu..V
of. real' lnformation, 1 most 'entertainingly. 1
: presented^and ' is ; worthy of a; place in
: any * library, f Tho text is ;, enriched by
'flfty*or ? ;more fine:' Illustrations- from".
1 drawings '-and photographs. ;,
rAntonloPoilaluqlb^,?
A'- biography and * critical :'. analysis sby Maud
Orattwell. \u25a0\u25a0' Pu»>lishcd '\u25a0 by " Duckworth s& 3 Co.;
"' Ix>odon ; imported by Charles Scrlbner's Sons,
New York.- Prlco s *2.;
•'A-, To (thelbl > bllography:o_f art an.impor
< tanti book 1 has ' justj ust \ been ; added-r-a] mas
terly^biography; and? analysis', of iMaud
GruttwellLof;the;ilfe;ahd'jWork;of Anto-'
"nio Pollaiuolo,'' the greatest scientific Jar
tist "of "the 'Florentine 'schooLlThe .work,"
published in' London, 5 -. has beeniimported
by Charles i Scribner's :-," Sons r, and % pre
sented \ in fekquisite " f orm\ to", the - Ameri
!can ? public. ' ; lti Is -hot" easyj; to o under
stand iwhy| this iwell-meri ted ; considera-;
; tion *T of £ one Kotfl. the^.world's ? greatest
artists has not been .written -.before.-
To-dofit?now;has;meant«a v lot .of jorigf'
inali* research I- on i the t part :"of the auf
thor.'. tolwhdmlithe art / world % owes - ? a
debt£of ; gratitude. _: v v f - 't> 't.
'^jrTheUblography.' gives j ; an : ; excellent
idea ir ofUheTenylronrnontTin v ,which;thls
rare ?>gehlus*;developed'_ and •* shows ..that
like^raany'..^ a. 'world? genius Pollaiuolo's
, : birth and were lowly.
Placed -. at an * early - age ', by ; his ' father
to.' learn 'the trade "• of ; goldsmith, he
{.. soon* attracted attention ,by the ) origi- •
'-; nality f^and superiority.- of •': his .-design's
. and* became : orie;"of \the most' skilful
workers', mi . Florence! > ; the. -range O f , hi 3
accomplishments including some not
able bronze decorations. But it ap
pears < that . In * the- days of Pollaluolo—
.1432 ;to'.l49B— there' was not as much
money : to ; be made ; in : the craft of , the
goldsmith.as inlthe.aft of .the -painter,
and ] bo it was that -this < man, . talented
\u25a0. enough' 1 to [i do ! almost 'anything '.he es
sayed, learned to -be ; a painter. His
years as a designer, made the transition
an easy one. .Starting in this way; Pol
laiuolo made I way - until/ 1 he j stands
next; to\Donatello as i pioneer; and chief
1 of the Florentine . school. . But
" with j all ' Pollaiuolo's success as'an.ar
tist, ; the brush could. not wean. him en
tirely from metal 1 work; -"" in ' fact, itV is
known' that he was always a' goldsmith
as well -. as " a ' pointer.-. The churches of
, Florence ibe»r^ testimony to. this. t .In
one ; a painting and a silver altar cross
bear, tb* aame date.- And at last, when
Pollaftiplo i died, \u25a0> ha was i n r some : ac
count* , .with • the sculptors.
Showing a* still' further^ unusual ; devel
.opment .*' * . \u25a0"'•'\u25a0
Quite/ natnrally, Interest centers in
the • great work done jiby,-- Pollaiuolo in
Rome. \u25a0 whither* he; went tat * the request
of j InnocentVVTll. i whose ". tomb .was I the
< last triumph of j the Florentine. lie died \u25a0
Just as It .was 'completed. : .
• .To :the •\u25a0 student- of character this
book*. will afford keen enjoyment, show
ing bow muchmay/be accomplished in
a well-ordered life. For the, present
day workers, seeking. the best interpre
1 tatlon of the . beauty, of .the - nude in art,
this- 'book will explain '^that Pollaiuolo
was the ; man who * too« .up -the study
: from 'a scientific standpoint" and
: bridged the time; of; extreme • conven
tionality after. 'the sensuous . extremes
of 'the; Roman 'painters, with the more
rational Tage': to which he pointed the
way. : - , 1-~ >
' .Forty-nine .well-chosen and splen
didly.-executed..'reproductions /of- the
•work of the great "\u25a0 Florentine "scientific"
painter, add greatly to the .value of the
r edition, attesting -, the infinite -variety
: of 'his r work. .'Another* satisfactory
feature of .the publication Is .^care
fully " compiled • appendix, j classifying
the elaborated text and fglvingf, 1 by way
:of -verification, some , Important . docu
ments In the: original -Italian.
One of the particularly good chapters
of this book Is that- which gives the
characteristics of Pollaluolo's art. It is
a r gem of analytic criticism.^Referring
directly to tho' colors which combined
with the .superior -," draughtsmanship
make, his work the wonder "that; it -is;
ttie : author says': '•.
' "In^ color. -Antonio tends to be some
what '\u25a0> heayyr warm 'brown, green, pea
cock blue and' deep. amethyst and ruby
being his favorite 'tints. It is probably
; to v his handling of ; gold "and jewels that
he f owes the - depth , and ; gem-like glow
of his colors.", . \u25a0 v ••..' .
"The Spirit ollafior"
By Ilutchlns Ilapjrood.* author of "•.The AutoM
' . ography of a Thief." '. Published t by;- Duf
fleld ; & Co., 'New York. Price $1.50.
v Hutchins Hapgood wrote "The ; Aut
o of a .Thief .: in* rather, roman-
i tic ; circumstances. *An", ex-convict ; upon \u25a0
hla release from:prison: v was .sent.t o
"Joslah;- Flynt,';' the. author tramp, by
•some : member jof • the "National Prison
Association. " who f had ; befriended him/
**aiid '.was; turned over by Flynt ;to Hap
good.' The ; latter.-becoming. interested
mv his' story, * took 'it down* for.hlm.jand
began ''a series : of,: researches
Into "yariouV, phases of f the .underworld.'!
That book .was interesting," .well written .
anda,valuable>dditlon.to books about'
criminals.* 7 . Now ;the same; writer's • f urf
ther^investigations -along; the "same line
'are madelinto another ibook called' "The
(Spirit: of >L>abor."
,t The author has, chosen" the biograph-*
vical.form and assertsithat , the '.events
in the story are actual, but- it,' is the
life story.; just the: same."'ofja" Chicago
labor leader.ahditrades.uniohlst. •
.The ' socialistic . movement .in ..this
country ' Is ''• attracting : * the . ;.; attention lof
'people tln ? all -.walks \ of » llf e^and^when a
'nian'iwho* writes *asj well fas ;Mr. Hap T
good ; dqes^puts^its principles: into -; tho
of his characters .one" must:
needs \ take notice.^.; He Us 1 just "and 'un
biased [and the) representatives*^of .labor
and capital; should J find Vequal pleasure
in'readlng thlscxcellent book. .
Value; of Pure Water"
- -"a" series of •-\u25a0technical . essays \u25a0 -prepared '- by
Georgo C" --Whlpple. ! Published by, John Wiley'
",&* Sons," • New' York. . Trice : ?1 .
"Thb; Yaluo'^of; .Water.**, ;; by.
rGcorgelc.*»Whipple*,' appeared Tori ginally"
in a collectioniof^'scientific': papers (en
;titledl"Bl6l6glcaljj_Studles~"bfithe Pupils
of ; Willlam^Thornpsqn"^edgwlck.' > Is.lt;isI s .It;is
little; niofeUhari: a brochure.'but: having
:' attracted \u25a0 an amount; of jat^'
' tentlon/ from J the /public fat f large as
; well ; as ' the 'scientists -for -whom* it 'was ;
"originally;, written,"* it is now /brought
iout% in lbobk ;f drmf .* ,To 4 quote j from his
' preface: -,'VThe ; author, wishes to dis-
claim any . great , degree ' of accuracy or
permanency for the formulae suggested,
and to. warn the- reader' against a too
definite application of them In par
ticular cases. f . The whole study is in
tended, merely to illustrate a fact which
in the past has. been too little appreci
ated..;namely, that an impure water
supply affecta not only the health and
comfort, of a .community, but also tha
individual : pocketbooks ~of the people."
The author has added a few extracts
bearing on -the same* subject from re
cent lectures and addresses *he has
made on- "The Disadvantages of Hard
Water." 'The Pollution" of 6tr«am»'
and the "Natural Agencies ot MLflhfc
"The Messlab Idea in Jewish History"
.By Julius H. - Greenstone. Published by th»
Jewish Publishing Society. Philadelphia.
"The Messiah Idea in Jewish His
tory.", a scholarly book by Julius H.
Greenstone, in which is discussed the
attitude of the Jewish historians and
the Jewish people toward the* Messiah
in ancient and "modern times. It has
been often asserted and generally ac
cepted that most people believe that
Judaism has no dogmas. \u25a0 The author
of this work takes the\ opposite view
and proves it by ancient lore. He traces
his' idea from the Old Testament and
later Jewish history down to the Chris
tian era, but devotes most of his at
tention to the times following the es
tablishment of the Christian faith.
The book is interesting in'itself, but
particularly so as a comparative study
of religion. The chapters deal with as
many periods — "In Biblical Times."
"The Second Commonwealth." "Tha
Talmudlc Period." "The Rise of Ration
alism," etc., and are -very comprehen
sive.
"Complete Automobile Instructor"
A manual by Benjamin 11. Tillson. Published
by John Wiley & Sons, New York. Trice
11.00.
Benjamin R. Tlllson's little manual.
"The Complete Automobile Instructor."
Is intended for all sorts of. people in
terested in machines, the amateur
driver, the student chauffeur, the sales
man and dealer; it will assist the re
pairman, the manufacturer will be glad
if the buyer has seen the book, for hft
-can ask more Intelligent questions, etc.
« he work is arranged like a textbook,
ie : first forty-three > pages being de
voted to questions, carefully divided
under heads, such as parts of the car.
\u25a0two-cycle .'motors, 'four-cycle motors.
tlves. etc.: The last 150 pages contain
c answers to the ' questions, most
carefully and simply written, so that the
veriest tyro could not but understand.
._\u2666_-
Gossip of Books and the People Wfio Make Them
Messrs. Chapman & Hall of London
announce . yet another edition of
Dickens' novels, this time a handy on»
In ; twenty-one single volumes In green
cloth or green leather, at a shilling and
a florin net, respectively. The typa "ls
bold, the illustrations are stereotype*
of the originals, and the conception is
thoroughly sound. Each volume will
contain decorations and designs, some
of -them by. Charles Green, one of tha
happiest of Dickens' illustrators.;
Eleanor Gates, \u25a0 author of the "Plow
-Woman," and her husband, Richard
Watson Tully. the playwright, are win
tering in Capri, where Mrs. Tully U
finishing her new book. "Cupid, the Cow
Punch." which \u25a0 will ' appear some tlm«
this year. The- viha where they ar«
resting, to. EllhuVedder. th«
artist.^ and ; was . occupied last I winte*
by * the Booth ' Tarklngtons.
It Is not generally known that -Miss
Lena ,-Ashwell, the English emotional
actress, who has been appearing, on tho
American stage this ? season in "The
Shulamite," Is a sister of Roger Pocock.
the 4 . we1l known writer,, whose book,
•.•Following ."; the Frontier." was pub
lished two years ago by McClure. Phil
llps\u25a0'&' Co.- Though *thls is Miss.Ash
well's first visit? to this country. Mr.
Pocock^is thoroughly, at home here, es
pecially -in 7 the Western : States, where
he's had :many of his "most \u25a0thrilling : ad
ventures. He has also served in tho
Canadian": Mounted Police, . and was on«
of .'the ! - first men to head a large party
ihtbHhe* Klondike when that restion was
opened to the gold hunters. f
: "I am . no w r tired jof writing novels,"
says s' Mrs. Stannafd, otherwise John
Strange; Winter. She ha3, written nine
ty-six r of them.
"The Proprlum." or "What of Man
Is Xot His Own." Is the title*of a little
volume of ".interest to followers of
EmanueltSwedenborg. or^tboseseeking
toX Investigate; his (point of view. An
introduction \ has \been ' written by John
Bigelow. Jwho cites ; Bible "references to
fortify Swedenbors's contentions. It is
issued by the ( New. Church' Board of
Publication., Xew York.