A FEW OF THE SEASON'S NOVELS. It is evident that Miss Marie Corelli has not lost her ability to tell a good story, nor has her ardor and vigor been impaired. These qualities are quite evident in her latest romance, "Holy Orders" (Stokes), which she has subtitled "The Story of a Quiet Life." This highly dramatic tale of the Cotswolds, one of the prides of rural England, is also a powerful temperance tract. The central figures are the devoted, retiring vicar of the little church at Shadbrook, Copyright, 1908, by F. A. Stokes Company. MARIE CORELLI. (Author of "Holy Orders.") and a very beautiful, heartless village girl, whose highly reprehensible and occasionally "impossible" doings end in a luridly described balloon ascension which results in her death. Americans, says Miss Corelli in her preface, do not understand the real England, since most of them only know a little of London, which is not really English. Americans also, she believes, do not understand the extent of the evil wrought on rural English populations by the tyranny of the drink traffic. Therefore she tells us about these things. In the story "Holy Orders" all the power for evil exercised by the community brewer is set forth in the author's highly colored, swiftly moving style. The reader cannot escape the conviction that the writer is terribly in earnest over her theme. A little too highly dramatic, perhaps, is "Holy Orders," but still undoubtedly a good story. More than forty years after the appearance of "Under Two Flags," "Ouida's" first successful novel, and but a few months after the death of that gifted writer, there appears a novel entitled "Helianthus (Macmillan), which was completed during the very last days of the novelist. It is a grandiose tale upon a grandiose theme. International relations and great political and diplomatic movements in modern Europe are seen from the standpoint of the court of Helianthus, which may be identified with Italy. Among the actors in the drama will be recognized imaginative but startlingly suggestive portraits of many of the rulers of modern Europe. The style is vigorous and suggestive. A novel by the author of "The Martyrdom of an Empress" is one of the noteworthy features of the season's fiction. This story, "The Cradle of the Rose" (Harpers), is a dramatic romance of modern France, treating of a conspiracy growing out of the church and state crisis in the province of Brittany, that Ireland of the French republic. The beautiful, accomplished, and wealthy wife of an English diplomat, who is absent on an Asiatic mission, returns to her native Brittany on a visit, finds herself recognized as a feudal princess and as the head of a royalist insurrection. There is also a young Breton nobleman, an ex-naval officer, who is the hero, and a number of extraordinary situations handled in an original and fascinating manner. Maxim Gorky's latest novel, "The Spy: The Story of a Superfluous Man," has been translated by Thomas Seltzer and published by B. W. Huebsch, of New York. This novel is in the vivid, intensely realistic Gorky style, depicting the actual life of the Russian of yesterday, of to-day, and perhaps of the immediate future. In it we see the workings of a strange society, the Russian Secret Service, a more remarkable organization even than the Society of Tramps described by Gorky in his earlier tales. atmosphere is one of deceit, murder, lust, filth, and blood, but we catch glimpses at times of the beautiful potentiality of the Slav peoples for idealism. Very vivid and heart-moving is the The B. L. PUTNAM WEALE. (Author of "The Forbidden Boundary.") description of the devotion of the revolutionists and their street demonstrations on that day following the proclamation of the Czar's famous liberty manifesto. The translator has completed his task in a workmanlike manner, and, moreover, has succeeded in communicating much of the spirit and temperament of the original. Very few living writers can put into a short story the mysterious, haunting atmosphere of the Far East as successfully and subtly as B. L. Putnam Weale, whose volumes on travel, description, and political speculation ("Manchu and Muscovite," "The Reshaping of the Far East," etc.) have been noticed from time to time in these pages. The same vigor, yet haunting (this is the only word) quality that characterized his "Indiscreet Letters from Peking," published two years ago, are soaked into a volume of short stories just brought out by Macmillan, entitled "The Forbidden Boundary." There are other stories in the volume, but the one which gives the title is perhaps the most noteworthy. It is built upon the mysterious physical and temperamental changes that result from the crossing of Eastern and Western races," the fateful transformation that results from the occult taint in the light-brown woman.' The trilogy begun by Mr. F. Marion Crawford with his novel The Primadonna" and continued in "Fair Margaret" is completed by the appearance of "The Diva's Ruby (Macmillan). All of these stories deal with the young English girl, Margaret Donne, who became a great soprano, had many adventures, and finally married the man of her choice. One cannot help becoming affectionately attached to all Mr. Crawford's characters, villains as well as heroes, and it is good to see that in this final volume of the three the ward of ends as it should,-in the rediscomfiture of villainy. In "The Revolt of Anne Royle" (Century), Miss Helen R. Martin has, we think, done as keen and clever a piece of character delineation as in her former novel, "Tillie, a Mennonite Maid." This later book is a love story pure and simple, and its main theme is the development of the character of the historian, whose "revolt ends happily for her and the man she loves. There is much excitement, much movement, and a great deal of that delicious improbability which reminds the reader of Stevenson, Haggard, and Jules Verne in W. C. Morrow's romance, "Lentala of the South Seas" (Stokes). We have the shipwreck of a band of colonists on a volcanic island in the South Seas, their many and thrilling adventures with the natives, and their escape from imminent death through the heroism of the mysterious Lentala. The love motive is clean and novel. There are eight illustrations in color by Maynard Dixon. 66 The motive used by Mr. Robert Hichens in his powerful novel, The Call of the Blood," is employed with slightly different treatment by him in his latest romance, A Spirit in Prison (Harpers). It is in Italy that Mr. Hichens' atmospheric power and charm are at their best, and what better parts of Italy than Sicily and Naples could be found for the movement of such an intensely human story as this? There is the beautiful peasant girl betrayed by the elegant gentleman, the influence of the church, the description of Italian scenery, and the intense love passages for which Mr. Hichens is justly famous. There are some graphic illustrations by Cyrus Cuneo. We are not accustomed to regard Mr. W. H. Mallock as a novelist. He has taught us by his contributions to political, economic, and general philosophy to look upon him in an entirely different light. In his book, "An Immortal Soul" (Harpers), however, he has given us a really clever romance, the central theme of which is the dual nature of a fascinating English schoolgirl. A well-sustained little story of Japanese social and political life which makes pleasant reading, and, moreover, ends as it should, is Mrs. Hugh Fraser's "The Heart of a Geisha" (Putnams). The frontispiece illustration and border decorations are by Ludwig Holberg. In "Jennie Allen" Miss Grace Donworth has created, we believe, a really new character, as deliciously original as "Mrs. Wiggs." Jennie's homely philosophy and kindly views of life in general are set forth in a series of "letters" to her friend, Miss Musgrove. The volume containing these letters, which is effectively illustrated, is brought out by Small, Maynard & Co. under the rather long title: The Letters of Jennie Allen to Her Friend, Miss Musgrove." 66 Dr. S. Weir Mitchell is as much at home in the Philadelphia of 1792 as in the Philadelphia of 1909. His last novel, "The Red City" (Century), pertains to the period of President Washington's second administration. The chief characters in the story are a young French Huguenot refugee and a Quaker lass, while Hugh Wynne himself figures in the tale and such personalities as Jefferson and Hamilton pass and repass. The narrative in no way falls behind Dr. Mitchell's earlier efforts in historical fiction. Another book by Dr. Mitchell just brought out (Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co.) is a story for boys, entitled A Venture in 1777." This gives the experiences of some Philadelphia boys who, during Howe's occupation of Philadelphia, were able to render a service to Washington at Valley Forge. The humanity and humor which fairly reek from all that Mr. W. W. Jacobs writes are irresistibly characteristic of his latest story, "Salthaven" (Scribners). Mr. Jacobs writes some more about skippers and mates and seamen and a lot of other folks with whom they come in contact, who are big hearted and genuine and irresistibly funny without being silly. This volume is illustrated with pen sketches. Mr. F. Hopkinson Smith's "Peter" (Scribners) is a refreshing outbreak of wholesome optimism. We should all like to believe that such a lovable old bachelor as Peter could sur vive in modern New York business life, but whether he is a possibility in that sense or not, it is good to have met him even in the pages of fiction. There is nothing in Mr. Hopkinson Smith's style of novel that is either morbid or unwholesome. In all his work there is breeziness and an abundance of good nature. While exhibiting imagination, power, and the forceful delineation of character, the "fact story" which James Hopper and Fred R. Bechdolt have written, under the title "9009" (McClure), is not exactly a work of fiction. Indignation over "facts concerning the treatment of convicts in American prisons has spurred on the authors to reveal in calm but graphic language many of the existing evils. Number 9009 is a convict, the authors name him John Collins,-who revolts against the system of spying, treachery, and betrayal with which a convict must identify himself in order to become a "trusty." The story is not a biography, but, the authors insist in their preface, "everything that happens to 9009 within the prison is something which has happened to some convict in some American prison at some time." Cover design (reduced.) The latest,-and last,-novel of that clever delineator of New York society life, Mr. Herman Knickerbocker Vielé (Mr. Viele died on December 14) is entitled "Heartbreak Hill" (Duffield). This is the story of an attractive little girl and a stepfather. Mopsie Beatoun is horrified at the thought of any one taking the place of her own father, and so she runs away to live with an aunt. The book is the chronicle of her life and doings among her relatives at Heartbreak Hill, and the story has been subtitled by the author "A Comedy Romance." HISTORICAL WORKS. The appearance in Italy, some years ago, of the first volume of Ferrero's "Greatness and Decline of Rome" proclaimed to the world that a new name must be added to the list of great historians. The ability to take such a worn theme as Roman history and treat it in any way. so as to command even the slightest public attention is in itself an evidence of intellectual power. When, however, all the facts and evidences of a vast subject of this sort are marshaled with such philosophical acumen, such analytical skill, and such power of illumination as has been shown by Signor Guglielmo Ferrero in his "Greatness and Decline of Rome," such a history is truly epoch-making. In one of our "Leading Articles this month we present a few of the details of Signor Ferrero's career, with some sidelights upon the general structure of his great work. Four volumes have now appeared in English from the press of Putnams, the first and second translated by Alfred E. Zimmern, fellow and tutor of New College, Oxford, and the third and fourth in the translation of Rev. H. J. Chaytor, head mas ogous are the confessions of St. Paul, Niet- shivering and my hair stands up on en CO Thus, concludes Lombroso, "may plete happiness be found, by a strange co trast, only in the extreme condition of pa But in the first case it is enduring and steri lytic dementia and in that of genius creative in the other, spasmodic and fruitful. WHO WILL WIN IN PERSIA,-SHAH OR PEOPLE? A DEEP interest in the progress of Constitutional reform in Persia is manifested by the Russian press and the Russian public generally. Russian publicists are very well informed on Persian affairs, and, therefore, the following summary of events in Persia, which appears in a recent number of the Russkoye Bogatstro, is noteworthy. The great Iranian race, says this serious Russian review, which withstood for nearly 5000 years both the foreign barbarism and the native tyrant and usurper, now stands at the crossroads. Rapidly summarizing the events of the present revolutionary movement, the writer in the Russkoye Bogatstro says: In 1906 the Shah Muzaffar-ed-din reluctantly signed a “harat” assuring the Persian people of a constitution and free institutions. This manifesto was confirmed by Mohammed Ali Mirza, who had succeeded his father to the Persian throne. But from the very beginning there was felt a reactionary tendency on the part of the Shah and those surrounding him. The Liberal ministry was dismissed. Even the Moderate Conservatives could not hold their places, and the reactionaries enjoyed the confidence of AliMohammed. The Liberal movement was finally stifled, and its leaders fled beyond the boundary. The troops of the Shah have not succeeded, how ever, in stamping out entirely the opposition movement. The struggle for liberty soon blazed up in full vigor, and there is all reason to believe that the reactionaries have had only a premature victory. The struggle, in its latest phases, was centered around Tabriz, the nest of the revolutionaries, with their chief Sattar-Khan. The latter demand the convocation of a medglis before disarming, which the Shah refuses. Eynud, the general of the reactionary army, has given Tabriz an ultimatum, but has acted from the beginning without decision. And there are other indications unfavorable to the cause of the Shah. A proclamation has been issued by the Mushtaids, or Ulems, of Nedzef, declaring that "the preservation of Islam and the power of the government depend upon a constitutional order of things." Now Nedzef, a small town in Turkish Asia, is noted for the grave of the Khalif Ali, and is for the Shü their part to the effect that those opposing th present system were apostates. The Chief Uler at Teheran, also made the same proclamation This declaration strengthened very much th government of the Shah. Many arrests hav been made, and, on the other hand, an ordinanc was issued to convoke a medglis, the election for which were to take place on October 14 an its opening on November 1. At the same tim a firman was issued changing a few statutes in the fundamental laws and prescribing regulation for the elections. But the Tabriz government was not idl either. It reorganized itself and recruited it: army, and vigorously continued its propa ganda. Soon many cities between Tabriz and Teheran were seized by the revolution aries. The cause of the Shah went from bad to worse, and finally the news came to Teheran that the army of Eynud had deserted to the enemy, and that he himsel barely escaped with his life. At the same time, another proclamation was issued by the Ulems of Kerbel, reversing their previous opinion, and declaring themselves now to be in full sympathy with the revolutionaries. Under these unfavorable circumstances a new expedition has been dispatched by the Shah's government against Tabriz. This expedition was headed by the Russian colonel, Lyakhov. Lyakhov has organized the Cossacks of the Shah according to the organization of the Donan Cossacks, and now he is making the expedition with hem. On the way to Tabriz he has been joined the remnant of Eynud's troops and by the bber band of Kakhim. Now the Cossacks have gone on the expedition without hope of vicThe fragment of Eynud's army has been emoralized, and the Kakhim's band joined the expedition rather for the sake of plundering an for assisting the Shah. the people has virtually triumphed. Reports of the struggle over the constitution are conflicting. It is fairly certain, however, that the monarch has acceded to the principal demands of his people. England and Russia have semi-officially announced that they will recognize only a constitutional régime at Since this review was written the cause of Teheran. THE RECREATION OF YOUNG CITY GIRLS. ANYTHNG appearing in the public prints over the signature "Jane Addans" compels attention. In a recent issue of Charities and the Commons this estimable ady makes one of her characteristic appeals, which municipal authorities throughout the country would do well to heed. It is estimated that to-day there are in the United States no fewer than 3,000,000 young women engaged in earning a livelihood. Lawyers and doctors, merchants and manufacturers, storekeepers, telegraph and telephone companies are eager to obtain their services and to profit by their labor. All day long, at the typewriter, the sales-counter, the sewing-machine, or the loom, and then, in the evening,-what? We quote here: a chance to utilize by day their labor power in factories and shops, and then another chance in the evening to extract from them their petty wages by pandering to their love of pleasure. In every city arise so-called "places,”—ginpalaces they are called in fiction; in Chicago we euphemistically say merely "places,"-in which alcohol is dispensed, not to allay thirst, but, pretending to stimulate gayety, it is sold solely to empty pockets. Huge dance-halls are opened to which hundreds of young people are attracted, within it 5 cents will procure for five minutes standing wistfully outside a roped circle, for the sense of allurement and intoxication which is sold in lieu of innocent pleasure. These coarse and illicit merrymakings remind one of don, confusing joy with lust and gayety with the unrestrained jollities of Restoration Londebauchery. Looking at the girls streaming along our Never before in civilization have such num- city streets one may perhaps see only “the bers of girls been suddenly released from the protection of the home and permitted to walk self-conscious walk, the giggling speech, the anattended upon city streets and to work under preposterous clothing, but through the huge alien roofs; for the first time they are being hat with its wilderness of feathers the girl prized more for their labor power than for their announces to the world that she is here. She Innocence, their tender beauty, their ephemeral gayety. Society cares more for the products proclaims that she is ready to live." We they manufacture than for their immemorial abil- have no business, says Miss Addams, to comty to knead over the bread of life and reaffirm mercialize pleasure. Almost instant sucthe charm of existence. The love of pleasure will not be denied, and when no adecess attends the first efforts of the city in quate provision is made for its expression it making municipal provision for recreation." turns into all sorts of malignant and vicious appetites. Seeing these, we, the middle-aged, grow quite distracted and resort to all sorts of restrictive measures. We even try to dam up the sweet fountain itself because we are affrighted by these turgid streams. But it is the city itself that has failed in its obligations in this matter, turning over to commercialism practically all the provisions for public recreation. Chicago has seventeen parks with playing fields, gymnasiums, and baths, which at present enroll thousands of young women and girls. These same parks are provided with beautiful halls which are used for many purposes, rent free, and are given over to any band of young people who wish to conduct dancing parties sub- 6: We need only to look about us to perceive that quite as one set of men have organized the young people into industrial enterprises in order to profit from their toil, so another set of men, and women also, I am sorry to say, have entered the neglected field of recreation and have organ- the park hall, the good food in the park resized enterprises which make profit out of their taurant supplied at any cost, have made possible invincible love of pleasure. Apparently three parties closing at eleven o'clock instead of the modern city sees in these girls only two one party breaking up at daylight, too often in possibilities, both of them commercial: first, disorder. |