note so that it can be sung or played, making it literally a field-book filled with the musical sayings of American birds. (G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, $2.00.) * In his latest work, "Kwaidan," Lafcadio Hearn has made a delightful addition to his previous books upon Japanese life and literature. Certainly no living writer, not excepting Pierre Loti, has given to occidental appreciation so exquisite and sympathetic pictures of the strange life and modes of thought of this far-away people who have so recently placed themselves among the most enlighted nations as to material advancement and yet who are still imbued with the spirit and traditions of an ancient form of civilization. The Kwaidan, or Wierd Tales, contained in the present beautiful little book are from many Japaneses sources, both old and new, and are for the most part the fairy tales of a simple and fanciful people. It may easily be accepted that much of the delicacy and exotic charm of the stories is due to the hand of the interpreter, for Hearn is much more than a translator. These stories and studies of strange things are like little prisms through which an unknown world is made clear to us, strange always, but full of fantastic and novel beauties. (Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston. $1.50.) * * * HARLEM BRANCH OF FISCHER PIANO WAREROOMS. In order to accommodate their patrons in Harlem and the Bronx vicinity, J. & C. Fischer have established warerooms at No. 68 West 125th street, New York City. They cordially invite inspection of their fine exhibit of the latest styles and designs of their Pianos, in the highest artistic types of casearchitecture and in all varieties of woods. Their recent output, "THE FISCHER NEW SMALL GRAND," is pronounced by competent musical experts the most remarkable Grand Piano of its size ever produced. Although but little larger than the Upright, it has comparatively all the broad volumed Tone-Power, Tone-Purity and Sweetness of the Full Grand. To those who have been heretofore kept from availing themselves of a Grand Piano on account of a lack of parlor space, the Fischer New Small Grand especially commends itself. In their new branch warerooms the same reputable business rules will be adhered to that have characterized their Fifth Avenue house. Sixty-four years of reputation is the best assurance of this fact, and 120,000 homes made happier through the Fischer Pianos is indeed an enviable record. wish them the success they deserve. We SCENIC ROUTES TO ST. LOUIS. Via the Boston & Maine Railroad. The St. Louis Exposition is indeed proving all that its projectors prophesied for it. The buildings are all open; the exhibits are in readiness, and the superb management and order is truly wonderful. One feature which appeals to the visitor is the ease and facility of transportation around the grounds. The Intra-Mural Railway will take one to any section of the enclosure. The strange collection of foreign races take kindly to their temporary homes, so natural and faithfully produced are their native abodes and environments. At the Philippine Exhibit, one almost imagines oneself in the far away islands, while watching the agile natives work and frolic in their huts and surroundings. In another portion Ottomans and subjects of the Sultan are living in indolent Eastern fashion; and in the Arctic Region hardy Esquimaux are contented midst ice and snow and polar surroundings. The buildings represent architecture of various styles and ages; and the "Pike," which corresponds with the famous "Midway," far surpasses in wonderment the Chicago show. Throngs of people from New England and the East, from now until the last of November will travel toward St. Louis; and to meet the demands of these people, the Boston & Maine Railroad has arranged to run to St. Louis via the following routes: Through the famous Hoosac Tunnel, within plain view of the Berkshire Hills, through the peaceful Deerfield Valley, and west through Cooper's country, the Mohawk Valley, to Buffalo, where one may stop over and visit Niagara Falls; then on to St. Louis via the Wabash. Should you desire to journey through that famous garden of Southern New York via the Erie route along the shores of the winding Chemung, through the fertile lands and busy cities of the middle west; or if you desire to visit Canada, taking in Montreal, Toronto and stopping at Niagara Falls, travelling in the initial portion of your journey through northern New Hampshire in view of the White Mountains, along the northern shores of the Connecticut in Vermont-this trip being the Grand Trunk Route-you can do so. Make your selection, or send to the General Passenger Department, Boston & Maine Railroad, Boston, for the St. Louis Exposition Booklet, which gives all information in regard to the Exposition and how to get there. It will be mailed free. "Old Time Schools and Books." The readers of the NEW ENGLAND MAGAZINE who have read the very interesting article by Clifton Johnson in our pages on "Old Time Schools and School Books," will be more than delighted with the handsome large volume of 400 pages by the same author under the above title. It is profusely illustrated by half-tone and line cuts and makes one of the best volumes yet written by this well-known author. It will doubtless even prove a more popular work than the same author's "New England and Its Neighbors," which was well received. The scarcity of the old-time school books, the wear and tear they received as they were passed down from father to son and to the son's son has made these volumes so scarce that reprints from them are a novelty, while the valuable description of the old-time schools and the educational history of Massachusetts, as written by Mr. Johnson, brings back the far-gone days of childhood and will more than interest the old school teacher and his pupils. (The Macmillan Company, New York.) A "The Story of the Lopez Family." series of family letters rightly termed "a page from the history of the war in the Philippines," is an interesting work edited and with an introduction by Canning Eyot. These letters give an otherwise unobtainable picture of family life in the Philippines and an insight into Filipino life and character. The frontispiece is a fine portrait of Clemencia Lopez, who came to seek justice at the hands of the President for her imprisoned brothers. Other illustrations add much to the value of the work. (James H. West Co., 79 Milk street, Boston; $1.00.) The scene is laid in a mountain settlement a few miles from a village in Vermont. The family consists of Uncle Shim, Aunt Lize, Twiddie (Theodora-a daughter of Uncle Shim's sister), and Hugh Armstrong, the wood-carver, a nephew of Aunt Lize. Twiddie, the light of the home, is a mystery. Her history is only revealed when she reaches womanhood. Hugh Armstrong is the hero; one of Nature's noblemen in a shattered frame, who, as the result of an accident, passes his time on a cot, a hopeless cripple. Philip Vanever, a stranger, while travelling on the old stage over the Green Mountains, runs across the little figure of Twiddie as she leaps lightly over the bars. He is so impressed by the incident and what the stage-driver can tell him of the mountain home that he yields to the inclination to visit the family. There he becomes greatly interested in the crippled hero, who tells of his interrupted course at the Academy, his hatred of farm life and his intense longing to study for a profession. The renewed ambition and the inspiration gained from the stranger's encouragement is kept alive by experimental wood-carvings and books which he frequently sends, until the invalidartist meets with overwhelming success. The climax of the novel is reached when the stranger claims Twiddie as his own daughter, but Twiddie refuses to acknowledge the relationship and marries the hero. Once again the old stage brings Philip Vanever, who this time meets the slender black-robed figure coming down the PentRoad, with outstretched hands. (Little, Brown & Co., Boston; $1.50.) "Anna the Adventuress." That wellknown English author, E. Phillips Oppenheim, sprang so suddenly into popular favor in this country as a writer of novels that three of his books were brought out in here during 1903. In one of these books, "A Prince of Sinners," regarded as his most mature work, he really got ahead of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain in attempting to show, through the vehicle of fiction, that the salvation of the English workingman is dependent upon the restoration of a protective tariff in his country. Mr. Oppenheim's new book, "Anna, the Adventuress," published in the United States by Little, Brown & Co., contains a subtle character study of two sisters, Anna and Annabel. The latter "got herself talked about" when she and her sister lived in Paris, and when Sir John Ferringham proposed to her, believing her to be Anna, she keeps up the delusion. Mr. Oppenheim is thirty-five years of age. He was born and educated in England; was married, in 1892, to Miss Elsie Hopkins, of Boston, and at present he resides at Ervington, in Leicestershire. He is a member of the Savage and the Authors' Clubs, and his favorite sport is golf. "Facts About Peat." This book, by T. H. Leavitt, which is a substitute for a former work under the same title by the same author, now out of print (the plates having been destroyed by fire), is eminently a volume of facts intended especially for the information of practical men interested in "the fuel question." It brings to the front and invites_attention to peat, a substance overlying vast areas of the surface of this and other lands, which are generally regarded as waste places and well-nigh valueless. The fact is, however, that these waste places are simply depositories of vegetable matter, the accumulation of ages,-in a decomposed or partially carbonized condition, -which, in limited circles and in widely different parts of the earth, in its crude state, is, and has been known to be, an excellent article of fuel. In its crude state it is not in condition to be utilized to the best advantage or to be handled as a merchantable article, but by a simple and inexpensive process of treatment it is practicable to put it in shape for traffic and use. The means by which this is accomplished, the cost and value of the fuel produced, and the uses for which it is specially valuable are plainly set forth,-showing that in this material lies a vast store of wealth which needs only to be known and understood to establish an entirely new productive and profitable industry, commanding capital and requiring labor. The illustrations, which are excellent, are helpful to a distinct understanding of the text. (Lee & Shepard, Boston; $1.00.) "The Penobscot Man." In "The Penobscot Man," Mrs. Eckstorm tells of many experiences and adventures of Penobscot River-men. It is the kind of book which will make a very strong appeal to readers who have enjoyed White's "The Blazed Trail," Andy Adams's "Log of a Cowboy" and Van Dyke's "Fisherman's Luck." It is a book for the vacation time outdoors. The volume is redolent with the smoke of the camp-fire around which are gathered the river woodmen and guides, who tell the strange stories of their achievements and adventures. Mrs. Eckstorm has lived among the people of her story. They are her people. Certain of the chapter headings indicate the flavor of the volume, as for instance, "The Grim Tale of Larry Connors," "Hymns before Battle," "Thoreau's Guide," "The Gray Rock of Abol," "The Naughty Pride of Black Sebat and Others," and "The Rescue." (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.; $1.25.) "What Shall We Eat?" To many people there is no question of greater impertance than the one asked in the title of this book, and no more satisfactory effort to answer it has been made than is to be found between the covers of this practical volume. It opens with a consideration of the purposes for which we eat, and how food material is converted to our needs, and is used in sustaining life. The causes of indigestion and how it interferes with nutrition are taken up. A very important feature of the work is found in the numerous tables given, showing the results of some 1,500 analyses of food products to determine the constituent elements, comparative food values, time required for digestion, etc., of every article in common use as food. From these tables it is found that one pound of protein can be obtained from corn meal for twenty-two cents, while from oysters it would cost $5, or from bananas about $9, and the cost of 1,000 calories of energy runs from one cent in potatoes to $1.25 in lobsters. The legumes and nuts are found to possess great nutritive value. There is a special table showing what food value can be purchased for ten cents in the various food products at current prices. The book is by Alfred Andrews, 120 (Health-Culture Co., New York; 50 pages. cents.) |