“In the judgment of Mr. Hardy, this volume of selections includes the
greater part of that which is of the highest value in the poetry of
Barnes. In his preface Mr. Hardy devotes some dozen pages to weighty
criticism on the poet’s aim, his methods, and the literary value of the
poems themselves; these he divides into ‘Lyric and elegiac,’
‘Descriptive,’ ‘Meditative,’ and lastly ‘Humorous.’”—Ath.
* * * * *
“A new edition of his poems selected by one of our foremost men of
letters, and he is the man best qualified to judge of the special value
which attaches to the work of his whilom master, neighbour, and friend.
Regarded as a penetrative analysis, carefully thought out and subtly
expressed, [the preface] is noteworthy, even if it does not move us to
enthusiasm for our author.”
+ =Ath.= 1908. 2: 815. D. 26. 1050w.
“His homely pathos and beauty will have a charm for any reader who can
surmount the first repulsion of the Wessex dialect.”
+ − =Nation.= 87: 651. D. 31, ’08. 60w.
“With the aid of Mr. Hardy’s glossarial notes, the reader soon finds
that the difficulties of the dialect have vanished, and that he is
beginning to understand its charms. Perhaps a more serious impediment
lies in the spirit of Barnes’s art. The genius of Barnes combines, in a
unique fashion, the simple with the subtle, the ordinary with the
profound.”
+ − =Spec.= 102: 95. Ja. 16, ’09. 1550w.
=Barnett, Rev. Samuel A., and Barnett, Henrietta O. (Mrs. S. A.
Barnett).=^{[5]} Towards social reform. *$1.50. Macmillan.
9–9823.
Based upon a careful investigation of London’s social problems this
study covers the subject of social reformers, poverty, education,
recreation and housing. “If [the modern mind] could be aroused to
overcome its primary disinclination, it would find here something more
valuable than the ripe practical suggestions that appear on every page,
namely, a prevailing steadiness of moral outlook, a cheerful sanity of
judgment, and a hopeful spirit of faith and good-will which cannot fail
to brighten the baffled student and draw the despairing social worker
into fresh and more sanguine effort.” (Hibbert J.)
* * * * *
“Can be heartily recommended to social workers as one of the most
stimulating and suggestive books of its class.”
+ =A. L. A. Bkl.= 5: 130. My. ’09.
“The point of view is sanely and progressively conservative, as befits
those who have long dealt at first hand with the difficult task of
social reform.”
+ =Ann. Am. Acad.= 34: 174. Jl. ’09. 140w.
“Their book is a record of liberal-minded achievement.”
+ =Ath.= 1909, 1: 372. Mr. 27. 470w.
“Of course these papers are written from the standpoint of a careful and
sympathetic observer of English conditions, but there is in them a
universal human element which gives them more than common interest for
us in America, where the same problems are pressing for solution.”
+ =Dial.= 46: 301. My. 1, ’09. 100w.
“The reading of it has been a refreshment, and the memory of it will be
grateful. There is one statement in this book [regarding the Labour
party] that provokes contradiction.” J. M. L. Thomas.
+ − =Hibbert J.= 7: 684. Ap. ’09. 1650w.
“The essays are more valuable as revelations of British social
conditions than as guides to progress in America.”
+ =Ind.= 67: 201. Jl. 22, ’09. 140w.
“Although for American readers, the work suffers from its localized
outlook, yet its consideration of social problems is so sensible and
judicious that it may be consulted to advantage by all interested in
social service.”
+ =Nation.= 89: 139. Ag. 12, ’09. 150w.
=N. Y. Times.= 14: 150. Mr. 13, ’09. 240w.
+ =Spec.= 103: 59. Jl. 10, ’09. 700w.
=Barr, Mrs. Amelia Edith.=^{[5]} Hands of compulsion. †$1.50. Dodd.
9–6847.
“The present story is laid in the Hebrides, among people of a
Calvanistic inheritance, yet with their Scotch humor lending them warmth
enough. The heroine is led by those hands of compulsion named by many
names—Fate, Providence, Chance—according to the temper of the
speaker—which are busy shaping our ends for all our willful rough
hewing. She is led from foolish and ignoble love to a sweet and true
one. And the leading is not too evident, is apparently accomplished by
the usual acts of life; yet the author is not afraid to hint of Divine
government.”—N. Y. Times.
* * * * *
“The well drawn characters and realistic descriptions are of greater
interest than the girl’s fortunes.”
+ =A. L. A. Bkl.= 5: 185. Je. ’09. ✠
“It will suffice to say that this author’s admirers will have no reason
to feel disappointed at her latest product.”
+ =Ind.= 67: 40. Jl. 1, ’09. 50w.
“It is a book of wholesome reading, breezy out-of-doors, and cosey
within.”
+ =Nation.= 88: 515. My. 20, ’09. 140w.
“There is about Mrs. Barr’s work a sincerity, a direct simplicity, and a
knowledge of the singular experiences of human life which give her books
a real value.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 256. Ap. 24, ’09. 450w.
“Told in Mrs. Barr’s best style.”
+ =Outlook.= 92: 21. My. 1, ’09. 120w.
=Barr, Robert.=^{[11]} Cardillac. †$1.50. Stokes.
9–24961.
A story of the times of Louis XIII. Among the incidents the “escape of
Marie de’ Medici down the silken rope-ladder from the castle of Blois is
well managed.... We get glimpses of D’Épernon, Marshal Luynes, and
others, and the queen-mother’s obstinacy and unwieldiness are probably
not exaggerated.” (Ath.)
* * * * *
“Lively tale. From the historic side the story is not serious. Some of
the author’s diction ... is jarring in a story of old times.”
+ − =Ath.= 1909, 2: 91. Jl. 24. 140w.
“It is a clean, wholesome romance with plenty of verve and ‘go’—good
pabulum for the young, refreshing to the old.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 728. N. 20, ’09. 210w.
“A machine-made historical tale. Quite inferior to his best work.”
− =Outlook.= 93: 361. O. 16, ’09. 20w.
=Barrett, Frank W: Z.=^{[6]} Mourning for Lincoln. **$1. Winston.
9–13910.
A slight volume of less than a hundred pages that reveals the universal
sorrow that seized people’s hearts during the days following Lincoln’s
assassination. “This was the great day of mourning since the world
began; no other page of history has so much black ink upon it, nor is
there another sodden with so many tears; no other day has its walls so
heavily draped, nor its chambers so silent and sad.”
=Barron, Samuel Benton.= Lone Star defenders: a chronicle of the Third
Texas cavalry, Ross’ brigade. *$2. Neale.
8–37340.
A lively chronicle of days of fighting and marching with Ross’ Texas
brigade, “of battles and skirmishes, of soldier life in camp, in field,
in bivouac.”
=Barrows, William Edward.= Electrical illuminating engineering. *$2.
McGraw.
8–30948.
“Deals with light and color, units of illumination and photometry,
photometry and photometers, spherical photometry and integrating
photometers, standards of illuminating power, incandescent lamps, arc
lamps, flaming arc lamps, vapor lamps, shades and reflectors, and
illumination calculations. Coming at the present time when interest in
illuminating engineering topics is on the increase, and being the first
book to treat the subject of illuminating engineering from both a
scientific and practical standpoint, it should prove welcome.”—Engin.
Rec.
* * * * *
“A technical treatise, less complete and taking up the subject along
different lines than Cravath and Lansingh’s ‘Practical illumination’
which is the only similar work in English.”
+ =A. L. A. Bkl.= 5: 130. My. ’09.
“The value of the book is chiefly as a ready reference work for those
with some technical education, and as a series of suggestions as to
matters which may be followed up with greater thoroughness elsewhere.”
+ =Elec. World.= 53: 582. Mr. 4, ’09. 480w.
“The book suffers from carelessness of statement on minor points, and
the effect is increased by typographical errors and omissions. What the
volume covers is in convenient and accessible form so that the reader
will be sorry the author stopped short of making it a great book.”
+ − =Engin. N.= 61: sup. 14. F. 18, ’09. 460w.
“The book is intended as a text in illuminating engineering for class
room use, and is probably the best one in English now available for that
purpose.”
+ =Engin. Rec.= 58: 679. D. 12, ’08. 170w.
=Bartlett, Frederick Orin.= Web of the golden spider. †$1.50. Small.
9–4296.
The golden spider of the tale is an ugly little heathen idol. It lures
strong men into a web for the hope of hidden treasure at the end of a
veritable Jason quest. The story begins one stormy night in Boston, and
continues its course in the republic of Carlina. A Monte Cristo never
gazed upon more wonderful treasure, nor engaged to serve a sweeter
maiden than the reader is introduced to in Mr. Bartlett’s imaginative
story.
* * * * *
“There are moments when it would seem almost as if here were a new
writer worthy to be ranked with the few who can justify a story of wild
men and wild scenes by its only real reason for existence. It is safe to
predict that a great many readers will read this book through in a
sitting, and also that almost all of them will like it immensely. A few
will sigh and wish the talented author had set his standard just a
little higher, or had been more consistent in living up to it.” G. I.
Colbron.
+ − =Bookm.= 29: 199. Ap. ’09. 520w.
“Lacks somewhat in even comparative originality.”
+ − =Ind.= 66: 763. Ap. 8, ’09. 100w.
“This book gives the reader a lively hour. A combination of Richard
Harding Davis and Rider Haggard, somewhat inferior in style to the
originals.”
− + =Nation.= 88: 338. Ap. 1, ’09. 120w.
“The dazed reader need hardly be surprised if the too liberal author has
not always managed to get his material to work together.”
− =N. Y. Times.= 14: 119. F. 27, ’09. 340w.
=Barton, Edwin H.= Text-book on sound. *$3. Macmillan.
9–10049.
“Is neither taken up wholly with a mathematical discussion of dynamical
principles, nor consists merely of experiments, yet combines these
features and so fully covers the subject as to deserve the attention and
meet the needs of the serious student of acoustics.” (Science.) “It is a
book of a simpler order than the classic works of Helmholtz and Lord
Rayleigh, being intended for students of moderate mathematical
knowledge.” (Spec.)
* * * * *
“What, then, are the main characteristics of this book which confer
superiority upon it? In the first place, the author does not hesitate to
employ the elements of the calculus, although in many cases geometrical
proofs are given as well. The second main characteristic is the close
connection, maintained throughout, between theory and experiment. In the
third place, we commend this book because it rings true to the spirit of
research. There are very few misprints in the entire book.”
+ + − =Nature.= 79: 425. F. 11, ’09. 800w.
“All the material in it is excellent, the principal question in regard
to some of it being one as to its relevancy. A few errors have escaped
the proof-reader. The admirable choice and distribution of experiments,
the masterly character of the discussions, the ample scope of the work
and its attractive topography and makeup, constitute it a welcome
addition to the text-books of this division of physics.” D. W. Hering.
+ − =Science=, n.s. 28: 888. D. 18, ’08. 1050w.
“The chapters on various musical instruments are fuller and clearer than
is usually the case in a physical text-book, and we should think that
this is just the kind of treatise which the musician who desires some
acquaintance with the physical side of the subject would be well advised
to procure.”
+ =Spec.= 101: 200. Ag. 8, ’08. 100w.
=Barton, George.= Adventures of the world’s greatest detectives. 75c.
Winston.
9–7401.
Fifteen detective stories, each the experience of some secret service
man who has not only upheld the traditions of his post but has won
laurels by personal success in several big cases. Among the adventures
are Vidocq’s experiences in running to cover a gang of burglars in
Paris, Chief Wilkie’s work in breaking up a great counterfeiting scheme,
Robert Pinkerton’s clever management of a great safe robbery, and
Captain O’Brien’s solution of a Chicago murder mystery.
* * * * *
“Detective stories that are true, and yet are just as complicated,
mysterious and exciting as any that a novelist ever invented. Sometimes
he has strayed far afield from the facts in the case, as in the opening
story. But in this, as in the other stories, he keeps true to the kernel
of the story, the methods and work of the detectives.”
+ − =N. Y. Times.= 14: 196. Ap. 3, ’09. 250w.
=Barton, Rev. James Levi.= Daybreak in Turkey. *$1.50. Pilgrim press.
8–37732.
Dr. Barton states that his book does not pretend to be an exhaustive
study of the Turkish empire and its problems, but that his purpose has
been to set forth the various historical, religious, racial, material
and national questions having so vital a bearing upon all Turkish
matters, and which now reveal the forces that have operated in changing
Turkey from an absolute monarchy into a constitutional and
representative government.
=A. L. A. Bkl.= 5: 155. Je. ’09. ✠
“It is a volume of special value for study by mission classes or bands.”
+ =Ind.= 66: 707. Ap. 1, ’09. 130w.
“The book is eminently readable, the writer a broad-minded political
thinker, and no more timely contribution to the discussion of the
Turkish question from one point of view has come into our hands.”
+ =Lit. D.= 39: 633. O. 16, ’09. 400w.
“Is an eminently timely and readable statement of the various causes
which have brought about the present conditions in the Ottoman Empire.
There is a personal touch throughout which adds much to its interest.
Its value would have been increased by a map giving the different
missionary stations, and principal educational institutions as well as
the political divisions.”
+ − =Nation.= 88: 222. Mr. 4, ’09. 400w.
“One who would understand how the way was prepared for the surprising
transformation of Turkey last summer from despotism to constitutionalism
should read Dr. Barton’s recent book.”
+ =Outlook.= 91: 583. Mr. 13, ’09. 130w.
=Bashford, Henry Howarth.= Pilgrims’ march. †$1.50. Holt.
9–5518.
The pilgrim of the tale is a youth with an artistic temperament. He
struggles against the uncongenial tasks assigned to him in his niche in
a big tea house, yet more disturbing are the unsympathetic Puritan
friends whose constant warning is this: “Do not allow a love for drawing
to intrude between your heart and God.” The struggle, the development,
and the triumph are reproduced true to life.
* * * * *
“His tale is by no means without flaw, but it is at least individual,
shows more thought, and has a new point of view.”
+ − =Ath.= 1909, 1: 313. Mr. 13. 300w.
“It would have been much better had it been pruned of nearly half the
characters. The book could have stopped fifty pages sooner and by doing
so have been a better book.” F: T. Cooper.
+ − =Bookm.= 29: 189. Ap. ’09. 750w.
“The exposition is not altogether lucid, and the sentimental outcome is
abrupt and rather puzzling; but one closes the book with genuine regret
at parting from the agreeable company of people who occupy its pages.”
W: M. Payne.
+ − =Dial.= 46: 369. Je. 1, ’09. 280w.
“In technique the book is faulty, being much too long as well as
overcrowded with characters. It happens, however, that the author has
something to say, and on the whole has said it rather well.” Philip
Tillinghast.
+ − =Forum.= 41: 392. Ap. ’09. 580w.
“These evangelical people are unnecessarily unlovely and devoid of
imagination, but they have a sort of grim reality. The esthetic circle
is more nebulous, nor is it, in spite of its freedom, much more
attractive.”
− =Ind.= 66: 814. Ap. 15, ’09. 250w.
“Though irritated, perchance, by a ‘bouffe’ opening, and by the use of
small, every-day material, and by an excess of soliloquizing
spirit—exaggerated DeMorgan echoes all—the reader ultimately yields to
the honesty of the work and the broadly human sympathies that animate
the pages.”
+ − =Nation.= 88: 387. Ap. 15, ’09. 280w.
“There is often quite good humor in the situations, and the talk and the
people are set forth with that cleverness and lifelikeness and that
never failing air of good breeding which are so constantly in evidence
in English novels and so rare in American fiction.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 142. Mr. 13, ’09. 160w.
“A story of original power and charm. The speech, being chiefly that of
young persons, runs for the most part in that astonishing vernacular
with which we are constrained to credit the juvenile Briton and some
others.” H. W. Boynton.
+ − =Putnam’s.= 6: 496. Jl. ’09. 340w.
=Bate, Frank.=^{[5]} Declaration of indulgence, 1672: a study in the
rise of organised dissent. 6s. Constable, A., London.
9–9656.
A study of the “religious and political forces the ceaseless conflict of
which, by slow degrees, led Charles II to the issue of the Declaration
of indulgence, and which, by a process much more rapid, drove him, much
against his will, to the withdrawal first of the declaration itself, and
finally, two years afterwards, of the licences which had been issued
under it. The range of literature, printed and written, which Mr. Bate
has laid under contribution is ample. He gives citations from nearly 170
out of the 225 distinct sources which are enumerated in the
bibliography.”—Eng. Hist. R.
* * * * *
“Though his story is clearly and fairly told, its narrow range and the
avoidance of many larger issues of politics with which the toleration
policy was closely bound up causes this study, while valuable and
suggestive, to lose a certain depth of interest and breadth of
perspective which the inclusion of other tendencies would have given
it.” W. C. Abbott.
+ − =Am. Hist. R.= 15: 138. O. ’09. 650w.
“We congratulate Mr. Bate upon what we imagine to be his first published
work. It displays great and well-directed industry; it is agreeably
impartial in tone; and it is written without undue emphasis, and with an
effective simplicity of style. It is not without good reason that his
study has earned the warm commendation of Prof. Firth.”
+ =Ath.= 1909, 1: 554. My. 8. 2200w.
“This work contains by far the most complete and elaborate treatment [of
this subject] which has yet appeared.” G. L. Turner.
+ − =Eng. Hist. R.= 24: 366. Ap. ’09. 1250w.
“His heart is in his work, and it does not much matter that he shows the
temper of a militant dissenter. He has admirably performed his task,
enriching his book with an abundance of local knowledge, chiefly of
Lancashire affairs, and enlivening it with extracts from the ballads and
satirical literature of the time. But his greatest service is that he is
the first to give a complete list of preachers and buildings licensed in
1672.”
+ − =Sat. R.= 107: sup. 4. My. 22, ’09. 850w.
“This study is, in respect of the industry which has been expended on it
and the research of which it is the outcome, a most meritorious work.”
+ =Spec.= 101: 786. N. 14, ’08. 340w.
=Baterden, J. R. Timber.=^{[8]} *$2. Van Nostrand. Agr9–837.
A popular manual containing information about the uses, preservation and
strength of the commercial timbers of the world.
* * * * *
“The book shows intelligent use of a wide range of information, and
promises to be of interest and at least general usefulness to purchasers
and users of timber throughout the world.”
+ =Engin. N.= 62: sup. 3. Jl. 15, ’09. 140w.
+ =Engin. Rec.= 60: 223. Ag. 21, ’09. 230w.
“Owing to the limitations of space he has failed to present enough in
regard to any one point to make the whole of great use to students or
practical mechanics.”
+ − =Nation.= 89: 466. N. 11, ’09. 180w.
“It is unfortunate that the author attempted to write a general
treatise. He is confessedly ignorant of botany; and his account of the
structure and origin of the numerous species dealt with is usually
meagre and defective, and in many instances almost puerile. The
practical man, for whom the work is intended, may find it worth the
money, in spite of its inaccuracies.”
+ − =Nature.= 80: 94. Mr. 25, ’09. 600w.
“The book is, constructively, like a well-built lumber pile of valuable
information, and every item of interest drawn therefrom is a carefully
weighed log of seasoned stock.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 555. S. 18, ’09. 330w.
=Bates, Frank Amasa.=^{[5]} Camping and camp cooking. *75c. Ball pub.
9–11254.
A book addressed “to the business man, the clerk, the mechanic and every
one who wishes to camp out and does not know how to do it and still keep
his self-respect.” As the result of camping experience the author offers
a little book full of valuable suggestions to the amateur camper. He
gives good advice concerning camp outfits, selection of place for camp,
what to do if lost, and camp cooking.
* * * * *
“Less extensive than Kephart’s ‘Book of camping and woodcraft’ and
White’s ‘Camp and trail,’ but also less expensive.”
+ =A. L. A. Bkl.= 5: 155. Je. ’09. ✠
“An excellent little treatise, presented in a spirit which will appeal
to any man who really appreciates what camping means.” G: Gladden.
+ =Bookm.= 29: 545. Jl. ’09. 200w.
=Ind.= 66: 1245. Je. 3, ’09. 60w.
“A practical little book.”
+ =Nation.= 89: 138. Ag. 12, ’09. 50w.
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 390. Je. 19, ’09. 120w.
=Bateson, William.=^{[9]} Mendel’s principles of heredity. *$3.50.
Putnam.
Agr9–1516.
“The work is divided into two parts. The first part is a compilation and
summary of all Mendelian work to date. The second part contains a
biographical sketch of Mendel and a translation of his two classic
papers on hybridization in Pisum and Hieracium.... The body of the work
is occupied with an account of the facts of Mendelian inheritance, as
they have been accumulated since the work of Mendel was brought to the
attention of the scientific world at the beginning of the century; and a
considerable proportion of this work is the result of the activities of
Bateson and his students.”—Bot. Gaz.
* * * * *
“In reading this book one seems to see the author striving to unravel a
hopelessly entangled skein. Thread after thread is taken up and followed
amongst a maze of seeming contradictions until the clue is ultimately
lost. Prof. Bateson’s book is a fair presentation of the subject, though
there is throughout a tendency rather to the special pleading of the
advocate than to a critical examination of the theory.”
+ − =Ath.= 1909, 2: 271. S. 4. 600w.
“It is a curious blindness to other facts of heredity which leads the
author to the opinion that Mendelism probably represents the only type
of inheritance which exists. The work will be indispensable for
reference by all students of heredity as a compendium of Mendelian
phenomena.”
+ − =Bot. Gaz.= 48: 61. Jl. ’09. 700w.
“Professor Bateson’s book is the most complete and authoritative
presentation of the studies which have been made of inheritance
phenomena of this sort.” C.-E. A. Winslow.
+ =Dial.= 47: 282. O. 16, ’09. 1100w.
“Bateson’s well illustrated and arranged summary of these facts is
particularly useful as a work of reference for the biologist who is able
to discount properly the too frequently exaggerated form of statement
engendered by great enthusiasm and zeal for the cause.”
+ − =Ind.= 67: 762. S. 30, ’09. 270w.
“Professor Bateson has indicated some of the lines on which the new
suggestions can develop, and he has presented the subject in a clear
manner.”
+ =Nation.= 89: 261. S. 16, ’09. 1750w.
“It should be of value to the student of science.” Mary Proctor.
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 501. Ag. 21, ’09. 1400w.
“It may be regarded as an authoritative statement of Mendelism at the
present time. The book as a whole will be quite indispensable to the
student of heredity.” W. E. Castle.
+ =Science=, n.s. 30: 481. O. 8, ’09. 1000w.
=Batson, Henrietta M. (Mrs. Stephen Batson).= Summer garden of
pleasure. *$3.50. McClurg.
9–18609.
This book devoted entirely to flowers aims first to illustrate the
subject of colour schemes in groups and borders, and second to show “how
the annual flower famine may best be avoided that seems to afflict most
herbaceous borders when June’s plethora is over.” The witchery of
flowers creeps into the pages, and the author’s advice to the person who
intends to join the sudoriferous band is “If he desires to be a free
man—or she a free woman—gardening he ‘should shun like gambling, and
take refuge in cities and hotels from this pernicious enchantment.’”
* * * * *
“Mrs. Batson is eminently practical, and she writes pleasantly.”
+ =Ath.= 1908, 1: 765. Je. 20. 260w.
“Thoroughly delightful book.” S. A. Shafer.
+ =Dial.= 46: 368. Je. 1, ’09. 160w.
“It is well worth its place in the flower-lover’s library.”
+ =Ind.= 66: 1246. Je. 3, ’09. 180w.
“Mrs. Batson’s book should make a very wide appeal. She approaches her
subject with the same care as that with which, one can see, she tends
her flowers. While to those whose lot is cast in the country the book
will be of great interest and real practical value, to the town-dweller
it will be an ever-present delight.”
+ =Int. Studio.= 35: 242. S. ’08. 280w.
“Much of the advice is presented in an uninteresting manner, but it is
all made easily accessible by the device of marginal headings for the
paragraphs.”
+ − =Nation.= 88: 469. My. 6, ’09. 200w.
=N. Y. Times.= 14: 384. Je. 12, ’09. 180w.
“For the lover of home gardens the book will be most useful.”
+ =Outlook.= 93: 277. O. 2, ’09. 230w.
“Altogether, we have here a delightful and useful book.”
+ =Spec.= 100: 982. Je. 20, ’08. 120w.
=Batten, Samuel Zane.=^{[7]} Christian state: the state, democracy and
Christianity. **$1.50. Am. Bapt.
9–16157.
To interpret the State to itself, to make society know its meaning, its
functions, its tasks, and its goal, to interpret this modern phenomenon
known as democracy and to show its relation to human progress—these
points are included in the problem with which the author deals in this
volume.
* * * * *
“A good solid book the reading of which would awaken many a man from his
lethargy as a citizen and convert him into an active helper in the task
of making state and national life to conform more and more closely to
the ideal of the kingdom of God. Dr. Batten is conversant with the best
literature upon his subject.”
+ =Bib. World.= 34: 216. S. ’09. 60w.
“As a popular presentation of an important subject the work deserves
commendation.” E. S. Drown.
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 722. N. 20, ’09. 200w.
=Baudrillart, Henry Marie Alfred.= Catholic church, the renaissance,
and Protestantism: lectures given at the Catholic institute of
Paris, January to March, 1904; tr. by Mrs. Philip Gibbs. $2.
Benziger.
“The renaissance and the reformation are treated as two phases of the
same movement which, in modified form, continues to-day—a movement away
from authority and towards individualism.” (Cath. World.) The rise of
the renaissance is traced and its anti-Christian influence in Italy.
“The sweep of the movement is followed into France, England, and
Germany, in which latter countries it merges into the fiercer current of
the reformation.... Other lectures are devoted to following up the
intellectual, doctrinal, and political consequences of Protestantism and
to a refutation of the frequently urged claim that Protestantism has
been more favorable than Catholicism to the political and social
progress that has been made in modern times.” (Cath. World.) Sidelights
are thrown on the character and work of Luther.
* * * * *
“This is an extremely interesting and instructive volume from a
fair-minded and erudite Ultramontane. We have, indeed, rarely found a
juster and more discriminating account of the great religious genius
[Luther] of the sixteenth century. The translation is fairly good; but
the use of proper names is misleading, and there are far too many
misprints.”
+ − =Ath.= 1909, 1: 251. F. 27. 200w.
“The work is avowedly apologetic in aim; but, however much one may
challenge some of M. Baudrillart’s interpretations, no opponent can
quarrel with his impartiality in his presentation of facts.”
+ − =Cath. World.= 87: 537. Jl. ’08. 800w.
=Bayley, Harold.=^{[8]} New light on the renaissance; displayed in
contemporary emblems. *$4. Dutton.
9–35795.
Water marks in paper and printers’ designs used in tail pieces and
typographical decoration are the emblems that the author studies for the
purpose of showing that “the civilization of Provence, in the dark ages,
far ahead of that of the rest of Europe, was the real precursor of the
renaissance; that the Albigenses and Waldenses, objects of papal
persecution from the thirteenth century and originally dwellers in
Provence, where they were the first papermakers, were the heralds of a
new and liberal thought and aspiration opposed to ecclesiastical
corruption; that these were destined to have their fruition in the
renaissance and the reformation, and that they and other thinkers of
like sort circulated and spread their beliefs by the water marks in the
paper of which they were the makers, just as the other sects of
heretics, Lollards, Hussites, and such, secretly communicated with each
other.” (N. Y. Times.)
* * * * *
“The author’s conclusions may fail to convince, but his work is of
considerable interest to the bibliophile and to students of printing and
papermaking and of medieval history and literature.”
+ − =A. L. A. Bkl.= 6: 35. O. ’09.
“Mr. Bayley has written a considerable book with views of mediæval
thought derived from unsatisfactory sources.”
+ − =Ath.= 1909, 2: 327. S. 18. 600w.
“However difficult it may be to accept the author’s conclusions as a
whole, it must be admitted that he has really shed a new light on the
renaissance, and in so doing has evolved a theory that carries with it
genuine interest, and moreover he has extracted from these ancient
emblems facts and interpretations that must enter into any consideration
of the subject in the future.” Laurence Burnham.
+ − =Bookm.= 29: 531. Jl. ’09. 750w.
“It may be doubted whether the main thesis of the book will be taken
very seriously by those who study the renaissance. Nevertheless his book
has claim to serious consideration in some ways. It will interest, and
it certainly is very handsomely made.”
+ − =N. Y. Times.= 14: 318. My. 22, ’09. 800w.
=Bayne, Samuel Gamble.=^{[11]} Fantasy of Mediterranean travel.
**$1.25. Harper.
9–27121.
A running comment upon the amusing incidents and petty annoyances of
travel constitutes this small volume. The author’s cruise of the
Mediterranean with visits to Spain, Greece, Turkey, Asia Minor, the Holy
Land, Italy and finally England is sketched in a sprightly and somewhat
slangy fashion while the real charm and beauty of the places visited are
shown in more than thirty photographic illustrations.
* * * * *
“His text is of the most casual, superficial character, but his
illustrations are excellent.”
− + =Ind.= 67: 1044. N. 4, ’09. 50w.
=N. Y. Times.= 14: 658. O. 23, ’09. 20w.
“Notwithstanding all his merriment and his flippancy ... his pages are
full of accurate and serious information concerning all the places
visited.”
+ − =N. Y. Times.= 14: 673. O. 30, ’09. 170w.
=Bazin, René.= Coming harvest (Le blé qui lève); tr. by Edna K. Hoyt.
†$1.25. Scribner.
8–25122.
Descriptive note in December, 1908.
* * * * *
“Sympathetic in the treatment of nature and deeply religious in tone.”
+ =A. L. A. Bkl.= 4: 301. D. ’08.
“It is too well written. The author has idealized his poor man, lifted
him into the realm of art, and made his grievance a part of literature
rather than of life.”
+ − =Ind.= 66: 149. Ja. 21, ’09. 100w.
“Most interesting study of peasant life in the Nivernais. It must be
confessed that the story itself is almost lifeless and the individual
characters not very interesting.”
+ − =Sat. R.= 107: 48. Ja. 9, ’09. 160w.
=Bazin, René.= Italians of to-day; tr. from the French by William
Marchant. **$1.25. Holt.
3–5350.
Descriptive note in December, 1908.
* * * * *
“There is a strong personal quality in M. Bazin’s slightest pages; and
he has the knack of unobtrusively inocculating his readers with his own
sympathies.”
+ =Cath. World.= 89: 110. Ap. ’09. 370w.
“Its translations exceed the limits of freedom, for they are incorrect.
In general, however, the translator has caught the language and spirit
of the French critic, and has done him and Italy a service to put this
book in English dress. M. Bazin is a worthy follower of Taine and
Gautier in their memorable ‘Voyages en Italie.’”
+ − =Outlook.= 91: 246. Ja. 30, ’09. 200w.
+ =R. of Rs.= 39: 252. F. ’09. 50w.
=Bazin, René.= “This, my son.” †$1.25. Scribner.
9–6572.
Pierre Noellet, son of a small peasant proprietor in La Vendée, knows
full well that he will never become a priest, yet for the sake of the
coveted education which he cannot have in any other way, declares
himself willing to enter the priesthood, profits by his years of
preparation, announces his deception to his father, goes to Paris to
pursue a literary career, is wrecked mentally and physically, feeds on
the prodigal’s husks, and finally, dying, is taken back to his father’s
home. The relentlessness of class distinction, and the modern-prodigal
lesson make the book important.
* * * * *
“An artistic, vivid picture of French peasant life and customs.”
+ =A. L. A. Bkl.= 6: 25. S. ’09. ✠
“No writer to-day is depicting the varieties of provincial life and the
problems of the French peasants with the same minuteness as René Bazin.
The plot itself is neither skilfully worked out nor important. The
structure is diffuse and there is small effort at proper proportion or
emphasis.” G: Middleton.
+ − =Bookm.= 29: 198. Ap. ’09. 580w.
“With all the sweetness of the French scenery, the ‘blond light of
France’ upon everything, his stories are ghost stories of human
sorrows.”
+ − =Ind.= 66: 1082. My. 20, ’09. 350w.
“Without lagging for a moment, it lacks incident, and the plot is
common-place.”
+ − =Lit. D.= 38: 763. My. 1, ’09. 180w.
“It has none of the tediousness of the sugar-coated tract, nor has it
the melodramatic obviousness which is perhaps suggested by a bald
rehearsal of its incidents.”
+ =Nation.= 88: 563. Je. 3, ’09. 370w.
“The story at large is one of compelling truth where in Anglo-Saxon
hands it would almost certainly have been one of utter falsehood.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 158. Mr. 20, ’09. 520w.
“Another of René Bazin’s sweet, wholesome stories of rural France.”
+ =R. of Rs.= 39: 760. Je. ’09. 80w.
“A story simple enough, but M. Bazin colours every page with his
sympathetic understanding of rural life, of the call of the land, of the
allurement towards town life that so easily grips the farmboy who
discovers that he has brains and yet so rarely leads him to happiness.”
+ =Sat. R.= 107: 48. Ja. 9, ’09. 200w.
“Not equal in power to M. Bazin’s last book, ‘Redemption.’ The novel is
quite adequately translated.”
+ =Spec.= 102: 466. Mr. 20, ’09. 110w.
=Beach, Edward Latimer.=^{[10]} Ralph Osborn, midshipman at Annapolis.
†$1.50. Wilde.
9–25972.
A story that offers a true portrayal of midshipman life at the Annapolis
naval academy. It affords the young American an accurate conception of
the routine of drills, studies, customs and environment of our naval
college.
* * * * *
=N. Y. Times.= 14: 712. N. 13, ’09. 120w.
=R. of Rs.= 40: 768. D. ’09. 30w.
=Beach, Rex Ellingwood.=^{[10]} Silver horde. †$1.50. Harper.
9–24324.
“A thrilling record of struggle against the elements and of struggle
also against the duplicity of man in the newly opened country in Alaska.
The plot turns about the establishment of salmon-canning factories in a
district where the wealth to be obtained easily through the marvelous
incoming of the fish has led an unscrupulous man to establish a monopoly
and to fight newcomers by every means, fair or foul.”—Outlook.
* * * * *
“A lively tale.”
+ =A. L. A. Bkl.= 6: 89. N. ’09.
“Undeniably there is good stuff in it, if that happens to be the kind of
stuff you like.” F: T. Cooper.
+ − =Bookm.= 30: 280. N. ’09. 450w.
“The reader, who has been fascinated by the author’s graphic
descriptions of the cold and the hardships of the country, begins to
recognize that he is really reading Frank Norris’s ‘Octopus,’ with the
scenes laid in Alaska rather than in California.”
+ − =Ind.= 67: 1262. D. 2, ’09. 660w.
“The book has verve and go, a stir of life that affects you like a deep
breath of sea or mountain air. There are some excellent pictures of the
world out there in the grip of its deadly winter and the brief bright
glory of its summer.” Hildegarde Hawthorne.
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 607. O. 16, ’09. 900w.
“No one can deny that this story has rugged vigor or that it holds the
reader’s attention closely, but it lacks just what Sir Gilbert Parker
has—that is, literary finish and a sympathetic touch.”
+ − =Outlook.= 93: 317. O. 9, ’09. 140w.
“Love and adventure crowd upon each other so swiftly that the reader
almost gasps for relief.”
+ − =R. of Rs.= 40: 635. N. ’09. 60w.
=Beadnell, Hugh John Llewellyn.=^{[9]} Egyptian oasis: an account of
the oasis of Kharga, in the Libian desert, with special reference to
its history, physical geography, and water supply. *$3.50. Dutton.
9–22221.
“A record of solid and painstaking works conducted under many
difficulties and real hardships. Mr. Beadnell gives a very fair account
of the historical monuments of Khargeh, but he is at his best when
describing things of a more modern and practical nature, such as
artesian wells, desert routes, and the work of the Geological
survey.”—Sat. R.
* * * * *
“It will be read with profit by many besides professional
water-engineers.”
+ =Ath.= 1909, 2: 101. Jl. 24. 1000w.
=Ind.= 67: 1267. D. 2, ’09. 190w.
“The accounts of the various deposits laid down in these old lakes, with
their interesting contents of worked flint-flakes and pottery, are among
the most novel and interesting portions of Mr. Beadnell’s book.” J: D.
Judd.
+ =Nature.= 81: 70. Jl. 15, ’09. 1050w.
“What he has to say about the water supply is perhaps the part most apt
to interest the ordinary reader.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 522. S. 4, ’09. 600w.
“Told in a simple style without any embellishments.”
+ =Sat. R.= 108: sup. 3. Jl. 17, ’09. 90w.
“Mr. Beadnell gives us a very complete scientific account of the region,
of its geological formation and other physical conditions.”
+ =Spec.= 103: 210. Ag. 7, ’09. 330w.
=Beale, S. Sophia.=^{[5]} Recollections of a spinster aunt. Reynolds,
Paul R., N. Y.
Letters and a diary which throw light upon social and political England
as well as on the Continent during the period from 1847 to 1882. “The
contents of the book are too varied in subject to catalogue. In a
charmingly unconnected fashion are recorded the child’s first ideas of
‘Don Giovanni,’ of the queen and Prince Albert, and of the opening of
Crystal palace. Then follow the art student’s impressions of London and
Paris; and we are shown glimpses of an intimate acquaintance with the
art of Europe, with English politics, letters, religion, and music, all
in the simple personal narrative of an evidently unusual and interesting
woman.” (Dial.)
* * * * *
“In a book of this kind there is no need to dwell on inaccuracies. Miss
Beale has produced a refreshing and lively book, full of good things,
and however she ‘put together’ these ‘old letters,’ she has done it very
well.”
+ − =Ath.= 1909, 1: 281. Mr. 6. 1400w.
“To the catholicity of interest is added an unusual lucidity and
delightful simplicity of style.”
+ =Dial.= 46: 300. My. 1, ’09. 260w.
=Nation.= 88: 139. F. 11, ’09. 60w.
“Miss Beale has given the reading public an opportunity of enjoying many
shrewd observations and well-considered judgments.”
+ − =Spec.= 102: sup. 643. Ap. 24, ’09. 340w.
=Bean, William Joseph.= Royal botanic gardens, Kew, historical and
descriptive; with introd. by Sir W: Thiselton-Dyer. *$7.50. Cassell.
9–6520.
“The author of the present work is the assistant curator, who not only
knows all the circumstances connected with the internal management of
the gardens, but is also full of their spirit and traditions.” (Ath.)
“Besides history, it contains a capital description of the most
remarkable plants and the latest improvements.” (Spec.)
* * * * *
“He has told the story of Kew in a straightforward and interesting
manner, without any superfluous matter.”
+ =Ath.= 1909, 1: 230. F. 20. 1200w.
“Mr. Bean has most happily succeeded in combining historical and
descriptive chapters.”
+ =Spec.= 102: 227. F. 6, ’09. 660w.
=Beard, Charles Austin=, ed.^{[12]} Readings in American government
and politics. *$1.90. Macmillan.
9–25160.
“A source-book to accompany the author’s text upon this subject, now in
course of preparation. The selections are 237 in number, grouped in 32
chapters, from ‘Colonial origins of American institutions’ down to
recent ‘Social and economic legislation.’”—Dial.
* * * * *
“The selections are well suited to accompany an elementary course in
government in either college or secondary instruction.”
+ =Ann. Am. Acad.= 34: 610. N. ’09. 130w.
“The book affords a very valuable adjunct to the work of instruction in
American history and political science.”
+ =Dial.= 47: 291. O. 16, ’09. 70w.
=Spec.= 103: 796. N. 13, ’09. 100w.
=Beard, Daniel Carter.=^{[12]} Boy pioneers. **$2. Scribner.
9–28484.
Every true American boy, to whom Daniel Boone is a hero, will be
interested in the Society of the sons of Daniel Boone, an organization
now numbering over twenty thousand members. Here is a book by the
founder of the society telling just how a branch may be organized and
how its business should be conducted. It also tells how to erect a fort,
handle a gun, throw a tomahawk, talk Indian sign language,—in short, how
to be a boy pioneer.
* * * * *
“Were a boy to put into execution all the admirable directions given by
Mr. Beard he would be such a pioneer as one would imagine Boone himself
dreamed of being.”
+ =Lit. D.= 39: 1016. D. 4, ’09. 150w.
=Bearne, Mrs. Catharine Mary.= Royal quartette. *$3. Brentano’s.
9–13597.
In the lives of four women is traced the history of France from the
reign of Louis XIV thru the first third of the nineteenth century. The
heroines of the quartet are Marie Adélaïde de Savoie, Duchess of
Burgundy; Madame Adélaïde, daughter of Louis XV, granddaughter of the
earlier Adélaïde; Marie Luisa, Infantà of Spain, daughter of Carlos IV;
and Marie Amélie Thérèse of Naples, wife of Louis Philippe, King of the
French.
* * * * *
“Although the author has the command of several languages, a certain
familiarity with the Continent, and some facility in narration, she
seems to possess little or no powers of concentration or sense of
perspective.”
− + =Ath.= 1901, 2: 65. Jl. 17. 930w.
“Mrs. Bearne, as always, has a good scent for the telling anecdote, and
in the present arrangement, especially, there is an added interest in
the historical changes of such lives as we pass from the autocratic
court of Louis XIV to the Paris of Louis Philippe.”
+ =Nation.= 87: 601. D. 17, ’08. 140w.
“She has gathered her material from the most authentic sources and
enlivens her recital by vivid pictures of the times of which she
writes.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 13: 704. N. 28, ’08. 200w.
=Beaumont, Francis, and Fletcher, John.=^{[6]} Works. Variorum ed. v.
3. *$3.50. Macmillan.
=v. 3.= Contains five plays as follows: “The faithful shepherdess”; “The
mad lover”; “Rule a wife and have a wife”; “The loyal subject”; and “The
laws of Candy.”
* * * * *
“The high standard of scholarship and accuracy, to which we called
attention when we had our first opportunity of welcoming this edition of
Beaumont and Fletcher, is well maintained in the third volume lately
published.”
+ =Sat. R.= 107: 435. Ap. 3, ’09. 330w. (Review of v. 3.)
“Set forth in all the perfection of careful scholarship and charming
form.”
+ =Spec.= 102: 420. Mr. 13, ’09. 800w. (Review of v. 3.)
=Becker, Carl H.=^{[9]} Christianity and Islam; tr. by H. J. Chaytor.
(Harper’s lib. of living thought.) **75c. Harper.
A comparison of Christianity with Mohammedanism, of interest to the
missionary, the ecclesiastic and the inquirer, which traces the course
of analogous development and the interaction of influence for the
purpose of increasing one’s knowledge of religion.
* * * * *
“The subject is one with which English readers are not very familiar,
and it will be found exceedingly suggestive.”
+ =Sat. R.= 107: sup. 5. My. 22, ’09. 100w.
=Becquer, Gustavo Adolfo.=^{[10]} Romantic legends of Spain; tr. by
Cornelia F. Bates and Katharine L. Bates. **$1.50. Crowell.
9–23730.
A mother and daughter have here rendered into English a score of short
stories by a latter-day Spanish writer. The tales are romantic and
imaginative, full of such delicate mystery that they cannot have lost
much in translation. They tell of such things as a young noble who spent
years following the trailing robe of an illusive vision whom he thought
he loved only to become a hopeless pessimist on finding her a moonbeam;
or of a hunter who pursues a strange white doe hoping to stay it to gain
his mistress’ favor but when his arrow flies true he finds to his
despair that he has slain the loved one herself; or again, of the
wronged maiden whose love was gone to the wars and after her death her
unburied hand bearing his bethrothal ring warns him of dangers. The
volume is illustrated with photographs of Spanish scenes.
* * * * *
“Tales containing some of the morbid elements which distinguish Poe’s
stories. However, their delicate imagery, close observation and tendency
to mystery and symbolism establish a closer kinship to Hawthorne.”
+ =A. L. A. Bkl.= 6: 89. N. ’09.
“His writings are well worth reading and are given to the public in
excellent form in the volume before us.”
+ =Ind.= 67: 1209. N. 25, ’09. 100w.
“It is a real service to literature which Prof. Bates and the late Mrs.
Bates have performed, in giving us this admirable translation of the
work of a powerful and poetic spirit.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 550. S. 18, ’09. 570w.
=Bedell, Frederick, and Pierce, Clarence Albert.=^{[12]} Direct and
alternating current testing. *$2. Van Nostrand.
9–26810.
“A manual for use in the electrical engineering laboratories of
technical schools, and in conjunction with standard texts on electrical
engineering.... The book consists of a carefully selected series of
typical tests on direct and alternating apparatus.”—Engin. D.
* * * * *
+ =Engin. D.= 6: 429. N. ’09. 180w.
“A little book of great general and practical interest. The study of the
actual working of electrical machinery, together with a continuous
interlacing of theoretical exposition, as found in this book, is
immensely valuable reading, apart from its purpose as a hand-book for
the testing floor. The description of test procedure is clear and
thorough.”
+ =Engin. Rec.= 60: 693. D. 4, ’09. 150w.
=Beeching, Henry Charles.=^{[6]} William Shakespeare: player,
playmaker, and poet: a reply to George Greenwood. *$1. Lane.
9–18622.
A small volume “containing three lectures, the first a direct series of
arguments against Mr. Greenwood’s ‘Shakespeare problem restated.’ The
two others ‘endeavour to set out the player’s life as simply as
possible, and show the congruity of what is recorded of his character
with the impression made upon our minds by the dramas themselves.’”—Ath.
* * * * *
“That it would have been well if Canon Beeching had cut himself adrift
from his lectures, and spent a little more time and trouble on his work.
Nevertheless, even in this little volume there are collected some very
hard problems for Mr. Greenwood’s ‘replication.’ There is unfortunately
no index.”
+ − =Ath.= 1909, 1: 143. Ja. 30. 450w.
Reviewed by Edward Fuller.
+ =Bookm.= 29: 633. Ag. ’09. 50w.
=Nation.= 89: 147. Ag. 12, ’09. 40w.
“Somewhat more coherent and saner than most of its predecessors.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 302. My. 15, ’09. 630w.
“But full of interest as these pages are, most readers will probably be
of opinion that so fine and scholarly a critic has done too much honour
to a ‘weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable’ theme. The value of Canon
Beeching’s essay lies in the opportunity which it affords him of
discussing several curious and obscure points connected with
Shakespeare’s biography.”
+ − =Spec.= 102: 185. Ja. 30, ’09. 770w.
=Beer, George Louis.= Origins of the British colonial system,
1578–1660. *$3. Macmillan.
8–29307.
A full account of the origins, establishment and development of the
British colonial system up to the outbreak of the dissension that
resulted in the revolution. The author “gives an account of the laws of
trade and navigation as they prevailed in the reigns of Henry VII,
Elizabeth, under the Stuarts, and during the Commonwealth. He goes deep
enough into his subject to treat of the general fiscal system of England
as far as it concerned the colonies.” (Lit. D.)
* * * * *
“The chapters which contain the exposition of his main thesis are the
most important portions of his book.” C: M. Andrews.
+ − =Am. Hist. R.= 14: 808. Jl. ’09. 1150w.
“The first comprehensive and scholarly treatment of this subject, based
on records heretofore generally neglected.”
+ =A. L. A. Bkl.= 5: 71. Mr. ’09.
“Several of the more political chapters contain much that is both
valuable and new.” C: H. Hull.
+ =Econ. Bull.= 2: 123. Je. ’09. 350w.
“If present-day politicians were willing to learn lessons from history,
no publication could be more timely for the tariff reformers and
imperialists of England than Mr. George Beer’s two volumes on British
colonial policy.” A. G. Porritt.
+ =Forum.= 41: 605. Je. ’09. 2500w.
“He is obliged to tread the same ground again and again, until the
repetition becomes a little wearisome. Still, altho this may detract
somewhat from the readableness of Mr. Beer’s present volume, it does not
lessen its value as a contribution to the history of the British
empire.”
+ − =Ind.= 67: 198. Jl. 22, ’09. 430w.
“Writers, especially those in this country, undoubtedly have too long
overlooked or failed fully to appreciate the [British] side of the
issue, and we are under no slight debt to Dr. Beer for the admirable way
in which he is developing it.” C. W. Wright.
+ =J. Pol. Econ.= 17: 303. My. ’09. 1100w.
“The author sets about the task of elucidating his points with
praiseworthy accuracy and lucidity.”
+ =Lit. D.= 38: 103. Ja. 16, ’09. 280w.
“Mr. Beer’s style lacks grace and charm of presentation, and his
treatment is rendered heavy by excessive detail and by a lack of
clearness of exposition. His book would have been more readable if he
had introduced more summaries and generalizations to show the bearing of
his facts and statistics. He has, however, performed a very important
work, and future volumes will be awaited with interest.”
+ − =Nation.= 88: 632. Je. 24, ’09. 900w.
“His laborious compilation of authorities is rather a marshaling of
facts than of thoughts.” E: A. Bradford.
+ =N. Y. Times.= 13: 719. D. 5, ’08. 1350w.
“No student of this or any other period, whatever his predispositions,
can fail to welcome a work which is so effective and so satisfying in
its conclusions as this.” H. L. Osgood.
+ =Pol. Sci. Q.= 24: 127. Mr. ’09. 1400w.
“Not only does credit to his patience in research, but is also a most
readable volume.”
+ =Spec.= 102: 940. Je. 12, ’09. 380w.
=Beethoven, Ludwig van.=^{[5]} Letters; a critical edition, with
explanatory notes by A. C. Kalischer; tr. with preface by J. S.
Shedlock. 2v. *$7.50. Dutton.
9–18573.
Tho deficient in the “deliberate niceties of composition” Beethoven’s
briefest note is “characteristic of his deep, sincere, and passionate
nature.” These letters furnish an insight into the soul-struggle of a
great genius. Dr. Kalischer “does not profess to give us _all_
Beethoven’s letters, but a complete and carefully collated collection of
all those which have already appeared in book form, _plus_ a
considerable number which have not hitherto been printed. To the English
edition Mr. Shedlock has added a few more new letters and a brief
introduction.” (Spec.) There are indexes to the references to
Beethoven’s works in his letters, and to the names mentioned in the
portraits; facsimiles, etc.
* * * * *
“Of small service to the average public library, and less readable than
the standard biographies but a valuable addition to large reference
collections.”
+ − =A. L. A. Bkl.= 6: 1. S. ’09.
“It is not too much to say that no other man was so well fitted as Mr.
Shedlock to edit and add to this collection.”
+ − =Ath.= 1909, 2: 162. Ag. 7. 2000w.
“For students of Beethoven, this edition of the letters is now the only
one. His annotations and commentary give his work the character of a
biography, and it is brought up to date.” L: J. Block.
+ =Dial.= 47: 15. Jl. 1, ’09. 1900w.
“His letters constitute perhaps the best biography of this titanic
genius of the tone world, certainly the basis of all that we know of his
life and character.”
+ =Ind.= 67: 255. Jl. 29, ’09. 470w.
“All that was really worth reading could have been easily held in one
volume of 400 pages.”
+ − =Nation.= 88: 470. My. 6, ’09. 1200w.
“The letters are endless in their suggestions of characteristics of the
great composer, and their interest for admirers of the man and his music
is far reaching. The English edition is not free from misprints—in fact,
they are rather surprisingly frequent.”
+ − =N. Y. Times.= 14: 254. Ap. 24, ’09. 1650w.
“Of actual new material there is not much in these volumes, and the new
portion is not of very great musical interest. Mr. Shedlock has done his
work of translation extremely well on the whole, and that fact renders
his occasional lapses the more surprising.”
+ − =Sat. R.= 107: 663. My. 22, ’09. 850w.
“Where Dr. Kalischer differs from Nohl, Thayer, and other experts as to
dates or the identity of Beethoven’s correspondents, he does so on good
grounds, and his notes, though somewhat ponderous in expression, show a
pleasant combination of careful research, good feeling, and enthusiasm.”
C. L. G.
+ − =Spec.= 102: 665. Ap. 24, ’09. 1600w.
=Belabre, Baron de.=^{[5]} Rhodes of the knights. *$9.75. Oxford.
“Six years’ residence in the island as French consul has given [the
author] special facilities for his task; he has been allowed to inspect
several buildings hitherto closed to scholars, and he has produced a
very complete account of the walls, public edifices and shields of the
knights, profusely interspersed with excellent photographs. He does not
profess to deal with the history of the island, except where it is
necessary for the explanation of the monuments, but he gives a brief
historical introduction with a list of the Grand masters who held office
in Rhodes, and he has carefully read the works of his predecessors, whom
in several cases he is able to correct.”—Eng. Hist. R.
* * * * *
“We must be grateful to Baron de Belabre for a most valuable collection
of views and plans of Rhodes, which make his monograph a work of
permanent value. A few slips in dates deserve correction.” W. M.
+ =Eng. Hist. R.= 24: 400. Ap. ’09. 430w.
“A scholarly publication. Most of the photographs with which the book is
illustrated are unique and were taken from places to which access is
usually denied.”
+ =Nation.= 89: 184. Ag. 26, ’09. 200w.
“An elaborate and amply illustrated account.”
+ =Spec.= 102: sup. 644. Ap. 24, ’09. 240w.
=Bell, John Joy.=^{[5]} Oh! Christina! 2d ed. **60c. Revell.
9–8994.
A new edition of a story which has for its heroine an irresistible child
of the Glasgow streets. This little girl, an orphan, goes to live with a
prim aunt who keeps a shop. The child’s perspicacity in matters
pertaining to store management is exceeded only by her intense enjoyment
in grown-ups’ love affairs. She is a refreshing little creature near of
kin to the author’s Wee Macgreegor.
* * * * *
=A. L. A. Bkl.= 5: 185. Je. ’09.
“Scotophobes and other dull folk are warned off, but most people will,
we think, appreciate the sterling and winning character that underlies
the little rough husk of the Glasgow ‘keelie’ of twelve.”
+ =Ath.= 1909, 1: 528. My. 1. 140w.
“Christina and her nonsense are likely to be much laughed at and quickly
forgotten, which is, of course, laying more to her credit than to her
discredit.”
+ =Nation.= 88: 607. Je. 17, ’09. 230w.
“‘Christina’ will help to pass a very enjoyable hour.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 371. Je. 12, ’09. 130w.
“The book may be read in an hour, and that hour at least will be one of
jollity.”
+ =Outlook.= 92: 21. My. 1, ’09. 80w.
=Bell, John Joy.= Whither thou goest: a romance of the Clyde. **$1.20.
Revell.
8–30130.
An unspoiled, unselfish girl left at her father’s death with a fortune
becomes the victim of a jealous, ambitious aunt’s cunning and cruelty.
The niece discovers the woman’s perfidy in time to save from her doom a
cousin who had been auctioned off to the highest bidder on the
matrimonial slave block, and to woo back her own happiness at the
expense of pride and fortune.
* * * * *
“An interesting story of average merit.”
+ =A. L. A. Bkl.= 5: 90. Mr. ’09. ✠
“The story is chiefly remarkable for the careful drawing of the minor
characters.”
+ =Ath.= 1908, 2: 756. D. 12. 180w.
“A sweet, simple story, sweetly and simply told.”
+ =Nation.= 88: 443. Ap. 29, ’09. 180w.
“‘Whither thou goest’ is a much better piece of work [than ‘Thou fool’],
closer and finer in construction, its interest better managed, its
characterization more vivid. It shows the hand of a man with a native
gift for story telling growing stronger and more skillful with
practice.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 131. Mr. 6, ’09. 370w.
“The story is not on ordinary lines; it is most skillfully constructed
and includes a variety of characters which make it bright and
unfailingly entertaining.”
+ =Outlook.= 91: 815. Ap. 10, ’09. 220w.
“Is full of that genial humor and kindly philosophy applied to things of
everyday life that made his other stories so attractive.”
+ =R. of Rs.= 39: 762. Je. ’09. 80w.
=Belloc, Hilaire.=^{[12]} Marie Antoinette. **$2.75. Doubleday.
9–28753.
An introductory chapter on “The diplomatic revolution” emphasizes the
importance of the great alliance between France and Austria in relation
to Marie Antoinette’s entire life. “Her marriage, her eminence, her
sufferings, and her death were each directly the consequence of that
compact; its conclusion coincided with her birth; from childhood she was
dedicated to it as a pledge, a bond, and at last, a victim.” Following a
lead thus established, the biographer sketches against a background of
historical events, terror-wrought towards the close, the fascinating
story of Marie Antoinette. The modern viewpoint and method give special
force to the work.
=Belloc, Hilaire.= On nothing and kindred subjects. **$1.25. Dutton.
9–8424.
“Mr. Belloc’s little collection of essays and reflections is quite one
to put in the pocket or portmanteau for the end of the week; and it is
one to be taken out and read. But it is probably small beer compared
with the stuff Mr. Belloc could brew if he chose.” (Sat. R.) “Among the
topics chosen for treatment as ‘kindred’ to nothing are these: On
ignorance, On advertisement, On a house, On a dog and a man also, On
railways and things, On a child who died, On the departure of a guest,
and On coming to an end.” (Dial.)
* * * * *
“The book has the air of being designed for a small circle of the elect.
It is, however, the work of a clever man.”
+ =Ath.= 1908, 1: 320. Mr. 14. 270w.
“The book is written in a fine spirit of carelessness and spontaneity;
nevertheless the author need not have pushed laxity to such an extreme.”
+ − =Dial.= 46: 143. Mr. 1, ’09. 280w.
“The book is passably entertaining, but it lends weight to the assertion
in the fourth essay that ‘you must not take things for granted because
they are printed.’”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 294. My. 8, ’09. 240w.
“His new volume is quite up to the standard; fresh, frank, versatile. It
sparkles all through. He gives us here the result of his play, and a
most pleasant result; but many of his admirers may be beginning to look
for the result of his labours.”
+ =Sat. R.= 105: 343. Mr. 14, ’08. 220w.
“Of Mr. Belloc’s satire we have no very high opinion. Some one may
suggest that he makes fun of things which we respect. But if we are not
pleased we might at least be hurt, and we are not hurt.”
+ − =Spec.= 100: 545. Ap. 4, ’08. 140w.
=Benedict, Clare.= Resemblance and other stories. †$1.50. Putnam.
9–5526.
“Fresh and charming sentiment, care for lively and ingenious plot,
faithful presentation of social life, sunny humor, convincing
characterization, and graces of style” are the points that make their
appeal to Miss Benedict’s audience. There are ten stories in the group.
The first or titular story is an example of the suggestive method in
story writing. It begins and ends in mystery of which the reader’s only
inkling comes through the agitation and fear manifested by a husband and
wife who are witnessing a performance of “Macbeth,” both of whom are
further terrified by the resemblance of the wife to Lady Macbeth.
* * * * *
“It is a good, sensible, workmanlike fulfilment of the formula. One may
read these stories with a sense of gentle satisfaction, if with no
thrill.”
+ =Ath.= 1909, 1: 727. Je. 19. 160w.
“Miss Benedict unquestionably has great ability as a writer of delicate
psychological problems. What she lacks in technique is sure to come with
practice, while she starts with the possession of a quality which
subtler and more finished writers, such as Mrs. Wharton, might well
envy, the quality of heart.” F: T. Cooper.
+ − =Bookm.= 29: 319. My. ’09. 800w.
“A volume of short stories that, although of quite uneven merit, are
distinctly of some importance.” Philip Tillinghast.
+ − =Forum.= 41: 394. Ap. ’09. 1000w.
“Miss Benedict writes gracefully, though without a great deal of
distinction. Her stories are mildly interesting and belong to the class
of magazine fiction which is too well-bred to be very striking.”
+ − =N. Y. Times.= 14: 148. Mr. 13, ’09. 300w.
=Benjamin, Helen Mina (Helen Melville, pseud.), and Benjamin, Lewis S.
(Lewis Melville, pseud.).=^{[7]} London’s lure; an anthology in
prose and verse. *$1.25. Macmillan.
9–29607.
“An anthology of brief passages in prose and verse, classified with more
than ordinary intelligence, relating to the great city, its sights and
scenes, its denizens, and its natural beauties.”—Dial.
* * * * *
“Attractive little book.”
+ =Dial.= 47: 24. Jl. 1, ’09. 60w.
“The volume is delightful.”
+ =Spec.= 102: 786. My. 15, ’09. 140w.
=Benn, Edith Fraser.=^{[12]} Overland trek from India by side-saddle,
camel, and rail; the record of a journey from Beluchistan to Europe.
*$5. Longmans.
A record of travel “far too rough for a lady, and still less suited to a
child.” “Starting from Quetta, in Beluchistan, Mrs. Benn, after a
sojourn in Seistan, made her way to Krasnovodsk, on the eastern shore of
the Caspian. She crossed the Caspian to Petrovsk, and journeyed from
this place to Batoum, on the eastern extremity of the Black Sea. Along
the southern shore of the Black Sea her three methods of progression,
side-saddle, camel, and railway, had to be given up for conveyance by
sea. But of this part of her travel she takes small account. It will
suffice to say that she went home by Constantinople, Sofia, Belgrade,
Budapest, Vienna, and Dresden. Indeed, from Tiflis to Batoum occupies
but twenty-five pages out of three hundred and fifteen.” (Spec.)
* * * * *
“Interesting book. Though the account is not up to date, it has the
special importance of recording the state of affairs at and around
Seistan before the consulate was built and the telegraph laid from
Mashhad (Meshed) and Quetta.”
+ =Ath.= 1909, 2: 490. O. 23. 650w.
“The book is full of noteworthy things.”
+ =Spec.= 103: 851. N. 20, ’09. 450w.
=Bennet, Robert Ames.=^{[11]} Volunteer with Pike: the true narrative
of one Dr. John Robinson and of his love for the fair Señorita
Vallois. †$1.50. McClurg.
9–26323.
A picture of life in Washington during Washington’s administration
stands out in clear contrast to graphically described frontier
experiences which include the sighting of Pike’s peak by the man whose
name it was given.
* * * * *
“Robert Ames Bennet deserves not a little praise for the historical
setting he has given to his romance of love and adventure.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 768. D. 4, ’09. 220w.
=Bennett, Enoch Arnold.=^{[11]} The glimpse: an adventure of the soul.
†$1.50. Appleton.
9–27998.
A Londoner, devoted to art and literature, finding that he had ceased to
love his wife and that she preferred the attentions of a certain genius
whom he numbered among his friends, suddenly succumbs to a stroke of
apoplexy. He is left for dead when, in reality, he is conscious but
unable to move. In this state he gets a glimpse of the world to come
which the author amplifies with skill and imagination.
* * * * *
“This is not a real novel; it is a ‘tour de force,’ but there is no
denying its extreme cleverness.”
+ − =Ath.= 1909, 2: 522. O. 30. 230w.
“Although not to be put in the same class with that author’s strong,
big, and rather grim volume, ‘The old wives’ tale,’ is none the less a
work of distinct originality. Whether it was really worth doing is quite
another question.” F: T. Cooper.
+ − =Bookm.= 30: 386. D. ’09. 370w.
“There is much mysticism and some metaphysical felicity in the book,
which will hardly make a strong popular appeal.”
+ − =N. Y. Times.= 14: 750. N. 27, ’09. 220w.
=Spec.= 103: 851. N. 20, ’09. 200w.
=Bennett, Enoch Arnold.=^{[9]} Old wives’ tale. *$1.50. Doran.