Chapter IV: Preface (4)

“Too expensive for its usefulness to the average public library.”

+ − =A. L. A. Bkl.= 6: 6. S. ’09.

“On the whole the figures and financial details are the most interesting features of this book, which is not without ‘padding.’”

+ − =Ath.= 1909, 1: 655. My. 29. 1000w.

“For liveliness and variety, the book is one of the best of its kind.”

+ =Dial.= 47: 186. S. 16, ’09. 230w.

“Their book is full of interesting and often pregnant matter.”

+ =Nation.= 88: 635. Je. 24, ’09. 750w.

“The book has a cheery, optimistic vein, and there is little in it of the acerbity and irony generally associated with the reminiscences of aged actors off the stage.”

+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 341. My. 29, ’09. 2000w.

“As a book of theatrical gossip it will prove innocent and entertaining reading to those who enjoy gossip.”

+ =Outlook.= 92: 428. Je. 26, ’09. 400w.

“A delightful book.”

+ =Putnam’s.= 7: 243. N. ’09. 120w.

“It is wonderful that two people of sixty-years of age should deliberately put such childish stuff into print. We have never met with anything which shows more clearly how ability on the stage is compatible with general insignificance of intellect and temperament.”

− =Sat. R.= 107: 662. My. 22, ’09. 900w.

=Banfield, E. J.=^{[11]} Confessions of a beachcomber: scenes and
incidents in the career of an unprofessional beachcomber in tropical
Queensland. *$4. Appleton.

9–17185.

“Records the life and observations of an Australian retired from the society of white men on a little island off the north-east coast of tropical Australia. The author prides himself that he has ‘returned to nature,’ but that is almost impossible: he has returned to solitude, to poverty, to freedom, and many other things, but he has not accepted the conditions of nature. He has rejected the burdens of civilization, and gone off with the loot into the wilds; extirpated the native vegetation, and planted the trees that feed him agreeably. And there he sits with his telescope, rainguage, gun, and camera, and laughs at the slaves that stay behind, inventing more such instruments, and sending him groceries by the weekly steamer.”—Ath.

* * * * *

“He is not a man of science, but he has the instincts of the field naturalists, and writes interestingly of birds and beasts and insects.”

+ =Ath.= 1908, 2: 819. D. 2. 240w.

“We would freely acknowledge the literary charm, the wealth of metaphor, the artistic qualifications, and the excellent powers of observation of our beachcomber. At the same time we direct attention to some faults in this work, because we hope to see it pass into a second edition and become a classic for naturalists.” J. S. G.

+ − =Nature.= 79: 403. F. 4, ’09. 680w.
=N. Y. Times.= 14: 652. O. 23, ’09. 30w.

=Bangs, John Kendrick.=^{[10]} Real thing, and three other farces. $1.
Harper.

9–26299.

The first of these four farces, the title piece, is a clever take-off on the servant question. The scene is the office of the Maginnis Employers’ bureau, New York City, where appear not servants for employers to choose, but employers for domestic artists to choose. The reader can imagine what amusement Mr. Bangs could furnish out of this situation. The other pieces, each suited to dramatic reading or monologue, are: The Barrington’s “At home”; The return of Christmas and The side show.

* * * * *

“Four little farcical plays are very well suited for dramatic reading or for home theatricals.”

+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 689. N. 6, ’09. 70w.

=Bankart, George P.= Art of the plasterer: an account of the
decorative development of the craft, chiefly in England from the
xvith to the xviiith century. *$10. Scribner.

W9–80.

Traces development of plaster work. “The illustrations, of which there are several hundred, are most of them from excellent photographs taken specially for the book or from geometrical drawings by Mr. Bankart, and include complete buildings, portions of ceilings, façades, etc., some on a large scale, with numerous separate reproductions of details such as rib enrichments, heraldic animals, panels, friezes, etc., culled from an immense variety of sources, beginning with antique stucco-duro and coming down to quite modern plaster work, so that they form a complete pictorial epitome of the plasterer’s craft from its first inception to the present day.” (Int. Studio.)

* * * * *

“A volume which can at once be accepted as a standard work. It can hardly be said that the volume is equally interesting throughout.”

+ − =Ath.= 1909, 2: 18. Jl. 3. 850w.

“This important work will, no doubt, be widely welcomed, and, it is greatly to be hoped, will do much to inaugurate a much needed reform in the design and execution of decorative stucco. Perhaps the most valuable section of this book, truly unique of its kind, is that in which the causes of the decline in plaster work in England are examined.”

+ =Int. Studio.= 37: 83. Mr. ’09. 300w.

“He has rendered a real service to architects and decorators on both sides of the ocean by setting before them through actual example, the possibilities of a beautiful, but sadly neglected, form of decorative art.”

+ =Nation.= 88: 636. Je. 24, ’09. 280w.
=N. Y. Times.= 14: 175. Mr. 27, ’09. 400w.

=Banks, Rev. Louis Albert.=^{[12]} Problems of youth: a series of
discourses for young people on themes from the book of Proverbs.
**$2.50. Funk.

9–28189.

A volume of talks to young people full of the sort of sympathetic and sane counsel that young people will be interested in and heed. Illustrative anecdote is fully used to send the lessons home to readers.

=Barbour, Ralph Henry.=^{[11]} Captain Chub. †$1.50. Century.

9–26149.

The fourth “Tom, Dick and Harriet” story, in which the boys rent a house-boat and, with Harry and her father for guests, cruise up and down the Hudson, going ashore now and then for the fun of adventure. They dance, fish, keep store in the absence of the owner, run into a camp of gipsies, and end with a merry house party.

* * * * *

“Tho this new volume is the fourth in a series, there is no abatement of wholesome fun and adventure.”

+ =Lit. D.= 39: 1015. D. 4, ’09. 120w.

=Barbour, Ralph Henry.=^{[10]} Double play. †$1.50. Appleton.

9–25638.

In this new baseball story the author continues with the experiences of Dan Vinton, the hero of “Forward pass,” during his second term at Yerdley Hall. The incidents deal, on the one hand, with his mentorship over a wealthy New York boy who gets into a good many scrapes, and on the other, with the hero’s effort to make the baseball team, his final success, and the great game in which he wins the victory for Yerdley Hall. The methods of the baseball coach will interest all who are interested in the training of a team.

=Barbour, Ralph Henry.=^{[12]} Lilac girl. †$2. Lippincott.

9–28246.

Another of Mr. Barbour’s illustrated romances which is a symphony in lavender. The heroine is Eve of Eden Village and the hero is a young miner to whom the maid first appeared on the rear platform of a Pullman for a brief moment, in the mountains during a stop for a “hot box.” The daring man makes love to her, swears allegiance, and continues his love-making under more difficult circumstances five years later in a New Hampshire village.

* * * * *

“The tale is at once sufficiently brief, improbable, and cleverly told, to make an hour or so pass pleasantly.”

+ =Dial.= 47: 464. D. 1, ’09. 160w.

=Barclay, Florence Louisa (Charlesworth).=^{[12]} The rosary. **$1.35.
Putnam.

9–29767.

A novel whose love motif is sounded in Nevin’s “Rosary.” Thru her rendering of that song, the plain faced Honorable Jane Champion reveals her soul to a young artist who is reputed to love beauty more than all else in the world; he declares his love for her, and the young woman, believing that her physical imperfections would prove a martyrdom to him, refuses to marry him. She believes that he will go off and forget her and leave her to her lonely life; but his allegiance never falters. One can’t quite forgive the inartistic touch in the story invention that renders the young artist blind before the reconciliation is brought about. It is too great a concession to a homely face and not enough of a justification for the illuminating beauty of the soul.

=Barine, Arvède, pseud. (Mrs. Charles Vincens).=^{[11]} Madame, mother
of the regent, 1652–1722; tr. by Jeanne Mairet. **$3. Putnam.

9–27598.

A familiar and intimate story of the life of the Duchesse d’Orleans, the second wife of Philippe of France, the younger brother of Louis XIV. It reveals Madame’s uncurbed hostility of a thoroly German temperament against the French people until she came under the spell of Louis XIV; from that moment reconciliation with French life began. Her happiness, later domestic troubles, her great jealousy of Mme. de Maintenon and her association with Louis XIV are set forth in clear relief against a background of social and political France.

* * * * *

“A cleverly-written account. The translation is commendably fluent and readable.”

+ =Dial.= 47: 458. D. 1, ’09. 210w.

“M. Barine’s is most interesting. Altho the translator does not appear to have been born under the star of Addison, or exactly to the idiom of Addison, the translator makes herself intelligible. The work is a valuable addition to the history of social life in France during the age of Molière.”

+ − =Lit. D.= 39: 683. O. 23, ’09. 950w.

“Altogether the story of her life is wrought into a delightful bit of comedy, not, however, to the neglect of its more serious aspects.”

+ =Nation.= 89: 547. D. 2, ’09. 370w.
=R. of Rs.= 40: 755. D. ’09. 140w.

=Baring, Maurice.=^{[5]} Russian essays and stories. 5s. Methuen and
co., London.

A book that “helps to fill the gap of ignorance that still remains of a country with which we ought to be better acquainted. Mr. Baring has resided long enough among the Russians to have become master of their language and a welcome fellow-traveller to the sérroy naród (the lower classes). He has made it his practice to travel third class, to talk and hobnob in tea with the peasant, the soldier, the cobbler, and the Jew. His only object in writing the book, he states, is to give a record of things seen. To the two vital questions in Russian economics—that of the peasant and of the Jews—the author devotes several interesting and instructive chapters.”—Sat. R.

* * * * *

“Is one of the most picturesque and fresh books on Russia which we have seen for a long time.”

+ =Ath.= 1909, 1: 315. Mr. 13. 400w.

“We welcome this book. It presents a true picture of Russian life and character taken from nature. Mr. Baring’s deductions regarding the causes of the hate the Russians have for the Jews are in our opinion erroneous.”

+ − =Sat. R.= 107: 312. Mr. 6, ’09. 420w.

“No one writing in English gives us a more truthful picture of the Russian peasant as he works and lives and talks.”

+ − =Spec.= 102: 133. Ja. 23, ’09. 1500w.

=Baring-Gould, Sabine.= Cornish characters and strange events. *$5.
Lane.

9–6566.

“A volume of nearly eight hundred pages filled with all sorts of curious matter. In general arrangement it is a collection of biographies of those Cornish celebrities who have escaped interment in the National cemetery so ably planned and laid out and filled by Leslie Stephen and his successor in the editorial chair. Cornwall’s comparative isolation, as the author remarks, ‘has tended to develop in it much originality of character; and the wildness of the coast has bred a hearty race of seamen and smugglers; the mineral wealth, moreover, drew thousands of men underground, and the underground life of the mines has a peculiar effect on mind and character.’ A forty-three-page index conveys some idea of Cornwall’s wealth in noteworthy characters.”—Dial.

* * * * *

“The volume is as a whole distinctly entertaining, and contains only a few well-known or hackneyed subjects.”

+ =Ath.= 1909, 1: 701. Je. 12. 400w.

“How the subject could have been more exhaustively treated, the reader of this thick octavo would find it hard to indicate.”

+ =Dial.= 45: 463. D. 16, ’08. 180w.

“As a whole, it cannot be said that the book gives the reader a strong impression of the imaginative character of the people and the land.”

− =Nation.= 87: 627. D. 24, ’08. 220w.
=Sat. R.= 107: 792. Je. 19, ’09. 110w.

=Baring-Gould, Sabine.=^{[12]} Family names and their story. $3.
Lippincott.

A thoroly informing book on an interesting subject. “In his introductory chapter the author gives us some curious instances of how a confusion, naturally great, has been worse confounded by ignorance and carelessness, but in the next he brings us to somewhat firmer ground, and shows how names have developed. The first distinctions were tribal only; the tribal name gave way to the personal; the personal name had to be supplemented by descriptive appellations; last of all, the surname became hereditary.” (Spec.) He suggests the course of evolution in the case of many names thereby keeping the reader’s close attention.

* * * * *

“This is an interesting book; indeed, it is admirable in some respects because, although not a little has been written on the subject by others, it adds much to our knowledge; but we are bound to say that some of its statements are open to question.”

+ − =Ath.= 1909, 2: 586. N. 13. 1300w.

“Mr. Baring-Gould will be found a very instructive and entertaining guide by those who will follow him in such explorations as he has been able to make. We promise the readers of the volume plenty of amusement, and doubtless not a few occasions of debate.”

+ =Spec.= 103: 691. O. 30, ’09. 600w.

=Barker, Edward Harrison.= France of the French. *$1.50. Scribner.

9–5988.

“A book of reference, description, and discussion. In it we learn about contemporary French statesmen, scientists, inventors, authors, architects, painters, sculptors, dramatists, players, composers, singers. Especially do we learn about certain ‘Lights and shadows.’ Among the latter are, for instance, the blight of politics in its ‘tendency to descend to mere intrigue, faction-fighting, and Byzantism.’... Another shadow is, of course, that of pornographic literature and journalism.... But the lovers of the real France will welcome the ‘lights’ too, as described by Mr. Barker—the amazing industry, frugality, and thrift of the people, their kindness, good-fellowship, hospitality, and, what is little understood by those who visit Paris only, the emphasis on family life and the respect shown to age.”—Outlook.

* * * * *

“A cyclopedic work that touches very briefly on almost every phase of modern French life.”

+ =A. L. A. Bkl.= 6: 6. S. ’09. ✠

“Meets a want which, if not yet long-felt, is none the less genuine.”

+ =Dial.= 46: 299. My. 1, ’09. 330w.

“Mr. Barker’s volume may be best described as an attempt to clothe the skeleton structures of ‘Who’s who’ with sufficient flesh for the uses of the average American newspaper office. This the author has done very successfully.”

+ =Nation.= 88: 444. Ap. 29, ’09. 430w.

“There is hardly any phase of French life which is not brought before us in Mr. Barker’s book and clearly illuminated.”

+ =N. Y. Times.= 14: 134. Mr. 6, ’09. 400w. + =Outlook.= 91: 535. Mr. 6, ’09. 250w.

=Barker, Elsa.=^{[10]} Son of Mary Bethel. †$1.50. Duffield.

9–24253.

Set in Nashburg, Vermont, this story sketches a modern parallel of the Christ mission. The chief character is Jesse Bethel, a modern divinity, who is supplied “with parables and sermons, many of them of distinct spiritual beauty and valuable in themselves, but losing in impressiveness by reason of the inevitable comparison. The other characters are closely reminiscent of the apostles, Mary Magdalen, Lazarus, Mary the Mother, and others. Jesse Bethel preaches a mixture of socialism, pantheism, and mysticism intensely modern in inception.” (N. Y. Times.)

* * * * *

“The author is a woman who has not only plagiarized the New Testament and the acts of the apostles for her material, but Madam Blavatzsky as well as other theosophists, yogi, mystics, mental scientists, Christian scientists and spiritualists. It is the most naïvely composite compendium of quotations ever dramatized as fiction and designed as Scripture. All told, the book is harmless. If the reader is perfectly sane and normal he will not understand the worst parts of it, which are merely bad on the mind, and if his faculties have already been dissolved by the New thoughters, his case is hopeless anyhow and he might as well buy it and enjoy it.”

− + =Ind.= 67: 878. O. 14, ’09. 900w.

“If Miss Barker has a message of real spiritual import to give us, it is unfortunate that she chose this method, for it is not one which will appeal to those who hold the orthodox tenets of Christianity; and to others, while due recognition must be paid to her elevation of thought and reverent treatment of her theme, the value of the book is doubtful.”

− + =N. Y. Times.= 14: 551. S. 18, ’09. 330w.

=Barker, Ethel Ross.= Buried Herculaneum. *$3. Macmillan.

9–5985.

An account of the excavations of Herculaneum and of their products. “A brief description of the various works of art that are figured in the illustrations; also full tables of the various objects found, arranged in a convenient form.” (Ath.)

* * * * *

“Briefer and less entertaining than Waldstein but more convenient and satisfactory for the general reader wishing an introduction to the subject.”

+ =A. L. A. Bkl.= 5: 71. Mr. ’09.

“Its bibliography is more serviceable for students than that of the larger work [Prof. Waldstein’s], because it is classified and accompanied by brief critical notes. The book serves excellently to supply the compendious account of these excavations that has long been needed both by the student and the general reader.”

+ =Ath.= 1909, 1: 108. Ja. 23. 210w.

“It is neither so well written nor so entertaining as Waldstein, the only other modern work on the subject, but is more unified and less extravagant, and is to be preferred as an introduction to a somewhat neglected subject.” Grant Showerman.

+ − =Class. J.= 5: 46. N. ’09. 400w.

“The author gives a concise and methodical account of the past excavations and of the objects discovered. But some perverse demon seems to have made havoc of her scales.”

+ − =Sat. R.= 106: 642. N. 21, ’08. 340w.

=Barnes, William.= Selected poems; ed. by T: Hardy; with a preface and
glossarial notes. (Oxford lib. of prose and poetry). *90c. Oxford.

W9–127.

“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.