The New York Times from New York, New York • Page 32

P4 NEW YORK, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1908. BRIEF: REVIEWS OF LATELY PUBLISHED BOOKS IN WEST AFRICA. ROBERT TL MIIXJQAN omes home to America, after seven rears' missionary work la Wert Africa, with Tery good opinion of the African native. II dissents from the view be baa found pretested In recently published books about the Dark Continent, that Its people are physically ugly, mentally stupid, morally repulsive, and verlaatlngty uninteresting. In bit book, entitled Tb Jungle Folk ot Africa," (The Fleming IL BeveU Company, UQJ Mr.

Milllgan pictures the Africans be met aa a very interesting people, constituted, like the rest of ua, with brain and soul and capacity of on sort and another not es sentially different from bis own. Ua rates these people as human beings, and finds many of tbam distinctly lovable. Mr. Milllgan gives us bis Impressions in book that Is remarkable for It vitality. Sicturesqueness, humor, and literary He saw a lot during bis seven African years, and saw It all very clearly, so that ha come away with a pretty thorough knowledge of the folk among whom be bad Bved.

lie presents this knowledge to us delightfully; nobody has written a more Instructive, and 1 entertaining book about Vest Africa than Mr. Milllgan'a The Klnboy English Is the- Pigeon English of the African West Coast, be ing simply an Idiom of the African lan guages with an English vocabulary. Mr. Milllgan used to preach to the Klnboys In Klnboy English. He tells us bow be related to them the "Parable of the Lost Sheep." Ills Klnboy translation used to wind up as follows: Then he go call all him friends, plenty man, plenty wile, and small piccaninny, and be say to them: "Bar you saber them sheep that done loss for bush? Well, this day 1 look him." Then all people they make palaver and be happy too mucn.

Bo s'pose man ro lef an him sins and do God-faahlon; well, ail them peoplt what live for top, they make fine palaver and oe nappy too mucn. Mr. Milllgan thinks bis preaching to tb Klnboys made small Impression on tbam. Some of bis other sermons also want astray. i 1 ROMAN LIFE.

nOMAKCB OF 110 HAH VILLAS, (TOH ItttNAlSSANCIC.) Br Eltaabeta W. Cbaapnar. lUustratad, Now ferki (L Puiaauss Bona. Price SaMi I Mrs. Champney's latest volume, which she seeks to present the Romance of Roman Villas." she por trays the life rather than the art ot these treasure bouses of the marvelous Renaissance period, although she admits tb Impossibility of Ignoring tb stimulus afforded tb artists of that day by the constant discovery of onequaled masterpieces.

Tb Incidental character of tb history and criticism offered may be Inferred from the author's plan of choosing as tb "focal point of each chapter the "halt-forgotten faos of some woman." WhO neb a schema does not tnvtt tb reader to expect very serious study. It lends itself admirably to a picturesque treatment aa epoch In which the very names of things and persons stir the memory and the Imagination of evra a slightly In formed student And serious history Is Dot tar to seek at, the present day. tt lb animated end charitable glimpse of Pauline Bonaparte la the chapter oa Kondragone Is as true as it Is attractive she deserves better treatment than Is usually accorded her. are few families that so land themselves to picturesque portrayal aa the Bonaparte, and Interest suffers periodical rostral while never wholly dying out Not I vtvld In its "human Interest" Is the Chapter oa The Finding of Apollo," ta which Raphael's lore story, now trembling under the penetrating gas of eonnolasenr- ship, finds a pretty and appropriate tms If there Is needed BT traveler of to-day aa additional Impulse toward Ylstt ta Borne this Romance of Roman Vmaa" can be trusted ta Impart It Te tarn its handsome pages and catch the names oa them, ta glance at the Illustrations Is te make the least adventurous tong to behold the grandeur that was Bome'a Science and RcDIon Once Mora, Future life and Modern DtffV 1 cultlea," by F. Claud Kempson, (Imported by H.

A Co, IL23.) Is the most recent attempt to show that there seed be no collision between the postu lates et science and the precepts ef re-. Uglon. Its author Is a Cathollo priest, and writes, so he declares la his preface, "la submission te an that la formally declared and taught as fid by the living keeper 1 of Christ's testimony, the one holy Catholle and ApostoU Church," The book Is la two sections, tb first dealing with the difficulties which science Is supposed to raise ta the path of re-' Bgloui belief, and especially against the hope of a furore Ufa whir the second Is devotod to a eonslderatloa ef tha.sclea-j tine and religious arguments for and assist the CLrLtJan ConccpLLin'of tt after death. The standpoint of the au thor Is that all these questions must be based primarily upon religion as upon a rock, and from that vantage ground the claims of science. must be examined and accepted or rejected, according as they do or do not bear out religious dogma, Ills conclusion is that science offers no barrier to the religious explanation of the universe, and has no4formatlon to offer on the subject ot a future life, thus leav ing religion the only authority upon that question.

While the author seems to be fairly familiar with modern scientific thought, bis book contains hardly mors than one part science to nine parts religion. "THE DEVIL." TBH DEVIL. A play la three eetT By Feraoe atolnar. One volume. Paper.

Pp, 107. Mew York: aUtcbell Kennerter. LIVER UERFORD'8 adaption of Ferene Molnar's play. The Devil," which has been the source of bitter theatrical reviling, Is on the whole rather a clumsy effort Points which probably gave value to. the 0 lglnal have been con-eld ei ably blunted In translation.

It may have some Interest however, for those who have seen the play or for those who, having no opportunity to see it will want to know what all the fuss has been about As a matter of fact Mr. Molnar's play. though It has some novel value as a piece for the theatre, does not qualify as a work of any especial literary preten alona. 60 at any rate one would judge from the translations. The particular novelty consists In making the devil less of the supernaturally Satanic individual to which we are accustomed, and In presenting him In tb bablt of a modern gentleman, lie is resourceful, witty, and at ease in any and all society, and ho carries forward his plot against human happiness with quite as much success as If he wore a tail and cloven hoofs.

The particular problem which engages him does not appear to possess any ex tremely unusual difficulties, however. and on rather fancies that a devil of such great pretensions ought to be about some other business than the fall of a pair of middle-class sentimentalists. Mr. Molnar has used some Ingenuity In the development of his plot and the cen tral figure provides the means of a skillful stage characterisation. But the play's best qualities are dependent upon the atrical manipulation rather than the exercise of the somewhat passive imagina tion of a reader.

Ot psychological or sociological Interest it possesses not a trace. or If these qualities are present they are ot such a conventional order that they are unimportant A Good Book Gone Wrong. Mr. Herman Knickerbocker Vlele calls his "Heartbreak Hill" (Duffleld A Co tXfiO) a comedy-romance, and from this we draw the Inference that he Is fully aware he has made farce and mockery oat of what might have been a charming love story. If It were profitable to guess bow he earn to do It, we should guess that he eld not stick to bis original par-pee with respect to his story and that his divergence from It was a matter at drift rather than deliberate Intention, Bat whatever the cause, tb outcome Is be regretted.

It always Is a matter for regret when a good story goes wrong; and ta this there Is ground for deep and earnest regret because ta his opening chapters Mr. Yield arouses great expectationa A more delightful heroine than Ids Mopst Beatoun, as we see bar In her early stages, Is seldom portrayed by a novelist As we read about her a perfectly distinct picture ot her Is formed ta our minds, and tt Is the picture of a very lovable girl Her boy cousin, Sidney Beatoun, with whom she shares the ownership of Heartbreak XliS. is also an' admirable person Just what a boy should be. The environment of the cousins ts another very pleasing ttera, It seems the' real thing, and not only that, bat the right sort ef thing as well. MopaWs home, tor example, appeals to us strongly.

She Dves with her ancle and aunt la what must be a dear old house, and they certainly are dear old people They are good to everybody; they never disappoint anybody who comes ta them for help neither peddler, nor prelate, nor dancing beer, nor anybody else. They are the principal family of a quaint and very Interesting oommunltyi their man servant, relet Prout, Is a delightfully droll person. The country round about Heartbreak QUI fairly matches the people who live la IL Ther ts nothing wild nor startling about tt but'it ts a good, comfortable bit of the earth, and we Uke tt The hQl Itself we also like; tt ts en of those rough, un tillable, cow-pasturing hills with some of which everybody who knows the country has had at least a bowing acquaintance. As long as Mr. Tlali sticks to bis country folk and their pleasant surroundings he writes about them picturesquely sad convincingly, and his story Is extremely good and extremely vltaS, tut presently be brings in outsiders, and so changes the style of his story that we cease to feel we are reading about real persons and actual events.

And so. It seems to us, he damages a good book. VARIED THRILLS. AHGEX ESQUIRE. By Blxar Wallee.

New York: Henry uolt a (Jo. 11.DU. rllERJS are many well-accredited elements of Interest In Mr. Edgar WaV lace's story of "Angel Esquire." The marvelously acute detective who adds to bis gift of divination ot crime remarkable social success, and the highborn sinner who sins for the mere artistlo pleasure of circumventing detectives, and who reforms promptly and completely under the Influence of the little god of love, are only two of the small company of characters who play their several parts so energetically as to keep up the Interest to the end. The thread of sentiment Is rather slight to the reader's sense, but as It la sufficiently strong to lead the picturesque villain back to paths ot respectability and the resumption of a disused title.

It must be deemed satisfactory. There Is more dependence on sliding walls, new appliances of electrically operated machinery, cryptograms, and guessing contests than on the subtler means of conflicting circumstantial evidence, and the methods of Sherlock Holmes would hardly avail to unravel the mysteries here presented. There Is incidentally revealed an exceedingly simple means of committing suicide with which Intending criminals may provide themselves, but It Is doubtful if the persons who might be benefited are In general readers of the better class of current fiction. Altogether, there Is much variety In "Angel Esquire," not only In the hairbreadth escapes of the principal personages, but In the kinds of crime committed by respected citizens, and certainly ther Is no lack of entertainment tor the brief time spent or squandered In the perusal of this thoroughly modern story. Ancient Turtle Life.

TJIK FORRTL TURTLES OT NORTH AMERICA. By Oliver Perry Hay. 4to. Pp. ill WIUl VSi Illustrations la taxi and 113 plate being Publication No.

It at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. 1101. This ponderous and splendidly Illustrated volume affords naturalists a com pact statement of quite all that ts known to date of the ancient turtle life cm this continent many of the forms being new to science. In all there are described 260 species of extinct turtles, or rather more than all the spedes living on the globe to-day, the forma varying in size froto the smallest of pond tortoises to a great twelve-foot-long marine monster from the epper cretaceous rocks east of the Black III lis of South Dakota, now ta be seen la the Tale University collections. anrh inrtniurlva treatlsa has hitherto am the fossil turtles In this or any other country, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington ts ta be congrat ulated on the publication of a work Which not only makes tt possible to gala speedy and accurate knowledge of the group ot which tt treats, but completely paves the way for further progress In Its study, and Is as the same time one of the moat admirable yet made In the entire domain xf ancient vertebrate fife.

Some Interest Is added fay the fact that this Is quite the first great volume ta which the "simplified spelling has been used throughout Good Sea Yarn. BT VrtLD WIVES TOSflED. A Lev Star- By CpL Jack isnna. late Vnltad Btatas Kavy. New York: Tb Ho Ours Cbsnpaay.

The historical novel Is stffl with om Though Capt Brand's "By Wild Waves Tossed ts of that class, there' Is not enough hlstoirNntngled with ths romance to trouble the most frivolous. The scene Is laid at the beginning of the War ot 1812, with the ship Constitution playing the gallant part tt rescuer to beauty ta distress. The plot Involves wild adventures and miraculous escapes served up to the reader with the regularity and frequency ef the sunrise. In the days when ta kidnap your Udy love was no uncommon matter Qt may presumed that tt was never the regular method) ther was a targe field for the unexpected ta happen, and Capt Brand has managed ta preserve the virtue ef unexpectedness In arranging his Ther ts a htnt of "The Amaatng Marriage" ta the aptness with which the maxima of the heroine's father are ased ta spur her ta deeds of valor, and when her father's sententious phrases tafl ta Ct the ease, she moralises for her--eelf-ea la the sage re flection 1 have observed that tt ts always those who are bora to ranch that ar able ta dispense with an not necessary." Wans this may be a somewhat broad generalisation. If true tt la Interesting, and the heroine herself is tn-vartebty interesting to the hero and gwnerany to the reader.

The inlshaps tnto which she taQs are not ef the sort to arouse the emonrmo, tat fgghgy star the curiosity, and while both lovers are bnposslbly blind each to the other's passion, it la amusing to follow them to the end where the love making becomes si last a duet of the most approved per-fervld character. The story Is told with vim and runs briskly from post to post of danger. It is bright of Its kind, clean and wholesome, and baa never a serious moment for the Jaded reader. Romantic Orgy. AH the characters ta Frances Aymay Mathews's novel.

"The Flam Dancer," (O. W. Dillingham -Company, 1.WJ are stars; all of them are essential to the author's braln-lntoxlc ulng composition. Ther Is a womtn who wears two minion dollars worth of jewels jX a dance; there Is a millionaire multi-millionaire who. ben be bears the baubles have been stolen promptly agrees to pay a detective half a million dollars to find them; there Is a Chinese hypnotist who easily obtains mastery over every human being upon whom he cares to exercise his magic; there Is a dreadfully tiresome glrl-chQd who Is a sort of general roustabout In the story; there's the "flame dancer," with whom all the men fall in love at first Bight and there's a rather Interesting corpse that comes to the house where the dance Is going on and Is kept waiting In the back yard until the festivities are ended.

All these stars and a few others fllumV nat a weird and tangled tale that has Its beginning In the desecration of the sacred Jewels of an Oriental temple and Its ending In a wonderful transformation scene In a subterranean apartment in the Chinese quarter of San Francisco. No doubt this story will delight people who like ta have their heads spin as they take their literary pabulum. Chronicles of a Jackie. A certain young fellow who ran away from home in San Francisco enlisted la the navy, crossed the Paclflo Ocean oa the Olympla, and took part in the battle of Manila Bay, has told all about tt la Three Tears Behind the duns, the True Chronicles of a Dlddy-Box," by I a T. (The Century Company; IL50.) It Is an Intimate record of life aboard an American man-of-war, and Is written with such detail, vivacity, and knack for vtvld expression that It keeps on turning the pages until the but one ts reached.

This Jackie has keen eyes and quick ears, and can put the things he saw and thought about Into particularly vigorous English. His description of the breath ot the tropica," while not as poetical as many another. Is both pithy and truthfuli "Like vaporous moon drops that fall la honey-dew on certain plants, it spread Itsj ooxlness over our naked bodies and then It crept Into my lungs and tried te smother In the dark." The book af fords an entertaining end occasionally edifying, confidential account of an that ui (ihucuut uuua-w -war uu ugugut and felt and did during three years vice. la the Day of Napoleon. The hero of W.

IL FttcbetTs "A Pawn ta the Game" (Eaton A Mains, Htm York, SL2S) although an English lad. was a companion of Napoleon la the military school at Brtecne, helped him In a fight with the other bays, secreQy visited htm when they were both sentenced to sotV tary confinement In their rooma, and then was expelled from the school because the Corsloaa Bed ta 'order ta save bts own reputation when ha might have cleared the othera After that the fortunes of Jack Lawrence, the English boy, are very checkered, but chance throws him time and again ta Napoleon! side, who offers Just as often ts make his career for him, but always at the cost of sams dishonorable action, and the Englishman always refuse. It Is a story with many drama tio scenes and wfia vtvld pictures of the early days of the French Revolution and of the deser where Lawrence, tn the employ of the Foreign Office, is captured by Bedoolns, and Dves for years as their slave. The picture tt gives of the Corslcan Lieutenant and the First Consul are not so gilded with artmlrarkm as are the description of the greatest criminal tn hb tary which one usually finds tn historical novels ef that period, Story of Lincoln, The story "The Toy Shop fay Maxxn rita 8paldimr (Jerry, the appearance ot which ta Harper Magaatne not many months ago wQ fa reeaDed fay many readers with Bvely memories, has been Issued In a very nanrtsamo CtOo book fay Messrs, Harper A Brothers. The sjtors, II wQ fa purports ta be as aocoont ef how rrostdont Uneola eon-oetved the Idea of putting Gen, Grant at the head ef Che Galon Army while drtmng some ta soldtna la a Washington toy shop and feafttaff wtth on at Kapclea veterans about th msthod of tb exeat (Xsasra8-': sri- -f-' i.