occasional digressions on spelling reform, the social life of New York City, or the novels of Jack London, exhibiting brilliant powers of narration and description, accurate observation, unexpected flashes of humor or of ironical comment, and broad human interest, he proves himself one of the most delightful guides one could possibly find. In spite of the declaration in his Preface, the reader cannot help feeling that the Archdeacon after all has unconsciously suggested certain ends which, as a noble, highminded missionary and a patriotic American, he desires to serve: namely, the awakening of the people of the United States to the splendid possibilities that lie as yet concealed in these arctic wildernesses, to a deeper, more vital interest in the Eskimos of these regions, and to the imperative need of establishing a stable government to insure justice and liberty and the best possible sanitary conditions. It is mortifying to consider that not until 1898, when gold was discovered in the Klondike, did the U. S. Government take any active interest in Alaska, and then introduced the reindeer not for the sake of the Eskimos, but for the white people who had gone there to seek gold. The work being done by Archdeacon Stuck and his devoted followers goes far beyond the limits of any one church. It is heroic, statesmanlike, practical, constructive, and it is laying the foundations of a civilization that will not debauch but uplift the natives of these frozen regions and make them worthy citizens of our great Republic. Written by a man with a poetic appreciation of natural beauty, with an historic imagination, with a fine enthusiam for the land and its people, with a gift of language, this book takes rank among the very best books of travel in any country.

GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES. Illustrated by Louis Rhead. New York: Harper and Brothers. $1.50.

FAIRY TALES FROM BRAZIL. How and Why Tales from Brazilian FolkLore. By Elsie Spicer Eells. With illustrations by Helen M. Barton. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. $1.25 net.

It seems that even with present-day children no other collection of stories can exactly take the place of Grimm's Tales. Broadly comic, without being coarse or salacious (as the French fables not infrequently are), grotesque, yet often delicate, fanciful, and

beautiful, characterized by a keen sense of retributive justice which metes out in the end swiftly and sternly reward and punishment, these stories reflect the child spirit in the AngloSaxon race. They transport us into another world dominated by fairies and elves and witches and giants, and though goodness and innocence are often forced to suffer, all is righted at the close. To a sophisticated age like our own such justice may seem too mechanical, too unreal, even harmful in its ethical implications, and yet it is thoroughly satisfying to the child's mind. Indeed, primitive justice is content with no half measures, so that one often finds in these German folk-tales a barbaric spirit that has been softened or modified by later editors. Modern squeamishness, for example, does not permit our children to read how Little Red Ridinghood was eaten by the wolf, but rescues her through accident or through the lucky arrival of the woodAnd the wicked sisters in Ashputtel, or Cinderella, escape the punishment which they so richly deserved and which in the original story was visited on them by the doves that flew down and pecked out their eyes. Mr. Rhead, who in his illustrations has interpreted these stories with such knowledge and artistic skill, tells us in his Preface that he has retained the original titles of the stories: among these, Red Ridinghood, instead of Little Redcap; Ashputtel, instead of Cinderella. It is a pity that he did not in the foregoing stories keep the original versions. In the Tale of the Twelve Brothers the wicked old mother-in-law meets her death in a vat of boiling oil in which there were poisonous snakes. This horrid fate Mr. Rhead has retained. With all our modern humanitarianism,—which in some instances spares even the wolf in Red Ridinghood and tames him for a pet,—the mother-in-law has not yet come in for charitable treatment. Nevertheless, Mr. Rhead has made Grimm over again and his edition, one may venture to predict, will delight both children and grownups for many a generation.

Collected by the wife of the Superintendent of Schools in Bahia, the Brazilian Tales are of interest and value to the student of comparative folk-lore. "Why the Bananas Belong to the Monkey" is a version of the world-wide tar-baby story, with a wax image instead of the black, sticky figure that frightened and

angered Brer Rabbit, and the monkey's escape is more poetic, through an appeal to the sun, who melts the wax. "How Monkey Got a Drink" is the same tale as that of "Brother Rabbit's Astonishing Prank" in Nights with Uncle Remus. "How the Hen Got Her Speckles" offers an interesting analogue to Uncle Remus's tale of "Teenchy-Tiny Duck" and to the French story of "Drakesbill and his Friends." And Uncle Remus's story of how Brer Rabbit secured Brer Fox for his riding horse is paralleled in fantastic form by the tale of how the toad mounts on the lamb, guides it with a piece of grass for a bridle, and urges it on with a stick; so that from that day to this the lamb has been a wonderfully meek creature. As a general rule these animal tales, which seem to have circled the globe, differ from the fairy tales of Grimm in being based on some trick or practical joke. But this collection of South American tales contains other more distinctively Brazilian stories, all told with simplicity and spirit. The illustrations are attractive, the typography is excellent, and the book deserves a place in the home and in the school and public libraries.

THE BOOK OF FREE MEN. By Julius F. Seebach. New York: George H. Doran Company. $1.25 net.

This is virtually a history of the use and influence of the Bible in Christian lands. Though the author does not enter into a discussion of critical biblical problems, he is evidently in touch with the results of modern scholarship. His aim, however, is rather to present the book from the point of view of its present religious interest and claims. He also stresses it as "a charter of liberty," "a book of freedom," and "the foundation of the best in democratic government." It is written from the Protestant point of view and controverts the Roman Catholic limitations placed upon the Bible's authority and use. Especially interesting are the chapters on "The Book Forbidden," "The Book in Protestant America," "Catholic and Protestant Views of the Book," and "The Book of Liberty." The author's style is clear and entertaining. He abounds in quotations. A brief bibliography is appended. J. B. T.

CHRISTMAS NIGHT IN THE QUARTERS. By Irwin Russell. With an Introduction by Joel Chandler Harris and a Historical Sketch by Maurice Garland Fulton. Illustrated by E. W. Kemble. New York: The Century Company. $2.50 net.

"I do not know where could be found to-day a happier or more perfect representation of negro character," says Joel Chandler Harris in the introduction to this book. Extravagant as this praise is, the critical reader feels that within the limits covered by the few poems in this collection it is true. The sale of Potliquor, for example, the 'coon dog that can "smell a 'coon fur half-a-mile," Uncle Nick's exposition of "de l'arnin' what a fisherman sh'u'd know," Nebuchadnezzar, the mule that "was sp'iled in raisin'," besides the well-known "Christmas Night in the Quarters,"-all these sketches have not been surpassed by later writers in Negro dialect. From the sketch of Russell's life given by Professor Fulton, it appears, too, that Russell was well aware of what he was doing, that he appreciated fully the richness of the vein he had opened, and that he had looked forward to producing some larger work of more permanent value, a novel or a play, dealing with Negro character and Negro life. "Negro lovers, Negro preachers, Negro 'literary and malevolent' 'sieties,' Negro saints and Negro sinners,-think of what mines of humor and pathos, plot and character, sense and nonsense, are here awaiting development," he wrote in 1877, only two years before his death. He died in his twenty-seventh year just at the time when he was beginning to make writing a serious occupation. "Had he been spared to letters," wrote Joel Chandler Harris, "all the rest of us would have taken back seats so far as representation of life in the South is concerned." Thus this is more than a mere Christmas gift-book. It is a handsome edition of dialect verse that ought to be preserved as a worthy memorial of one of the "South's sad singers."

THE CONTEMPORARY SHORT STORY. By Harry T. Baker. New York: D. C. Heath and Company.

As the title-page suggests, this is a practical manual for those who wish to write short stories. In his opening chapter the author defines the type of originality needed for success as "a

new 'twist' given to material which, in all other respects, may be essentially old." He then proceeds to note the common faults of the weakly constructed modern short story, such as its unconvincing character, lack of inventiveness, dullness, lack of thorough acquaintance with material, sensationalism, questionable material, weakness in dialogue, unsound character portrayal, and lack of artistic structure. The claims of character over plot are duly emphasized, and the absolute necessity of style, "fame's great antiseptic," is properly enforced. A very useful feature of the book is the discussion of the distinctive characteristics of the leading contemporary magazines and the varying points of view of their editorial staffs. The author has also added to the practical service of his work by attaching to each chapter suggestive exercises for the study of the contemporary short story. As a whole, the book admirably fulfills its purpose,-"to teach promising young authors, whether in or out of college, how to write stories that shall be marketable as well as artistic."

R. C. BEALE.

A COUNTRY CHILD. By Grant Showerman. New York: The Century Company. $1.75 net.

Instead of being a continuation of A Country Chronicle, this volume serves as an introduction to it and begins the story with the earliest recollections of the narrator, when he succeeded for the first time in going alone as far as the basement door. It is a detailed, realistic narrative of happenings in a small boy's life, told with humor, sympathy, and verisimilitude. The pen-andink drawings by George Wright are particularly attractive.

IMMORTALITY AND THE FUTURE: THE CHRISTIAN Doctrine of ETERNAL LIFE. By H. R. Mackintosh, D.Phil., D.D., Professor of Theology, New College, Edinburgh; author of "Life on God's Plan." London and New York: Hodder and Stoughton. Second Edition. 1917. Pp. 248. $1.50. Though of Greek origin the barbarous-sounding word, eschatology, is the name of the branch of theology that deals with the "last things," the future life, the judgment, the coming of the Christ, and so on. In this well-wrought book, Professor Mackintosh gives us perhaps the best recent compendium in