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THE MUSICIANS' LIBRARY.*

First we have a word about this series of volumes which is already reaching noteworthy size. It is the finest collection of classic music, instrumental and vocal, which has ever been offered in such shape. Each volume is admirably edited and the letter press is perfect. The selections are representative, though there is always room for difference of opinion in such selections. Those who are real lovers of song and harmony will find these the very acme for playing or singing.

Of the thirty Americans whose songs are chosen for one volume, all but two, Nevin and Bullard, are living composers. The faces of all look at you from the introduction and then the songs are left to speak for themselves. Several of the selections are unfamiliar but approve themselves. We only wish the songs were more distinctively American in themselves as well as in their authors.

The lyrics in the volumes of Wagner and the Hungarian Rhapsodies of Liszt need few words. The choice is representative and any one who has musical training or instinct enough to appreciate music of this class is familiar with these works. We find the very best of the two great authors, enough to show their power and bring within our reach the finest parts of their great masterpieces.

There are one hundred and twenty of the French songs in the two volumes. The original words and the translation are given as should be. Generally the translation is good though it does not always avoid losing part of the sweetness and effect of the setting. In a striking way many of these songs offer a weaving together of word and melody which is the exception. The translation often spoils this effect but in almost every case is as good as any but a master could do. The volumes are the best of their kind available for music lovers in this country.

JUST BEFORE THE WAR.†

This story of the days of old John Brown is one of the better stories which find their vividness in civil war scenes. Some descriptions are

*LYRICS-By Richard Wagner for Soprano. LYRICS-By Richard Wagner for Tenor. TEN HUNGARIAN RHAPSODIES-By Franz Liszt. SONGS-By Thirty Americans. MODERN FRENCH SONGS, Volume I and II. Each in paper, $1.50; in cloth, $2.50. Boston: Oliver Ditson Company.

†BEFORE THE CRISIS-By Frederick Blount Mott. 309 pages. $1.50. New York City: John Lane.

lurid and seem almost unreal but that is only because we are living in such a quiet age as to know nothing of the intensity of those days. These novels all have the possibility of stirring up feelings which should be buried deep, some of them should not have been written but no such charge can be brought against this. The picture of life on the border between Kansas and Nebraska is correctly drawn. In these historical novels this is of first importance, that the setting should be rightly used. But what is of the greatest importance is that the story should amount to something. There is a good plot here. Some of the world-old claptrap climaxes appear but that is always true. The plot is often involved but so is real life. The good thing is that we are interested in the characters and feel that they are worth knowing.

THE TWO GREAT ENGLISH NOVELISTS.‡

It is restful to turn sometimes from the formal thousand page biographies of today to simpler essays, tributes to devotion and helps to interpretation. It has been the fashion for certain critics of literary standing to decry the genius of Charles Dickens and forget that comparisons are odious, especially between such masters as Dickens and Thackeray, The result has been that others, seeing the power of the great caricaturist, have been forced to a needless and unwise neglect of the great satirist. In the quiet words of these two volumes we have an appreciation of each great writer which is nearer the truth because no slurs are cast. The illustrations are excellent and really add to the effect as is not always to be said. The set of which these are part is quite worth owning and reading.

A LIVE MISSIONARY CHURCH.°

The First Presbyterian Church of Wichita has become known everywhere for the wonderful way in which it has worked out the Great Commission in its church life. The pastor has given us his message from the history of that church and with an application to any church which desires the same awakening. One volume shows how the principle may be applied in any community. The other tells of the wonderful way God has used and blessed that church in Wichita. There are several commands

CHARLES DICKENS-By G. K. Chesterton and F. G. Kitton. 44 pages. WILLIAM M. THACKERAY-By G. K. Chesterton and Lewis Melville. 40 pages. 75 cents each. New York City: James Pott & Company.

CAPTURING A COMMUNITY FOR CHRIST. 149 pages. A WORKING CHURCH. 181 pages-By C. E. Bradt. Wichita, Kansas: Missionary Messenger Press.

in the New Testament which, if carried out to logical conclusions, would bring a church or an individual within reach of God. The Great Commission is certainly one of them and this church has shown the result of a willingness to take God at his word. Each minister must work out his own problems and each church must find its own way. The sad fact is that very few ministers or churches are trying hard enough to find the way. To them comes this message with all the power of a proved case.

WAGNER'S PARSIFAL.*

This small volume on the great music drama of Richard Wagner is just what the ordinary lover of music wants. In all that has been said and written about it in the immediate past it has been hard to sift out the essential. As we read this book we find a convincing directness that pleases. It is not too technical for the understanding of the majority and yet it gives a critical impression which we have desired. One chapter tells of the sources of the drama and the first performance. Another tells the story and shows us the characters which have become quite familiar. The best part is the chapter on the music, with its treatment of the several motives. There we find what we want most and have had the greatest difficulty in finding in convenient and attractive shape.

HENRY CLAY.†

In many ways this is the best of this excellent series of "true biographies." Henry Clay is the most picturesque of the characters offered us so far. The author proves an even closer acquaintance with his subject than perhaps any of the other writers. The attention is held from first to last as is not always true with modern biographies or ancient. Clay's name will always be mentioned in connection with the disappointment of great statesmen who have failed of the presidency and when we talk of compromise. It has become clear of late years that Henry Clay did not have as much to do with the Missouri Compromise as tradition had it and in this connection the chapter on "The Compromiser" is especially interesting. In fact there is not a chapter in the book worth skipping. The study of his early life is full of material for thought and his development as a man and a statesman is finely marked.

*A GUIDE TO PARSIFAL-By Richard Aldrich. 73 pages. $1.00. Boston: Oliver Ditson Company.

THE TRUE HENRY CLAY--By Joseph M. Rogers. 388 pages. $2.00 J. B. Lippincott Company.

net.

Philadelphia:

THE FUNDAMENTAL FAITH OF TODAY.‡

The title itself is attractive, though it is likely to awaken prejudice or false expectations. Dr. Johnston has proved himself a wise writer on fundamentals and his new book is no exception. The purpose, to put into terms of today in concise form the great truths, is what we need more than anything else in the religious writing of today. The first two chapters explain the basis of this work, the scientific method and scientific faith. Then he gives a chapter each to the study of the scientific belief in God, in character, in the Bible, in miracles, in Christ, in prayer, in christianity, and closes with the scientific outlook and hope. It is primarily a book for young men, with their view of life stated in modern terms; it is also for older men to make clear to them the change in terms of life. Dr. Johnston has not carried through all the task of the century but he has opened the way with marked skill and insight into conditions.

THE LOVE STORY OF A GRAY JACKET.°

This is one of the bloody type of the civil war stories. It is filled with improbable escapes and acts of daring. The story is rather broken at times. But it is able to hold your attention as you read to the very end. The characters are possible, the scenes are well arranged, the love element is unhackneyed as far as that may be possible in these days when it seems that every possible arrangement of individuals has been worked over and over again. My lady of the North is well worth loving and her gentleman of the South was a worthy lover. No wonder he was mistified by her surroundings just as we are when we read. No wonder the story comes out as it does when both love and the author can bring them together so easily most anywhere. The historical pictures here and there are also good.

THE EDUCATION OF THE CHRISTIAN.*

We are always interested in Dr. Coe's books. He is one of the younger men who is working into the present day problems. He is plunging in rather rashly and will have to modify many of his positions but that is better than keeping dry and doing nothing. The desire to keep religion and morals hand in hand is good; the feeling that all education should

+SCIENTIFIC FAITH-By Howard Agnew Johnston. 289 pages. $1.50 net. Chicago: Winona Publishing Company. 362 pages. $1.50.

"MY LADY OF THE NORTH-By Randall Parrish. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Company.

*EDUCATION IN RELIGION AND MORALS-By George Albert Coe. 434 pages. $1.35 net. Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Company.

tend to development of the spiritual as well as the mental cannot be too widespread. There is danger however of being too iconoclastic. It is easier to tear down than to build up again. It is all very well to say our aim is to make "the Sunday school, not a Bible school but a school of religion." In practice the real school of religion will be more distinctively a Bible school than any of the Sunday schools of today. The desire to make the Sunday school more in accord with pedagogical methods is all right but it is easy to kill results by too much attention to method. Happily books like these are not likely to fall into many hands where they can do harm and those who are sincerely studying these problems will be helped toward their own conclusions by these arguments.

THE STORY OF THE CHURCHES.†

The Protestant Episcopal church with its ancestry in the Church of England is one of the historic churches. The author of this volume has given us a very thorough account of the origin and development of this denomination. His spirit is fair towards the other parts of the Church of Christ and at the same time show's full devotion to his own choice. The strange feature is the brief attention given to the present day. We know the work of the present and the problems which are being studied and worked over but we would get a very inadequate idea from reading this book. It seems a mistake to lose space for the present in multiplying words about the past. We would not underestimate the value of the history of the church and the ties that bind us all to the apostolic church and teaching; we sometimes forget the value of the reformations and struggles of the past; they are our inspiration. But we are more concerned today with the active fight under the banner of the cross. There is an unconscious false impression likely to be drawn from this book by those who do not know the truth.

SOURCES OF EUROPEAN HISTORY.‡

These selections from the original sources are a valuable sidelight on the history of European development. They have, with few exceptions, an inherent interest as well as a value to the student. This first volume covers the time from the breaking up of the Roman Empire to the Protestant Revolt. The quotations are woven together concisely but fully and the success of the attempt at unity is unusual. To the teacher of history the book will have most value but it makes a reference book worthy of a place in any well rounded library.

THE EPISCOPALIANS-By Daniel Dulaney Addison. 252 pages. $1.00 net. New York City: The Baker & Taylor Company. READINGS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY. Volume 1-By James H. Robinson. 551 pages. Boston: Ginn & Company.

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