John is so insistent upon my having out. He calls it "the green book," which shows some consideration, but to me it is the Doomsday Volume, and I have grown to hate it. Perhaps, oh, surely, even after our divorce John will take me out for a spin now and then. I sometimes think I just can't give up this automobile!

We went through Nocera, and at Gualdo deserted our Via Flaminia for half a day, and drove on to Gubbio that we might spend the night in the most medieval town of Italy. It lies at the foot of the Apennines, and is the open door to the Calvo Pass, which leads through the mountains to the other side. Isolated, forgotten by the world, it is like a hideous, crooked old woman. I was surprised to find children laughing in the tortuous streets. Towering over it is the great Palazzo dei Consoli, not as though it were part of the poor people who lived below, but frowning down at them, emblematic of the power of the nobles over the towns they owned. Yet Yet Gubbio had its great painters, its school of art and famous potteries, just as all these dead little places had through which we pass, and I know I shall take a personal interest in these treasures when again I see them in the galleries. (Note: Above to be read at meeting of Minerva Club.)

The Thespian art is still encouraged in Gubbio. The porter of the Albergo San Marco, who refused to take any notice of us or our luggage until he could find his ancient gold-braided cap, told us before we had taken our rooms that there was a play that evening. He evidently feared we might go on unless inducements were held out, and after the dinner we might have considered it had not the Calvo Pass presented double difficulties in the night.

The crone who waited on us had said the Pass was too high for automobili, and we ourselves had read that heavy carriages did not go over it, but with the morning light we feared nothing, and John told her smilingly in his own tongue that she was absolutely brainless, the truth was not in her, and that her appearance would be greatly improved if she possessed a few teeth. She was an old, unsuspecting crone, and cried Si, si, sig

nore," to all he said, which meant a whole franc when we left as compensation.

A small boy escorted us to the theatre, and I suggested that he receive a carriage check and call for us at eleven, for nothing but Hop-o'- My - Thumb bread crumbs could ever get us back through the narrow, empty, winding streets, lighted only by occasional oil lamps, and down which the wind blew mournfully; but John was for adventure, and dismissed him with four cents imbursement.

We took our seats in the poltrone. I think now it means the poltroons, for we saw at a glance we had not done the right thing. Although they were the best seats to be bought, and red velvet besides, the real people, the noblesse of the city, sat in the three tiers of minute boxes that ran around the auditorium, while the commoners stood at the back, rolled on the benches or lolled on the red velvets that constituted the orchestra. Immediately our arrival in the city as motorists lost its prestige; had we been as rich as Croesus and eaten automobiles we could not be seriously considered after sitting among the poltroons. John wanted to get a box and turn our coats wrong side out to deceive them into thinking we were an entirely different couple, but by this time the power of the drama had taken hold of me and I would not move.

Perhaps I should not say it was the performers on the stage that held me fascinated-there were three at the timebut rather a fourth voice that spoke unceasingly, which I at first took to be some noisy person on the red velvets, and glared at them all. Then I thought the play might be a spirit one, Ibsen's Ghosts, perhaps, with a new interpretation, and I endeavoured to trace the spirit actor who had such a very long part.

He was under none of the chairs, nor behind the handsome escretoire as it was painted on the back drop, but I finally found him cunningly hidden under half a shell which came out from the footlights with its back to us, and then I knew he was the prompter. These creatures are the curse of the Continental theatre and a relic of barbarism, toned down and dulled into quiet in the big city theatres, but in Gubbio the one voice that was never

the love story are the son of a low-born banker and the daughter of a Samurai. The hero proves himself a hero and is rewarded with the hand of the girl in marriage.

The Game and the Candle. By Frances Davidge.

This novel is said to portray_New York types and society. Richard Faxon and Emily Blair are two important characters, as is also Pinkle Gibbs. Richard loves and marries Pinkle, although he is dependent upon Emily. When Pinkle elopes with another man she breaks her husband's heart, as well as his pride. He eventually loves Emily, but certain obstacles for a long time. prevent their marriage. The climax is aided by Casimir Driscoll, the clubman and philosopher, and the end of the story sees all its characters happy.

The Staircase of Surprise. By Frances Aymar Mathews.

A Chinese Princess is the heroine of this tale of the Russo-Japanese War. The hero, a young Englishman, falls in love with the Princess in a missionschool in China. Their marriage is declared invalid, owing to the omission of a few words in the ceremony. The husband is imprisoned by his wife's uncle in order that she may marry a Japanese count. The scenes are changed to Washington. Here the Englishman finds his mother and an American heir-, ess whom she has selected as her son's future wife.

The Seats of the Mighty. By Gilbert Parker.

A new holiday edition of a well-known novel illustrated with eight full-page pictures in colour.

The Seven Seas. By Rudyard Kipling.

A special holiday edition of Kipling's poems appropriately illustrated. The marginal decorations and printing are in green ink.

The Young Man and the World. By Albert J. Beveridge.

"While addressed more directly to young men, these papers were yet written for men on both sides the hill and on the crest thereof. I would draw_maturity and youth closer together." There are twelve articles, the first of which gives the book its name. Some of the other papers discuss The Old Home, The New Home, The Young Lawyer and His Beginnings. Public Speaking, The Young Man and the Pulpit, Great Things Yet to be Done, etc.

Duke of Devil-May-Care. By Harris Dick

son.

The Duke is a Southern planter; "Devil-May-Care" is the name given to

his plantation. The ancestors of the girl with whom he falls in love have for generations been enemies to his house. She refuses his offer of marriage. Complicating and exciting events follow, in which the hero is thought to have killed a man in a quarrel and is suspected of having kidnapped the heroine's aunt when she was ill with yellow fever. The conclusion sees the mysteries cleared up,

The Baker and Taylor Company:

The Next Awakening. By Josiah Strong. The Times and Young Men. By Josiah Strong.

A paper-covered edition of the last two works which have come from the pen of Mr. Strong.

The Poet, Miss Kate and I. By Margaret P. Montague.

An idyl of the mountains in which humour, nature and love are interwoven. The poet is a lawyer and poet, who goes from New York to the mountains of West Virginia to die; "I" is a girl whom he meets and who makes life worth struggling for; Miss Kate is the faithful mare which the girl rides. The book is decorated and is illustrated in colour and in black and white.

The Appreciation of Pictures. By Russell Sturgis.

The fourth volume in the "Popular Art" series. It is supplementary to the author's previous works on architecture and sculpture. The book is written from the standpoint of the enthusiastic lover of pictures, and contains seventy-three illustrations.

Impressions of Japanese Architecture and the Allied Arts. By Ralph Adams Cram.

The titles of the ten papers in this collection are: The Genius of Japanese Art, The Early Architecture of Japan, The Later Architecture of Japan, Temples and Shrines, Temple Gardens, Domestic Interiors, The Minor Arts, A Colour Print of Yeizan, A Note on Japanese Sculpture, and The Future of Japanese Art. The volume is well illustrated.

A Christmas Carol and The Cricket on the Hearth. By Charles Dickens.

Grotesqueness in the interpretation of Dickens has been abandoned in these stories for a more human portrayal of his characters by Mr. Williams. There are ten illustrations in line and in col

our.

When You Were a Boy. By Edwin L. Sabin.

The joys and miseries which usually attend the normal small boy are recounted in a way intended to carry the reader back to childhood days. The

fifty characteristic illustrations which Mr. Frederic Dorr Steele have made for the book enhance its interest.

Romances of Old France. By Richard Le Gallienne.

This companion volume to the author's "Old Love Stories Retold," published last year, tells again the famous Troubadour romances and the tales of tradition and chivalry. King Florus and the Fair Jehane, Amis and Amile, Aucassin and Nicolete, and The History of Over Sea are the titles of four of the seven stories. The book is well decorated and illustrated.

A. S. Barnes and Company:

The Business of Life Insurance. By Miles
Menander Dawson.

In this volume it is intended to "speak plainly and fairly for the benefit of the policyholders and also in the belief that his words may be of use to those connected professionally with the business of life insurance." The author is the actuary of the New York Legislative Committee for the Investigation of Life Insurance.

Lodgings in Town. By Arthur Henry.

The author's experiences while seeking an ideal mode of existence are told in three volumes, of which this is the last; "An Island Cabin" and "The House in the Woods" being the first two books in the trilogy. Several phases of life in New York City, with its joys and sorrows, successes and failures, hopes and disappointments, are portrayed. Sixteen full-page illustrations enhance the value of the book.

The Cherry Ribband. By S. R. Crockett.

Mr. Crockett's latest book is said to be written in the vein of his well-known "The Lilac Sunbonnet." It is a story of the Covenanters, and the scenes are laid during the closing days of the reign of Stuart II. There is a lively romance between Ivie Rysland, the daughter of a captain under Stuart, and Raith Ellison, the renegade son of a Cameronian. Many thrilling experiences are encountered, and the fortunes of the hero and heroine are involved, but happiness is theirs at the end of the story.

Squire Phin. By Holman F. Day.

Palermo, Maine, is the setting for this novel of "Down East." Squire Phin is a philosophical character who straightens out the tangles and preserves a state of equilibrium in the community. The Squire's brother Hime figures prominently in the story. Pathos and humour are both portrayed and a romance runs through the book.

Brentano's:
The Irrational Knot. By G. Bernard Shaw.

Although a large part of this book was contributed to magazines a quarter of a century ago, it has been rewritten and is practically new. The marriage question is the theme of the story, the principals being an electrical engineer, who is as mechanical in his thought and living as the machines upon which he works; his wife, a woman more beautiful than intellectual; and a "gentlemancad-of-leisure," with whom the wife elopes.

The Broadway Publishing Company:

A Brother of Christ. By Ingram Crockett. A tale of Western Kentucky. An earnest worker among the eccentric Christadelphians is the "brother of Christ" and the hero. The story tells how he gradually breaks loose from the narrowness of this sect and comes into fuller light. It is also a love story, in which two women-one a coquette, the other a noble girl-are prominent figThere is a villain who has his share in the tale. Persons and Places. By Joel Benton.

ures.

Adirondack Murray. By Harry V. Radford.

A monograph on the life and work of the late William Henry Harrison Murray, familiarly known as "Adirondack Murray.' The volume contains ten illustrations.

The Century Company:

Jules of the Great Heart. By Lawrence Mott.

Jules Verbaux, the hero, is a FrenchCanadian trapper and is looked upon as an outlaw by the Hudson Bay Company. The exciting adventures which he encounters form the basis of the story. The Wheat Princess. By Jean Webster.

The cornering of the wheat market by Marcia Copley's father while she is living in luxury among a people who are almost starving for bread, is the background of this tale. An important part of the story deals with Marcia's lovers. Plain Mary Smith. By Henry Wallace Phillips.

The hero of many short stories makes his first appearance as the principal char

acter in a book. Red Saunders describes his wild adventures in his own way. Plain Mary Smith, the heroine, is plain in name only. The affection which these two people have for each other is in no way romantic; Red's greatest ambition is to bring Mary and Arthur Saxton, her lover, together. The hero is described as a good-natured, muscular, overgrown boy, full of deviltry, sentiment and love of fun.

With the Empress Dowager. By Katharine A. Carl.

An extended visit of eleven months at the Chinese Court, at which time Miss Carl was painting portraits of the Empress Dowager, is followed by this volume. The work describes the personal appearance and characteristics of the Empress Dowager, of the Emperor, and of the ladies of the court; the summer and winter palaces, the social customs, religious rites and other interesting subjects. The author has illustrated the book.

Three additions to the "Thumb-Nail" series. The first contains not only the sonnets, but six lyrics from the pen of Mrs. Browning, and three poems by Robert Browning. Richard Watson Gilder has written the introduction. In the second volume there is a character sketch of Washington, Washington's farewell address to the people of the United States; his address to the officers, in March, 1773; his circulating_letter addressed to the governors of all the States on disbanding the army; his farewell address to the armies of the United States; his inaugural address to both Houses of Congress; and an unfinished portrait of Washington. Dickens's story "The Chimes" is well known. The books are issued uniformly and are bound in embossed leather, designed by Blanche McManus Mansfield. Washington and the West. By Archer B. Hurlbert.

"Being George Washington's Diary of September, 1784. Kept during his jour

The aim of this book is "to give a fairly comprehenisve bird's-eye view of the whole field of painting, sufficient, if study must stop there, to enable recognition of the landmarks of the subject; but offering, if further study in detail is possible, a convenient groundwork for investigation." The author has given a series of comparisons of paintings and painters from Cimabue to Monet, with historical and biographical summaries and appreciations of the painters' motives and methods. The work is illustrated with over fifty reproductions of noted pictures.

The Long Day-The Story of a New York Working Girl, as Told by Herself.

A pen picture of the experiences of a country girl who came to New York to obtain a livelihood. The reader forms the acquaintance of some of the characters met by the heroine, many of whom are very interesting. The story is said to be true and to vividly portray the unfortunate, underpaid, overworked working girl.

The Northerner. By Norah Davis.

Southern prejudice against the capital and enterprise of the North and the question of race are brought out in this story. "The Northerner" is a capitalist who purchases the street railway and lighting plant in an Alabama town, in the belief that Northern energy and money will succeed where Southern management has resulted in failure. He is obliged to fight against the prejudice of almost the entire town, including the girl with whom he is very much in love. It is left to the reader to find out whether he meets with success or fail

ure.

Versailles and the Court under Louis XIV. By James Eugene Farmer.

This work begins with the inception of the plans for the palace and the laying out of the grounds. The volume is divided into four parts, the first of which is entirely devoted to descriptions of this palace; the second part continues these descriptions, gives the meaning of Versailles, etc.; the King-his daily life. work, character, appearance and etiquette-is the subject of Part III.; and Part IV. portrays the Court. work is well illustrated.

The