may grow into indifference, and from indifference into dislike, he leaves England for America to make that position among his fellows which will earn his wife's respect and regard. But unfortunately Millie is the last person in the world to be left alone; as Pamela Mardale says of her: "The man who marries her should never leave her. If he goes away shooting big game he should take her with him. On no account must she be left behind." But Tony does not take her with him, and when Lionel Callon comes across her path Millie is in danger so great that but for the watchful care of Pamela the story of her life would have been a tragedy. Pamela has the assistance of two devoted friends-Alan Warrisden and Mr. Mudge; the trio, by skillful and prompt action, keep Millie free from guilt until her husband returns. Pamela is very finely drawn, and the portraiture of Chase is brilliantly done. Indeed, all Mr. Mason's characters live; the book is refreshing and stimulating, not only for its absorbing plot, but also for its presentation of human beings who arouse the reader's sympathy and excite his imagination-LONDON PUBLISHERS' CIRCULAR. It is an agreeable little book scarcely a novel, perhaps, but an amiable, pleasant piece of writing, and a good reflection of the fashionable life of the period dealt with. It reads rather as extracts from diaries might read than as a deliberately composed piece of fiction. In the preface the author says that This book owes its birth to the State Trial of Mary Blandy for the murder of her father at Henley-on-Thames, and a large portion of its nourishment to the Letter Books of the first Earl of Bristol, which contain most copious details concerning the ordinary life of *CHARMS, OR AN OLD WORLD SENSATION. By the Earl of Iddesleigh. John Lane. the period which they cover. Of George the The Complete Motorist* TH HIS book was briefly noticed in the December number of BoOK NEWS. So staid a critical periodical as the London "Athenæum" now pays the book a glowing tribute, and its words seem to be indicative of the enthusiasm that motoring has attained in England. The “Athenæum" says: "To the man who owns a motor-car, or whose friends use this method of locomotion, or who himself has any thought of obtaining one of the vehicles of the future, this handsome book should, and probably will, appear a thing of beauty and a joy likely to prove enduring. Even the reader who (before his reading of this book) has never felt the slightest interest in the subject, can hardly fail to be moved and quickened from his indifference, if only by passing thrills, so lucid and spirited is Mr. Young's treatment of motoring and all its ramifications and concerns. A better book of the sort we do not expect to see. It is modestly written, A New Year T yet as full of valuable and practical information as any text-book; technically sound, with the knowledge that only experience can supply, yet as picturesque, as romantic, as literary, and as genuinely interesting as any novel. "The two chapters which are the pick of the volume are 'A Packet of Letters,' the second The Open Road,' a borrowed phrase, but one well applied in this connection. The letters are from Lady Jeune, Sir Horace Plunkett, Mr. Strachey, Mr. Jarrott, Major Lindsay Lloyd and Mr. Kipling; and the last-mentioned contributes some passages which are as humorous and graphic as anything in the stories which made his name. The motor has assisted him in his discovery of amazing England, he says, and says it very well. For this reason, and because he has suffered in the cause of its improvement, he loves it. His theory with regard to its effect upon Englishmen and English animals is delightful reading. The final chapter, called 'The Open Road,' is a piece of inspiring journalism, and possibly better even than that. It is a really fine descriptive tribute to the fascination which the driving of powerful motors has for very many people. It is also a fine description of motor-racing, and of the influence of the automobile upon modern life in England." Begun With the Magazines HE January magazines remind one of the last act of a drama. They let you down easy after the grand Christmas climax. The promises for the coming year are many and generous, but we shall probably have to wait until February to see them in the beginning of fulfillment. Still there are many interesting contributions in some of the more general periodicals. "Harper's" offers short stories by the favorite authors, Mr. Howells and Mrs. *COMPLETE MOTORIST. By A. B. Filson Young. Illustrated. McClure, Phillips and Co. Freeman; while in the same magazine John Bassett Moore treats of "The Doctrine of Expatriation," a most interesting topic; "Ainslee's" contains a novelette by Marie Van Vorst, entitled, "A Belated Harvest;" the chief feature of "The Metropolitan" is the continuation of the delightful "Princess Passes," and the authors who write for the January "Smart Set" include F. Aymar Mathews, with a complete novel, "The Coming of the King" and George Barr McCutcheon and Herbert D. Ward, each with a short story. "McClure's" comes to hand with a new installment of "The Rawhide;" a story by Henry Wallace Phillips, "A Touch of Nature;" an article on "Tuberculosis: the Real Race Suicide;" a story, excellently illustrated, written by Seumas McManus and one by Mark Lee Luther. "Scribner's" is chiefly interesting for Mrs. Wharton's new story, "The House of Mirth," which begins its serial career in the January issue. The color feature of the number is Edward Penfield's impressions of Amsterdam and an interesting poem is a Love-Song, in the Elizabethan manner, by Thomas Nelson Page. Interesting features in the January "Pearson's" are "A Chat with Julia Marlowe;" "A Limb of the Law," by Owen Kildare and "The Human Side of the Subway." A piece of art in the "Century" is Timothy Cole's engraving on wood of the Holy Family; "Sandy," by Alice Hegan Rice, is continued; there appears "A Note on Sainte-Beuve," by Brander Matthews; "A Chat About the Hand," by Helen Keller, and a story by Gouverneur Morris. "The Loves of Great Composers" will be continued in the "Delineator" during 1905, and "Famous Hymns of the World" A Best-Selling Books MONG the books that are going fast, "The Masquerader” and “The Sea-Wolf" make splendid leads. Those who find the faults of a young author, intoxicated by early and big success, in Mr. London's books, will scarcely see hope of the correction of those faults in the great demand that "The Sea-Wolf" is creating for itself. As might be expected "The Prospector" is among the best-sellers, though its late coming has given it a smaller chance in the competition. In "Miscellany" the Japanese books are doing well. Hewlett's "Road In Tuscany" seems to be making a "hit" while "The Mountains" is selling in a way to point. toward the continuation of Mr. White's popularity. At Wanamaker's, Philadelphia. FICTION: The Masquerader. By Katherine Cecil Thurs ton. The Castaway. By Hallie Erminie Rives. Whosoever Shall Offend. By F. Marion Crawford. Beverly of Graustark. By George Barr Mc- Nancy Stair. By Elinor Lane. MISCELLANEOUS: The Simple Life. By Charles Wagner. Recollections of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Robert E. Lee. By English Literature-Beaumont and Fletcher, Heywood, Dekker, Chapman, Jonson French Literature French Literature was begun in the March 1904, number of BOOK NEWS, with Emile Zola, the noted French novelist, was born at Paris, on April 2, 1840. His father was Italian, his mother French. He was educated at the Lycee Saint-Louis, but took no degree. For several years he lived in extreme poverty, but at length found employment in a book-store. Zola 1840-1902 He learned the details of publishing, but devoted every spare moment to writing. His first book, "Contes a Ninon," appeared in 1864; in 1865 he issued "La Confession de Claude;" "La voen d'ure morte" appeared in 1866; "Les mysteres de Marsaille" and "Therese Raquin" in 1867, and "Madame Ferat" in 1868, besides numer |