B. J.'s Mother. By Margaret Deland. (Harper and Brothers. 6s.)—In
striking contrast to " The Golden Ladder" comes a book of delightful short stories by Mrs. Margaret Deland. Here we see glimpses of an America entirely different from the money-pursuing nation which Miss Potter has drawn for us. In " The House of Rimmon" the author, indeed, touches on the commercialism of the day. She shows the terrible consequences to the worker of the determination of an, employer of labour to hold out to the last on a queition of wages. Lydia Eaton, the woman who will not take money earned* opiiressi■te meane, is a striking figure, her shrinking determination being most ably portrayed. The other stories in the book, with the single exception of the second,
are equally delightful reading, though "The Black Drop" contains tragedy of a most poignant kind. It is curious to compare the work of these two American writers. The English reader would almost be tempted to believe that they write of different countries. " Opinions," says Talleyrand, "are only points of view"; and the points of view from which Mrs. Margaret Deland and Miss Margaret Potter see their country differ so widely that it is hardly possible to believe that they both deal with the same scene.
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