A big factory for art stained glass is not a likely place to look for romance, but Mr. George has laid in such a scene a story of fascinating interest. The action covers also the great West and mining, timber cutting and the practice of law in those regions. The central theme of the story, however, is a study of municipal government under existing methods of election and maintenance. Conspiracies, lobbying, bribery, blackmailing and other concomitants of present-day government politics are laid bare in a convincing manner, while the love story keeps and holds the reader’s interest in these questions. ROMANCE ISLAND. By Zona Gale. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co. Price, $1.50. The discovery of a fourth dimension is surely a very interesting thing and no one can give a more thrilling account of the consequences of such a discovery than the gifted Zona Gale, whose Pelleas and Ettarre stories are so widely known and loved. The adventure, the mystery and swift rush of events are so thrilling in this island of Miss Gale’s discovery that the reader loses himself in the absorbing account, and it is only when the book is laid down with a sigh when finished that he realizes that he has been filching time from his usual rest or occupation for a sojourn in the regions of enchantment. HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. By Clifton Johnson. New York: The Macmillan Co. Price, $2. This is a thoroughly excellent and descriptive account of the many lovely nooks and corners that dot the great valley of the “Father of Waters.” It is also a study of the types of the inhabitants of the section and contains much interesting and valuable historical matter. The illustrations are from the author’s own camera and add greatly to the interest of the chronicle. THE UPPER HAND. By Emerson Gifford Taylor. New York: A. S. Barnes & Co. Price, $1.50. In the ’squire’s house, in a New England house, there has been a tragedy in the night. Later a piratical seafarer appears and the village becomes the scene of strange adventures. The mysterious bringing of a little girl to the squire’s house, her subsequent bringing up and the winning of the old man’s reluctant affections, her love affair, complicated with the reappearance of the sailor, whose power over the ’squire only adds to the mystery, and the final adjustment of all the puzzling questions, bringing happiness and justice to all, makes a readable story. FAMOUS ACTOR FAMILIES IN AMERICA. By Montrose J. Moses. New York: T. Y. Crowell & Co. Price, $2.