The Pensionnaires; The Story of an American Girl who took a Voice to Europe and Found Many Things by Albert R. Carman

The Pensionnaires The Story of an American Girl who took a Voice to Europe and Found Many Things by Albert R Carman published by Herbert B Turner & Co. Boston, 1903. Cpoyright 190 by Herbert B Turner & Co. Published October 1903.

The boarders or “pensionnaires” brought together in the “pensions” of the European continent include natives of the whole world and life in these wholly original houses brings about cosmopolitanism and leads to associations and friendships that shape many lives. The chief pensionnaires are a New York mother and daughter studying singing. The reader meets them in Dresden, Milan and Switzerland. the singer is followed by a German idealist who teaches her to put soul into her phenomenal and perfectly trained voice. - The American catalogue ... July 1, 1876-Dec. 31, 1910 By Leypoldt Frederick, Lynds Eugene Jones, Richard Rogers Bowker, Augusta Isabella

Preface:
Hors D’Oeuvre
The Continental “pension” is like nothing Anglo-Saxon. Leaf over its guest-book and you find a cross-section of civilization; sit at its table, and you taste reminiscences of a French hotel; turn to conversation between courses, and you are in the dining saloon of an Atlantic “liner.”
It is a democracy with opinions about Botticelli; an aristocracy in exile and without leisure; an European Concert, free from jealousies and welcoming an American invasion which, in turn, anxiously repudiates the Monroe doctrine as applied to tourists.
Though an assemblage of strangers, with barely a prejudice in common, speaking one another’s language so badly that each must explain eventually in his own what he meant to say, international friendships are formed with the loaning of a guidebook, and new-comers are taken shopping on the second day. After four days together at table d’hote, companionable people are ready to plan a month’s tour with a division of carriage hire and a “pooling” of tastes.
Intolerance - that besetting sin of the sure-footed - finds the air of a “pension” either fatal or infuriating. There is no place like it for getting into the shoes of impossible people. When the “unspeakable Turk” sits next one at table, and speaks English, he is discovered to be human and likeable, and to have his point of view. he is not a Puritan perversely gone wrong, but a child of another world.
One deception the “pension” practices. it cheats the hasty into believing that they have penetrated a native home. A home it is, like no other place of public entertainment. The hostess and - more especially - the host always seem to be people of leisure; and to feel an entertainer’s duty toward their guests. it may, after all, be a native home, you are tempted to think - yet that bookcase of English novels! - Alas!
It is by no means a hotel; not even a rural French hotel, with Madame and her sewing in the office, and Monsieur coming in smiling from under his chef’s cap to grow superlative over the pet “lions” of the neighborhood, and the slim dark daughter lighting your fire at night with a coquettish consciousness. Madame is in the drawing-room with you, Monsieur welcomes you to his library, the slim dark daughter can sing if you really wish it.
It is not “lodgings” - no, not by a million times. Compared with that, it is a palatial hotel with six courses at dinner and a foreign grace of service.
It is, in short, not to be stated in terms of anything else. It is a “pension.” And long may its mistress sit in her drawing-room to bargain with us over the cost of fires! And long may the “pensionnaires” chatter across its table of the wonders of Europe and the weariness they induce.

Peggy's Prize Cruise by Kate Dickinson Sweetser

Peggy’s Prize Cruise by Kate Dickinson Sweetser published by Barse & Hopkins, New York and Newark, 1925. Illustrated - black and white photographs

The story is about a young woman, Peggy, whose friend, Paul, wins a Mediterranean cruise for writing the best historical five-reel motion picture play. Peggy and her family decide to go on the same cruise. It is a romance, with history, sea voyage and travel thrown in. If you want to learn 1920s colloquialisms, this is the book for you. Lots of fun! It is illustrated with black and white photographs of the some the places they visit and a charming look at teenagers from the 20s.

The author, Kate Dickinson Sweetser, was an American author known in her time for writing juvenile fiction and compilations. She was born in New York City to Charles H. and Mary N. Sweetser. Her great-grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, was one of the founders of Amherst College in Massachusetts; she was also the cousin of poet Emily Dickinson.

Darrell of the Blessed Isles by Irving Bacheller

Darrel of the Blessed Isles by Irving Bacheller illustrated by Arthur I Keller published by Lothrop Publishing Company, Boston, 1903.

Scholar, Wit, Philosopher, and Tinker of Clocks. A great tale of character and mystery. - publisher’s Weekly 1903.

PREFACE
The author has tried to give some history of that uphill road, traversing the rough back country, through which men of power came once into the main highways, dusty, timid, foot-sore, and curiously old-fashioned. Now is the up grade eased by scholarships; young men labour with the football instead of the buck-saw, and wear high collars, and travel on a Pullman car, and dally with slang and cigarettes in the smoking-room. Altogether it is a new Republic, and only those unborn shall know if it be greater.
The man of learning and odd character and humble life was quite familiar once, and not only in Hillsborough. Often he was born out of time, loving ideals of history and too severe with realities around him. In Darrel it is sought to portray a force held in fetters and covered with obscurity, yet strong to make its way and widely felt. His troubles granted, one may easily concede his character, and his troubles are, mainly, no fanciful invention. There is good warrant for them in the court record of a certain case, together with the inference of a great lawyer who lived a time in its odd mystery. The author, it should be added, has given success to a life that ended in failure. He cares not if that success be unusual should any one be moved to think it within his reach.
A man of rugged virtues and good fame once said: "The forces that have made me? Well, first my mother, second my poverty, third Felix Holt. That masterful son of George Eliot became an ideal of my youth, and unconsciously I began to live his life."
It is well that the boy in the book was nobler than any who lived in Treby Magna.
As to "the men of the dark," they have long afflicted a man living and well known to the author of this tale, who now commits it to the world hoping only that these poor children of his brain may deserve kindness if not approval.
NEW YORK CITY, March, 1903.

Neddy: An Autobiography of a Donkey edited by Charles Welsh

Neddy An Autobiography of a Donkey by Edited Charles Welsh (told to him by Gertrude Selion) published by H. M. Caldwell 1905. Illustrated. Caldwell’s Animal Autobiographical Series.

Preface: The leading incident of this autobiography of a donkey actually occurred, and the scene at the police station was described by the Times newspaper at the time of the trial. Two others are taken from a French source.

This is a delightful story of adventure and love, told through the eyes of Neddy. Neddy runs away and thus gets stolen from his mistress and is sorely used for three years. Eventually he is called into court as she tries to prove to a judge that he is the donkey that was stolen from her. Heart warming and humorous, if you love animals, Neddy, will win you over.

Neddy, The Autobiography of a Donkey. This story by Gertrude Selion is the third in the Animal Autobirography Series. The idea of this series originated in part from the great success of “Black Beauty.” The aim is to foster a kindly spirit in the young toward dumb animals, and also to cultivate the powers if observation. Between the two traits of sympathy and mental alertness, a child ought to be helped to character. This particular narrative runs through eight chapters of interesting experience. Neddy runs away, Neddy goes to the fair, Neddy changes masters, and Neddy does a great many things that may well entertain older readers as well as children. It tends to make the whole world kin, the world of varied creations. - review from 1905

Crimson is the Eastern Shore by Don Tracey

Crimson is the Eastern Shore by Don Tracy publisher by The Sears Readers Club, Chicago. Originally published by Dial Press. Copyright 1953 by Don Tracy. Book Club Edition. Jacket design by Harry Barton.

From the Fly leaf:
In Crimson is the Eastern Shore, the reader is taken through one of the most action-packed periods of history - the War of 1812 in the setting of America’s most beautiful and romantic stretch of land and water, the Eastern Shore of Maryland. In this stirring story, Don Tracy creates his most memorable character, Anthony Worth, called by many The King, the most powerful politician, planter and plotter within “three days’ hard riding or closed-hauled sailing”. Worth has his magnificent plantation, Fairoverlea, the seat of his Kingdom, but he also has a grim secret on which his fortune is based, and which, if disclosed would bring him shame and ruin.
To keep disaster from touching his daughter, Gracellen, Anthony Worth resorts to every dark device of intrigue and violence. Imperious Gracellen, pampered daughter of The King, is the most precious thing in life to him and he works and schemes to protect her from the doom that threatens both of them.
The threat is personified by Task Tillman of Larkspur Hill, the near-penniless neighbor who has loved and been loved by Gracellen since both were children. Task is torn between his adoration of Gracellen and his bitter hatred for Gracellen’s father, a hatred based on the black suspicion of murder.
Through the pages of Crimson is the Eastern Shore walk such colorful figures as Jett Worth, Anthony’s nephew and the skipper of a privateer clipper ship. Jett, though forbidden to peek and pry by his uncle, does - and meets what has been prophesied.
There is Vivian Dangerfield Worth, Anthony’s London-born fourth wife, who is described by everyone as the most beautiful woman on the Eastern Shore, and the strangest. She has her own secret and one which is hardly less terrible than her husband’s.
Stalking through Crimson is the Eastern Shore are such swaggering personalities as Admiral Sir George Cockburn, the “Butcher of Hampden”, and handsome, laughing Sir Peter Porter, elated at a chance for what he calls “a frolic with the Yankees”. There is Francis Scott Key and General Sam Smith, a man as plain as his name but a military genius who outwits the contemptuous British admirals and generals time and again. There is Charles Hilliard Hawlent, whose militia company, the Dragoon Footguards, provide an odd footnote to history. There are Anthony Worth’s three lieutenants who do The King’s ruthless bidding with a growl, a sneer and a giggle.
Guns thunder and men die, some heroically and some cravenly. There is deep-dyed treachery and unbounded loyalty. On land and at sea the fledgling United States comes to grips with the Mother Country; a weak, ill-fitted nation fighting the most impressive power in the world.

O Ye Jigs & Juleps by Virginia Cary Hudson

O Ye Jigs & Juleps by Virginia Cary Hudson and illustrated by Karla Kuskin. Published by The MacMillan Company, New York 1962. (A Division of The Crowell-Collier Publishing Company)

From Front Cover:
A humorous slice of Americana by a turn-of-the-century pixie, aged ten
From Back Cover:
An Adult’s Guide to the Child’s World of 1904. . .
(Introductory definitions by Virginia Cary Hudson, age 10)
Everlasting Life: “ . . .God gives it to you, and you can’t get rid of it . . . When you take it to Heaven with you, that’s good, but when you have to take it along with you to Hell, that’s different.”
Spring: “Spring is beautiful, and smells sweet. Spring is when you draw a circle in the dirt with your finger . . . and win all of the boys’ marbles. . . . I rub salt on my shooting thumb to make it tough.”
The Library: “The Library is where my father took his check book when I broke the window. I was only trying to kill a fly. It would take too long to tell you what my mother said.”
China and REligion: “In China there are two classes of people, the upper crust and the under crust, just like there is in Leesville. China has three religions stated by Mr. Confuscius, Mr. Tao, and Mr. Buddha. Leesville is ahead of China. Leesville has seven religions, Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists . . .”

. . . for further edification, see O Ye Jigs and Juleps! “Amen, and Be it So.”

From Inside flaps:
“ . . . oh ye beans and roses, oh ye jigs and juleps, Bless ye the Lord, Praise Him and Magnify Him Forever. Amen.”

“If I have to go to Hell, I sure hope I go to the one for Episcopalians, and don’t by mistake, get pushed in that horn punching, and tail wagging, red hot blazing one . . . God bless the Bishop. God bless my mission box, and Jesus be my friend and help me if you can, please. Amen, and Be It So.”

She’s everybody’s kid sister, with the pixiness of Eloise and the innocence of Dennis the Menace. She’s charming, sincere, devilish, precocious - and irresistible. And she’s real!
Virginia Cary Hudson was a sprite of ten back in 1904 when she wrote these essays for a very understanding teacher in her Episcopal boarding school. Discovered in an attic trunk, the essays are even more entertaining today because of their distinct, early American flavor. In them, Virginia expresses her naively trouncing concepts of school, the sacraments, church etiquette, everlasting life, spring, the library, personal appearance, strolling, and the religions of China (Mr. Confucius’ , Mr. Tao’s, Mr. Buddha’s). At least she begins with these topics; child-like, she soon wanders merrily off to examine her friends, her parents, herself, and life in general.

It is a child’s collection of impressions, it is an adult’s hilarious come-uppance. It is a spicy slice of small-town Americana in the early 1900’s. As Virginia herself would say, “ . . .Hallelujah! Glory three times also, and Amen twice.”

Madame Castel's Lodger by Frances Parkinson Keyes

Madame Castel’s Lodger by Frances Parkinson Keyes published by Farrar, Strauss & Company, New York, 1962.

From the jacket;
Madame Castel’s lodger is P. G. T. Beauregard, full general, hero of Fort Sumter, victor at Manassas, first idol of the Confederacy - and incomparable lover! Historians often refer to him as “Napoleon in Gray”; his devoted soldiers called him “Old Bory”; his Anglo-Saxon fellow officers “the Great Creole”; his family and friends, Pierre; and his countless female admirers by endearing terms too numerous to mention. His story, now told for the first time in the form of superb biographical fiction, is one of tremendous drama from start to finish.
A scion of Louisiana’s landed gentry of French, Spanish and Italian background, his early years were passed on a fabulous plantation which, after the Mexican War, was given the name of the first battle in which he won his spurs - Contreras. His father, determined that he should ”be an American,” sent him to a boarding school in New York whose directors were veterans of the Napoleonic Wars; this experience confirmed Pierre’s childhood desire to be a soldier and, despite family opposition, he entered 
West Point and eventually graduated second in his class, having meanwhile conceived a deep dislike for General Winfield Scott and an abiding affection for Robert Anderson - later the defender of Fort Sumter - and several other fellow students who were to become officers in the Union Army. he had also had his first love affair. But it was not until after his return to Louisiana that he met the beautiful Laure Villere and, after a whirlwind courtship, persuaded her to marry him.
At this stage, Pierre was a dashing and romantic figure and Mrs. Keyes does full justice to him as such. to the idyllic quality of his romance with Laure and to its radiant background. She is no less successful in tracing the variuos tragedies which darkened several years after Laure’s death; Pierre’s recapture of happiness, in a different form, wshen Caroline Deslone - whose sisterf Mathilde was the wife of John Slidell - entered his life; his spectacular success at Fort Sumter and Manasses; and the friction which arouse between Beauregard - a latin, a Catholic and a patrician - and Jefferson Davis, who could not appreciate the influence of these factors on ideals, outlook and modus operandi. When Beauregard finally returned to New Orleans after the surrender of the last mournful remnants of the Confederate Army, he was practically a pauper, reduced to taking humble lodgings in the once beautiful mansion where he had been a joyful bridegroom and which, like himself, had fallen from high to lowly estate. Here, when he least expects or hopes for it, he finds new fulfillment and the courage with which to rebuild his life through his association with his landlady, Simone Castel.
Mrs. Keyes has been variously called a historian at heart, an incurable romanticist and a born story teller. In Madame Castel’s Lodger, she proves that she can reveal herself as all three in one and the same book. During the twenty years since she wrote her first novel with a Louisiana setting, her knowledge of this chosen field and her feeling for it have grown deeper, more comprehensive and more abiding. Her talent for vivid characterization and arresting plot has constantly ripened. The present novel forms a fitting crown and climax to all that have gone before it.