6io 
Book. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
X  December,  1900. 
A  NEW  BOOK. 
Stringtown  on  the  Pike,  the  new  story  by  John  Uri  Iyloyd  which  was 
selected  as  The  Bookman  serial  for  1900,  is  an  unusually  interesting  one. 
The  scene  of  action  is  chiefly  in  one  of  the  villages  in  Northeast  Kentucky. 
There  are  two  marked  characteristics  displayed  by  the  author  in  the  book  :  (1) 
The  training  of  the  scientist,  who  is  as  eager  to  describe  the  habits,  morals  and 
language  of  a  people  as  he  would  be  to  describe  the  trees  and  rocks  of  the 
locality  in  which  they  live.  (2)  There  is  no  waiting  for  shifting  of  scenes  ; 
but  the  book  is  characterized  by  a  continuity  of  action  that  is  pleasing,  and 
which  reminds  one  of  a  series  of  moving  pictures.  In  both  these  respects 
the  author  has  shown  an  originality  and  a  power  that  is  only  equalled  by  the 
story  he  has  told.  The  story  itself  is  interesting  in  several  ways,  particularly 
to  the  scientist  and  investigator.  It  shows  that  the  man  of  science  with  his 
faith  in  human  authority  may  be  as  much  of  a  fanatic  and  as  likely  to  err  in  his 
judgment  as  the  ignorant,  superstitious  slave  bound  to  his  signs  and  omens  ; 
that  the  latter  have  been  in  the  nature  of  Divine  agencies,  correcting  evils, 
checking  vice  and  developing  a  race  which  saw  its  best  type  in  old  Cupe,  who 
always  recognized  the  Divine  hand  and  who  has  shown  that  "  de  Lawd  am 
biggah  dan  de  law." 
The  story  throws  a  new  light  upon  the  African  Ordeal  Test  as  carried  out  by 
some  of  the  old  negro  tribes  of  Africa,  and  seems  to  have  been  perpetuated  by 
some  of  the  negroes  of  the  South.  It  would  appear  that  the  king  or  the  son  of 
a  king  read  the  character  of  his  people  and  knew  in  more  ways  than  one  the 
guilt  or  innocence  of  the  person  brought  before  him  and  his  court  of  justice. 
They  knew  full  well  when  to  administer  the  ordeal  test,  and  it  would  seem  no 
less  uncertain  than  the  jury  who  would  pronounce  the  death  sentence  upon  the 
testimony  of  an  expert  chemist,  Professor  Drew,  swearing  that  he  had  found 
strychnine  in  the  stomach  of  the  deceased  when  strychnine  was  not  present, 
although  a  strychnine-like  reaction  was  subsequently  proven  to  be  obtained  from 
the  use  of  a  mixture  of  hydrastine  and  morphine. 
The  careful  analysis  of  the  language,  habits  and  morals  of  the  Southern 
negro  and  of  the  primitive  Kentucky  mountaineer  alone  would  give  this  book 
a  lasting  place  among  historical  books.  There  are  certain  chapters,  however, 
as  "  Red-Head's  Story  of  the  Feud,"  "  Why  the  Honey-Bee  Don't  Suck  Red 
Clover,"  "  New  Year's  Eve,  1863,"  and  "Into  the  Stoim  Passed  the  Minister," 
which  should  become  part  of  our  school  readers,  and  like  the  selections  of 
Dickens  and  others,  become  a  part  of  every  schoolboj-'s  life.  John  Uri  Lloyd 
has  done  a  very  commendable  piece  of  work  in  his  "  Stringtown  on  the  Pike," 
and  it  is  doubtful  if  it  has  been  surpassed  by  many  modern  American  writers. 
.Hygiene  of  Telephones. — A  commission  has  been  appointed  in  France  to 
study  the  question  of  the  contraction  of  contagious  diseases  from  the  promis- 
cuous employment  of  the  instruments  by  all  classes  of  the  public.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  the  syphilitic  virus  from  the  mouth  of  a  patient  in  the  contagious 
stage  might  be  left  behind  when  using  the  instrument,  and  is,  therefore,  con- 
sidered (Pediatrics)  wise  for  users  of  the  telephone  to  avoid  absolute  contact 
with  the  instrument  anywhere  except  with  the  hands. 
