Robert Barr

“ You have read his short stories, of course, now gathered together in a book called 'The Face and the Mask.' If so, you remember 'The Bruiser's Courtship,' and 'The Typewritten Letter.' Everybody talks of them, and they are good, but the story that made me stand right up and bow to the man is that one in which he depicts the conditions on board a transatlantic liner that has a hold full of burning cotton. It is so clever that you scarcely believe it can be done, even after you have read it. ”

“ Did you read the story? 1 really think there is more skill, more imagination, and more genius in that little trifle than in many a fat novel that has made a sensation in the last two years. * * *
"'the Midst of Alarms' is nothing but the story of a story-teller, a born story-teller, who comes swinging into your library with a head full of fun and lively spirits and good nature, blended with a very cunning knack at repartee and bright dialogue. You are never for an instant bored or sorry or ashamed that he came. ”

“ You are made to share the interest of the passengers in a silly case of petty rivalry between two women, while, at the same time, you obtain a secret and startling knowledge that all the passengers are being carried along on top of a volcano that may belch at any instant. ”