“Any veteran might well be glad and proud to round off even the achievement of a lifetime with a study of human nature such as this story of Mr. Stewart’s ‘Blacksmith’ so interesting in fresh and unexpected ways, so rich in the fruits of keen and kindly observation, and the true artist’s appreciation of much that escapes the untrained eye. If it does not prove a worthily popular favorite it will be the fault of the popular taste and appreciation.”
| + + | N. Y. Times. 10: 179. Mr. 25, ‘05. 940w. |
“Let no one be deterred from reading the book by dislike of Irish dialect. The first chapter once passed, the human and humorous interest increases rapidly, and it may be added that the dialect itself—to many readers a determent—is consistently and carefully managed. The story is jolly and original.”
| + | Outlook. 79: 705. Mr. 18, ‘05. 90w. |
“The whole suffused with humor and not lacking in pathos, and wholly original.”
| + + | Outlook. 79: 773. Ap. 1, ‘05. 80w. |
“Mr. Stewart may not be another Mark Twain, but he doesn’t need to be. He is good enough as he is.”
| + + | Pub. Opin. 38: 591. Ap. 15, ‘05. 210w. |
“The book is vivified by clever character sketches shrewdly illustrative of life in the grade of society described. The humor of the story is abundant and of a particularly natural sort.”
| + + | Reader. 5: 621. Ap. ‘05. 520w. |