The New York herald., 1875-09-20
CHATS ABOUT BOOKS.
The Recent Outcome Of the
Fiction World.
"The French at Home" "FOr q WOman'S
Sake" "The Wonderful Adventures
Of Tartarin of TaraSOOn."


Squire you are a fairy, for here is the very thing
There is nothing like open wood nre this time of
year for taking the rheumatism out of ones bones
would build fire my hearth the Fourth Of July
II the weather damp-in fact, l have done it.
Don't you remember what cool Fourth we had some
four or five years agoP remember that we built fire
in the furnace and sat with the windows down. All !
here come our members one by and two by two"
Miss GUsmNGroN catching glimpse of the ruddy
names)-How very delightful, Squire. You don't
know how picturesque that old fireplace is with its
shining androns and cracking logs. II seems a pity
not to have it going all summer. One would almost be
willing TO suffer from the heat for the sake of the COST
ness. Good evening, Doctor; come up and your
self in the genial glow Of the flames
The DooToR wplng the perspiration from his brow)-
No, thank you, Pve genial glow of my own. You
won't need any fire this weather If you will take
much exercise in a day as | do Just let get by
that open window please; you may take the chimney
corner, If you like We all here, believe, except
Miss Euphemia and Augustus Charles. Who has read
"The Wonderful Adventures Of Tartarin Of Tarascon
William F. Gill & Coz
The soURE-1 guess we all have, to Judge from the
smile playing tho features of this dgnihed
club can answer for my wife and daughter and my
SELF Almaviva read it aloud to her mother and me-
and we were immensely pleased with it.
The LAwYER-A wonderfully clever little book l
cannot say that any for calling it's author
Alphonse Daudet, the Dickens Of France. He
suggests such a comparison to my mind His wit is of
entirely different order Tartarin of Tarascon
delicious bit of satire and very dro What could be
better than the idea of Tartarn talking much about
travelling through Shanghai that he at last began
believe that he had been there, and his neghbors
shared his belefY He longed for adventures much
that he imagined that he was always hero of dozen
or so should like have him armed to the teeth
pacing up and down front of the lions cage at the
menagere When at last people began to think that
he was little bit of humbug and pride drove him out
into the world in quest of lions, how frightened he
at everythingl When the steamer landed on the
Algerian shores the scene very funny
''To arms to arms" shouted Tararn. ''Dont you
see, Captain quick quick, arm your crewl"
"And what for pray?"
''Why, don't you see ?"
s'See what ?''
''There, before your eyes, the piratos''
Captain Barbasson looked at him in dumb
ment At this instant huge negro passed them the
rum with our heros medicine chest on his back
'Scoundrel stop /" cried Tartarin and he leaped for
ward dagger in hand.
Barbasson caught him in his flight and keeping hold
of his girde, said, ''Now, keep still Dash my top
lights These not pirates 1t is long since there
were any pirates. These are porters."
When Tartarin finally does kill lion proves to be
one and he has pay dearly for his fun But he
has the skin to send back to Tarascon
The SQURE-0ne of the most amusing passages to me
is where he shoots the in the dark and thinking
is a on waits patiently for the female for be imagnes
that it is a male. When the female did come ''she
came on terrible and roaring in the guise of old
Alsacian woman, in marmot headdress, armed with
huge red umbrella" That was not the female he
peced and the umbrella in her hands proved ter
rible than hons claws. Tartarin went home to
Tarascon a sadder and wiser man. ooh, the grand
platter popuarityt is nice to sit down to- but how
it scalds when it tips over says this Frenchman.
''FoR womAN's SAKE"
The Doctor gong TO the window)-At last here
come MISS Euphemia and Augustus Charles Better
late than s the young couple entered the room)
What kept you so far behind timer
AUGUSTUS CHARLEs-''We just finishing ''For
womans Sake' (William F. Gill & Co. y from the Ger
of Hans Wackenhusen. l thing that it was
thousand pcs that the translator could found
something better for his linguistic pen. This novel
reads like tale of the Middle Ages when in fact is
quite modern. The author is said by his admirers to
be the German Wlkie Collins l should be very sorry
If Mr. Collins dealt in such purposeess mysteries.
The story is told by the heroine and is of the
singular adventures Of herself and of her
companion, Eugene Paula is the heroine's name.
Her father a drinking gambling, ard-fsted hard
hearted German baron, who. fortunately, dies early in
the story The son, Hermann, who succeeds him. in
herits all his beauty of person and badness of dspos
ton When only twenty years of age he comes into
his property and begins his tyrannical rule He dehes
his mother, bues his sister and persecutes Eugenie
Strange say the latter loves him. though he treats
her worse than dog He ties her and leaves
her there TO starve and at last marres her by actual
force boor ofa schoolnaster whom she hates For
all this she loves him. and when he is wounded nurses
him back to life
The DooToR-What poor fooi
AUGUSTUS CHARLEs-I agree with you The sister
Paula, showed more pluck than would have given
her credit for She fatty refused to marry rascal to
suit her brother and vowed that she would marry al
honorable man TO suit herself The mother is
to the brothers. side, and they tri to compel her,
but she wouldn't be compelled even when the Queen
expressed her wish in the matter. There is duel,
In which the principals draw lots; he that draws
the red lot is to shoot himself Her
draws and shoots, and every one thinks
that he is dead, but he does not give the
other the benefit of his death until later on.
Paua's lover Hermann's antagonist in this duel and
that's the they did not fire at another The
mother drops dead thinking that her has shot,
the lover fees TO America and Paula gets her nun
merry. Hermann has effective deathbed scene, at
which he clasps the hands of his sister and her lover
who are thus united Thus the lives which began and
continued for long under tragic circumstances ended
in the most natural and commonplace manner Such is
the wilke Collins Of Germany.
'THE HOME"
The PARsoH--I thought would just skim through Al
bert Rhodes "The French at Home" (Dodd Mead, to
anything could be said that subject and
found that could not skip page 1t is very agreeaby
written and just light enough and just matter of fact
enough to make an even balance.
AUGUSTUS CHARLEs-The sketches Of Paris life
capital Mr. Rhodes you know, has spent so much
time in that gay city that he is quite at home there.
He has keen appreciation Of all the charm Of life in
the good Americans paradise. The French are de-
hghtul people 10 write about Their character pre-
sents 50 many different phases think that thoy have