The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-01-24
TALKS ABOUT NEW BOOKS.
Mr.. vAUGHN's HEIR.

1
ton. Will often bring home with HIM an ad.
vance copy OF a new book, about which
there Is 4 much greater fascination than
pertains TO the same volume alter date OF
issue. There s something mysterious about the
unbound pages, and one feels that he Is at once
admitted TO The inner sanctuary. The other even
ing he came home with copy OF .'Mr vaughn's
Heir" Frank Lee Benedicts last novel, damp from
the press or Harper Il Bros. The two young
ladies' OF The household began 1t that very evening.
and had read every one OF its 1879 pages,
which Will meet the public eye until some time
| next week.
This Is the most ambitious OF Mr.. Benedcts
| efforts | should say" remarked Miss Rachel,
threading the unshrinklng eye OF her worsted
needle.
| FELiCIA-So 1t seems TO me. He introduces
more characters and more phlosophizlng into This
| than into his other books. Like IN most OF the
others he keeps the scene continually shifting Ee
tween tnis country and Europe without any more
| reason apparently than to show his familiarity
with both hemspheres.
| Miss RAcHEL-what an impossible creature
Elizabeth Crawford Is Or If she is not impossible.
she ought to oe A woman who would bear all
| she did from her husband Is more than unwO-
manly. Even though she knew that Darrell
| Vaughn married her under false pretences. de-
stroyed his uncle's will, forged his cousins name.
stole Mr.. Carstoe's jewels and had an INNOCENT
woman imprisoned for the theit ate nasheesh,
ruined four or five women, ana other things alto
getper odious, but trlning by comparison she re-
fused 10 obtain q divorce. Tne author evidently
admires ner for this lortitude, but certainly do
not.
FELICIA-NOrI should have left him the day
he had my parents dead bodies removed to build
a railroad over their graves That would have
been enough for me without the lies he told about
1t. 1t Is thousand pities that people In books
cannot see what is before them plainly as those
who are reading. Now knew the moment that
Darrell appeared that he was rascal.
Miss RAcHEL-Bad Milauy was, she was an
angel Of high, compared to Darrell. have no feel.
| ing OF repugnance TO such a woman, only pity;
but man like Darrell giving the needle vlgor.
Gus thrust through the canvass, l could hound
him dOwn-yes, and hit him alter he was down.
He never had a noble or generous thought in all
his miserable life; nothing but self. sell. he de.
served worse fate than awaited HIM.
| Felicia can stand an out and out villain, but
| the smiling treacherous wretch Is beyond any ex-
| pressions OF contempt.
| Miss RACHEL-A much worse man than Launce
Cromlin would have shone like burns he'd silver in
such a connection. He Is very well drawn char.
racter and escapes the too good very cleverly
Men who play such parts as his in books are apt
| to have too strong navor Of the Young Mems
| Christian Association.
FELIcIA-I was rather amused by that converse.
| ton on art. between Elizabeth and Launce. IL
| was very high flown, particularly Launce's de.
initlon I'll should style Art grand soul calling
| to men out OF the lnnnite all forms OF art as we
term them, only voices of that soul where with
she strives to lift men toward the light up to the
| beautiful ana true"
Miss RAcHEL-That court room scene is rather
|
| would have been more appalling than the dozen.
Mnady's answers back ana the general description
OF the woman are pretty good, almost pictur.
| rescue.
FELIcIA-1 am not well posted in French women,
but Nathalie Is too great an anomaly for any
nation to have been guilty OF, and her mother Is
| even worse.
| Miss RACHEL-A girl who was such a braness
thing as Nathalie could never have written words
| that would have been of enough consequence 10
| be translated into two languages. Some very
radical journal might have been inouced TO
publish them for the sake OF shocking people
! by their wickedness. But bad book must be
very well written 10 gain popularity-champagne
without any lie is not worth the drinking.
| FELICIA-Poor NJ. Latour as much as dlsbe.
eve In the way marriages are arranged in
France ! cannot but feel pity for man who had
such a creature as Nathalie for wife. He only fol.
| lOWeO Out Tue CUSTOMS OF MS C0uQtry, but Ma.
thalie-how very near she came to selling her
soul.
Miss RAcHEL-That way they have In France OF
finding husbands for girls ana marrying them
whether they WILL or no is a little Lighhanded and
the result Is often disastrous II Nathalie had
been married TO man she loved perhaps she
would have amounted to something, but think
It doubtful
FELICiA-There Ia no one real good character
IN tine book; Milady comes the nearest to 1t, but
falls short Of the marx As story. however, IL Is
well told and OF we'll sustained interest. The
denouement Is quite meodramatlc and the devn,
meaning Darrell Vaughn, gets his due.
Miss RAcHEL-Hardly his due. for he deserved a
worse fate than paralysis, Tor he was unconscious
OF bis disgrace whereas II he had had his due be
would nave been made TO suner from IT. His vie,
Elizabeth. the authors pet was the greatest SUI
ierer, but after years OF waiting she had her
reward.
FELlcIA-What an exciting play 1t would make.
should Ike to see 1t upon the boards OF one o!
our theatres. with sucn Q cast % l could sug2es,
TO manager.
"HAGARESEn
FRED rolling cigarette preparatory 10 Joining
his lather and the Professor In the billiard ROOM
II 10 quite ike an old friend to see one OF Law
rences muscular novels again, and "Hagarene
(Harper 4 Brothersl Is quite up TO, II not hey end
his average.
Miss RAcHEL-lt has been nearly, II not quite,
three years since the author o! Guy Livingstone
has lifted pen In defence Of his peculiar heroes
"HaRarene" ought TO be good Il he has been look
ing up material IN all that time. How very char.
acterisnc the opening chapter with its allusions
TO ".ne boards OF Hellanodice." "Cronian cliffs "
"stream OF Alpheus,n "cycles Of O.ympiads" rne
Grove OF Atlas" and "the old Iconoclasts" The
exceptions In Mr.. Lawrcnce's novels are chapters
that do not contain as many classic references IN
their opening paragraphs. 1t 10 very tresome,
but SO are all hobbies. HIS heroes are oil broad
chested, hard.oearded, uniathoma1le'Iaced men,
who can drink enough nqaor at one sitting 10
noat snip aud play deeper than gold mlne and
lose fortunes wrnout changing the expression Of
a feature Perhaps, when Undergoing some terri