The New York herald., 1875-12-08
.The Wages of Sin" Hester Howard's Tempta-
ton" "The Queen Of Connaught,' Cha
rctte,' Told in the Twilight"
HEPWoRTH DlXONS LAST WORK
The White, Red, Black and
Yellow Races.
Is Civilization a Failure, or is the Cau-
caSian Played Out!

Tho coming Of winter has not made any differ
ence in the character OF the new novels and tales
They are just as light they were during tho
dog days and many the leaves on the ground
There is nothing in the way Of recent fiction as good
as some OF the things we had last year when Thomas
Hardy Mrs. Alexander, and, later, Anthony Trollope
aud some half others put forth fresh and vgor-
Gus work And the announcements Of forthcoming
works contain nothing Of a startling nature TO be
sure George Eliot is said TO be at work book but
that is in the dim future Joaquin Miller has work
IN press and Bret Harte has one commenced ~
Scri6Her's which gives great promise Mr. Howell has
under way in the Atlantic, and Julia Hawthorne
has running in Hdrper's. But for the immediate
future there ls nothing Of unusual interest There
seems to be more romance in real life nowadays than
there used 10 be- The daily papers chronicle suicides
and murders, the Of which are often stranger
than many plot In fiction The heart history Of heart
less men and women ana the histories OF men and wo
men with too much heart fan often to the lot OF the
newspaper reporter to write they DO TO the novelist
we read as sip morning coffee, oi as strange
things going on around as we used TO hnd in the
yellow-coyered romances OF our childhood There is
nothing too strange to be true, yet there is great
deal in nature that is unnatural
TIE WAGES SIN. BY Edmund Yates Boston Wm.
f. gill 4 Co.
Mr. Yates has not put his best work into this story
sas light As air and OF the worldly. The wages
ofsn according to the Bible Is death and one OF the sn
ners in this story made pay that in coin The Others
however, who are much than she, 60 happy
through the world. The hero OF the book is Nugent
Ulhngton, who has just returned 70 London after an
absence twenty years Tire first ten Of these years
he passed as the husband OF a lady who already
had one such appendage. He very kind
to her They never quarrelled the prnc-
pals in such affairs generally do, but lived
happily until one unucky day when she was drowned.
she paid her wages, but he did not The heroine Of
this story Is Lady Forestneld the wife of an ilcon
dtouod fellow who sows more wild oats than any
forty would to reap. He negects her, and the
consequence that she finds another 10 love her
TINS lover is Gusavc dc Tournefort who Is very
much Of a rascal though she does not find il out until
later When the husband discovers that his wife loves
another man nc takes the highly virtuous ground Of
all and breaches morality at her from his lofty
pedestal and goes out TO get divorce that ho may
marry some other woman II Bluobeard had only lived
these days Of easy divorces how many murders he
might have spared his conscience Lady Forestneld is
turned out OF DOORS and her lover, whom she really
docs love wen she does her husband, utterly
ncgccs her, in fact goes near her Some Of her
untitled friends considering the circumstances, remain
rue 10 her among them Eleanor Irving, artists
daughter Mr.. Yates would not be happy
if lie could not introduce the Bohemian ee-
Of action ID this time Is very kind to Lady Forestaeld
for the sake OF her mother, who one Of his old
friends. IL tries to bring about reconciliation with
her husband, but Intellectually About this time a
lively French scene IS introduced, little stronger han
Bohemia Ellington having sowed his Wild oats at the
age 81 thirty could bc yiruous with vengeance and
forgving to a degree lie looked upon Lady Forest
field as an injured woman Il had been hoart-scken
ing 10 him to sec this woman Stunned, tabooed and
49,, .l.o
hound who had been her husband and dared not
openly say, .'You arc a scoundrel Lord ForestGeld
whose i'll conduct has driven your wife TO 10 what she
has done; and though We must cstracise her, de-
cline the time have anything more TO say to
YOU As luck would have i, Lord Forestned le III
and was nursod back the edge Of tie grave by his
wife. HIS disease contagious and when ne
cred she fell III and died, The wages Of her was
death, but be who mach greater sinner got of
without paying The debt at least far knowl
edge OF him goes
HESTER HowARD's TEMPTATION; Souls Story BY
Mrs C. A. Warfeld author or The Household of
Bonvero Philadelphia: !. b. Peterson 4 Bros.
since she wrote "The Household Of Bouycrie 7 Mrs
warGed has but rSice lifted her pen in the or
romance. That book gained vide popularity and
ceved remarkably aatter,ng notices from unexpected
sources Rsadng d the pleasant things said
about the book by CAL Hamilton, John g SAKE and Dr
George Ripley we were led 10 expect somcth ng OF
the usual line the story Of Hester Howard Temp
tttionn As 4 whole the story lacking, there
good bits Or character drawing in II, and the
interest Is certainly well sustained II not speaking o
lady might Ely that the aGthor of this novel IS
inclined to slop There much of the up
liftful" about tic story, and soul has the
sscendancy sense. Hester Howard herself is
not a bad character, and her treatment Of
her husband she Will have the sympathy Of
~ Nj
julius Howard when she had scarcey walked ID frotn
the dreamy uncertainty Of her vague yet imaginative
childhood being only sixteen years ol She ocoursc
did not know her own mind, much less that oi the man
che married When Howard asked her % marry him she
said yes, because other girls whom she knew go
ried and she supposed that It the thngto 10 She
did not care for the who proposed to her and who
actuated by the motives in making hls propo
ston that she In its acceptance or course, mar
riago under such circumstances could only be pro
ductive Of unhappy results Ho vain, visionary
and both knaye and fool They went to California 70
live and; as he did not pretend to conceal thecovon
foot they were very miserable She had two children
10 whom she was devoted and both or whom died al
an Interesting ago and left her almost pctrihcd with
grief TO take her out Of herself actress rcnd-a
nrst rate character BY the way induced her 70 30 upon
the stage Before the footliqhts she attained wealth
and fame and forgot her troubles for tho time being
Money coming 20 her from an unexpected quarter she
left the stage for private le, and her husband left her
a. the time, taking the bulk of her money with
him, Howard Il Of those men whose counterparts
arc known to every ono--sclash cruel lazy and bus.
ierng, who noyor earn penny, bul who brag and
blow their own trumpet to that extent that people are
sometimes fooled into believing that perhaps they are
Of somc account 10 the world after all Hester long
ago ceased u for him and would have any of
his nonsense Just before this She had been Id and
passed many slecplcss nights Her physician could
give her nothing compose her nerves and she lagt
called III mcsmcrst by the namo ~ MordauGt who
makes iow passes before her aud sho sleeps ike
deacon church There was no sort or Irritation be
tween Hcslcr and Morlaunt-she was to III for that