Mexico weekly ledger., 1879-07-24
MISS MUME'S NOVEL.
"EtaIee."

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We have read few novels with more
interest than Etalee-the new novel
written by our talented townswman,
Miss Eta l.. Hume. The fact that
the work is the production of home
talent was enough itself to insure
from us a careful, not 20 say critical,
examination, but after turning the
first lew pages, the plot of the story
became so absoIbingly complicated
and the details were so graphically
portrayed that the book was laid
aside until every word between its
covers had been read. Miss Hume
certainly has reason to be proud of
her first novel. Not only this, Col
umbia, her native town, has reason to
be proud OF Etalee and its fair author
also.
Tie story Is sentimental--what
novel Of interest is not?-and is writ
ten in an easy, graceful and often
picturesque style that charms and de-
lights the reader most of the time.
and never wearies. The plot is good,
though not strikingly ingenious
somewhat after the usual method in
vogue among the writer's of fashion
able fiction. Miss Hume made up
for all deficiency in this respect, how
ever, by the surprising and really
wonderful dramatic power exhibited
in nearly every chapter of her work.
Then her language is good. There
is perhaps q little too much straining
after sweet sounds and soft phrases
"A touch of paint here and there that
becomes a daub by being touched too
often; toe. much apostrophizing to
the blue sky and soft stars; a too
frequent repetition in words as we'll
as substance of the phrase, ''brown
and crimson and gold;" but these
are faults that will become blessings
when the lessons that experience al
ways teaches shall have been learned.
The story is laid in America, but
embraces much that is European. A
wealthy American marries a poor
Scotch girl and brings her to his pa
latiai home across the sea. Two
daughters are born to them-Etalee
and Marie. A designing aunt comes
to live at Sunnyview, their home, and
succeeds ere long in sowing dissen-
sions and creating a rupture between
the husband and wife by playing false
friend TO both. The brOken-hearted
wife, young and friendless, forsakes
her home and returns to Switzerland
at the suggestion of her false friend,
the aunt. who wishes to be rid other.
Soon after Il dead body of Il woman
is found in the lake, and buried I'M
der the impression that it is the body
of the unfortunate wife.
At this period tie story proper.
opens. Etalec, a fourteen year old
miss, meets her destiny in the form
of her future husband at her mothers
grave. They fall in love and after
the usual difficulties get married and
20 to Europe, where it turns out the
young husband has another wife who
makes trouble and finally persuades
Etalee's husband to desert her. Eta
ices history is then graphically de-
scrlbed throughout years and years Of
trouble when she and her husband
became finally recOnciled, she finds
that her mother is not dead but meets
her alive and they all go back to
America, where after seeing her
father and mother again united. and
her sister Marie happily married, she
to her husbands manor in
I, ,.rla-i e, T.
lord of high cstatc-to live the re-
mainder Of her days in contentment
and peace.
Taken all in all, Etalee is a sue
ress, and we trust that our fair
novelist will cultivate the talents it
is so evident she possesses in an emf
nent degree. There are faults in
but there are also many and
very great merits.