New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-11-18
NEW PUBLICATIONS
COME NEW NovELa

rHE Esn asSs 81 Of s s Rs: dSS 7 S'ssa
orn soSuFAcE. Novel BY eso a.n H. f'oAho
"' ismo. pp go. White. Stokes q Ansn. Dan,
xLH f,nssa' By cL.aI s FLEIsHxAs lemo. PIP 2as
Henry Holt & Co.
~ ~. American publisher Of Marta y Maria
So, rata,ned the title which the author gave MS
80 rs inner significance would have been more
.;I,r crashed by the reader. The truth Is tnat
.h;s title has particular meaning. an analogy
,,h,ch the story works out clearly enough anu ~
mas n mistake to change ii, the more especiaHy
soce the MARQUIS of Penalta is quite SUBORDINATE
ecn-e IN the narrative. The book Is really TO
.rpoh,e one aud not less for the abiding INTEREST
of the problems il treats than for the skill VIII
which the fault Of didacticsm Is avoided inc
.cene is quiet, drowsy Spanish seaport town' ino
uripcipa characters two girls sisters the eioer
20 wbom Maria. is engaged to the Marquis OF
penalta but does not really love him. The deVe-
pomeut of this young womans character Is very
.iaver stndv. Imagination has been fostered In
her nv n long course of romance reading Her
natu,e IL fundamentally selfish and sensuous She
lives in an atmosphere of glamor. The glow
inc situations of fiction have az hrsV
saptivated her. and when that hius,on
wears of 1t is succeeded by an excess OF equai'y
IMAGINATIVE religious fervor. She takes 10 readlhg
ali the lives of SAINTS which treat OF the mvsucai
scstacv. She becomes devoted to ceremomai wor-
.nin What she believes to be piety Is developed
ln her more strongly continually. she neg'ec'S no'
Iover She Joins Carist conspiracy. led by her
aos;re "a avenge the wrongs done the Church by
f,ee.tbinkinq radicals. and coolly proposes TO her
ha+,o,bed who holds an important position Tor the
covernment that he betray his trust Flnaiiy,
when her arrest has killed her mother, ana her
father is plunged INTO affection. she announces 70
HIM her determination to enter the colster Inc
description OF her mystical experiences Is an al
mirably skilfu and subtle performance ana de-
notes an exceptional psychologist insight ue real
nature of the ccstacy into which she falls, the rea
nature OF the emotions which gain DOMINION over
her and impel her to desire the seclusion of con-
ventua life is set forth with not less lucidlty thah
delicacy. The girls crude egotisn. disguised by
her sweetness of conduct and piety of demeanor
appears most plainly at the crucial moments OF the
history. She parts from her devoted lover without
an apparent pang She abandons her father in the
crisis of his sorrow without thought for his COM
fort She is supposed however, by her friends and
neiqhbors to have chosen the better part.
Her sister Marta is delightful contrast to her.
A sweater. more natural and lovabe young girl
has NOT arpeared in fiction for a long time. There
is no tendency to mysticism In her. She is ahec-
Tomato dutiful, fond of housewifely employnents'
considerate for Others always ready TO sacrlhce
herself In short. full of the graces and virtues
which make up a sound ideal of womanhood. She
loves the Marquis of Penalta, and because this
love is wrong he being betrothed to her sister,
she ccnceals il with irmness and courage such as
women exhibit oftener than men in similar cir
cnmstances All this Is set forth with so light
hand that Marta's love is quite naturally upper
ceiyed by young Ricardo while the reader is taken
into the secret Poor Marta as rather bitter ex-
perlence at first, but she is not of the KIND that
turns sour aud when her self-absorbed sister has
disappeared behind the convent bars, and the Mar
GUS of Penata is about to leave the place for
years an accident tears the veil from his eyes ana
he sees what the girl has been hiding so long. The
character of Marta is shown as clearly that of
Maria and it is OF a much higher order. 1t is not
that she is free from trouble "sbout many things"
like her protot pe; but she is not troubled about
her Own salvation. Her life is filled with the self
abneyation which Is manifested In constant
efforts to make others happy, not III self
modification and asceticism. Her religion Is not
MYTHICAL but it is the less illustrated daily
aud hourly by good works. Sef-renunciation for
her means living in the lives of those she loves.
She is perfectly fresh, wholesome, sweet and good,
and it impossible not to fee that the Marquis OF
Penalta was very fortunate in the circum- tances
which, bv deDnvlng him of the selfish devotee
Maria enabled him to fulfil manifest destiny in
Marta When the old father, Don Mariana, Ricardo
and Marta are last SEEM the coplng together of
the two lovers has just occurred and all three,
moved with emotion tears. But what
sweet tears concludes the author. % eternal
God, who dwellest In the hearts OF the good ]!
are they perhaps less pleasing to Thee than
the mystic colleagues of the Convent of San Ber-
uardof"
This story of the modern Martha and Mary is not
only excellent in the dehneation Of the principal
persouages, but IN the general setting The lie oil
the tranquil old Spanish town. its odd churches,
the popular ways of linking, talking aud acting.
are all described with ease and power, while the
pictures of Nature, which diversity and heighten
the narrative, are the records of genuine appTecla-
ton touched with poetry. When it is remembered
that the best translation is but dim reflection 1t
will be seen that the story deserves to take high
rank in contemporary fiction.
Il has been semi-ofi cally announced that The
Terrace of Mon Desr' Is the work of the wife of a
well-known foreign minister. 1t is none the more
or the less charming and well written story. The
hero Is q young American who is invited to stay at
q Russian country house. lie falls IL love with a
beautiful Russian girl who. unfortunately for him,
is engaged to his host, fine young Muscoylte.
Tie latter, however, has an enemy in his next of
kin. who 10 secure the inheritance poIsOns the
young man just before the time arranged for the
wedding. Then the hero undertakes to hunt down
the suspected murderer. and does so In quite I'M
conventional way. His success opens the door for
such a final adjustment as occurs perhaps
more frequently in fiction than real life.
The story is told cleverly. brightly, with
animation, in a particularly good style. The
author is fond of nature and describes
feelngly and well. The dialogue is natural aud
significant the female characters are gracious
and pleasant. and altogether the literary expert
ment may be pronounced a success.
Why the author Of "Old Bonifsce" should have
named his story after person who does not