New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-04-07
NEW NOVELS.

PROFESSOR IIARDY'S SUCCESSFUL WORK.
PAssF ROSE BY Arthur sherburne Hardy 1omo,
PIP. sci. Houghton, Milin d Co.
gURKETTs LOCK. BY NJ G. Mcclelland' lomo'
pp. 90. Cassell Co.
romance set in the time OF CbaFlemasne Is daf
ing experiment vet Professor Hardy has made II
s,ecessful one apasse Rose' is = peculiar and a
fascinating story Much Of its attractiveness Is due
in all probability the fatavay atmosphere, which, IN
landing certain coudness and indlstinctness 10 ooth
,ceno and action, avoids that feeling of anachronlsm
which the attempt To give modern vvidness and sharp
ness Of outline TO archaic fiction almost invariably
produces "Passc R0seS from one point OF view' Is
study Of sembarbarous society; from another IL Is
a study of q healthy, pure, unsophlsucated Woman
rhe time Of Charemagno was rude one' 1he Nhureh
was most worthly occupied, when at It's pest 10
restraining a ferocy WHICH even under 50 reiauNoiS
advanced and enlightened ruler, ooo"siohhy OtoAo
forth in excuses, the mere mention OF winch now
causes n shudderIng amazemeut at tho implaoaolo
cruelty that marks them what may DO literally caloo
aattonal massacres were so little uncommon as 10
excite out Of the Church. no horror ana HUE CoiF
junction Charlemsgne was far more humane thAn
the majority Of his contemporaries YET nc "Ss 0~po'o
Of wholesale slaughters undertaken with no oener
sxcuse than the extinction of the spirit OF freedom
But, In fact, tho destruction OF human hie nom
Caesar to Charlcmagne, in and upon the borders Oh
Gaul, and among all the peoples ana uiocS "h"'o
restless aggression made them bad neghoors was on
colossal scale, and only to DO oomparou !" he
butcheries narrated In tho history Of the Jews OF INC
devastation wrought by the moro remote Asiauc con-
luerorv Tho Church, when not prosecuting on her
own account upon the score Of herey did good service
Dy her intercesson on behalf OF the hsahen tribes ana
nations that fell under Charlemagnos YOKE, ana TINS
Intervention no doubt kept alive some remnant OF
peIof IN the sanciy Of human life. IL IS In sueh
period that the of Passe Rose is aid out tne
poetic Imagination OF the author has sotteneo ana
afu oDdPa ntgfa isea
epoch IN order to lend attraction 10, and form hitting
background for the tender charms Of the heroine.
Church and Abbey and Court, and something, though
not muoh OF the life of sturdy bursher and sullen
hopeless slave and serf represented In tho Story
and Nature, the perennlay rosourcefu artist is en-
listed in the work Of Transforming and making
picturesque and pleasant all the crudenesses OF the
picture "Passe Rose herself Is a sweet and whole
some creation who separated from tho other people
Of the book by her Bohemian training and experience
which has opened and broadepcd her mind ana
strengthened her selfrelIanoe and initiative capacity
She is not the ordinary helpless woman OF conVen-
tionsllsm. Contact with tho world has sharpened her
wits Contact with Nature has expanded her imaglnAr
ton. She is a child Of Nature but not an nm
sophishcated one She knows how to protect herself
with all the vigor and promptltude exscted BY tho
sxIgencies Of everyday life In her time
The reader follows this bright and lovely girl with
increasing interest and pleasure He may OBJECT
that the story Of tho plot against the lie OF tue
King is not told with quito sufficient elcarnesS'
He may find tho description OF the ladies' OF The
Kings court not altogether in keeping The ambition
OF Prior sergrls and the Saxon Rothllde may seem
occasionally 10 follow noodlessly oircutous lines but
whenever Passe Rose herself appears al COM
plants Aro certain % be forgotten. The episode OF
poor Jeaune's madness, and OF the ponitent girls
remoSe and regret because Of her want OF con
sideraton for that faithful loving soul, Is fun OF
delIeacy and pathos Indeed, the quality Of dcoacy
Is Characters OF tho whole romance, which is
written IN delightful style, Just sufficiently archaic
TO exclude all idea OF modernism and TO suggest
remotenesS IN the scene The lover OF PAsss kose,
young Cut Of Tours might have occupied moro space
With advantage TO the impressiveBess OF tho plot
AZ It S. he is shown slightly and seldom that u Il
scarcely possible to form m opinion a. to bis
character. Tho figure OF ChETlemAgne himself stands
out wildly toward the end and there Is nothing
stronger in tho book than the scene in the royal
oratory between tho great monarch ana Passe
Rose and Agnes de soer. wo regard Professor
Hardy's romance rs a decided success In most
difficult branch Of imaginative literature.
The author Of Oblivion" has in L" Burhetes Lock-
returned to a higher level than was marked In
Madame Silva In her new novel she IS dealing
with common and material experiences, and there her
observation aud reflection serve her faithfully enough
Burkett's Lock- is the story Of a hOmely drama
enacted In and about the homo Of Southern Lock
keeper on canal IT is sldy OF rural life and da-
lect The heroine Hester, Is girl OF somewhat
peculiar type iDhentlDg conventonally unfeminins
rcticence possessing mind considerably stronger and
more liberal than the average Of he's locality, and gf
with almost masculine stability and hrmDsss in many
respects Her sister. Della, Is sharp contrast TO her
a contrast. Il must be said, which recalls more than
one situation IN fiction of earlier growth Della Is
pretty vain frivolous and selfish. Her character re
sembles that Of Hetty In Adam Bede," and she fol-
lows much the same course, the chief difference DO
tween tho stories being that I'm Burhetrs
Locko the villain courts both the sisters
at the same time winning the affection Of tho
stronger and betraying the weaker. Poor Della
comes 10 a sad end, while Rob Redd the seducer,
passes OF the stage lnscathed. having been saved
from the lyuching projected for him by the fnther
ard stalwaFt brothers OF his victim by tho girl who
has deepest TO resent his trcachery and false
hood In this act HesEer seems 10 fall short OF her
standard, and perhaps IL Is because sho docs so that
tic reader s less inclined to protest against an end
ing OF the book which leaves the story unfinished and
very few OF tho people accounted for Thero Is some
good analytic and descriptive work In tbs portraits
Of Mrs Reid and her feckless husband, and tho
sketches Of scenery are fresh, graphic and sympa-
thetic The fault Of tho book Is ono far too common
in these days namely apparent precipitation In
writing which shows through the pages and gives
an air Of carelssness not 10 slOvenlineSs 10 so
many novels which good enough In conception TO
deserve patient elaboration.