New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-06-23
SOLE MINOR FICTION.
ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STORIES.

THoTlI L,o, 4 r,msnce. Emo. PIP LOO d Ar
THE GnL FN2M MAlTA ~ Ecreu, W. Hume.
THE p Io a, rNlY Xxx Hy Io's"Gs &ao" 2"o
MISS EYoH or EYON CorEr nv Katharine :.
MarIuod. I2mo. PIP. Ia. Frank 7. Lowell
vAGABoNp TALES ~ Ils'mar IIJorth Eoycson.
lGmo. PIP. 81. HoNion: D. Inthrop ca.
1huth7 Is novel which ils Arst appearance"
in England va, VII received, ard 1t has passed to
a thri ei.i!on rhrg~. Tho author. whose ,econd
work, a Dramcr Of DREAMS va, lately reviewed
In The TIibau", La, p"nchant for the obi ani
fauta>tiC. Ills ,uv hen lrNt story 10 chiefly ruark
ahc for tie entire uHcl cyt"incrs 81 It, incidents,
Nothing IN It be PrHcI~i. and every th!ug In It
Is strange" though not altogether II !, slu'"st
too apparent that It j. tie reflection ~ Bu,wrI
Coming EL,r7 m\cl v!th not wy clear noiI'ns
Of the r!ogrc,s anI pp, iblr"s OF physical scLcLcc
AMI soGIo smartrrnsS q! modern Galtnni,Iu Rnl
evolutionary d0ctIu". Perhaps too. the tradition
Of the lost Atlantis enters into the conception, for
tho author has Imagined race cNcclIing IL" wis"st
Egyptians IN occult and physical science who dwcli
apart ia dcscrt-cHCirClcd city, aud who have. by
long applied knowledge Of hcrcllty ami breeding,
evolved a series Of suhraccs, IN whom certain useful
qualities brought to tho highest PERFECTION 1hr>"
serve for slaves. Tn" qUr"rc-t notion In the sio,
IS that 81 the deliberate elimination Of love f"r
women from The ulilr, 81 the higher lii,
elimination lead. r. uc cri (" The n'riiir'w %
the carefully laid plans ~ centuries. and tho c"mpl""
destruction Of the of magician Nh" possibly may
10 meant for the race Of powerful cnchantrr. sad
by tho ancient legend to have persisted with tho
sunkcn At ants. Thor" arr ideas enough IA lh"ih'
to have furnished rruI a mach longer AMI m"rr
elaborate story but they ImpcricciN organized,
and u c"rtnlu cru!ry marks tie con position tn"
Author seems to have lacked energy to complete ut,
de- cn and TIC impression conveyed /, that u ~
outline sketch rather than that II finished structure
"Thoth,- IN short, contain, the germs 81 a quite
remarkable romance Of fantasy. but he cNrcutnn Is
faulty and the central idea, imp"ri"ctIy worked out
The public naturally cNpcct sensational fiction from
the author 81 The Mystery Of a Hanson cab and
IN Tie Ghl from Malta they certainly have Il.
The story scls out with regular Gaborian my ''"rS
4 passenger on a steamer from Australia (, found
dead in his cabin, stabbed To the heart, soon after
the vc,,c! la, left Malta. II (, a,rrr'anci that IA"
mans wife, from whom he -craIa'"d. was at
Malta when The steamer put IN there, that III" two
net on >hcrc and QuurIoi. and hat tho woman
was ON board the vessel Just hcor" 81" l"n. E"l'
IS material for any amount "f c"mrlica'lnu and Mr
Hume aya'l~ himself fully 81 his "rpurtuuus", IN"
unmarried sister OF he divorced VITO. and a maj"
cousn Of LrIs who rather too strongly sugrcs's ~"
conventional stage VI lnln--thr wicked Marquis OF
archaic romance also ruranrl"i In tn" mr,hcs
Of the plot which calls In request the services Of
A model detective. lIr, hOwc'rr Il disappointing,
for after reader has gone over catalogue OF hts
qualification the author gives him next 10 nothing
10 do 80 that hi, a>tut"roNs hi, no PLAY, ant h"
contributes very little tnwlrl Ia" solution Of ~"
main problcm How that problem is finally solved
VIC must refrain from ealing. MIR. Hum" hoops
hts secret very VOL until the end and maintains
the interest and IvclincSs of tho story throughout
I'm manner which VIII be appreciated by the majority
! OF novel rcaicrs.
Florence Warden Is ono ~ that rather nun 'rous
class Of modern nOyCl writers who have better ideas
! than they eau handle. several Of her plots have
been nrruiu,. but wlou II comes 10 dciall SIZE never
seems 10 b. alb to discriminate between the r'oha'lc
and tho lmproIsbln and In cooking Sensational eIc-
mcns she has a curious way ~ recurring Ia extinct
| methods, manners and machinery in THE Fog
| Princes these foiblcs are very OhrsIvc. II Is a
wildly impossible story. In which incidents and social
manners from the middle ages arr grated on To
wholly modern stems In most bcwildrrng way
There IS a treasure hidden uud'r rIin" castle; a
villain who is l,ft-hanicd scion Of noble house
a scheme OF robbery from the person In the sirets
| OF London which tak's back hundred and my
years at least; and fnaly there IS murder scene
| which, while the arOcliy Of the decd IL raly ap
pang, (. related with entire an absence OF emotion
OF any kind that II Is plain the writer did not realize
the crime she presents boldly and OldbloOdrdly
To wind up the fantastic book We hav< robbery o.
| the Crown Jewels from the Tower OF London. cOm
| mittcI with laughable case and immunity. Their,
is I'm effect nothing real I'm tho tale from brginniHE
70 csld and episodes and charuters produce upon The
reader IMPRESSIONS resembling thOs" which the drama
| acted by the onro notable Peppers Ghosts" nsc Il
convey. II IS obviously difficult to become much In
tercstcd IN such fiction.
| Miss Eyon of EyOn Court was anything but
peasant old lady, and her residence was grim and
| uncappy a. herself This poor Marjorie, her nece
| discovered when she rashly accepted All invitation
,o 20 and live with her aunt The latter wIclnd old
rsrson had a SON though nobody knew Of his ex
istence and It her purpose TO marry Marjorie Il
this Young man, Who AZ OF course everybody secs al
once. is extremely ineligible, being bad subject II
every point OF view. OF course, too Marjorie ha
given her heart to somebody else, that hern Is hI
usual kettle OF fish, only With good deal more dceT
and dark midnight conspiracy and phantom like glib
ing ahout and secret rooms with startling doors II
tho panels always letting In the wrong people at HI
wrong time-there is much moro Of all this. we say
than is commonly encountered In the present year