Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-09-17
BOOKS AND AUTHORS.


Ber's Sons, New York. II has been
shrewdly guessed that the name Of Mr..
Stevenson's American nephew was coupled
with his own in the authorship Of this
book that the American copyright might
bc controlled, but II Is probable that
Mr.. Osbourne really had hand in the
work, ~ certain of the erratic Stevcnso-
| uisp ways are less obtrusive here uian in
| his other writings, and yet nothing that
| stevenson has written In more original
and full of genius-not even that famous
classic of the day "Dr. Jekyl and Mr..
Hyde" ''The Wrong Box" differs from the
Hyde and Jekyl story as Shakespeare's
| "Pyramus and Thisbe" differs from "Mac-
beth !" and II bears similar stamp OF in
| dividuality. ''Tbe Wrong Box Is a roaring
farce, a brilliant, daring piece of juggling
with the improbable, the horrible and
| the ridiculous. There are two venerable
brothers who In early life had embark ed in
| tontine insurance Of the old form, and hav-
ing paid into the pool according to agree
ment and placidly watched the number of
living policy holders decreasing, they be-
gan 10 have hopes that one of them might
win the fund as the rghtful prize ofthe sole
survivor. Uncle Joseph one of these old
mon, has talent for general information
and none for business but he IL. neverthe-
less. made executor for another brother;
finds himself In charge OF two nephews
with small fortunes, and then must take
similar care of the daughter of a friend. He
nearly wrecks his business i'm which he had
invested the fortunes Of his charges, and
then the trouble and fun begins. The eldest
of the nephews is q most interesting speci-
men of meanness. He assumes charge OF
the leather business which continues In his
uncle's name, and he also assumes the old
gentlemans tontine, insurance as pos
sible means of reganing his lost for
tune. His cousin. Michael, has
charge of the other brother, and it
happens that these two are the last sur
viving members of the tontine, and the
one who lives the longest will get the
whole pool. This cousin Michael is an ex-
tremely human and humorous lawyer, and
furnishes large quantities of fun. His re-
fusal to answer the questions of nephew
Morris as to the condition Of his charge,
arouses suspicion in the mind of that
schemer that the crafty Michael Is conceal
ing the death of the elder brother, for the
purpose of claiming the tonine fund as
soon as he learns of the death of Morris
uncle Joseph. Now Joseph isl very hearty
old man, but he happens TO take railway
known old gentleman similarly dressed
and when there is a collision the maugled
body Of the stranger is found by the
ncphews and mistaken for that of their
uncle. They determine to keep the death
secret until they can secure proof
that Michael's charge died first, so
they ship the body home In barrel.
4 practical Joker of n not unusual type
takes advantage of an unusual opportunity
and changes tho address tags on all the
goods in an express car sending statue Of
| Hercules to the home of the nephcws, and
| the terrible barrel To a meek little artist.
| This Is the first of a marvellous series of
alarming complications and ii is hard TO
name anything funnier i'm the English lam
guage than will be found on some pages of
this little book Scanning the work for
faults plenty may be found, but it will be
hard To prove that the general effect would
| be hct,crcd Ivy removing them. The APP
! parent carrl"-Sness Is a part of the art for
! the defiance OF probabilities, the grotesque
| drawing of the characters and the hurried
unfolding of the plot, make attention to
detail as much out OF place as it would be
in review. This is written with a full
knowledge of the fierce criticism of this
book bya reviewer oftheLondon AhenGnm,
who appears to have suspected that his own
English sense of humor might be at fault
and fortified his position by q sneer at any
who might venture to find wit in 1t.
Captain Kings new story, which will ap-
pear in the October issue of the C0S8,opoit-
tan, marks an increase in the size ot that
periodical by Il pages making il the same
size as ScJ1bner'S), ''Some of the officers
I, = ~.
of the young ladies then visiting, formed
tableauN illustrating this novel and were
photographed. These were reproduced by
photograyure so as to have the illustra-
tions as near to life as it is possible TO pre-
sent in n work of fiction. These photogra-
yureS are supplemented by the work of
Harry Beard, who was a captain Of cavalry
during the rebellion, and, also, by Arthur
julie Goodman" There will then be in the
field two magazines (the Century and Hdr-
pe''Sl of one hundred and sixty pagea each,
at 81 annual subscription; the Sc,TbRe,'5
of IDS pages, at s., the New England
Magazine at the same price, and the Cos
mopottan, of lbs pages, at $40 per annum,
THE CRIME OF HENRY VANE, "a study
with moral, 10y +. J. Stimson, author of
Gueendale" Charles Scrbner's Sons,
New York
If we first tell child the moral will
it want to hear the tale? Well, hardly!
and SO we will not tell the reader the moral
of MIR. Stimson's study, but will assure him
that the pill is worth swallowing; the
sugar coating is of good quality and pre-
walls even after we taste the inside.
Henry Nane, by birth AN American, by
education Frenchman. rCarhos his
twenty-frst birthday without having me
with the trials and tribulatons which man
is heir to. But they have been accumulat-
ing into one vast whole to be turned over
TO him ON coming of age, aud he receives,
as il were, principal and interest together.
ON that day he is refused by the girl he
loves, and few hours later hears of the
death in England of his only sister lie
hastens 10 England to his mother, and then
his father in New York writes 10 him that
his fortunes are wrecked and the sons
money has gone with his own. He and his
mother return to France TO settle affairs
there before joining Mr.. Nane, ST., in New
York, but at their entrance to their villa,
near Bennes, they are met by message
saying that the husband and father has
died. Mrs. Nane sinks under this weight
of griefs and becomes hopelessly insane.
Henry places her under the care of a
physician in Bennes and sails for
New York where he certainly retricyes
his financial affairs in most happy and
speedy manner. For three years he lives
outside of the social world, hut at the end
of that time he is induced to dine at n