New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-08-11
NOVELS.
SOME AMERICAN AND FOREIGN WORK.

JANUS. By Edward Irenaeus Stevenson 12mo'
PIP 1872 Belfor,, Clarke e. Co.
THE LAST OF THE VAN STACKS. - BY Edward s.
Van Zile. 12mo, PIP. 1875. Cassen q Co.
i2mo, PIP 529. Boston: Roberts Brothers.
MY UNCLE BARBAssoU. BY Marie Uchar. Trans
Rand. McNaly q Co.
Mr. Stevenson's Janus" Is a story OF love and
music. the hero being young German composer. who
is ensnarcd by beautiful and unprincpled woman
Having Tilted him under circumstances OF special
aggravatiOn, she disappears for years and when she
again enters upon the IL IS the wife of young
nobleman who is the bosom friend of her discarded
lover. The author does not set forth with sufficient
distinction the which induced this Dalilah to
undertake the reconquest of the musician sometimes
il looks as If she really loved him. and sometimes
she appears be merely gratifying her morbid vanity
seduction of the victim. however. is described with
power and effect and the catastrophe-whlch could
have happened nowhere but in Germany, perhaps
Is led up TO and narrated with skill and strong dramatic
force The story is not cheerful one. but it is inter
esting and well written.
There is decided literary value in The Last of the
Van sacks" but 1t consists much more in the style
than in the plot. The author writes crspy and with
just that subacd favor of cynicism which most readers
find stimulating yet which easily be carried too
far and degenerate into mere scoding and vulgar
sneers at everything. Mr.. Van Ze writes easily and
cannot be said for its verisimiude The conception
of The beautiful daughter Of French Marquis OF the
old regime married 10 a New England country editor
Of the most ultrafanatical type of Prohibtonist.
almost toe fantastic to be realized. The sham German
Baron, the amateur detective. the murder of the editor
and the tragedy which ends the story each and
all wildly improbable and unreal. and
would speedily become tircsOme did not
the authors pleasant reflective style the reader
lightly over the hard places The material Of the
novel; however is far too thin, and its composition
fails 10 do credit to the talent MI Van Ze unqucstion
ably possesses.
Mrs Cowdcn Clarke's Rambling Story" Is not I'll
named. 1t is tale Of love at first sight, where
neither of the persons concerned know another,
and of consequent long pursuit, in which all manner
of adventures encountered and the course of
true love runs no less roughly than the popular
proverb afiirms. 1t is not realistic story, there
being little effort TO depict character in IT, Many
may think 1t too full Of kind of sentiment which
is vulgarly termed sloppy and it must be con
fessed that there IS too much of that kind Of thing
IL it, while the style sometimes takes back to a
Period when Miss Jane Porter was considered one
Of the greatest Of writer's and when emotional young
took that intoerable pIig Thaddcus of Warsaw
for their ideal Of manly beauty and all the Christian
virtues.
Marie Uchan's Mon Oncle Earbassou' has been
fairly well translated by Mr. Hall 1t is an amusing
story and 1t may be regarded indicating that the
poly gamlc institution is adapted TO the of fc
ton The base OF the story is the bequcst Of a haren'
by an eccentric Frenchman who has been in the Turk
sh service, and Pacha, 10 his nephew, young
Partisan. The embariass ments arising from this
legacy furnish the fun of the book. but the author
evidently found 1t impossible to manipulate number
of sequestercd beauties in interesting way and was
speedily compelled TO concentrate upon single
hour and return 10 the Od-fashiohed lovestory
motive. The harem idea thus dssolves and vanishes
and the latter half of the tale Is merely sensational
struggle between wealthy rivals for the hand of
the same young woman. 1t is brilliantly written in
the original French, but the translation fails 10
produce this brilliancy.