New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-03-19
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
SOME REAnARI.E NOVELS.

ToIIERs OF BABYLON. By B. L Farjeon. 1amo,
mnl2& ga aaHRs. y , Sasss rawoe i2mo
Pr lsS RsFoss GaEf g By sidney IusE
A DANoERoSGs GATsPAw: BY J David Christie ste
Murray and Henry murray 12mo' pp' 100
srR 1sssR' M Mssa 1Saf FOUND IN COPPER
iemo., PIP. 2o1. Harper Brothers.
Mr. MuTay,s stories always entertaining, IL they
are not all equally So "The Weaker VesselD carries
paradox in Its title, for 1t is intended to illustrate
the superior strength Of women in the trials ana
suserines Of life. Most Of the trouble Is brought
on through rash marriage with particularly vile
woman whose malign ingenuity suggests sham death
and funeral 70 her for the purpose OF throwing her
husband on his guard and leading him to commie
bigamy. The most amusing figures In tho story are
old pslamere and Sebastian Jones. These seem por-
traits. though perhaps they are only blended photo
graphs after tho type Of M Cations. Delamere Is
modernized Harold skmpole, with some added guile
and largo infusion Of the Maudle- Postlethwaite
manner He is tho head OF kind OF pseudo artistic
school which finds all barren from Dan to Beersheba,
and spends itself in aesthetic laments over the crude
ness Of the age, while doing nothing to remedy the
evils OF which It complains SO eloQuently: AS
might be expected, Mr.. Delamere when put to the
test proves capable OF very and fgnoble actions
Sebastian Jones is young Englishman with the
outside Of an italian, who endeavoE TO live up to-
his romantic and picturesque exterior, but BENG
fundamentally commonplace, fails dismally One Oh
the funniest hits in the book the scene where he
piays on his favorte little trickpretending when IN
che company Of one or two mon, to be suddenly
seized by inspiration and to be restless until he
can lot It down. Being supplied with paper and
pencil he swiftly draws beautiful head and astonishes
those who do not know that no has learned to dash
OF this sketch dramatically, and that his sudden
inspiration always takes the same FORM
Mr. Farieou has written better-and worse-stories
than his "Tolers Of Babylon" Perhaps tho model is
rather worn. The young man who marries a poor
girl in opposition to stern millionaire father ana
is thereupon cast off, and proceeds to make an indie
pen6snt living under all kinds Of difficulties, has by
this time been so thoroughly exploited that little Is
left TO say about him. Mr. Far1eon probably
recognized this, and has tried to centre the interest
OF his story upon the young wife, who is represented
as exercising o redeeming influence over toeraOly
rough part of whitechape and who rears daughter
In that unsavory region in the most Satisfactory
manner Unfortunately there IS but one orthodox
termination for tales Of this kind The harsh father
must relent toward the close, and the curtain must
70 down upon a." Bless ye, my childrenP business
which has grown somewhat tame through lteratoh
Moreover real life the stern parent who has turned
the cold shoulder to his for twenty years does
not relent and repent On the contrary, he goes
ON TO the end without remorSe change and when his
win IA opened It appears that he has kept his word
and cut of tho outcaSt with shilling. Altogether
the genuine toiers Of Babylon have much harder
time than Mr. Farjeon infiicts upon them ana when
they have been brought up in hloness and luxury,
and are kicked out the cold world penness, Just
when they have doubled their expenses by marrying,
it ia TO be feared that more often than not they como
to grief.
In "Mirism Baleshers Mr. Fawcett has tried his
,and in tentative way at the new kind Of fiction which
proceeds upon the theory that true realism consists In
tearing the veil from al the most unpleasant matters
In social life. The heroine is young woman with
voice and hstionic capacity, whose family, org
naIly Southern and wealthy, has come down in the
world TO such an extent to have become q really
"bsd lotp Tho mother Is an incurable drunkard the
SON Is q loater ard brute; and Mirlam's younger
sister Is very decidedly than she ought to be-
Miriam Is the one white sheep in this decadent house
hold, and even her reputation has been smirched
by gossip. She supports her diseredtable relations
until her mother dies Of drink and her brother wears
out her patience by knocking her down in at OF pas
sion AS for tho sister, she has by this time crossed
the Rubicon, and there Is no further hope for her
Miriam goes forth into the world with San Francisco
engagement but Handicapped by the obtrusive afec-
ton Of her manager who throws over another actress
to make q situation for the girl, and thereby nearly
causes her to be murdered by her rival In fact
nothing but q fearful railroad accident could have
prevented crime; the dropping of the train 300
feet through bridge naturally changes the relations
OF the people, and enables the hgh-minded, II
Gated entanglements from which she extrcates herself
in very dubious fashion. Altogether the story does
not leave pleasant taste in the mouth. A little
Of such realism will 60 long way.
The volume which bears the title "a Latin Quarter
Courtshipn contains three other short stories, and
all are good and fresh. The first and longest IS
truly charming description of the counting of pretty
and sweet little French girl by young American
student In Paris Their cheap little excursions, their
dinners at suburban restaurants their steamboat trips
on the Seine are pictured with spirit and grace The
young American painter who bears adversely cheer
fully and makes the least pretenoe Of conceal
ing his poverty, yet will not accept a loan from his
friend Is very pleasant portrait, and all his ways,
his speech and tricks of manners apparently pho
tographic. OF the other stories the best is Mr..
Sonuenschen's Inheritance" where original char
acter is Observation-Disclosures the Jews call SchlemieP-
which Mr.. Harland explains as meaning person who
never prospers with whom everything goes wrong.
Born under evil star, with leaden spoon In his
mouth he Is consthuonaIly unsuccessful. Misfortune
has marked him for her own; III luck accompanies
him through life." Such ono is Mr. sonnenschen,
by occupation pedler but his unfailng Ill luck is
more than compensated by temperament SO cheerful
and optimistic that IL IS impossible to depress him.
The portrayal of this quaint and engaging personality
IS quite a triumph and the humor of 1t all is of that
s,Ibdued kind which borders closely on pathos. How
Mr. sonnenscheIn finally ceased to be schlemiel,'
however, is too good story to DO spoiled by premature
hints or intimationS.
The work of collaboration bearing the names Of d.
Christie Murray and Henry Murray, and entitled A
Dangerous Catspaw," is q detective story, not 600
probable to plot No doubt 1t is conceivable that
rising young barrister, finding himself very much
pressed for money, might In q moment OF temptation
commit great jewel robbery, and 1t is certain that
such man did do such thing he would leave traces,
matter how astutely he had made his arrangements
But It requires strain upon the imagination OF
the reader got the inherent improbability OF
The burgias and this inteteres with the enjoyment
of the story, which Is cleverly told. There two
we'll indlvduszed people In It, Mr.. Pickett, the Scot
land Yard detective, and Reuben Gale, the professional
burglar. The first may perhaps be thought rather
700 IKE the conventional type Of detectives, but he Is