Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-06-20
BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

TIE orss Doom, by Blanche Willis
| Howard, author Of cone Summer"
" "t;acnn.r Que Year Abroad," etc., pub
lisbed by Houghton, MiHiin 4 Co., Boston
! and New York. -
Fiction has afforded no more charming
glimpscs Of German life than arc found In
"The Open Door" hy Miss Howard. II Is
a bright story, notwithstanding that the
open door is the door of suicide. Count
Hugo Won KroDfcls. tho heir 10 an old
name and large estate, in the midst OF his
gay life In tho court city of wynburg, is
rendered a helpless cripple by n fall from
his horse. Ono could almost under
stand that a man who had led the
life he had, suddenly losing all
that in his eyes made life worth living,
would find q certain relief In the thought
that there was one escape to his misery,
until the influence of good man and
noble woman, had brought him TO see that
tho door though always open must here
aflor be ouble-latched one TO him. His
mother, the Countess Won Kronfels, is a
thoroughly selfish woman of the world,
who apparently has more sympathy with
her dog Mouscy" than with her son.
Gabrielle, the young Baroness Won Dohna.
who had been brought up by her father
In one of the rural districts, becomes com
panion to the countess. II is with great
skill that Miss Howard shows the gradual
influence GrahnilIe and Bernhard Diety. a
stone carver, obtain over the Count Won
Kronfcls. Perhaps Gr,bnllc's character is
a little ovcrdrawn, for il seems hardly pos
sble that girl with the simple and direct
nature she had. could I've able to cope with
success against the schemes Of the countess.
Some persons might object to the promi
nent place "Mousey" plays in the story,
but dog who can show with such
success the shallowncss Of tho countess de-
serves special notice. Miss Howard's
style is bright and fresh, her characters are
instinct with life and vigor, and the story
is admirably written. Your interest s
sustained throughout the book.
e.
The author of zone Summer would
have used her talents well II she had gone
on turning out more witty trifies OF the
same kind, for in spite of the undoubtcd
strength and beauty Of her other literary
work IL may be held that wit and humor
are better reading than tragedy, and Miss
Howard has no. heretofore shown the
Shakespearan faculty of relieving the one
w.,H the other. Guenn is a masterpiece,
but quite too sombre to tempt one to read
more of the same remorseless, woe meas
uring kind and in taking up "Thc Open
Door the reader wants to know whether
the same unhappy key governs the last
pages. Assurance can bc given that Il does
not.
The Youths Companion has the follow
ing story. While Anthony Trollope was
writing The Last Chronicle of Barset, -
he surprised a friend one day by saying to
! him, Z" There's the end of Mrs. Proudle ~
Why2" asked the friend
! Mr.. Trollopc replied that he was writing
one day in the - club, while n group of
young clergymcn gathered around the fire.
| place, were talking about the novel, which
was appearing as n serial. He could not
help overhcariug them, NJ they praised the
work, but agreed that Mrs. Proudle was
becoming an intoierablc nuisance
"What did you do?" asked the friend.
"Wcll," replied Trollopc, ~ hesitated
good deal what To do but finally made
up my mind, and went up to them and ex-
| planned that | couldn't help hearing what
they were saying, and added, Il am very
much obliged To you. l am Anthony Trol-
lope and RI 20 home and kill Mrs
Proudle.' >" And he did 50.
-
GREIrENsIEIN, by +. Marion Craw ford
Macmillan n Co., New York. With all
his faults, and they arc neither small nor
few, this author has the gin of good story
teller, and II hardly lessons the interest ot
his tales To know that he sometimes de-
scrihes things in minute and accurate dc-
tail as he finds them in his own inagina-
ton. BY this process he made Mr.
lsaacs " interesting II not instructive. and
| when in "Xoroaster he chose II field 50
| little known that he had no fear of critics,
the result was quito impressive. Crawford
has been steadily getting better control of
| his genius, aud in Greiicnstcin is far less
reckless IN describing things he knows
nothing about. Unless we are sorely de
! coivcd he really does know the life he here
Describes with such graphic aud sympa-
| thctic skin.
There is an old German noblemau living
| in retirement, with his spirit broken hv the
dialoyalty ola step-brothcr in the stormy
days of rs. lie had been uuhappily mar
ried To young widow but his whole life
was wrapped up in his son Grief manly
young fellow who promises to redeem the
fame of the ancient house, aud IS betrothcd
To pretty iiilda Won SigInuudskr ron,
daughter of poor and distant relative.
Trouble comes tumbling all over this pleas
ant prospect by the sudden return of the
eNilcd step-brothcr and we leave the reader
To find how Grief and the others are tried
There is "A chiyarc oldtimc spirit in this
picture OF German life that would he quite
out of place in anovel ofauy other civilized
! land IN our own times. Tho university
| life, the ducling scenes und the observa-
| tions on beer and sketches of character are
| all excellent There is one fearfully dark
scene III the book where two old men
| strangle woman, but a tragedy of the
| most terrible kind seems necessary To the
| scheme of the book, and when Craw ford
has to do with murder he usually manages
to be quite diabolical.
! Robert Louis Stevenson IN writing story
To he called "rhe Wrong Box" and in
order to secure the copyright he has
engaged his American stepson, Lloyd
Osborne, 10 write few chapters. The
arrangement il fine advertisement for
Osborne. 4 tontine life insurance policy
is at the bottom the plot.
The Life and Letters of Roscoe Conkling,
edited by his nephew and Mrs. Conkling,
will he published in the fall.
-
BUREAUCRACY /; or, A Civil Service Re
former, 10y Balzac, translated by Rather
inc Prescott Wormley, Boston Roberts
Brothers. Readers of Balzac are Constant
| ly impressed with the wide range of his
Ii l,.t.V aud L.,