New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-06-02
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
4 CAPITAL NOVEL.

WITH FIRE AND SWORD. An Historical Novel Of
Poland and Russ1. Hy llcnryk scnkiewlcz Trans
iltcd from the Polish hv jeremiah Curtin 12mo'
pp xvi.1TO Boston Little. lcoWh " CO.
The historical romance which MIR. Curtin has trans
lated spiritcdy, and "a which ne furnishes oy 10
means unnecessary Introduction. vel deserves the
tscit praise Of being rendered M" EhgnSh' i'c
times peoples and regions whereof 1t treats are IN
s.cd nresnmabIy lule or not at all known TO the
average American novel reader but As the story Is
essentially one Of action, the terrible ana uhpfo
nmnooa5le names with which II bTistes hoeo ho'
constitute impedmcnts to itS perusal or 10 Tvs con"
prchenson The illustrated by eienlue"lcz In one
of deep interest and importance in the history Oh hu
rome hut one also scarcely studied save by specialists
II may be termed the period Of tie making ="
Rnssia ard the unmaking Of Poland the time during
which those vices OF the Polish commonwealth "mch
we're before many years to ruin it first emphasized
themselves by paralyz the powers OF 'c odc az o
very moment the Cossacks and IarArs were ocilu'ns
ali their energies 20 its destruction This tale Is "f
tic opening Of the great struggle IL Is one oil o'hate
and cruelty. Of barbarian warfare Darpail"i P"iS
ments barbarian methods generally. IL deals IarsoN
Win the Cossacks even to-day Little better than Wild
Indians and two hunded years ago hercer ana more
lavless than Apaches. terrible from their numbers
70, vested with a kind Of chivary and an undelable
,,c,uresoueness The story IS woven around the
historical outlines OF the revolt of tie CossacR he'haI
uurclrictsll who Joined himself with the 1artarS VI
the Crimea overTan the Ukraine defeated the folsh
IIsfu1 n "A
Commonwealth 10 It's knees before the batte "i
,,ng,ochlo broke his power for the time, but not
finally. 49,, ,n,,,
To sNetch the Kaleidoscope views Of this stormy
and chaotic period would strain the powers Oh NV
most lucid and orderly historian The ae''uon
among the slav and Mongolold races was lH'c u'A'
NJ boiling pot For centuries there was no staoi's
anywhere At one time RuSsa would be tlre"'"o -,
with extinction At another time the Commoh"cdI'"
seemed 10 be disrupted. Then the wave OF lsI'''''
pourcd forward upon and massacrcd al inc O''''''l'
contestants Now the Horde was on one siu0' a'O"
on another. Loyalty seemed dead. Nhe" WV we
met neither Of the commanders could be sure 'a' nm
his force would not change sides before Ut u'''i1
the battle COsSacks were fighting 'oSSao"' az
Poles Lithuanians Moldavians, WaldchahS' h"sS'''''
Pinns swcdcs, Turks Tartars were all engage" J."
dance of DEATH slaughterinG one another AZ uoii'
rate and enslayng. behcading or lnpaHns All "'o
prisoners War was then annhilatoa hacn parry
q, tprn swept over the country with hurricane iur!
DESTROYING cvery living creature razine towns hacS'
castles isolan,d dwellings. 10 the ground, bcTHls
forasts harvests. home>tcads, and leaving u'ScrN
hcnind Them There was no ruth or pity on the
side Of the Cossacks and TartalS, ana niue Oh "c
MARI Of the Poles. The contest was unequal save io
the Numbers brought into 1t 10y the Horde ioF "ic W
Cossacks were desperate fighters they couiu ho' '''D
against ,he arlnored regiments Of the Poles
The most lordy figure in this book Is l11nce Lfeh'o'
The first soldier Of the commonwealth anu W
mander so terrible for his severity tiat MS naH'o
one TO CONQUER with throughout the Saice The man
thread of the story deals with the rise OF uieHiA
and the checking of his power by lrAoe h'cli''
This mart of the romance eliminates In the account
OF the siege of Bbaraj and this account Is ooi.'"",
one of the most stirring. graphic Vlvldly coiorou anu
powerful pieces Of description 10 De louIu !" az "
fion The heroic and indomitabe resistance OF IFuoe
Frcnc,s little army of 5000 TO the fierce ana III
cessant attacks Of COSsack Tartar force cS'ilaVu
n, from three 10 five hundred thousand men, Is Until
ing and told In the style OF master heie"V""s
tbe beeced were nearly overborne by sheer NUMBERS
for while they beat back every assault thcy io"o"eu
so fast that the knights and men on the raihpa7A
became 50 weary last that they could hardly stnAe
or fire Behind this broad. general historic frame
work there is what may be called story proper ana
the only modern romance with which 1t can be com
pared for fire. sprghtlncss rapidly OF acuon' S"it
changes and absorbing interest is the Three MUS
ketcers" Of Dumas
One Circumstance puzzles us. II Cossacks. foies'
md all the rest OF them, drank these people
drink how did they manage TO do much nGhtns
Between their "goraralka' IA Cossack whisky, meih'
wine and veer, they seemed to have falrN noa'eu
in strong liquors, but If scnkewicz Is right tcy "eIc
capable OF going TO bed dead drunk ana rising III Tic
morning well enough 10 fight all day In the mos
desperate way Truly there must have been giants IN
those DAYS not 20 skeak of the Lithuanian Knight
Podpibenta who with his twohanded crusaders sword
struck of three Turkish heads at blow at the same
stroke sheavng through the chain mail curtains oil
their helmets as II the material had been musAn
But we will leave the reader to discover for himself
the wonders Of adventure and the Of description
contained in this capital romance. The American
public certainly thanks TO Mr. Curtin for having
brought so interesting and stirring romance within
their reach; a romance which, though nowhere III
accord with the maXims OF the naturalisuc schools
of the hour will, have doubt al all be welcomed
with hearty appreciation and be given the praise It's
high merit deserves.