New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-10-13
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
NEW NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES.

NEW NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES
THE scApEGoAT; BY Hail Game. 1amO. PIP eos'
A KING OF TYRE. By James NJ. Ludlow. 16mo,
pp EOS. Harper Brothers.
RECALLED TO LIFE. BY Grant Allen. 18mo. PIP.
$50. Henry Holt 4 Co.
THE HORNED CAT. BY J. Maclaren Cobban. l2no,
PIP. 1852 John W. Lowell Co.
A FAMILY FAILINu. By Hawley Smart. 1smo PIP.
102. John w. Lowell Co.
THE CHASE OF THE METEOR and Other Stories. by
Edwin Lassett.r Bynner. With Illustrators by
+. t. Merrill limo. PIP. 200. Boston: LtNe'
Brown d Co.
THE sIGNBoARD and other Stories. From the
French by o. a. Bierstadt 1:mo. PIP soi'
Rand McNaly & Co.
Mr. Hall Caine, who has written several Manx
stories Of unusual power, has in The scapeg0at"
changed his field completely. but without losing any
thing of his vigor and graphic skill. His new book
affords impressive picture OF the misgovernmeh'
existing in Morocco II is modern, but 1t mght haVe
been taken out Of the middle ages The oppression
tyranny, brutality and sensuality OF the Moroccan
rulers are old oriental barbansm. yet none the
less matters of to-day. Whether as Mr.. Game thnKs'
Il Is the plain duty of the great Western Powers to
put an end to this dismal state of things u, how
ever, by means easy problem TO soNe' though
1t is conceivable that pressure from without might
abolish the worst abuses. But 1t Is rs story 'hat
"The Scapegoat' must be considered in the nrs pace
and very well written strong and original story 1t IS
all their daughter Naomi born blind deaf and dumb,
are figures full Of vitality. The gradual restoration or
rather development, of Naonhs latent faculties is
managed with rare skill, though perhaps not always
with strict regard for therapeutics for some OF the
must be regarded vegng upon the miraculous
But the reader scarcely notices this in the interest
and beauty of the description, and the tragedy of the
tale is deep Mr. Game evidently knows Morocco
well and handles the Oriental elements with the ease
of long acquaintance. "The Scapegoat" is in many
ways remarkable novel and not one to be forgotten
easily.
a King OF Tyre" u.s. the subtitle states, "a tale
" the times Of Ezra and Nehemiah" Though neither
IF those prophets take very prominent parts in the
iction. The King Of Tyre concerned is Hiram, and
The motive of the story is struggle for life between
This prince and the heather hierarchy, who find him
too liberal and progressive in his theology, and SO plot
against his throne and life. The engagement scheme
By which he is entrapped into becoming sacrifice for
the nation to Moloch is dramatically developed, and
is the mechanism Of the Kings escape, at tho last
moment, from the hands of the crafty priests. 1t is
perhaps scarcely necessary speak Of the archaeology
of the tale, but the author has wisely endeavored to
make his characters living men and women, ana In
this he has succeeded much better than Is commonly
the case when fiction essays to deal with antiquity
The interest well sustained throughout and the de-
nonement Is of character to satisfy all who love
justice and approve of righteous rtrbuton.
out quite novel idea. 1t Is that of young girl
who being the sole witness of murder falls through
the shock into a condition Of lapsed memory. That
Is to say her whole antecedent existence Is blotted
put only the picture Of the final scene Of the crime
remaining to haunt her, but throwing no light what
ever upon the crime. The story Is lngenlousy de-
ysed to cast suspicion upon a certain person as the
probable murderer and the for him. undertaken
by the heroine when she has mperfecty recovered Is
described very WILDLY and with careful attention TO
the curious psychological implications OF the SITUATION
II may be predicted safely that very few readers viii
guess the final solution of the mystery which is con
ceaed nearly TO the with creditable adroitness
Mr. Cobban's quecrly entitled novel belongs strictly
to the class OF impossible fiction From beginning 70
end every probability is defed with intrepidity
worthy OF better cause We are introduced to
country seat of gentleman of. position and long
descent which has been converted by its proprietor
into receptacle for the proceeds of theftS and bur
gfaries. Then there is fashionable man who is also
a murderer and head of gang Of burglars. But 1t
would be useless to enumerae all the wild absurdites
Of the story which is purely sensational without
trace of study OF human character The mind must be
very greedy for felton, very catholic in its tastes
which aSsimilate and enjoy this kind Of stuff.
Mr. Hawley Smart is known principally sport
Ing novelist and while there is not much gambling
and racing in "a Family Failing" in most Of his
stories he coud out those fascinating topics
altogether. This time the principal "event" is a race
between man and pony, which has an important
bearing upon the prospects Of the hero who is also
the runner against the pony. Everything is rendered
possibly by attaching him to q family whose falling"
IS govt which disease entails upon all the members
such awful tempers that nobody ever eyenture TO
predict what any one Of them will do under given
circumstances. In this particular instance, howtver,
the clouds roll away at the right dramatic moment,
and the conclusion Is Of the orthodox klnd-prosperity
and wedding bells 1t Is lightly entertaining but that
Is all.
"The Chase of the Meteor" is the first of number
Of short stories written by Mr.. Bynner for various
Juvenile periodicals, and capital young folks stories they
are. Possibly that entitled A Cruise in a Soap-bub-
ble," with its land OF dimension and its land Of
two dimensions though indisputabl yclever is a little
above the heads Of young readers OF the rest this
rannot be suppos"4 and the tale which gives its title
to the book is sufficiently stirring TO interest
every body, old well young
Mr. 0. A. Bierstadt has translated specimen sketches
from Michel Mason Emile Souvestre, Theophile eau
tier and Andre Theuriet. We cannot say that we
think has been particularly happy in his selections,
which in at least three out Of four certainly
not represent the best and most artistic work Of the
authors upon whom he has drawn. His rendering is
eredable TO the translator, but the intrinsic interest
OF the stories is not great
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