The Portland daily press., 1892-01-20
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

The Deluge. An historical novel of
Poland, Sweden and Russia, sequel to
ssWith Fire and Sword" By Henryk
Siedkiewiez, translated from the Polish
by jeremiah Curtis. In two volumes.
(Boston, Little, Brown & co., B.ood
flows in the pages of ''The Deluge" even
more freely than Scotch whiskey in those
of novel by William Black. And pro-
fanity-there are good round oaths liter
ally by the hundred. But the. justifica-
ton which the author, Henryk Sien-
kiewiez, can offer is that he is painting
life and manners two centuries and
half ago in nation which has been dead
for hundred years. And in this his
torical novel, the worst thing about
which is it's name, the characters are rep
resented as acting and talking as men
acted and talked in the savage contests
of those days. Their manners are not
softened down to the standard of this
generation. 1t is story as realistic as
Howells tells but Sienkiewicz had a
different class of characters to deal with.
There is nothing commonplace about his
heroes, nothing nrosaic about their ad-
ventures or thoir love-making 'The
Deluge" is really great novel and in
many ways novel for men. Its bulk
will brighten many readers who like
finely chopped hash such as the Maine
Pedagogical society offers to the unfor-
tunate who look to it for their literary
bill of fare. Its two volumes contain
1915 pages of solid type but there is not
dull one among them all. The time of
and Russia, to use the subtitle of the
book, is from 1854 to 1868. Poland had
been warning with Russia with varying
results. The well-meaning king, John
Casimer, was at this time forced to flee
Silesia. The Swedes invaded and over
run the unfortunate kingdom and their
king, Charles Gustavus, proposed to di-
vide it up, one of the powerful noblemen
whose selfish ambition finally ruined the
country being his ally and promised a
share of the spoil. But the end was not
vet to come and it is with this period
ending with the revival of patriotism
among the disheartened people and the
return and temporary success of the
Polish king that the story deals. The
thread which connects the whole and
gives it its charm is the story of Kmita's
1o1rc +6o
transformation it worked in the knight
and his final triumph over almost un-
heard of obstacles, without and within
himself.
Parma Aleksandra Billerich, called
| Olenla as term of endearment, was
young woman of surprising beauty, as
well as of modesty, piety and great
strength of character. She was born to
play heroic part. Her old grandfather,
the head of the Billerich family who
died just before the beginning of this
story had confded her to the guardian
ship of the entire nobility of Landa and
decreed in his will that she should
marry Pan Andrei Kmiti, the son of his
old friend, or enter a convent. With the
new year, Kmita, valiant knight but law
less and bloodstained, came to visit his
future bride.
January was frosty but dry, stern
winter covered sacred Jmud with white
coat three feet thick, the forests were
bending and breaking under wealth of
snow branches, snow dazzled the eyes
during days of sunshine, and in the night
by the moon there glittered as it were
sparks vanishing on surface stiffened
by frost; wild beasts approached the
dwellings of men and the poor gray birds
hammered with their beaks the windows
covered with hoar frost and snow
| flowers"
He was overcome by the beauty and
modesty of the young woman and made
love to her as young whirlwind might.
| After his first interview Kmita returned
to his estate where his band of followers,
reckless daredevils, spendthrifts, gam
blers, murderers and outlaws all were
awaiting him. Such a carousal as might
have been expected followed. Daily he
visited Olenka and finally took his lambs
with him that they might admire her,
and there is considerable humor in the
way their appearance before such dig
nifed and exalted lady is described. But
these men in the absence of Kmita COM
mitted various outrages in the neighbor-
hood, and one fine Sunday offered vio-
lence to respectable women with the re-
suit that their lord and leader returning
one night from an interview with the
maiden had told him ''You are an exc
cutioner of the people, regarding the
laws neither of God nor man. Though
my heart should be rent | will not marry
you, being such q man I will not" he
found on the floor the mangled bodies OF
his six friends. Kmita was wild with
rage and acted as the half-tamed wolf
might