New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-07-17
RECENT FICTION.
NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES.

ners Sons. .Nn WEST.
THE sAuIAMKA STORY OF East hs'r. ASD T aSc,
n Mn0y s7s. H Macmillan & co. ..,,
IN THE ROAR OF THE SEA Nook BY 70 D. D'f'"'
MEMBER OF rATTERsALLs. by h G~
smart. I6mo, PIP. a45. Lowell, ooryell q q" ~
DON FISIMONDONE. CALABRlAN shEiSCIh Charles L.
Elisabeth Cavazza. 12mo, PIP. l''' '"''''''
A HOUSE OF PoMEGRANATEs. BY oscar "iioe'
London Osgood and Mcllvalne'
1t would be idle to Inquire what part OF o,
wreckerr belongs to Mr. Lloyd Osbourne. The oooA
s manfestly Mr. stevenson's to all practical lh'en''
Int while exceeds the usual length OF MS s.oi.s
This extension has not brought an access OF iheeIe
Some of the material moreover has been empioycu W
fore and In other ways, as for Instance much Vi e
description OF Partisan artist life The ban fr.'sOo
scenes arc from life, and very well done Inc isat"
scenes also no doubt owe oil their coloring 10 ,ne
authors personal observation. The mouVe oi ''o
whole narrative, which is the mystery OF the wreck
on Midway Island. Is handled with great ue"i u
ingenuity. But the latter part OF the tale Is us
tInctly more Interesting than the beginning ana tcre
4, peculiarly about most OF the characters VIM"
mi rht almost suggest to uncharitable mihu 'h''
tho South Seas had exercised somewhat demoralzns
effect upon the author. The character of Jim f1nRer
ton IS the most attractive In the story ana oeso'
him Loudon Dodd, the supposed narrator ana ieio
cuts very poor figure Dodd indeed Is hatur'i
enough I'm fact too natural to be respected lie IS one
NJ whom
standards and low moral performances VINO
Ioftilv rebukos his partner for proposing
scheme In which there is suspicion Of crookedness'
and then plunges headlong into an undertaking IN
which wrecking and smuggling are prominent 'i''
P,nkerton Is delightful throughout, and conspcuohsiS
the better Of the firm. Dodd Is lhcihcu "
hypocrisy and is weak almost to the poipt OF sneak
,shness The verislmtude OF the plot Is not always
apparent. For example, there is really no SHADOW
in the
the FLYING scudn II the wild Iishman Mac ia
kill Captain Treul, and II the BaresarK "ooueuns ,
d start To run amuck thereupon, there was cic'ii'
no reason why the Currency Lasses' should pro-
coed to murder every remaining soul on the Flying
scud.7 The slaughter Of the crew OF That vessel
stands ont as a and wholly rra'lohai ueeu
and ono to which 1t Is impossible to believe tlht
previously innocent men could be brought but mo
oueston OF this massacre seems 10 be treated thoub
out with rather inudlcious levlty and leniency ana
the same may be said OF the brutnltes OF the sen
buly Captain Mares. To any one who really KNOWS
what the old sna-bullics It IS Impossible to 50
much as think Of them without disgust and anger.
OF course The wrccker" is Interesting story. o.
# would not be Mr. stcvenson's. But is far mora
uneven than is usual with him. and 1t cannot be
| regarded rs one OF his best novels.
Tn aTnc NarInhkar VIC find another piece Of col
alteration II is hardly sober story, partnhng 100
much Of extrlynGanza. Nick Tarvln, the western
American who goes to India 10 obtain possession Oh
n marvellous necklace named the NaulahEa' ana VINO
GOES through many adventures as the lhr'e
Musket.cra rolled into one. may be Mr.. Kpiings con
eeptlon or Mr.. BnleSticrs conception OF Colorado
enterprise and capacity. bu' he docs nN properly be-
onc 10 the present century. Rudyard kipine In his
short stories Of HE In india conquered the pubic by
nfusing a large measure Of realism into MS WORK.
one felt tina. however strange the story might be-
: was possible. But here no Impression OF ina KIM
| Il made The whole narra,iye IS frank mclodrlmn
Even that noblcs work Of time, the Western Amc1'
can doe. moi possess as many lives Il cat nor Is
Il thlnkabR that he should 50 straight from Topaz,
( Colorado 10 native State In Hnd)stan. ard AFTER
4 sojOurn n week or two. and "itholi any hlo"F
edge Of the han Gage find himself wholly comlcteh'
To deal with every eugency encountered. or course
II the reader he compasant It Is easy enough TO write
storls- OF this hind but surely they belong rather To
the domain Of folklore than thai Of fiction. The
| Hon sick Tnrvin In the hands Of Sir George Cox
might without much difficulty be tiansmutcd into a
sun.mvth sta' hal might figure Night and the
Sauahla as Clouds or Dawn. There are immense
r,.slhll! ies In this direction, whereas n We regard
tho present story representing human possibilities,
We fear IL must he found wanting. No doubt Mr..
Nick Tnrvin IL very entertaining when he not ave.
inspiring and he IL vcry good 10 Kate, whose native
female hospital goes the way Of all reforms In India.
much IN the general rcdief and her own asr though
| she did not like To It. But everything apart
/
mo tags n verse at the heads Of the chapters leach
dncle one copyrighted do not enhance the realism
OF the work The one piece OF genuine nntuIalncss
consists In the representation that Nick did NOT carry
the Nnulnhir out OF Rbadore. Thai at lcnst may te
rraAlly believed But the soto say public attempts To
poison tho nttlc Ralah; the practicable rapdJprs In
| the noors OF temples: the various open-air essays
unon the hero, he and nearly all the rest Of
hc Oriental machinery are title mild slang,
too steep
Mr. Barring Gould has gone back century In
order to rcsurcc the legend Of the Cornish vrcckcrs
who, according 10 II, accustomed To hsteh
lighted lantern on a donkeys head. and lead the AMI
nal up and down the top Of the clihs' IN thioA
weather From ship the motion OF the light wouiI
seem 10 that OF another vessel and disaster would
onsue to the advantage OF the sea wolves who were
watching for their prey. OF course there must be
proper captain for the wreckers, We have Cruel
Coppngcr n kind OF modern Lara. who does all man
ner OF dreadful things. such chopping OF II coast
guards head tearing diamond earrings out OF the ears
OF wrecked lady passenger so Violently as TO pun
OF tho lobe Of OF her ears, etc, etc Then there
"a A red headed rrl who fascnatcs Cruel Coppnger
by startling Ids horse and procuring tho rider n
| broken arm The story Is interesting enough
though nothing like so well.wrten several OF the
authors recent works and 1t concludes with an un
finished episode which may may not dsappoint the
| reader. our opinion is that the fair judith
| PLAYED fast ana loose Win captain topPhser IL u
highly reprehensIble manner, and that the Scanttct
nay Brothers were particularly clumsy pair OF
| rascals.
IIawlcy Smart writes, a rule, horse stories :
stories OF racing and hunting by preference There
Is not much about horses In his present novel, but 1t
never COTS far from them. 1t Is all about the con-
sequences OF a robbery committed on an old gentle
man who carrying the winnings Of the Doncaster
| race week TO the bank when he was set upon The
author can tell lively tale in sllpshod aud INGRAM
NAUTICAL Eng.sh though sometimes he appears 10 have
forgotten what he set down the last page, and this
Is embarrassing for the reader. II is however rather
thin and poor stuff, and belongs with what is often
| all ssrailrond llteratlIreS