St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-01-16
BOOK REVIEWS.

SLICUpbll. MInilic OllilOI6 Has WTILt6U
several books before this OH e, and thi
is the best. The characters are as
clearly defined as if cut by the edge of
the cameomaker's tools. The descrip-
tons of the rushing, reckless Western
town are lifelike, while the picture of
the mountainous country that shut in
the sordid town brings back that love
and vague yearning, near akin to pain,
that those rugged shapes, sno"-capped.
cloud-swept. ever Waken in the poets
soul. Isolde Sterling. a dreamy,
imprisoned girl, comes to this new,
crude town Of Newfield. just
in time to be swept from her feet by
that wave of popular feeling that surges
around any one of the hundreds of men
who, gamblers at heart, mould popular
trust and insane desire for wealth, into
that demoraliZlng condition of affairs
known as 'boom." The soul Of this
movement, Steel Hartman, IS described
as "a splendid specimen Of the human
animal. strong and beautiful, and with
the voice of the angel Israfei-dash
him." by the stern, cynical DR.. Keen,
head cool and ms wits about him in all
that mad Whirl of peculatiOn-mad hu-
manity.
Any one can guess at the rest of the
story. Isolde was fascinated, and Steel
married her out of hand before she
could recover from the shock of his
beauty and audacity. Then the real
story begins. 1t is the story of many
woman life. though not many women
could tell it. The story runs on to it's
inevitable end. Steel Hartman. specu-
lator and gambler. no worse than
scores of men who have fattened on
and impoverished this great, generous
West, suffers a gamblers fate of failure
and disgrace and death. A son of
ESau he was, inasmuch as that he
usurped and squandered his brothers
fortune, but Esau had no such sins on
his soul as those that warped and
ruined the soul of Steel Hartman and
the life Of the ignorant girl whose sad
fate it was TO love the ideal her poetic
fancy had built up and clothe in his
image. The minor characters are good
and could be duplicated in manyWeStern
towns, through which the same wild
wave Of speculation has swept its with
erlng way. Lowell. Coryell d Co., New
York.
The Wreck of the Grosvenor," by
w. Clark Russell, is a very we'll told
story OF hardship, wreck and heroiSm.
The Grosvenor, ship clearing from
Liverpool for South America, is so
miSerably pr0visioned that the first crew
rebel and are replaced by a second be-
fore the vessel got out to sea. A brutal
captain and more brutal mate add by
their deeds to the discomfort of the men
till they finally mutiny. and both those
brutes are killed. Then follows story
Of double dealing and desertion and
shipwreck. Through it runs pretty
love story, in which the hero. Royle,
who left England as second mate, res
bring her OIL board of the Grosyenor,
only to be wrecked again and to live
through weeks of horror before they
are rescued-four souls, Mary Robin
son, Royle, 10 Forward and the stew
ard, who does not seem to have had
name, the remnant of the crew and Off
GERS who first manned the good ship
GrOsvenOr.
There is one noticeable fact about all
such stories. and that is that men Of the
gentleSt, most heroic type think no more
of shooting or killing in other ways
half-dOzen men than they do Of drink
ing their "grog." ! suppose that the
law OF self-preservatiOn is behind all
these actions, however, and one cannot
say what they would do under unusual
circumstances. The book is we'll and
Interestingly written. Lowell, Coryell
d Co., New York.
''Sea New Abby" by Florence War
den, is another of those books that have
no visible reason for being. The viii
lain OF the story. Capt. Mulgrave, who
is, of course, the father of the heroine,
goes through many chapters wretch
of deepest dye to come out i'll the last
few as model father, misunderstood
man. The heroine, Freda Mulgrave, is
a rather vague person, who discovers all
the vic kedneSS being carried on at the
abby, reveals and breaks up horde of
SmugglerS, falls in love with the son of
her fathers enemy and regenerates her
father, but just what influence she
brought to bear Oh that sinner it is not
easy to say. Lowell. Coryell IL Co..
New York.
1t is quite the fashion these days for
authors to take their readers on long
journeys, '''strange countries for to see."
One may have doubts about the accur-
acy of some of their statements, but if
one express them the author most likely
would ask as Mark Twains narrator of
the climbing feats Of the buffalo, did
you ever see a buffalo try to climb a
tree?' And like him the adventurous
story teller might say, "Then how do you
know he can't do it?' Still, the reason
for discovering these strange barbarians
who are all heads, that Austin Granville
tells about in his "Fallen Race" is not
easy to find. It's not even Interestingly
told and he fails to arouse the least in
terest in his strange monsters. The
illustrations are good, but one feels like
saying with the saucy school boy, "Give
us something easier" to believe, at any
rate.
There is something very natural and
healthful and pure about all OF Mrs. AL
exander's stories. You feel as you read
women as the au thor might meet in her
daily life. They are real people, and
one can predict from the first chapter
pretty we'll what will befall the differ
ent characters as the story progresses;
but there is very delicate personality
about them that somehow holds you
something as the story of the daily life
of your friend might do, with pleas
ant persistency till the story is told
In 'Mammon" she has portrayed a very
delightful family life, such as one
might see in any circle of moderately
weIl-to-do family anywhere, but more
especially in England. Maj. Selby is
delightful father and husband,
VINO naQ earned his rlpHG I'd
case and family petting by
faithful years of service for his country
in India. Mrs. Selby is just such wom-
an as the wife of Maj. Selby should be;
and the daughters, Kate and Janet. DIFF
ferept, yet perfect each in her own way,
Just such girls as one would expect TO
find in such home. The heroine of the
book is dear little surprising woman,
not surprising to the reader who has met
her before. but to the people who meet
her, especially to Ralph Brandon, who
shares with her heroic honors. Mr..
Tracy, the millionaire and miser, is the
only disagreeable person in the story,
and he is considerable enough to die early
in the narrative. leaving the money he
loved so we'll to brighten and gladden.
other lives. Lowell, Coryeli Il Co., New
York.