New-York tribune., 1894-01-21
CURRENT FICTION.
THE PROSE EPIC OF POLAND.

PAN MICHAEL. A Historical Novel OF Poland. the
rkTaine ana Turk i.TE SEQUEL ~ 70 ,,srr Mh hre
miah nE'tS Curtin Pp XVI 81 Ltie. Grown Co.
MARION DARCHE. \ Novel without comment
by +. Marion Crawford. I2mo. pp. %e Mae
A RIDDLE or LICK By Mary E Stone. i2mo.
pp. 3lG. J. II. Lippincott Company
THE BURDEN OF ISABEL. BY J Maclarcn
Cobbsn. svo. ~. go. Harper Brothers.
The elaborate romance Of whlcn Pan Mlchaei"
forms the conclusion might well be called prose
epic instead Of a novel or series of novels. Love
affairs are only episodes In the narrative. ana the
author hss,ens them n they interfcred wiih his
main purpose. which IL warfare. lie II Iiomeric IN
conflict. The very turns Of phrase In which he in
dulges awaken the thought that he is consciously
endeavoring TO reach the old Greek poets vigor and
breadth Ia the treatment Of battle scenes. II Il the
story Of the ages which both Homer and Sien-
kiewicz tell. the struggle ever renewed. as bitter
It was three thousand years ago on the bor-
der between orient and Occident. The eternal fenl
lost OF its cruelty when it transferred from
<Argive TO Scythian from Trojan 10 Turk. Indeed.
there Is nothing In hi Greek epos TO rival the hor
rid torture inflicted on AZya the Tartar In this tale
Of Pan Michael" one has TO go back 20 the As
syrans TO find implement common practice. The
barbary In this s on the part. not Of OrIentas.
but OF the very heroes whom the epic novelist cele-
brates, and there are Indications that he deemed II
a rare and extreme torture even on the savage
seppe and In the hard hearted seventeenth century.
Azya was indeed a traitor to the cause which he
had formerly supported tfat Of the Polish Common
wealth But he refused the privilege Of making
a home for himself and his Tartars. or OF fighting
on terms Of equality with others In the service Of
Poland. Religious prejudice was too strong 10 allow
what he demanded. lie revenged himself. Tartar
fashion. by burning a frontier post, killing the In
habants and carrying away the wives of men
against whom he bore grudge. II IL one Of these
al ni,sh shan nIe bo "a horrible
upon him. And yet Sienkewicz. with that skill he
has IN the study OF conscience. shows how the very
act Of revenge returns upon him who performs ".
OF such study Of the soul the ancient epic was In
capable. II Is In the more picturesque externas
that Sienkewcz comes 10 the old poetry ~
war The time he chosc-the period when Poland
was greatest in the eyes Of Europc-was one in
which the old and the 1ostled each other on the
field OF battle. The same army contained ponderous
artillery and knights In mail musketeers and bow
sienklewicz takes as much delight In manly
strength as Homer did. lie tells Of hero who
could hide an apple easily In his fist that he
could play guess which one" When this young
Hercules put a handful OF nuts on his knee and
pressed them with his hand. he made snun OF them.
Everything in him went to strength: still he was
lean-his stomach was recedlng but the chest above
1t roomy chapel He broke horseshoes
with ease he tied iron rods around the necks Of
soldiers, he seemed even larger than he was In
reality; when he walked planks creaked under him:
and when he stumbled against bench he knocked
splinters from It," lie II was who ito battle went
with laugh which recalled the neighing OF Il
charger, and he hewed In such fashion that when
each engagement over soldiers went TO examine
the bodies left by him and wonder at his astonsh-
ing blows"
Another epic pecuarity OF these great Polish ro-
mances is their unstuded reflection Of the simplest
facts OF life. Nearly all the figures Of speech are
taken from the house the farm. from the hunting
field or the field OF war. A man satisfied with him
self Is said to have Increased like bread rising
that IT, to have expanded like yeast. girl Is
laughed at for dreadng her lover ''as n mouse
breads bacon" Where discipline Is wanting 1t is
said to be las lax grandfathers whip" every one
being aware that grandparents are usually over-in-
dugent rejected lover describes his rebun as
similar to that which drives the cat away from the
milk An author stands close TO primitive life who
can venture on a smile like this: "As when men of
a good household shelling peas well dried strike
| industriously on the threshing floor that the
whole barn is laundering with the noise OF the
blows and the kernels are jumping toward every
side so did the whole river bank thunder with
sabre blows and the groups OF janissaries slashed
without mercy sprang hither and thther I'm every
direction"
To enter into the spirit OF Senkiewiczs romance
II Is necessary to think that such victory as that
won by John Sobieski seemed hopeless He Is cee-
braiing the struggle Of a devoted few who proudly
die for Commonwealth most OF whose citizens are
eager only In civil strife. They die almost In vain.
for the repuse OF the Turk sgnalizes the decay of
Polish independence Now that the Oriental foe was
driven back all the old bonds which held warning
factions together were broken 1t is no wonder that
Sobieski died, as Mr. curtin says. complaining that
In the world "sin. malice and treason are rampant
Mr.. Curtn's translation IL DO vivid ana r'cy thst