The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-07

" We ANN~h ASN sbheASHN 1922
II was 10 initiate for English readers the
modern Partisan romance OF tho realistic
school, witt all Its methods of morbid intro
s~pection, and It's stiilnR pastilo-laden atpos-
phers of the alcove and the lupanar. Curiously
enough. at that very time, Paris, hitherto in her
own eyes the Mecca OF modern litera-
ture, had begun to show signs of I'M
easiness and doubt. aud some of her
most brilliant writer's had been quietly but per-
sistently endeavoring to bring about . reaction
toward better things. One of the most eK-
traordlnary results of this reaction was n book
entitled "En Route published last year by
MI X. Huysmans, q writer previously known
TO his countrymen as the most audacious Of the
morbid and ultra realistic school. American
readers will remember him as having been sin
gled out by Nordau as the mostdegenerat of the
degonerates. In "En Route" which 10 the
third Of q series, Durtal. a Parisian, who In the
two former books has been represented as .
vicious, self-indulRent debauchee, stated with
every form of physical and mental excess, turns
ut last to the Church for help and consolation.
Tho story Of the .wretohed sinners struggles
and his moments OF religious exaltation, alter
mating with relapses into sensuality, is told with
. candor that perhaps none but . F%renchman
would dare to exhibit. The English translation
by Mr.. q. KeRan Paul (BenziRer Bros) 10
scholarly and picturesque. and preserves much
Of the strength and beauty of the wondrous de-
"a " - tb0 eNSSS
things have been toned down, and some express
ATOMS eliminated. there yet remain passages of a
frankpess that Is little less than brutal. There
can be no doubt as to the sincerity and good In
tent of both author and translator, and tho
book is one of the most remarkable that has
been published of late years; but. as will BIO
gathered from the foregoing, 1t is likely to be
of moro interest to the student and the psychol-
oRist than to the general reader, and 1t is GER
tainly not written pirginibus pucrtsquc.
In "Taquisara'' (Macmillan) MIR. Marion
Craw ford once more shows that mastery Of his
art which entities him to rank among the very
foremost of living novelists. In the first volume
the scene is laid in modern Naples and the in
forest Of the reader is at once compelled, while
there is enacted q drama as dark and terrible
as some legend of the Medici or the BorEias. In
the second volume the theme descends from the
tragic and is woven into q tender and pathetic
love tale; and so exquisite is the art of the
narrator that the readers interest Is never suf-
fered to relax. Taquisara. the Scilian. the
Princess Veronica, and the invalid Gianluca are
characters drawn with the power and poetic feel
ing that Mr.. Crawford's readers know so well.
The fun measure of the influence of the bicy-
Gle in daily life is, as yet, hard to estimate.
Dress, manners. and convsntionalities have all
had to submit to the notifications 1t has
brought about. Publishers and theatrical man.
ayers point to its effect on their receipts, and
n 81 ~ 49, 80 o"J shss IA
generation or SO. the race itself will show oovi-
Gus and important evidence of tho use or the
abuse of the all-pervading wheel. Hitherto its
direct influence in literature has been shown
chiefly in the work of the young gentlemen
who write verses for the comic papers; but
now. in The Wheels of Chance tMacmil-
LAM, we have the bicycle novel. pure and
simple. Tho author. Mr.. Fl. G. Wells.
one of the younger school Of English
writers. has already attracted attention
with several books that showed q certain
amount of humor and originality. In the present
story he again proves that he possesses both
these qualities. but their effect is. to q great
extent. marred by the vein of vulgarity that
crops out here and there. There may be much
to be said in favor of realism and realistic
methods, but the reader may justly take excep-
ton to an authors indulgence in such passages
As Mr.. Hoordriver anon becomes medita-
tive, with his tongue in the hollow of his decay
ing wisdom tooth" 1t is surely not necessary
to come down to that level. even In describing
eockuey bicyclist.
There are many numbers in the volume of
poems by Mr.. +. B. Money Coutts George H.
Richmond that prove the author to possess the
poetic faculty in very marked degree. His
least successful effort is an epic after the man.
ner OF Milton, which, though it contains pas
sages of great beauty, Is inconclusive. and Ia
not TO be compared with some Of the lighter
lyrical pieces. The following two atanzas. en-
titled swiss Mountains by Might show the
delicacy OF thought and music of expression
that characterize this writer's work:
aye lonely peaks. with brows of icel
Ye lonely peaks, with breasts of suowl
Like nuns remote from worlds below,
Pale with the pain OF sacrihce.
"Like Novice clinging in a swoon
Repentant Of renowned love.
Lies at your feet the lake; above
Leans forth the white disdainful moon"
"The Wizard" CLougmaus) is a story of Gen.
trail Africa by Mr.. Rider Haggard. which
possesses allthe charm of interest and excite
ment with which he invested his earlier
roInAnces. In this book, as In many of his
others, he avails himself OF the assistance of
the supernatural. and. with his usual skill, sue
ceeds In lending an air of reality to an i'm
possible story. Those readers who enjoyed
"She" and King N Mines" will ap-
preciate The Wizard"
There may be in America such young women
as Ernestine. who figures in The Epistolatory
Fiirt-in Four Exposures.' by Esmerie Amory
(Way 81 Williams). for the advertisement at
tached to the book (Which is published In Chi
eago) informs US that 1t satirizes "a certain set
of philandering men and women that abound in
literary circles.'" If this be 30, Chicago
Literary circles" must form . dangerous
school for the young person with literary
aspirations. One can only come to the conclusion.
after reading this book. that Ernestine should
have been under the care of the family physi-
clan. who would probably have prescribed for
her a rigorous course Of cold baths. exercise. and
lowering diet, with occasional doses of bromide
of potassium. She is. as ono of the characters
aptly says. "a fit subject for Nordau;' and.
moreover, the book Is dull.
We have also received:
Bohemian Legends and Other Poems" by
T. ?. KoptA, second edition. (William r..
Jenkins)
some Women's Ways" by Mary Angola
Dickens. Henno q Co..
1.-THE Private Life of the Romanoffs," from
the German. by Seth Trail. (National Publish
ing Company
Tommy Lane and the Three Hearts," by
Mabel Osgood Wright. (Macmillan.)