New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-02-16

80. ,rd nun,sb smugglers: the heroine. who Is
~ love with the hero Is in duty bound to protect
her father who is a smuggler. from 'he law -
other words from her lover. THESE are the ioue"
materials OF the romance For setting VIC nov
the booming surf and storm which Is worthy 70
ronk oror9 tho successful storms Of fiction. II 1t
has defect u shares It with the characters, and IL
ia revealed In a certain splsmodic tendency 10 pe
melodramatic and hystercai These defects m-sh'
easily be eliminated.
The objection once brought against MI Hall came
that "he writes at the top Of his voice Is rarucu
larry applicable to the spirit which guded tne manu-
of the woman who writes under the pseuuohy".e -
"Ouida" In the composition OF her latest s'o','
Toxin" The tale the scene or WHICH passes ~
Venice Is pitched in a high key OF romance N
motey. If at ALL connected with reality or 'ne
possibilities of reality. The actors are three al
number-namsly a doctor named Damer. a Countess
Veronica Zaranegra and q dashing sentimental
young man named Adranla. or the after !. - 'o'
that one evening he stood In the moohi's"' ..'
silver radiance "shone his dark, starry eyes, MS
laughing mouth. his tall figure. full or grace anu
strength like the form of the Greek HerHes III '"e
Vatican" As for the Countess. she also has STAR
~ eves" .,s weary OF the secus!or OF her widow
hood" and suggests "a picture Of Cater!na Cor
naro." She has golden hair which she ihcose' ~
"a peari-sown net" and. OF course oe!'S ono u
"OuIda's' heroines IL fabulously rich we ho'e
also among the mechanical devices or the 'aie d"
opal necklace. and further note that whenever
Il happens that any Of the characters gaze on ths
bauble they almost invariably exclam, stones OF
sorrow stones Of sorrow' The refrain Is some
times varied by translating It into French. ASIDE
from the high tension at which the emoUohai eie
mens of the tale sustained. there Is little Feai
incident excepting in one instance, wEeh' III d
transport of sef-sacrifcing heroism, Abrams res
cues a child from a canal and gets his mouth full
an6
dentally wins the Councss's admiration.
1.-The Princess Sonia" by Miss Julia Magruder. Is
the story Of a wifes awful. fatal, terrible mis-
take" followed by a reconciliation, enacted in the
romantic atmosphere OF Partisan studios The story
has merit may even boast here and there OF
strong scene 60 wit, Sonia's ride home with her
husband HAROLD, but the pervGdlns tone OF the
book Is immature and hysterical. The author mas
attempted to depict emotions which ere beyond her
experience and imagination. The Princess Sonia
thus becomes false from double point OF view
On the other hand it Is false in that the reader Is
invited 10 accept a situation which Is almost
fantasticaly exceptional To be specific he Is asked
TO believe in a woman who after month OF married
life turns her husband out of doors on the ground
that she does not love him. and pending the decree
OF divorce what ground 1t Is to be granted the
author fails specify. goes TO study art In Paris
on the other hand there is offered page after page
OF cailow analysis. which 1t Is impossible TO take
seriously for moment. As specimen OF the
authors style the following, chosen from one OF
Sonias soiiloquies. viii serve
oh what have done. what have done TO have
to suffer so? To have TO give up all all JOY. and
take only pain ana misery and regret for all my
life. II was only a mistake L was no sin or crime
that committed when sent him away, and SAID
that id not love him. Ii only awful. fatal,
terrible mistake. | have feared for long. long
time; but. oh. know II now. l want him Dach-l
want him back, | want his love. ard his patience.
and his care | want him for my friend and my
protector and my husband. And though want him
So am further away from him than II had never
seen him When this hideous divorce is got and
our beautiful marriage has been undone any other
woman In the world might hope TO win his love
shall be the only free woman on earth to whom that
hope would be shame and outrage and humiliation
oh. my God. hep me. help" and so on. 10 the eX-
tent OF two pages more, when 1t is told that Sonia
fell forward. with her face buried in the lounge,
and great sobs shaking her body" The Princess
Sonia has here and there a good scene. drawn
graphically and gracefully but 1t is TO be noted that
the author good only when she confines herself TO
Incidents and feelings which within the range
OF her obviously limited experience.
A disposition to emphasize incident at the ex-
pense OF psychology and truth. which has been
noted as characteristic of Mr. Henry 5. Merrlman's
THE Grey Lady" IS even more CONSPICUOUS IN MS
last novel, The Sewers. Inc story, winch runs OH
TO an inordinate length. and might wisely have
been reduced 10 half its present proportions. is
NORMALLY tale of Russian life and adventure.
There is considerable detail. especially In the de-
scrpton OF natural scenery which would suggest
that the author has actually seen the scenes ne
describes But there inaccuracies which give
rise to doubt. II is not possible TO state explicitly
that the book written from hearsay, but II
might have been. As for the human interest in
The Sewers It barely escapes the character OF the
penny dreadful. The people puppets are the
familiar stock figures OF romantic fiction There Is.
for instance. the passonltc Russian woman the
mysterious English adventures. the supernaturaly
clever and wise bachelor, who knows the right thing
ut the right moment and clears up a mystery with
no more effort than would be required to strike a
match. There Is also a phianthropic Anglo Russian
Prince and wicked French diplomat. who knows
the herones secret. and makes no end of trouble.
and. finally a mysterious dead man. who
turns out to have been the heroines first husband
and the unknown prosecutor OF her actual spouse.
the hero the Anglo Russian Prince. other shop
worn romantic accessories are furnished by a
baron!al castle. a secret society and in the back
ground. Anarchy and Siberia. Mr. Merriman has.
indeed. ef; nothing out Of his meodrama but the
difficulty s that he has pu; nothing in
The ovel-with-a purpose finds a complete and
satisfactory exempl!hcation in the Norwegian story
OF Bj5rnsjerne Bjornson which Mr.. Cecil Fairfax
has translated under the title of THE
Heritage of the Hurts" The story as
originally published In 1884 bore the title
Flags Are Flying In Town and Harbor,"
which is sufficiently vague to justify the change.
The substituted title hints at the problem OF heredi-
ty with which the book deals. The story belongs
to Bj0rnsons second realistic period when he
has discarded the simple method Of romance which
won him his first aurels in "Synn0ye Solbakken'
and "Arne" and. under the influence OF the Eng
llsh matcrallstic and evolutionary philosophy be-
gan to devote his talents to studying social prob
lens in the gu!se OF fiction. The Heritage Of the
Hurts is the most satisfactory product Of these
theories with which the author has favored
his public. The theme Is heredity, as exemp.incI In
the family OF Kurt. The prevailing characteristic
OF this race. whose history for five generations
Bj0rnson briefly traces. Is uncontrolled violence
with the accompanying vices The problem IT,