The morning times., 1896-08-23


oilspIcuous g recent DcoS which displayed
the ctnjunc:,ve title was IA Man ami
Woman" 1t was striking ana euphon-
ois. Strai ghtway half dozen btoss
appeared with names suggestive OF this
i'luHeer, SoIue OF the recent publicatio1s-
Under this mead are "A MASK aad a Mar
tyr "Hss Honor ali d Lady."'-A Parting
ana Meeting" 1.-Two Women ami 4 Maa."
tii,s author went the original ole woman
better, Two Women a1d Foo!,' mot
the same book. "A Kingdn n Few Dukes"
Three Men a1i Il God,'''.The World and a
Man aad Two Lads and Lass" These
! three forms appear To be worn to the
bone. The next inventive turn will be
| watched with interest. The precursor may
alreaiy be Ioimed, it may I've before you or
| me on the table; oalyti.n an ! the concurrent
limit alive faculty uf tale-spinncrs will tell
as the announcements of the publishers ac-
canihlate the evidence
ELDOM have romances been introduced
with more logical and engaging prefa-
tory devices than Beyond the Pale
ocryslic Sea: or the Legend OF Half
jurd.'' the work OF 4 s Morton, put
:ished by the E. w. Porter Company. of
ST. eaui. MINI. Mr.. Morton relates that
while on a tour OF scientific exploratiou
in arctic ice fields he Que day found
Tag made OF wairus skin. sealed water
tight. On Opening il he found, written
ia English. exactly, as presented to the
reader. The Legend OF Half ford with
introductory explanations from the trans
! nnttcr. Pierre Vacheron. The latter went
| ward ou ~f5e~Kane expedition In
The frozen lands near Smith Sound he be-
cairo estranged from his Companions and
found hinseI adrift in the polar sea on
floating island OF ice Not a sign Of
ife' was around me- he writes II now
WAS panic-s;ricken, paraiyzed with fear.
and shouted at tBe top Of my voice. but
| no reply came save the mocking ecrO from
the everlasting ice that rose around me
ike The frozen walls of a deserted hell
Fer days he f,oated, with TO food hut
the tia blood OF white owl which hc
cnpiurei. one day he sighted Il strange
yisIpn, d seeming mirage II was The city
NiKiya. His icy raft flOated toward IL
and be landed, with strange, disordered
fears lest il might only lie a city OF
deal and lie should be doomed TO wander
a solitary Y mortal through the silent streets.
The strange peopie-for there were live
Incrtah' h'iheTC-receiveif Elm not cnIy Kindly.
but regaliy. for they believed lin to be
HGif'ord. their king, returned. for they saw
in his coming tie corsu,nmation of a
'etsand. Vachcron took thc Iegeud from
The people and wrote it as set out in the
present book. and the laCGci ing of tire
vairus akia bag with the strange un-
understood contents was made ROYAL
ceremony. The whole scheme OF the book
Is one Of refreshing originality. and Mr.
Morton has carried his idea TO cu,is sunina.e
completion. The narrative antecedent 10
The legend is realistic aud vivid. aud the
legend Itself is recited with fine charm
It should become one of the appreciated
ana important fiction works of the.eason.
.aH-S -.
HE Protean Series Of Henry Holt &
Co. has been conspicuous success
Whoever is the editor. he has not only
Judged wisely in every instance of
selection. but he has introduced to the
readers rev writers who seem to possess
all the skill Of the old to exploit their
freshness and originality in treatment.
The titles, too, OF the Protean books have
been temptations in themselves. A title
is a large item in the attractiveness Of
a took; it is everything to the chance pur-
chaser Of an uuheard-of author. 'In the
Valley of Tuphet" is recent addition
to these books. 1t embraces twelve
sketches OF exquisite worknIansi,ip by
Henry v. Nevison. Mr. Nevison is well
known as the writer of Slum Stories of
London His later hook Cht be called
Stun Stories of Wenle v on the Hill, il
there were only sluns in Wenley. Un-
fOri unateiy Weniey is one integral SUM,
inasnuch as II is the home "f ignorant
and staryelings. 1t is coal mining
town in England and it's people are
| amiable puppets in Mr. Nevison's hands
Ilr writes OF them not only with apparent
iniima cy with their Ii yes. but with larger
and surer knowledge of the huna nifty which
cloaks the world as well as Wenley. In
all his tales he combines with startling ef-
feet the tragic with the humorous He
seenIs TO ie absolute ma ster of pathos, hut
through tears he makes you shuddcr and
laugh in trenible. His touches are better
Than his sustained periods although many
of these are very fine. In THE Tale OF
Shadow he leads Us into a scene Of hi :,h-
est tension: two men are buried alive in
a coal pit. and then with in,Dudent de Aterity
carries the sketch TO Il finish with con-
'arious hun,or AN Undersired Victory"
is purposeful sketch with n NJ motif of
character throughanf- The low pagCing
OF the woman at the man with her re-
nea'ed Give me- that shilling Is fine
nunctuation Of the materialist's lecture.
Others Of the stories which are of par
ticrlar~ attr3ctiveness are IA vicarious
sa"rifirn - ''The Old Adam" 'An Old
Rcd Rag" '.The eedy of Kipestead"
aud "His Eve Lamb
- HE Dillingham; Company added tw o
new volumes o their long catalogue
of paper hound books which contain
the desirable meat without the luxury
of superfluous dressing. These
| books are seaeonable for the readers
which they will reach, and in both IN
stances tell stories of enthrailing inter
est and with engaging vivacity. One
is from the pen Of Annie Henri Wilson,
and is called MIR. Mercer Of New Y ork -
| This is the story of II an, young, hand
some aud rich, but against whom there
! were many odds. His lines had fallen int o
high places, according to the worlds stand
ard, hut be. was self confessed abnormal
individual for whom society and its women
had lost attraction Having gone the pace
that kills in time, he retired to an isolated
spot In the North Carolina m ouDtains to
recuperate. 1t was here that he ran across
a girl, peculiarly and refreshinSly sweet
and innocent, who appealed to his fancy,
and who was later given to him by her
poor and i!literate old parents to do with
as he pleased The story reveals how this
man Of the world and the pOssessOr Of q
not unimpeachable reputation discharged
ATS trust.
Tho oiher bears the attractive name OF
Edgar Fairfax" and the author only dis
closes thdr nc tof sl,c1 10 known as the
author Of The Twin Sisters" It Is .