The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-05-22

uCcuE, IN inc Rolu nuntoF , experience on tno
Western frontier. viii DO found to be very ade-
quately and wildly portrayed. This 10 . story
founded evidently on abundant experience, and
Il 10 that experience that recommends It. The
reader win not miss the polish; the substance
will hold him, and It will repay him amply.
Tho gradual unprecedented Of the landed and
titled class In England. and the invasion of their
ranks by the parvenu and the bulgarian, mark
one Of the most curious phases OF social develop
ment In that country during the last few years;
and, doubtless, some day another Bslhao will
be born to portray the manners and morals
Of q society that offers infinite oppor-
tunities to tho satirist and 10 as full
Of incongruities and absurdities on Is any
that history has preserved for us. Mean
while. we have ouida. There was 4 timo, and
that not 90 many years ago, whom this really
brilliant writer was content to give her readers
romance, not always pure, and sometimes any
thing but simple, but romance for its own sake.
and without any afterthought of stern didactio
moralising-when those fearful and wonderful
heroes and heroines of hers loved, gambled,
and drank, and performed prodigious feats
for sheer Joy Of the thing. and their doings
were set forth in style and language that were.
In themselves, q source Of pure delight But
now all that is changed, and in her latest novel,
"The Massarenes' (R. +. Fennol she takes up.
moro vigorously than ever. her self-appointed
task Of flashing tho vices and follies Of an effete
aristocraoy. BILLY" Massareno, who 10 o gen.
tleman Of obscure Irish parentago and an UNI
mitigated blackguard, having made his pile"
In North Dakota, comes to England with his
wife and daughter. Here he is taken under the
t~utelage of Lady Kenilworth. tho most beauti-
full woman in England, and her lord, who Is
known to his familiars as "Cocky," and, as tho
pile is a very largo one. the aristocratic pair
~-~-AA a. 1A,,- NNn - n--,AN f~a tnt A
him to society. There Is no false pride about
Cocky; he combines a taste for cold gin
and the society of yellow-haired ladies
Of the chorus, with q largo tolerance In
the matter of his wife's firtations; while
the lady may not unfairly be said to unto
the cool, calculating rapacity Of q daughter OF
tho horse leech, with certain of the primitive
instincts Of tho ordinary tile-walking cat. Even
her daughter, "a four-year-old angel, with
lovely black eyes and bright yellow hair" has
the maternal greed and selfshness fully de-
veloped, and an understanding Of certain mat
ters in her mothers private life that
10 as repulsive as 1t is. we hope, impossible
In 30 young q child. The story. in spite
Of its skilfully devised plot and some scenes Of
dramatic power. is essentially unpleasant; and
1t 10 impossible to accept such utterly sordid
characters as Cocky and his wife and their
friends as typical Of any existent state OF society.
Moreover, we miss the old magnifcence of die
ton, and the classical quotations are scattered
will a hand less lavish than Of yore. A fair en-
chantress, engaged in the prosaio process OF eat
ing oysters. "tosses the liliputian bivalves down
her rosy throat" and we recognize the old famil-
lar touch. But such flashes Of the ancient brill
liancy are rare, and the philosophio reader will
doubtless come to the sad conclusion that the
FREQ and unfettered ouida Of Under Two
Flags" was infinitely moro amusing than the
serious and scolding moralist of "The Massa-
rones."
It Is q pleasure to meet with o book that has
such q flavor of old-time romance about 1t as has
yellow Pine Basin" George II. Richmondl.
wherein Mr.. Henry @. Catlin tells the story Of
the discovery and working Of q rich mountain
claim by an old pioneer prospector and his
younger companion. "Zeb," the forty-niner.
with his simple. CHEEKY philosophy. his wonder
full woodcraft, and his quaint humor and rugged
kindiness Of heart, should take his place as ono
Of tho best types, in fiction, Of tho sturdy, ad-
yenturous pioneers Of California In the gold
seeking days. He and bis partner find "the
color" in an Idaho valley, high up among
the head waters Of tho Salmon. and set
tie down to work their claim and spend
the long winter in the mountains. They
build their log cabin. hunt deer and
lay in venison for the winter. kill bears, and, in
Inc evening, u OVCE III camp T nix Ut Ou
man tells of his adventures In his own inimita-
BILE way. The witchery of the story lies in Its
very simplicity and in that subtle charm that
makes such q book as Robinson Crusoe a de-
light to boys OF all ages, while the pioneers &C
count of his Californian experiences and his de-
scription of an episode of the war and the loss
of his trusty pardner Hank" have in them a
pathos that is genuine and effective. The book
10 O fitting tribute to the memory of q fast van
fishing type that was distinctively American and
that was worthy of all honor from the present
generation.
Miss Louise Imogen Quincy, in q volume en-
titled James Clarence Mangan; His Selected
Poems and a Study" Hanson, Wolfe & Coz.
has written q sympathetic and appreciative
study, and, with infinite industry. has collected
q number of long-forgotten poems. OF all the
bards that 1.-The most distressful country"
has produced, poor Mangan was surely the
most unfortunate. Weighted down. from
earliest youth. with the heavy load of poverty.
o victim to opium and alcohol. and condemned
by his own weakness to lifelong obscurity, he
Is a fitting object for all the gentle pity Miss
Quincy has for his memory. As to her wis
dom in bringing forward much Of his verso
from that obscurity to which the world
had long ago consigned 1t. the reader
may not feel so certain Although she
believes that Mangan Is unknown outside his
own non-academio fatherland." we arc in
clined to think that Ny Dark Rosaleen" and
one or two other pieces are familiar to other
than Irish readers. They certainly have a place
In THE Canterbury Poets" and In Stedman's
Victorian Poets" to mention but two anthol-
ogies, while. except these pieces, there is little.
II anything, in the great mass of material col
lected In the present volume to justify
the exaltation of their author to any higher
rank than that of "Speranza." or half q dozen
OF the members Of the Young Ireland" group.
The times were productive of q good deal of
pretty bad poetry. and every aspirant for fame.
who did not lead his muse into the thorny
path Of politics, had q canker worm gnaw-
ing at his heart, after the approved Byronic
manner. and an assortment OF real or imaginary
young women to whom his windy suspirations
were directed. Such lines as these ITO Laura"
were surely scarcely worth rescuing from obliv-
ion:
FAREWELL In life's gay. giddy whirl
Soon wilt thou have FORGOTTEN me.