The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-14

Clbt = CNENlE pAVApHe thN htOTJ mnICn08 Ou
without q break. They are not q pleasant
lot, these drunken, dissolute traders, Malay
pirates, and half-caste Portuguese that crowd
Mr.. Conrad's pages, and II we except the old
SEQ Captain. Tom Lingard, the RAjnh Laut,
fierce Of aspect, loud Of voice, and stupidly
~Ruileless Of heart, there In among them all no
man or woman who IL calculated to increase
ones respect for human nature. But they live
and breathe, fight and love and hate. and they
are set In the heavy languorous atmosphere
that hangs In the gloom and silence of the
tropical forest, whore tho most brilliant
flowers blossom in the midst Of poison
and decay. Wilems, the outcast, who
from being confidential clerk TO o rich Dutch
trader desconds to vagabondage. and finally to .
life OF semi-savagery with a half-casto Arab wo-
man, AIssa, the woman, and Babalatchi and
Lakamba, Malay adventures and pirates, are
types new to readers Of fiction. The loves Of white
men and black women and the tragedies they
bring about have been. by Mr.. Becke, made the
material for many interesting stories, but in this
volume there Is evidence Of a sustained power
and an insight into the inner causes Of these
thinRs that the author Of by Reef and Palm"
has not shown. Here Is the FIRST meeting Of the
woman and the man:
He felt q strange Impotence within him al her I'D.
vance. Confused thoughts rushed through his head,
disordored. shkpeless, stunning. Then he heard his
own voice asking;
"who are you ?"
IL am tho daughter OF the blind Omar" she an.
swered In . low but steady tone. And you" she
went on. q little louder. 'you are tho white trader
the great man Of this place"
"Yes,' said willems. holding her eyes with his in
q sense OF extreme EFFORT. "yes, l AN white" Then
he added, feeling a. II he spoke about some other
man. 'but am the outcast Of my people"
She listened to him gravely. Through the mesh Of
scattered hair her face looked like the face Of n golden
statue with living eyes. The heavy eyelids dropped
slightly. and from between the long eyelashes she
sent out q sidelong look: hard, keen, and narrow, like
the CLEAN OF sharp steel. Her lips were firm and com.
posed In O graceful curve. but the distended nostrils,
the upward poise OF the half averted head, gave to
her whole person the expression OF 4 wild and resent
full defiance.
shadow passed over wilems's face. He put his
hand over his lips as II to keep back the words that
wanted to come out In q surge OF impulsive neces.
sity, the outcome Of dominant thought that rushes
from the heart to the brain and must be spoken in
the face Of doubt, OF danger, Of fear. OF destruction
itself.
"You are beautiful" he Whispered.
She looked at him ngain with q glance that, run.
ming In one quick fash OF her eyes over his sunburnt
features. his broad shoulders, his straight. tall. mo-
tionless figure, rested at last on the ground At his feet.
Then she smiled. In the sombre beauty Of her face
that smile was like o CLEAN OF dawn on q stormy
morning, like the nrst ray OF eastern light that
darts evanescent and pale through the gloomy clouds,
the forerunner OF sunrise and OF thunder.
THE Folly OF Pen Harrington " Appleton'sl,
a novel by Mr.. Julian Sturgis. contains some ex-
cellent fooling. and is as CHEEKY q bit Of light
comedy as we have met with for some time.
There is but the faintest suggestion OF q plot, and
the dialogue is OF the lightest, airicst kind. but
Mr. Gtprois vrrifaa ne nm vhnkpor h;a .ubinpt
and these fashionable London folk Of his
are sketched with q touch Of satire that
10 rarely other than good.natured. Pencil
ope herself. the brilliant and eccentric
leader OF the most exclusive clique in
London, and Peter Blake, the man from South
Africa, are very pleasant persons. and their WOO
ing gives a touch Of romance TO the story. while
Freddy" the golf enthusiast: Lady Linda, and
the ponderous Duchess Of auckland are all
sketched in the true comedy spirit. Johnny
Pesaro, the lucky speculator who becomes
John Spencer Pesaro" and a power in
Tho City, has some points that re-
call memories OF a lately deceased South
African millionaire. and others in which
he resembles o type that every day becomes
more numerous and moro powerful in London.
GOOD old John Spencer was an institution
with tho young bloods OF Throgmorton street.
They dined with him, they had an immense be-
lief in his business capacity, and. II they quoted
his social verdicts with levity, they quoted his
financial opinions with that tone Of awe which
formerly was reserved for religion. II you hear
q solemn tone in the gay world Of to-day. you
will find that the subject is money" A capital
book this for a lazy man or woman and a pleas
ant summer day.
Under the title Of Religion for To-Day"
George H. Ellis. Boston,. the Rev. Minot J.
Savage, D.. D.. publishes a volume OF sermons
delivered in the Church OF the Messiah in this
city during the past twelve months. There is q
fine vigor and earnestness in these addresses
and q breadth and tolerance that is infinitely
refreshing in those days Of denominations
wrangling and discussion. Under the title of
Present Religious Conditions the reverend
gentleman defines the present position OF
the little group of Unitarian churches, and
then proceeds in a series OF addresses
to discuss the causes OF present religious
unrest. the question as 10 what Christianity
is. Immortality from the point OF view of the
modern world. he'll ,And heaven. the Church OF
yesterday. to-day and Tomorrow. and a number
of other topics. There never was" says DR..
Savage, such an earnest truth-seeking. such a
feverlsh desire for truth in the history OF this
world as charactcrizes the leaders Of the worlds
thought and life in this nineteenth cen.
tury OF ours. 1t is the best people, it ia
the most intelligent people, who above all
things desire truth. who are asking these
questions" In answer to the question as
to what claim the Unitarian churches make
he says: II believe, with my whole soul, that
we stand for the principles which are to rule the
world in the coming thousands OF years. Fol
why We believe In and respect the heart. the
emotional. the feeling side Of religion. We DO
lieve also in and respect the intellectual side,
and demand for IL its right; and we believe thai