The sun., 1897-01-09
NEW BOOKS.
Brief Reviews or Inporta,t sud Interest-
Ing New Rusiieatieus.

probably nothing In the theory of fiction writ
ing 10 better established than the broad rule
that the curiosity Of the reader should be ex-
citod and that the satisfaction Of the same
should not occur too soon. To hold the reader
eager 10 tho thing. Keep him out Of bed II you
can, aud compel him 10 read. oven II he 10 suffer-
ing from the pangs Of despisod love or from
the toothscho. In Tho Maker Of Moons"
the nrst Of . volume OF short tales BY Rob-
ert w. Chambers &c. p. Putnam's sons), the
clever and discerning author says at the start:
Concerning Yue-Laou aud the Kin I nothing
more than you shall know" Here at once is o
mystery and . promise. Who or what is Yue-
Lsou. and who or what 10 the kim The reader
is urged on to the explanation. II am miser-
ably anxious" Mr.. Chambers goes on. ITO clear
the matter up" The reader 10 no loss anxious
to have It cleared up. II seems that part OF the
story Is already known. The Now York
papers have been full Of alleged details.
or these so much Is true as that "Barris
caught tho Sinner. rcd-handsd, or rather
ow-handsd. for his pockets and boots
aud dirty fists were stuffed with Jumps Of gold"
Now. who was Barris and what In the namo Of
all that Is wonderful is Sinner. the thing that
he caught1 Furthermore, how did Barris man
age to catch itf Did he do II by some origina-
tion and peculiar application OF genius, or was
tho sinner caught merely with . hookp Ono
goes on to Gnd his curiosity still further excited
~ Say gold advisedly." Mr.. Chambers con-
tinues, "you may call II what you please"
That 10 generous permission, but
what reader will ind It In his intelll-
gence to know what to call it1 Perhaps
IL involved tho trustful idea OF blmetallism: !:
perhaps It signiHed no more than beautifully
engraved paper promises to pay. The author.
with practised art, subordinatcs any disposition
hat he ma haya n nd tn all M Ha ClevArlv
and artistically switches OF. You know how
Barris was" he says. but unless begin at the
beginning Of my own experiences you will bo
none tho wiser after ALL"
Never was curiosity moro perfectly aroused
and thwarted. We still do not know about
Barris. or about tho thing that was called gold,
or about the Sinner. or about the manner In
which Barris caught the Sinner. Who the
deuce was Barris? But nrst what Is the ex-
PLANTATION of the creature that crawled out Of
tho pocket Of Godfrey, q clerk In Tirany's, as
MIR. Chambers stood talking to him regarding =
coied serpent In chiselled gold that q rus
tic person OF the name Of Reuben had
brought from some plaoe near Starlit
Lake. in the Cardinal woodsP II the
reader believes that he Is going to be immedi-
ately gratihcd with . complete account of the
coled and chlsolled snake, We beg to inform him
that he 10 mistaken. First. there 10 the creature
that crawled out Of Godfr pocket Mr..
Chambers believes that this creature was the
connecting link between q sea urchin, spider,
and the devil. It looked venomous. and Its syes
seemed TO be painted. Apparently 1t had no
fangs and no mouth-A Circumstance which
excused possibly It's intimate possession
by . clerk In q place frequentsd by
q great many sensitive and connding peo-
PIE. Still. tho creature was disturbing enough
h.v lad hat laok ad W nd
Mr.. Chambers further declares that It looked
unfinished and that he was hlled with mad
idea that IL was only one OF the parts Of some
larger and more grotesQuo organism. Godfrey
maintained that the creature was . crab, but
whether 1t was or not we como now again TO
BArris.
It seems that Barris firted with maid with .
cap In Pullman car of the Quebec express
train as It pulled out" Of tho Grand Central
station. We wish that the train had not
pulled out" of the station; in the interest Of
novelty We wish that IL had simply gone out
We wish. Also, that Barris had not nrted with
the maid with the cap. These, however, are
minor matters that We are confident neod
not disturb nybody. II the maid belonged
TO the secret service. and II the telegram that
Barris drew from his pocket as the train pulled
out" was signed BY Gen. Drummond. the chief
Of that service. perhaps the Irritation was .
mere sign and symbol necessary TO she unearth-
ing of the mystery Of the ohiselled serpent and
OF the venomous and mouthless creature that
crawlsd out OF the intrepid Godfrey's pocket ~
Mr.. Chambers was talking to him.
We pass on to the subject Of tho gold mug
get that Capt Mahan had. 1t 10 unnecessary to
explain who Capt. Mahan was. Tho important
Circumstance 10 that the gold nugget was not
gold. Gold is not an elementary metal. as the
.tat- L. o l. ,,N.I 80
"a gang Of people" in the Cardinal Woods. tho
woods where Reuben and the ohiselled snake
and the mouthless, venomous creature came
from. know how to mako 1t. Tho Quebec eI-
press, having pulled out" Of the Grand
Central Station, 10 on its way to the Cardinal
Woods. Things are impending. Barris and the
maid with the cap and Gen. Drummond Of the
Secret Service all know very well what they
are about. Meantime Prof. La Grange, who
had ascertained tho secret Of the gold nugget
that Capt. Mshan had, IL lying dead with
bullet In his heart. He was shot two hours he
fore and the fact of his demse End OF the violent
occasion Of the Same will probably be known TO
the police by the time the Quebec express
reaches Poughkeepsie.
Tho strange person who makes moons occurs
later In the story. A silktn cord appertains TO
him, This Ia seized By Mr.. Chambers on page
"a. and 10! It melts like smoke in his hands.
"what Is all this damnable juggleryf" Mr..
Chambe asks. No wonder he ventures the
interrogation. "StAnding on the shore of the
lake Ia lake is q part Of the buslness) stone's
throw away, was figure, twisted and bent
q little. old man, blowing sparks from q
1.-Two coal which he held In his naked
hand. Tho coal glow-d with increasing radi-
ance, lighting up the skulllike faco above It, and
threw q red glare over the sands at his feet"