The Portland daily press., 1897-08-12
NEMESIS OF ERROR
As 1t Pursues Richard Harding Davis
from Story to Story.

10 write Of Mr.. Davis, says the New
York Post, is to recall the Nemesis of err
ror that pursues him when he goes out of
the way to irritate the sensibilities of
Others. Even now his controversy with
the still more ephemeral Mr. Townsend
over the guardmounts in London and at
the forts in New York harbor is not alto
gether forgotten. Mr.. Davis newest
tale, Soldiers for Fortune, y is rightly
one of the best-liked novels of the summer
an entertaining, wholesome and COM
paratively unaffected romance, moving
swiftly and clearly, Astounding in Incl
dent and adventure, properly spiced with
sentiment, diverting pastime for
rainy day Or long journey Young
women in particular read it with avidi-
ty, and with his own eyes the Tran
script s correspondent has seen an absurd
maid stand-not sit-for nearly hour by
window, overlooking the court of an
hotel. with the yellow covered novel, Sol
diers Of Fortune" in her hand. Her eyes
wandered not from its pages, he scarce
" relaxed her position until descending
darkness contrained her to turn within
doubtless in quest of a reading lamp. All
of us have at times sat till dawn to make
an end of some beguiling romance, and
SO paid its maker a just tribute; but how
seldom does writer have, as does Mr..
Davis, and all unconsciously, the homage
OF two hours standing in warm sum-
mer afternoon in town.
Now, in the making of "Soldiers of
Fortune, Mr.. Davis had apparently to
seek information of the Maritime Ex-
change in this town as to the coast of
Central America, and as to Puerto Cortez
in Honduras in particular. Apparently,
also, he received an unsatisfactory an
swer. Thereupon he took occasion to
remark ironically that the Exchange
confessed to a much more intimate
knowledge of the west coast of China
than Of the little group of republics which
lies only three or four days journey from
its ignorance had forced him "to haunt
| the shipping offices of Bowling Green for
days together The minds of the Off
| GERS of the Exchange, perchance, move
slowly, but they pondered these scornful
| words until the map of China rose in
vision before their eyes. Then they noted
with delight that by the common agree
Reclus, mountains and desert wastes
bounded China on the west. and that
only on the east did it face the Pacific
| ocean. From China they returned to
| their native land, and little more refec-
| tion recalled to them that the seven ship
ping offices the hapless Davis had
haunted" in Bowling Green were all of
trans atlantic lines where there was like
~ to be even less knowledge of the coast
of Honduras than there was in the Mari
| time Exchange. Thus armed and well
prepared, the superintendent of the Ex-
change set forth his woes in letter to
the editor of the Tribune, which that
journal printed not inconspicuously, and
in which Mr.. Davis comes off distinc--
| lively the worst. The officers of the Ex-
change may be as familiar with the
waters and the ports of Central America
| as its superintendent asserts, but beyond
peradventure they have clearer notions of
the geography of China than has Mr.
Davis, and they are a little more cogniz-
ant of the business of their neighborhood.