The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-11-15
READABLE ROMANCES.
All Sorts 70 Suit All Tastes-S0m Repr. =
sentative Am rlcan Love Stores.

Two new productions in the school OF
American historical romance are king
Washington, by Adelaide Skeel aud Viii
liam ii. Brearlsy, aud "Chalmctte, by
Clinton Ross, both from the Lippncott
Furnishing house, and for sale In this
CITY by Preston & Rounds. They are at.
tractively nut up volumes anu are good
stories.
Mr.. Ross "Chalmetts" Is convsn-
tional In style and unconventional In
theme and plot. 1t furnishes entertain,
in2ly a picture of Laiitte and his Bara-
taria pirates in the days immediately
preceding Jackson's fight at New Orleans
ana closes with sketci OF thao mamor-
able battle. The reader gets fetching
glimpses of social and political life In
New Orleans In those stirring days anu
apparently the pom picturss ore basad on
conscientious historical study aud SO ere
as we'll worth attention as they are highly
readable. Or course tho storJ iissif Is
loye story
"king Washington" Is out Of tho ordi-
nary as tale. One would need TO bs
trained I'm revolutionary history to be
sure whether thoro is more truth than
hction In IL as To such parts as are not
clearly hction. Indeed. the doubtfulncss
as tn this with which one lays down the
book In the only unsatisiying thine
about It, We would like To havo the joint
authors draw the line where history ends
ana nctlon begins ID save us research
although it tempts TO such rcssarch TO
verify its pages If possible AMI perhaps
THAT is good thing though harily fair to
the ingenious reader of fiction Ihs tiins
ci the romance Is just subsequent 81 tho
surrender OF CORVALLIS and tie sc5ue the
hudson highlands with Newburgh. whore
Washington bad his lie eidquartars, In tn
foreground. 1t is the last days of tue
British struggle against revolution a
COnSllmmnf.1 al
nero and beroine-for, Of course, this, 100,
Is "a love storv-is involved in the tale Of
"A plot 10 kidnap Washington as General
Prescott was kidnapped earlier in the
war, right in Newport op our own Rhode
lsind shore The illustrations ara half
tone reproductions from actual scenes
which contribute tn the confusion left in
the readers mind as To how much that
has beon read is really true" How
ever II is AN admirable story of the kind
that Keeps you areading until the last
page is turned.
The rroud old man who undert'k {,
RUS daughter and son bv birth PCS
sessed OF &c u VI pride in their blood is not
new hgare IN ii tion, AMI while in
no Pride of the Mercers" (J. B. Lip
plncott Company Mr. L. Z. DeL"on
gives 1t no new twist, be does not fail 10
make highly readable romance with
plot. New Orleans is its scene, post bal
lllin the time, and a carefully etched pic
ture OF Southern life the product This
Is love story aud not ing more than that.
III neither offers the re der problem nor
introduces him TO history. How tho
pfiue oi the Mercer blood works itself out
cons stently in the father. tho son and the
daughter Is indeed an interesting study
apd capitally presented as hearing on the
plot and the love affair Altogether il is
spirited tale that cannot fail 10 delight
the lover OF romance.
Love stories that begin after marriage
are not so common even though protest
Is often made that the novel of real life
ought 10 consider that period rather
than to tell of the lovemakiDg only and
end at the married and live happily stage
as II there could be no more trouble
thareafter. It NAV guggest itself that in
Dead Selves, (Lippincott. For sale
by Preston IL Rounds). Miss Julia Ma
Rruder has solved the problem of how TO
make the after-msrriate- novel more
generally popular In Dad selves" the
hero and the heroine get married first
aod DO their loyemaking afterward which
process Is pursued through ths customary
troublous paths-or rather. trou blous
paths as IL customary, for, of course, a
romance that begins with marriage is
~
Here then, Is as sincere and fascinating
love story as ever WAS told. Duncan
Fraser and Rboda Gwyn are married
with 10 idea Of loving ench other
a marriage OF convenience for hoth avow-
ealy so undertaken. "A ssuming the
piausibiiity OF this situation--and Miss
Magruder makes il quite plausible,
strange as it might seem-the love story
nnwinds naturally and delightfully."-. The
dead selves begin to live love rules
the world once more and the romance
ends, not with wedding to be sure. for
that was its beginning. but with a situa.
tion that amounts to that, IL Ii were an
ordinary love story. The book ii ss dainty
a romance as any lover of q love story
could ask for.
The Queen of Hearts was married. too.
before her story began. Also. before she
went on the stage ana did her own
brand OF serpentinc dance and received
chappies at her apartments and fell IN
love with man who was married TO
some one else.
Thus crudely sketched this sounds
loud. but tho book itself GA Queen of
Hearts by Elizabeth Pbipps Train,
L,ppincott, publisher) is so cleveriy writ
ten that the plaring trnth of il would
hardly occur TO the readers. Miss Train
has wrlttsn "A Social HiQhwayu an. ;,
and other bright books that whatever
else may be said OF them are new and
unconventional and. il sensational not
OF the offending kind. Her Queen of
Hearts ms spectacular crestion sur.
passes anything she bad before done ana
the staveland and the society aiotures of the
book may be said To be painted also with
startinQly thick dauhs. Miss Train take,
tn high coloring and Queen Of Hearts
exemplifes her taste in this direction
Incidentally IL Is itching good reading
(For sale by Preston q Roundsl
Mr.. Charles Conrad Abbott i'm his
simple convincing style gives ms an at
iractivo love tale in 1.-The Hermit of
Nottingham" (J. B. Linpincott Cnmnnpv1
with the song of the birds and tho flavor
OF tine woods in IL and the love affair of
two young people brought out bv con
trhSt against tho pathetic figure Of tho old
fellow who had tired OF mankind and
gone bgck To nature. II il a smooth
calm, and not too exciting Bit OF readin9
Romance from romantic are writ in
romantic In ion l. fprpiah.d ~ -. -