The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-03-20

Candor compels the reader to admit.
after perusing with interest Conan Doy,e's
latest work. "A Desert Drama that it is
not up to his usual standard. 1t is in
teresting and exciting, of course-CoHan
Doyle could no more write q Thoroughly
duh book than could Rider Haggard-
but it is distinctly inferior to his earlier
work In the first place, he calls it "a
Desert Drama the Tragedy of the Koros-
ko," when it is not, in fact. drama, nor
is it a tragedy. a tragedy demands that
the chief actors or at least the majority
of those in whom the reader is interested,
should lose their lives; whereas Mr.. Doyle
only finds it necessary to sacrifice two or
three unimportant people at the outset.
The korosko, moreover, is merely a small
steamer which plays no important part
in the development of the plot OF course,
it makes a striking title, while the read
er is as yet uniformed whether the Ko-
rosko is a river, a mountain. an idol,
potentate, or a whirlpool, but that is all
that can be said for it.
The story concerns a party of English,
French and American travellers who get
caught in an Egyptian desert by a band
of extremely bloodthrsty and ferocious
Bedouins, and are carried on camel back
several days journey to some place I'M
known, the Arabs pausing at intervals of
a few miles to threaten some Of the party
with battle, murder and sudden death.
This Is done to keep up the interest. At
the beginning of the excitement the two
women of the party are hidden safely
away, but one knows they must be found
and dragged out sooner or later, because,
in Ia frGT rnla ll.T e, 70,
vide for them and bring them into the
story later should they be left where they
are, and in the second place. the tale
would lack half its force if there were no
women for the heroic men to protect
through the perils which follow. This is
perfectly well understood, and all eXcit-
ing novels are provided with women to be
rescued, protected comfOrted, and finally
united in marriage to the heroes, but it
annoys the reader to have them brought
in quite so obviously. 1t is like sitting al
the theater while melodrama is going
on and hearing the machinery squeak
while the scene-shifters work the sea.
The machinery squeaks at intervals all
through Mr.. Doyles latest book, and it is
troublesome. He used not to allow such
things to happen.
Another horrible feature of the book TO
American eyes, is the Introduction of two
women from Boston. aunt and niece, who
talk remarkable English, especially the
aunt. The niece, being a pretty girl,
speaks with reasonable correctness, and
she is represented as a college graduate.
| To be sure, she says she has sat and
cried for days and days at Smiths Col
lege. and the other girls were just crazy
to know what she was crying about, and
guessing what the reason was that she
wouldn't tell, when the real. true rea-
son was that she didn't know herself"
OF course, Mr.. Doyle could not be expect
ed TO know quite much about Amer
lean college for girls as he knows about
the waste places of the earth, so that he
may be excused for a little slip or two
In this line How should he know that the
well-educated American girl does not talk
about feeling good" or superb don
keys" or ask Wherever are they rails
ed?" when she sees native soldiers. But
the portrait given of the aunt can be laid
to nothing but deliberate malice. A we'll
educated Boston woman, supposed TO rep
! resent the wealth and culture of America,
who says that things make her tired
that she warmed on a job" exclaims
| "Shucks Sadie, don't talk like that and
dives into an Arab hut to scrub it with
her own hands for the sake of reforming
the natives that character must have
come to Mr.. Doyle In an opium dream.
OF course, some things are allowable in
! a sensational novel, but only on condition
that they add TO the effect. This thing
does not. Mr.. Doyle ought to have known
better.
philadelphia: ]. p. Lippincott Com
pany. Washington: All booksellers)