The San Francisco call., 1898-03-20

which was to come the filter of love and eternal youth
 This being the conception of Paris out
 of which the story and all of its philoso- phy grow, it is scarcely necessary to say
 the book will not find favor with those to whom a novel Is merely a means of pass ing with pleasure an idle hour. It is not meant for those who desire only pleas ant tale or an exciting romance to amuse them It is a work for the study of the
 serious; to be read as an illustration of
 total depravity, or as a prophecy of the
 speedy coming of the dawn of brighter
 day. It is a challenge to every form of
 conventional religion, to the Church Of
 Rome and to the whole scheme and dog
 ma of Christianity.
 The keynote of the book is a denuncia-
 tion of religion founded on charity and demand for religion founded on justice. The hero whose experiences and intellec- tual development constitute the contlnu- ity of the plot throughout the tr1logy. sought first for satisfaction for his aspi-
 rations at Lourdes but found there only
 the glorifcation of mysticism and renun- citation of reason. He turned to Rome to see if the faith and ardor of primitive Christianity could be renewed by the
 church, but found there what Zola calls "the rotted' trunk of a tree that could
 never put forth another spring time.' He
 went at last to Paris and sought consola- ton in works of charity, only to flnd that charity itself is a blunder, that the reii-
 zion founded on it has become bankrupt, and that aims can never cure the suher- ing of mankind.
 The story opens with Froment serving in one of the churches of Paris as an un- believing priest, convinced of the useless
 ness of all his efforts to help others to-
 ward salvation. He goes forth on mls-
 sion of charity, and straightway the mar
 rative plunges into the slums and mlser- l ies of Paris. From the wretched tene-
 ments where poverty dies of hunger, and enforced idleness breeds the mad spirit of anarchy, he goes to certain rich phil | anthropists to seek aid for starving 1 man. Here he enters into the stream or
 corruption which wealth breeds, and | comes into contact with one of the lead ] ing characters of the story, Baron Du-
 willard, who 'rotted and devoured, cor
 rupted and swallowed everything he touched, and was also the tempter per
 sonified-the man who bought all con
 sciences that were for sale"
 In this circle of the aristocracy of wealth he finds many patrons of char1- table institutions, but not one to help the dying wretch in whom for the moment he is particularly interested. He turns from them to the statesmen of the time and striking chapter Of the story describes scene in the Chamber of Deputies when q scandal breaks out over the bribery re- sorted to by Duvillard to carry through a great railway scheme. Among the characters introduced in this scene are many which can be recognized even by American readers as portraits of we'll known politicians and Journalists.
 Froment fails in this circle as in the former one and Is led to a visit to the residence of "Sylvaine," the mistress of Duvillard, a woman of ''virginal coun- tenance." with aspirations for success on
 the stage; a character which can be read ily recognized as that of Parisian cele-
 brity recently in this country. Here also he fails. No help is forthcoming. The starving workingman dies in his garret. His friend Salvat, who also is destitute and starving, goes forth desperate into the
 streets of Paris with a bomb made of a powerful explosive he has stolen from