The times., 1899-04-16

| Whether it would be perfect. wers b s the
ories TO be generally adopted. it is as ye!
| too soon to say. In politics as in cookery
| II is necessary first to catch ones hare;
| in other words, to get the assent Of he
people TO a proposition before one can
definitely know what they will do with it
| Chicago; Herbert S. Stone & Co. S1.50.)
Minor Fiction.
"Hilda," by Sara jeanette Duncan. is a
| story on somewhat novel lines. An ac-
tress and Salvation Army girl as hero
ines, with an English broker and a young
priest as heroes, all framed in the narrow
streets and nondescript houses of Cal
| cutta, form a combination curious enough
TO enlist ones interest at the start. And
! the combination is worked out in de-
cidedly original IL not altogether MASTER y
manner. Besides these four characters OF
peculiar interest, we have dainty, unin-
tellectual English girl, who is in love with
the broker, who is captivated by Laura
Filbert, the Salvation Army captain.
| Ones credulity is little strained in dis
covering what this moderately sensible
| young man can see in Laura, who is GER
tainly cold -blooded, common, and only
moderately picturesque. Still. beautiful
yoice-was there ever a woman novelist who
| could resist giving her heroine beauti-
| full yoice-a Fra Angelica coloring, and the
picturesque costume, of the Army in Hin
dustan might go far to fascinate a biase
| and not too discerning man of the world.
The situation is relieved from tragedy at
the end of the book by Lauras acceptance
of the broker, her subsequent summer in
England with friends of his his gradual
awakening from his dream during her alb
sence, when he had only her letters to feed
upon, and her marriage to an officer of
"the army" whom she meets on the cut
ward voyage. One feels that Miss Laura
Filbert at any rate, has found her proper
place, and will adorn the home of that
officer with radiance enhanced by her 10
mantle love affair with "a real gentle
man."
The actress is less fortunate. She is not
quite SO clearly defined as the delightful
Laura, but Is a much more human and
likeabIe personality Following the law
of opposites, she falls in love with the
priest, and is refused by him. One feels
that he does not exactly understand her at
any time. Finally, in the last chapter,
he is conveniently killed by malignant
native, for no apparent reason, and leaves
Hilda to evade the horrible mistake she
was about to make in joining sisterhood.
On the whole. the end of the book finds
all the characters where they properly be-
long New York: Frederick A. Stokes
Company. $1.25)
The Measure of a Man." by E. Living
ston Prescott, is story of sergeant in
the English army who fell in love with the
daughter of a gentleman and became en-
gagged to her. In such cases there is usu-
ally violent opposition on the part OF the
lady's parents, but in this case the. hero.
inc was an orphan, and fell easily into the
snares set for her by the timidly aspiring
sergeant The one thing which is brought
out in the book more strongly than any
thing else is the gulf which exists in
England between the man who is and the
one who is not a gentleman. Over this
gulf il seems almost impossible Tor Ser
geant Sadoc Monck TO pass, though he
bends his entire will to the task His
character is we'll portrayed, and, in fact,
there is a great deal Of very fair charac-
ter-drawing in the book. The somewhat
vacillating Miranda, the sensuous and self
ish cousin. the vain and silly feliow-ser-
geant. are all well done. The author, at
the last moment, seems to have decided
upon favorable outcome, and is obliged
to bring Monck to life after his having
shot himself twice. The thoughtful read
er may regard it as slightly improbable
that crack soldier of the British army
should deliberately attempt to shoot him
self and fail; but the exigencies OF novel
writer's are many, and some of them have
been obliged TO make use of worse shifts
than this. (New York: R. F. Fenno
Co. $l.25)
IAN index Finger" by an author with
the remarkable name Of Tulis Abrojal, is
a story-one can hardly call 1t a novel
with spiritualstics theme. Like many
other works on this subject, it contains
many incidents which the author says are
taken from real life. 1t might with JUS
tice be said that these incidents would be
much more useful TO the student II they
were given with names, dates and places
attached so that they could be verified,
but this is not always desirable, and the
reader must take them for what they are
worth as presented in the form of fiction.
As such books go, there is good work in
this. but it suffers from the common fault
of a whole galaxy Of extraordinary char
acters, people with all the projections
known to man and with faults but vaguely
described by some such term as I'VE are
all miserable sinners" (New York: X.
f. Fenno Co. s1.25) q s.44a
Each Life Unfulfilled," by Anna Chapin
Ray, is a love story of slightly different
type from the general run of literature, in
this line While in no sense problem
novel, or a story with a purpose, the au-
thor has evidently a strong desire that the
atmosphere of the book shall be uplifting
and its influence good; and in this she has
succeeded Though the outcome Is disap-
pointing to those who like poetic justee
in story books, it is very much like the
general course of things in this, word,
and indeed, II is rather hard to see how
the story could have ended differently,
with the characters as they are developed.
The hero of the novel is Tom Heaton,
a, brilliant young novelist, who becomes
acquainted, at an obscure little summer re-
sort, with a bright pretty, and rather su-
perfcial young girl by the name OF inor
Tiemann. whose ambition is to become
singer. The two find pleasure in each 9TH
er's society, and then begins the cd, old
drama of an intellectual and large-hearted
man fascinated by the superficial sweet
ness of a woman who seems TO feel and
understand much more than she ever really
can.
This fact is clearly brought out in the
readers first acquaintance with Elinor,
and the Interest of the story thenceforth
centres In the question, What is to be-
come of Heaton? Two years later the
two meet again in New York. where Eli
nor is studying music, and in the mean
time Heaton has lost his eyesght Eli
nor's natural sympathy. and certain in
terest awakened in her by the character
of Heaton, lead her to give him a great
deal of her society, and he gradually drifts
into the belief that she may really care
for him. Meanwhile she is being wooed
and won by his cousin and best friend,
has made her success in music, and has