The times., 1899-01-15

Gloria Mundi is the latest, though not
The last, work of Harold Frederic. for The
Market Place is yet TO appear. a peCu-
liar interest attaches to the former book
from the fact that the death cf its author
occurred while the story was still in pro-
cess of publication in serial form. During
Its course in the magazines it won many
readers, but it may safely be said that its
popularity in book form will be much wild
er. Frederic's work is not adapted TO
piecemeal publication. The whole plot and
development OF the story is interfered with
by that arrangement Fancy The Dam
nation Of Theron Ware" spread over
twelve monthly installments. regardless of
the readers interest in the story, There
are some books, and those not by any
means the worst, which are admire bly,
suited TO serial publication, and are all
the mere fascinating for the spice of un-
certainty which the reader experiences in
a hiatus CT month b tween char ters but
Theron Ware is not one OF them. That
book must be taken as nearly as possible at
sitting, and surveyed comprehensively
from as many different points of view as
possible. One must not have time TO for
get the earlier developments of the young
minister's character OF allow them to grow
over-familiar before beholding the COM
plete downfall of his pretensions in the
later chapters. And though Gloria Mum
di'' does not resemble the earlier book in
very many particulars, it does share that
peculiarity-that one must read it as
whole, and not piecemeal.
TO many people, especially those famil-
lar with the immense army of English
bv Thar /
will seem that Frederic has in this novel
attempted hazardous if not impossible
task. He, an American, has undertaken
10 give realistic picture of English ar
istocratic society. Other American nov
elists have tried this same thing with
more or less success; the under taking is
nothing new; the surprising fact is that
Frederic has attempted it. When a man
who has drawn photographically exact and
eoldly realistic pictures of life in no. thern
New York, who has painted with absolute
accuracy the sordid, commonplace, mate
rialistic life Of country town, reproduc-
ing the atmosphere with the unerring
touch of one who knows it through and
through-wben such writer attacks the
English nobility with no other equipment
than genius, one is naturally curious to
know what will happen.
There is no other writer of Frederics
school-the school OF the realists in Amer
ica-who would have dared II; that is GER
tain. And the only other thing of which
one is sure from the first is that whether
he could successfully portray the inner life
of English society or not, he thought he
could or he would not have tried: and
he was not 4 man who was wont to over
estimate himself In fact. the one great
defect in Frederic's work is his determina
tion 10 shut his eyes TO anything Ike
ideality. AS he painted human nature
and there is considerable ideality in that
material-some of it would creep into his
books now and then; but never by his in
tention. If he had lived twenty years long
er the ideal side of his own nature would
have awakened and developed, and he
might have become that genius of the fu-
ture-the great American novelist. As il
IS, he had already given us at least one
book of permanent value. Theron Ware"
GLORIA Mundi" is a valuable work. but
IL has hardly the completeness or the i'm
portance Of a masterpiece
The hero of the story is a young man
Unexpectedly brought from the continent
TO become the inheritor OF an English es-
tate He is the son of one OF those young
er sons who. owing to the old English law
of primogeniture, may be found spending
their portions in all parts of the earth
when the paternal estates are not large.
He has been taught to call himself Chris
tion Tower; but in early manhood discov-
ers that he belongs TO the ancient family
of Torr, and that by the unexpected death
of four heirs he will come into the title
al the death of the duke, now very old
man. He is summoned TO England TO make
the acquaintance of his family and on his
arrival he finds that one branch of the
family-knoYn 10 the other branch as the
Jews from the fact that its head, Lord
Julius TORI, married a Jewess-has been
for many years engaged in quietly getting
the family fortune into its own hands, 10
save the family from being disgraced by
the reckless and unprincipled members of
the other branch. He finds. moreover, that
THE Jews" are thoroughly estimable and
lOvable people, while the other TORS are
decidedly the reverse. The son of Lord
Julius Emanuel Torr, is in some ways the
most interesting parsonage in the book.
He is q rather eccentric, rather dreamy
and rather practical man, with some orig
inal theories backed up by strong argu-
ments and a determined will, and what
is more important in this case, with an al
most unlimited fortune. What his the
cries are does not at first appear.
II takes several chapters 10 explain the
peculiar relationship which exists be-
tween the various branches Of the Torr
family. and il will require more than one
perusal before the average reader will be
quite clear just who and what all the
however is undoubtedly heightened by
the mystery which envelops all these per
sonages in the early chapters of the book.
One has the feeling that one used TO have
in reading q fairy tale. where anything
might happen-the feeling that the hero
himself has when he takes his singuia ly
chiIdlike and trusting nature into the
midst of all the complications and con-
tradictions and heartburnings of the Torr
family. Christian Tower is full OF boyish
ideals and happy simplicity: he makes his
plans as simply as child, and walks
over all obstacles as calmly as
child would if 1t could. He is not self
conscious, and what is more curious, he
does not care TO become so.
There are two themes to be found IN
this novel, as in ether works of Fred
eric-tWo main themes. besides several
minor variations The first is purely ar
tistic. II is the contrast between the SIM
Ylicity Of Christian. brought up as a child
OF the people. and the family into which
he Is introduced, with all their heredi-
tary and educated notions. prejudices.
jealousies. and points OF vanity. That
contrast is as strong anything can be.
II is Little Lord FaunuerOy" over again,
with the immense difference that this
Fauntleroy is man and not cherub.
Without being impCssibly viItuous, he re
mains throughout the book the same
Straightforward uncomplicated character.
and his instincts guide him truly through
the labyrinth of contradictions IN which
he finds himself.
The other theme, which lies deeper than
the thread of the story. is the character
and future of the English hnr-ed tary aris-