The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1899-07-29

they recall the wanCerinKB OF "DaVld
Baltour" himself. After the battle Of
Cui'eden, where the Princes cause was
lost Lady Margaret's' husband turned
traitor and was taken to London. and
my Lady and Francis followed him
thither; and there, worn out by 30 many
OF the tricks OF fortune and infinitely
touched by her cavaliers loyalty and
devotion, my Lady besought him to
accept her love and to hse with her TO
begiu the world over again. But tho
noble suggestion Of u woman's beauty.
quite irrespective OF her own nobility,
had wrought its own miracle. and she
had made OF "Francis" q better man
than il was in her to be woman. "A
year ago he had been a boy. now he felt
himself an aging. broken man, driven
in curb along the stony path Of vir-
tue, a man passionate yet austere, with
a cold. scrupulous heart and head the
prey Of every vaRrant fancy, a man OF
great capacities, truly, but scarcely a
man to live pleasantly, at ease with
himself and the world And Mr..
Bucban could scarcely have summed
up better the character Of the Scotch.
man and the Covenanter. So the poor
Lady Of old years broke her heart
against this cold, ecrupulous austerity
OF the Scot, az other foolish
ladies OF other years have done 30 many
a time, and be sent her of to French
convent, whore many years afterward
she slept in the convent yard with the
white Jscobite roses, which in happier
days she had worn on her breast, grow
ing over her, and the words Pro Sua
Patria cut on her tomb. AZ for MAS.
ter Francis" he went back to Dysart
and became Provost OF the burg aud
devoted himself to the petty humdrum
duties Of life that call for valor greater
than that which he displayed on the
field Of Culloden. and grew harder and
colder and better, and his greatest
achievement in life was to introduce
valuable reform into the town pumping
system. And that was the gallant
/. Franci. who once set out from Edin-
burg town to conquer the world. to So
duce every beautiful woman and cross
swords with every brave gentleman in
Christendom. SO life mOcks us at the end
and pleasure will have none Of us. aid
barren virtue claims US for her own, and
we are good in spite Of ourselves. 1t 10
a sad. gray ending that Mr.. Buchsn has
given bis book, and brave and artistic
and noble one. THIS Mr.. Buchan seems.
indeed, to be a man to whom we may
look with hope. He il impregnsted
with the spirit Of the true romance, not
the pseudo romance which animates Mr..
Max Pemberton and Robert Chambers
and, too frequently. Mr.. Anthony Hope.
He is no mere constructor OF situations.
he deals not in cstchwords nor cheap
sentiment. There is sort OF elegant
reserve about him. Moreover, his story,
without sermonizing or setting down in
black and white a moral purpose, has
moral fiber, an element OF strength
which many young English writer's are
trying to get along without, aud sorry
stagger they make OF it. The book is
written 10 style intrinsically beautiful,
a style fertile, rich, humorous, often
quaint and at all times delicate reserved
and touched by certain reflective gen.
tleness and melancholy not easy Of de-
scription. A man must T. el considerable
Of fellow after rs has written half q
dozen pages o. such prose as that.