New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-02-12
FICTION.


THE MONEY MARKET BY + +. Bcnson. Emo
pp N5 Philadelphia. Drcxel Bddle
| SHUTDOWN LEFLARE Written and Illustrated
by Frederic Remington limo. pp. 10 Harper
~ Bios.
CROOKED TRAILS Written aud illustrated by
! Frederic Remington. syo pp. l'l. Harper "
! Bros.
TROls PETlTEs FILES. Par, Paul RonrE ist
/ Illustrations Re L. CAhancs. 3-lbm0 pp. -.
/ Paris: a. Lemcrrc. New-York. Dyr'eh "
Pfcincr.
! 4 year or 90 ago Mr. Arthur Ealfour caused
some discussion 10y saying in public that novel
| lists ought to give more attention to the 'i'po'"-
ton Of long life stories. taking their heroes ana
heroincs literally from tho cradle to the grave
TN, discussion OF this proposition lasted for
about 4 fortnight But 1t looks as If the nov
elists had taken the suggestion 10 heart. we
got long chapters nowadays dealing with the
momcntous events Il infancy. behind "Ihe
Omen Question" which appeared only the other
dav there had already accumulated great
noss or such analysis" and now "Windy-
haugh" gives US n great deal more. the
heroine II this book Is not put In hor grave !"
be sure, on the last page. But her whole ue-
vclonnent from earliest childhood 20 mature
womanhood is infinitely set forth. and the result
is-,ycli we wonder II Mr. Balfour himself
nllcht not find il n bit depressing We n'7''"
TO admit that the story is not wholly IL "''1'
on the contrary. one cannot help tahihE 4
,ar.,uid interest in p~igeish Wnhelnina, her
bord-onic scarc,~race fatncr. her portcntous old
grandmother. her fashionable aunt End ana h'r
clever theatrical friend Miss Evelyn But poor
yygbel,nina is a dreadfully long time in settlinS
down with her undressing lover. ana her
vicsstudcs are not beguiling enough 20 make
the time altogether pleasant Tor the feau'I'
Some artistic touches in the delineatloh ol cna'
acter brighten these pages, and the author -
NOT without some insight into human nature.
But she has not the gift OF selection she 'il'9
on, her picture with irrelevant details, and even
the necessary ones are handled too car'SS''5P
and too long The novel As q novel might have
been executed in half many pages aS are
actually given to It. The trouble would seem
to he that having started 20 give a complete
account Of Wilhcimina the author lid not kno"
when TO stop and 50 lost sight Of The demands
OF hor drama Aud she ignores the cardinal
prluciple In fiction Of TIE sort she has attempted
to write. the principle that Il you are 10 draw
n man or a woman at full length you must
make sure that he OF she is really worth your
pains Wiihclmina is somehow not important
enough She il human. out there are many
human beings who are not necessarily figures
for literature. We are asked to believe that
she was not commonplace but no satisfactory
proofs are offered
Mr.. Bcnson's story, also IS MOI dull. hut IT Is
more or less conventional and Obvious. The
hero IS Of the charming fellow type. very
high minded very clever. the posscssor OF fine
tastes and noble ideals. Naturally, when this
paragon has the chance 10 fall in love with
girl also clever and high minded and equally
endowed with tastes and ideals. he is perfectly
obliyious 81 his opportunity and offers himself
and his millions t. a shallow and worldly pro
fessional beauty. This Is OF the stun Of the
average novel. and so are the concluding cpl
sodcs OF the book. when Percy, having become
comparatively poor is discarded by his beauty
and turns to the other girl. Conventional also
Is the cause OF Pcrcy's pOyerty-his rclnquish-
ment of his colossal fortune because he learns
on his twenty -Gith birthday that il is the fruit
~ A y!llanOUs money lending business conducted
by his grandfather This sIsht ana hackneyed
tale is rendered mildly amusing by the authors
easy and spIiahty style The visit OF his chief
characters To the Wagner performances at
Baireuth provides n little intcrlude Of musical
description of the kind which gives the unthink-
ing feminine reader the Impression that she Is
absorbing "culturc." II is cheap culture" and
the whole book. indeed. is 10 be placed in the
category Of the trihinF and quickly forgotten
There ere good qualities in SHUTDOWN LeHare. ,
the half-brccd scout. horsothief and gambler, /
from whose chcckered career Mr.. Remington /
has drawn the material for some amusing |
stories But It is great pity that the stories /
have been given mostly I'm Sundown's own halt !
ing dialect. why coull not Mr. Remington |
have shown US tho rough traits OF his friend /
in clear relief? why has he made the task /
of getting At the kernel Of his book n task .
from which the reader soon ahriui-s2 He has .
humor and e keen eye for human oddly. and I
we feel that at bottom his narrat YES are true. .
But the dialect is so hard TO follow one has /