New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-12-10
FICTION.
NOVELISTS PORTRAIT OF CECIL
RHODES.


SOME EXPERIENCES or AN IRISH +. NJ by
r. a. somGrvc ana Martin Ross; with Illus US
tfations by L. O2. Someryille. Hmo' PIP SH'
Iougmans Green 4 Co.
HIS DEFENSE AND OTHER STORIES. by
Harry Siillwcll Edwards. l2mo, PIP. I'll Inc
Century Company.
The author Of THE Colossus tacitly asks us
10 conceive Of Cecil Rhodes striving in Cairo to
bring about the fulhlment OF his plans for a
railway between that point and the Cape ana
striving in vain until. woman hater that he 49,
he is compelled to seek success through the as
sistance OF woman. AS writer OF notion
pure and simple Mr. Roberts may have aimed
at showing that the strongest man Is helpless
against the wiles Of woman. with touch
that we hope intentional, Ii is so artistic,
the author Is in the long run faithful to the
conception Of his hero. Eustace Loder (Cecil
Rhodcs). as a man who might bend when It
suited his purpose, but would never break. In
the last chapter Miss Gertrude Broughton fees
TO the Pyramids from the scene OF her great
triumph over "the Chief" The latter moved
by impulse. soon follows her But by the time
IOder has reached the woman he has forgotten
her; he does not see her; he sits upon his horse
and gazes toward the south, absorbed in his
dreams OF the railway for which he has sacri-
feed his pride. 1t is strong conclusion. The
whole drift Of the book is toward the portrayal
Of a man who could not be conquered, and
though that last ride seems for n moment to
hint that Gertrude Broughton is to have her
reward. the love Of the man she has Inundated
and helped, she sinks back naturally into the
company of those who have been used by the
Chief and then discarded. The book Is, on the
whole cleverly written. Now and then the
colors are laid on too heavily and the author
forgets to make his characters sympathetic
Miss Broughton is a puppet for all her success
In bringing the Colossus to ask for her good
Offices. But MI Roberts would probably, and
we suppose rightfully. declare that in The
Colossus the Colossus is the thing. Here are
some Of the most effective lines in the portrait
he has drawn;
After ALL was the Great Man only the I'M
conscious representative of a great constituency?
1t went against Lodcrs grain to acknowledge
It, lie caught vague glimpes at times or the
truth. that one was the less great In the
mighty parliament OF Man, because he needed
the mass behind him, If he was articulate where
they were dumb TO direct part Of the motive
forces Of nation was TO be big enough, surely.
And yet Loder, like most who have been
elected, was in danger OF considering the
natural delegation Of forces a warrant for
Permanent Dictatorship. Even when the most
futile member Of Parliament gets invitation
TO resign, his Indignation and rage at the folly
of his constituents are on a parallel with Ma
polcon's wrath at finding himself no longer fol-
lowed. even by his generals. Few men of active
life anticipate upe-annuation with equanimty.
But, then, no one who suffers from senile de-
mCntia is ever aware OF the fact Eusace
1Oder however yet far from CrystaZa-
tion and the rgdity Of old age and small minds.
j. he had ever been in danger Of that psychic
disease known vulgarly as "swelled head" his
johannesburg disaster had for long time
averted the catastrophe.
The man who is visible 10 his fellows is ever
ynn llnn fifrrrr. t,,fxr
sOnalities behind the mask. Only sometimes
was Lodcr aware Of the boiling impulses. which
he but partly understood, that surgcd within
him. When ne did understand Gin some early
hour Of dawn as he galloped through living air.
he felt like a conscious automaton like one
mote or humanity In the moving tide that was
yet himself; like the solitary soul seated a re-
mote, uplifted Teufelsdrockh. in the pineal gland
OF the brain. And yet in this isolation and re-
motcness came very fruitful hours of exaltation
which he could have revealed to no living man
In Some Experiences Of an Irish r. NJ"
which last designation means a Resident
Magistrate" Mr. SOmerville and Mr.. Ross have
brought together some pleasant Impressions of
Irish life and character. The clements Of senti-
mcnt and romance entering into their stories
are always related or less closely to the
racial idiosyncrases of the people among whom
they have sought their inspiration. Echoes OF
sport are in the book, with the fresh air of the
open country, and the authors are, from first to
last. vivacious humorous and readable. 1t Is a
sincere wholesome book. brightly and brskly
written.
Mr.. Edwards is by turns serious and whimsi-
cal in his collection OF nine short stories OF
Southern life. Negroes appear In the book, OF