New-York tribune., 1900-01-28
FICTION.
THE ROMANTIC TALE OF A SCIENTIFIC
HERO.

THE ENCHANTER. ,Sa -4s By U, L snberrad 12mo
PIP 3SS The Macmillan Company.
sAyROLA. A Tale of the Revolution in Laurania.
By Winston Spencer Churchill. 12mo, PIP. 345
-Longmcns, Green & CO.
The ways of the true storyteIler are past find
ing out, We like to think of him as knowing
his business" as technically proficient. We
praise him when his work is well done at every
point with all the loose ends gathered up and
an air Of symmetry flung over the whole. But
when in the proud possession of the secret that
has little to do with any of these things. he
throws them aside and merely interests his
reader-then we accept him without a word
The author of The Enchanter" brings US TO
this pass He does not entirely know his busi-
ness There are loose ends in his book
fagrantly left to faunt themselves in all their
crudity and irreIevance. Why some things are
in the story at all no man could guess Perhaps
the author himself would be hard put to it to
explain. At the best he might Iamely say that
he wanted to provide a suitable environment
for Nicholas FycrOft show him among kindred
types OF English country life, and thereby in
crease the verisimiHtude of the picture. But
after all, this does not matter What is i'm
portant is that Mr.. Sflberrad is readable. The
scientific genius whose career he portrays is
sometimes shown in apparently futile positions
but he is always attractive, and it is impossible
seen to have been crowned with success. Ira,
the heroine, is herself as quaint as her name
Is unexpected. We begin by dsliking her We
end IN perfect sympathy with young Nick con-
Vlnced that the two were meant to marry It
IS strange story, in which things prosaic and
things fantastic are mixed with good effect
We hope Mr.. Silberrad will learn to work out
his stories with greater skill. But The En-
chanter' shows that he has a genuine gift for
fiction Whatever he does. though it may con-
tain hundred immaturities. will be sure Of
respect and, doubt Of admiration also.
Mr., Winston Spencer Churchill the young
English military historian, has made in Saw
rola' his first attempt at the writing of ro-
nance. His point of departure he found as so
many others have found it, in Anthony Hopes
Prisoner of Zenda." His hero is a young poll
tican in one more Of those petty States which
contrive-in fction-to seethe with tremendous
disturbances, almost unnoticed by the great
Continental Powers. Laurania is described
kind of South American State. OF the tumuI-
tuCUs sort, set down in the midst of Europe It
is ruled by an INSCRIPTIONS dictator, who IS
ultimately deposed through the exertions Of
Savrola. Molara loses his life when the crash
comes. The young democrat marrtes his widow
She, in fact, falls in love with him early in the
book and the inevitable complications ensue
The tale is brief and it is brskIy told. The
situation celebrated is one from which the
author has had difficulty in extracting his hero
and heroine without some smiTching of their
skirts. But the difficulty is neatly overcome
Molaras wife is hardly loyal to him as she
might have been, but she is defty carried over
the hard places and though SavroIa fees at
moment when flight looks suspicious good
grounds for his conduct are ingeniously pro-
vided Altogether "SavroIa" is a very promis-
Ing story.