New-York tribune., 1900-07-28
FICTION.
TWO NOVELS ON AMERICAN THEMES AND
SOME CANADIAN TALES

EBEN HOLDEN BY Irving Bachelor. 12mo pp
432 Boston: Lothrop Publishing Co.
THEIR SHADOWS BEFORE. BY Pauline Car
Maynard & co.
BY THE MARSHES OF AINAs. By Charles G.
D. Roberts. 12mo, PIP. 2O2. Silver, Burdett & Co.
Mr.. Irving Bachelors novel Of American
country life, "Eben Holden" is bound to be
compared by fiction lovers with David Harum"
Whether it found its inspiration in that popular
work is of comparatively slight consequence. 1t
at least deserves to be judged its intrinsic
merits. 1t may be said at that Eben
Holden has a distinct character of his own.
From the first moment we meet him we recog-
nize his thoroughly human and lovable quail
ties. He is far and away the best figure in the
book; to developing him can easily see that
the author has devoted his best energies AS a
story, the book has no striking features; il is
a simple tale, simply and pleasantly told. and
pervaded throughout with q kindly tone and
generous philosophy. Perhaps the best that can
be said of the book is that it is an attempt TO
portray conditions native to soil at a time
when many of our writers turning their
backs on their country and on what they really
know of life to portray imaginary kingdoms,
ruled by preposterous princes and princesses.
Their Shadows Before" is the rather made
quate title of a book by Pauline Darlington
Bouve that gives a carefully executed picture
Of Southern life before the war. Though it aims
at being story it is really study. without
sustained central interest There are interest
ing episodes in the book. ii is true, and the
chapters dealing with negro insurrection
capitaIy done; but the work does not hang
firmly together, the earlier chapters containing,
from the point of view Of the reader of fiction,
a great deal of gratuitous matter The author
shows some skill in reproducing character,
notably in her treatment Of her negroes. The
negro seems to be an easy type to treat in fic-
ton. At any rate, many writers, who fail in
trying TO depict specimens of the white race,
succeed with him. The most interesting figure
in Miss Bouves book is a negro with a re-
igious mania which leads him TO think that he
is ordained to save his people, and finally
causes the insurrecton already noted The
author has succeeded in giving the character
touch Of sublimity.
With Mr.. Charles G. D. Roberts plot making
takes precedence over character building. In
other words, Mr. Roberts thinks out his story
first and adjusts his people it, instead of
choosing his people and letting them work out
their own destinies. The great question as to
which Of the two methods should be considered
the better method need not be gone into here 1t
is worth noting, however, that at this moment
the popular taste is with Mr. Roberts Pretti-
ness is perhaps the most characteristic note Of
this collection of short tales of what the author
calls that romantic period in Canadian his
tory when the French making their last
struggle to retain their hold upon the peninsula
of Acadie-aow called Nova Scotia" 1t is a
prettiness that tends to become cloying when
several of the stories read at sitting
This however, may be a matter only of per-
sCnal opinion Many readers will doubtless find
Mr.. Robertss extremely amiable attitude
toward life agTeea Bile, If not stiTnu-
lating. His characters do queer things but
always with what passes for the Ioftiest inten-
tions, at the base of which one may usually
discover ecstatic devotion to some radi-
antly beautiful young girl. The style in which
these tales are told would merit praise if it had
lot already been done to the death by the many
followers in recent years Of Mr.. Stanley Wey-
man. When the present romantic movement
dies it viii be relief to get away from the old