The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-05-27

is managed so Skillfully by the author
that there is no apparent attempt to teach
lesson. 1t is the same way with the
young capitalist. The sacrifice which he
has made of his honor, to save the welfare
OF his people Is vain, and his life ends
in the darkness Of despair; but the end is
not, after all, hopeless. since his son, I'M
deferred by his fathers tragic end, takes
up the burden Of christopher" while still
child. and pledges himself to go en- with
the work.
The idea Of the author seems to be that
moral victories generally involve material
failure, and that many such failures are
inevitable If new social order is to b.
established at last. The crushing of the
manufacturer who tries to treat his en-
ployes fairly and generously is but the pre-
liminary to better time. 1t is the oid
notion of vicarious atonement In new form.
AS an attempt to make literary material
out of the labor problem, the-bcok is
fairly successful, and a novel it Is in
teres.ing. tBoston: Houghton, Mifin &
Co. S150.)
1.-The Farringdons" is new novel by
Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler, author of
Concerning Isabel Carnaby," and it must
be said that this novelist has not given us
much that is new since her first work.
| Elizabeth harrington is Isabel Carnaby
over again. in different surroundings, and
the story meanders along precisely as the
| others did, with pause two or three times
on page for epigrams. There are lever
| of them in this book, however, than in
"A Double Thread
The things which Miss Fowler most
| needs to avoid are mannerisms and too
obvious ethical teachings. 1t is all very
| well to have good purpose, but most
| people do not like their tales adorned with
l lie min tod Isny III
This particular novel is of the hedgehog
variety. Everybody is uncomfortable. and
no amount OF twisting or turning will al
| ter the fact. Miss harrington herself
would probably say that they are fright
fully uncomfortable. This is her pet
word. People are frightfully interesting,
generally and specifically, and certain
among them are srightfully clever, and the
man who Is obviously and plainly in love
with her is frightfully stupid-in which
last conclusion most readers will agree.
He is. Moreover, the fact that Elizabeth.
while she thinks herself very clever, is in
reality only pretty little goose, is poked
at us every five minutes. What is more,
she gets herself into most amazing love
affairs. the last one being with man who
deserts her for young lady with the en-
igmatical name Of Quenelda. On the
whole, one may say of this book, as Lin
coin once said Of something else, that il
people like that sort of thing that is just
the sort Of thing they like. New York:
d. Appleton & Co. sl50)
"The Bath Comedy by Agnes and Eyer |
ton Castle. is light and airy romance OF |
genteel society as it existed in Bath in the |
latter half of the eighteenth century. Beau |
Nash appears in it, and SO do one or two |
other historical characters, but for the |
80 Nnvo T., <,f yNNtra typN0f
nation. and vastly pretty, / assure you"
as dainty Mistress Kitty Bellairs would |
undoubtedly say If she were to read it.
Mistress Kitty Is, all in all, most be- |
witching heroine, with as few scruples and
as many caprices as the fashionable danes |
of that day were wont to have. She
dances through the comedy with the most |
engaging abandon, flirting with this man.
encouraging that, fooling third TO the |
top OF his bent and very nearly getting
herself into a serious scrape with still an
other victim Of her charms. She is a crea-
ture OF the age Of powder and periwig, of
brocaded slippers and slken trains, OF the
days when ladies played cards half the
night and said La. 1 protest." when they
thought the circumstances justified 1t.
There is about as much cOnscientiOlness
and high-souled thoughtfulness in her as
there is in a half-grown kitten, but it ia
very amusing to watch kitten frisk If
one does not happen to be the mouse IN
der her paw. In this case several mice
are kept in more or less torment through
three hundred pages, but after ali, one is
convinced that they do not take 1t with
sufficient seriousness to make the matter
tragic.
AS for the rest of the character drawing, |
it is extremely good, though Mistress Kitty
is the star performer. Dennis O'Eara, the
wild Irishman who falls seriously in love
with Kitty. after having been more or less
in love with about hundred and fifty
other women, is a capital creation, and
Lord verney, the young country nobleman.
and Sir Jasper, the Jealous husband. are
quite as perfect types of the society OF their
day. New York: Frederick A. Stokes
Company
"Marshfeld the Observer" by Egerton
Castle is a collection of half a dozen
short stories of remarkable variety and I
force The striking quality of all OF them I
is unconventional originality, and though I
romantic to the verge of improbability, , d
there is much human nature in them. a
They deal with eccentric and unusual
types, and not at all with the common
place. which is rather an advantage in I
these days Of tame fiction. Mr.. Castles 7
present work is not tame. 1t is as wild !
as it can be and not be unmanageable. I
Mrs. Tollmage" is perhaps the strong t
est story in the book, all things con- Q
sidered. 1t deals with an old subject in &
new way. The character of Lord Cosmo I
the hero, is thoroughly individual. strong
y marked. and of a very uncommon type.
There is a certain stroke of inspiration v
N making him a Highlander and the $
heroine an English woman of the highest I
.ype and the wife of Bishop at that. v
The sequel to this The Guests of tho q
Wolfmaster" is, like most sequels slight I
y disappointing, though in its way it is y
Is good as the first. The type is less
striking, that is ALL The Herd Widdie- Il
ow" is wild love tale Of Scotland in the II
asst century. almost barharc in its in =.
ensity and shaggy unconventionality. u
This also deals with the Highland nature, "
nut this time it is the Highland raider, r
he peasant. and not the nObleman An -
'ther especially striking tale is The :,
Death Dance" which is based on incl r
Tents OF the guerrilla war between ;,
,ustria and Hungary. the hero being an h
inglishman fighting in the Austrian army =,
nd the heroine beautiful Magyar +,
voman This tale gives one a hint of the
wealth of material for historical
omance which is still unused. No more Z
conflict be found in his II
DRY than this war, yet until Mr. Castle Ii
ook it into his head to use some OF the CO
happenings and people OF Of
he time for this story. nobody seems to il
ave appropriated the field Less i'm
ressve but hardly less skillfully done
han these are the stories entitled The a
,evirs Whisper" and ''Endymion in Bar -
acks," and the character sketch CT u
Iarshfeld himself, which is not the worst ST
hing in the book. Chicago: Herbert S.
tone & Co. sl.59) :,