The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-14


right to resent such caricatures OF them
seives-but the conceit, lack OF tact, and
social ignorance of Miss Rose are sheer
bad art and worse veracity. One incident
in the book sufiices to show what Miss
Bell thinks the infallible intuition of the
American girl will lead her to do in Paris.
The marquis, who has already shown him.
self to be roue of the basest variety,
deliberately and with malicious intent in
vites this young woman to drive with him
in sort of flower parade in his rose
bedecked carriage. Apparently it never
| occurs to her to refuse. or ask anybody s
advice as to the propriety of the thing, for
she joyfully and with alacrity puts on a
conspicuous rose colored gown and goes,
to be stared at. discussed, and all but in
suited by every man she meets. The real
American girl, even If trapped into some
such proceeding. would probably have de-
| sceaded from the carriage at the first
corner and gone home in cab, but Miss
| Rose sails through it all, impervious to
| the sensation which she is creating. 1t
is explained. of course, that Miss Roses
mother belonged to the aristocracy of
the South" 1t is so fashionable just now
for heroines of novels to be of Southern
descent that a Virginia pedigree in fiction
begins to lcol, little bit shop worn. The
an explanation of Miss Bell, if this young
woman is intended as a representative OF
Southern ladyhood. One feels like recon-
! mending that the author of this book go
| TO the bargain counter of some department
store, buy book of etiquette, and study
| it carefully before writing any more novels.
| After the really clever work which she has
| done in other lines of literature. such a
piece of bungling as this novel is not only
| ineXcusable, but almost inexplicab BILE.
| (New York: Harper & Bros. s1.5O).
Anyone in search of a gift book for a
| girl or boy under the age of sixteen-or
even older than that-could hardly do bet
! ter than to buy THE Bennett Twins" by
| Grace Marguerite Hurd. 1t is a charming
story, trimming over with fun, and with
| out dull page from first to last. The plot,
of which there is not much. gathers about
| the adventures of a brother and sister
who go TO New York for q winter OF work
| and study. They are thoroughly lovable
| young people, spirited, courageous, full of
| quaint sayings and mischievous ways, and
not in the least like any other hero and
| heroine yet evolved for juvenile litera-
ture, except in the matter of being wholly
natural and original in their makeup In
deed the naturalness of the whole book
| is great part of its fascination. Moth
lug WHICH uliSul 0Ol nave nap
pened just SO in real life, and while the
dialogue is bright and witty. it is never
overstrained, and there is plenty of the
kind of unstudied bantering nonsense
| which may always be heard when American
boys and girls of average intelligence and
good spirits happen to foregather. The
| twins take up their residence in a large
studio building. and the various quaint
characters who haunt the place are happily
| described. Among them are art students,
musicians, and the janitor's wife, who is a
study in herself. Vi'let and her husband,
Big Charlie, and her ubiquitous and shiny
little son, ''lil Charlie" are Virginia ne
| groes transplanted to New York, and TAX
| ing kindly to the busy and many sided
life they find there. This type is a new
| one TO fiction. and Miss Hurd is partcu-
| larry clever in her delineation Of it. Vi'let
is not so much a creation as person, and
| she is best described in the words of a
] girl art student, who said:
She Just goes around being funny and sweet
and everybody loves her.
Perry Hamlen, the too strictly reared
| grandson of an eccentric and immensely
rich old lady, is another particularly de-
| lightful character, and SO is his grand
mother who comes as near being the vii
lain as anybody in the book does. The
mischievous student, Pickles." the So
| ciety woman, Mrs. Rutgers, and all the
minor characters from the top to the bot
tom of the Hive are drawn SO wildly
that one has the feeling of having known
them. There is not false touch in the
book, and one gets the impression that II
wrote itself. There is no question that
the author knows her New York. The local
color is perfect .
But the character drawing. the story. in
terest. and the scenery are not, after all,
| the salient qualities of THE Bennett
| Twins" After il has been read and re-
| read. the dominant impression which II
| leaves on the mind is not its art, but its
| sweet wholesomeness and freshness. Too
many writer's of juvenile books are so in
tent on leaving out everything objection
able that they forget to put in anything
else. They overlook the fact that the
imagination of young people must have
| something more than metaphorical milk
| and water with which to feed itself. Miss
| Hurd's work is not negatively healthful. In
| the sense of containing nothing poisonous.
| nor is it aggressive in its morality, but
there is positive. live. breezy inspiration
about it, The twins, high spirited and full
OF mischief as they are, are never unkind
| in their funning or sentimental in their
emotions, and not the least refreshing
| thing about the book is that there is nc
definite love interest in 1t. Agnes and Don
are, like many another talented American
| boy and girl too much interested in their
| work and in each other to ponder over
romantic nonsense till 1t is time for love
affairs. They are frankly good comrades
with the outer world but that is all. They
take their misfortunes pluckily and theil
good fortune joyously, and laugh in the
midst of their woe over some trivial Incl
| dent in their very Bohemian housekeeping
While the ending of the book is pleasant
as it should be, 1t is not brought about by
! any miraculous good fortune, but Seems
TO be the natural result of the determine
ton and perseverance of the children them
selves. In short, this is one Of the jolles,
little tales in American Juvenile litera-
ture. and it is TO be hoped that it will
| have the immediate and large success II
deserves. (New York: The Macmillan
Company
1.-THE Dishonor of Frank Scott" is {
novel by NJ. Hamilton, an English author
not as vet well known in America. /,
deals with English society in India. and
whatever else may be said of it, it is
completely original. Perhaps no Other
| novel of the season has so many new ele-
ments in it.
In the first place the plot is built about
the tribulations of hero who commits
| bigamy.-d Intentionally, ant
| with the full knowledge of his first wife
Such situation as this is sufficiently
curious to challenge the attention Of an,
reader, and it is handled with mastery
precision and skill. Incidentally. Their,
is fling AT Christian Science, the wife
of a distinguished English civilian who
holds that faith taking a large and incon-
| venient part in the development of the
plot. In fact, it is the intemperance Of
her zeal which leads to the peculiar per-
formances of the hero. There is one CAPT
| tai scene in which a parlor meeting OF