The Saint Paul globe., 1900-06-10
"Bishop Pendle."

u
Bishop PendIe; or the Bishops Secret"
by Fergus Hume. Rand, McNally &
Co., Chicago and New York.
Mr.. Hume is known as q master of
stirring. ingenious plot that first mis-
leads and then surprises the reader and
Of vigorous, picturesque English. In
Bishop Pendle, while there is no falling
off In plot and style, there is a broad
ening cut in the cast of characters, rep
reSenting an unusually wide range of
typical men and women With skill
the author causes these to reveal them
selves by action and speech in a way
that, for the reader, has all the charm
Of personal intercourse with living peo-
pie
Mr.. Hume's treatment of the peculiar,
exclusive, ecclesiastical society in a
small English cathedral is quite worthy
of Anthony Trollope, and his principal
character, Bishop Pendle, is the equal
of Trollope's best bishop. The Rev. Mr.
Cargrin. the bishops poor but most un-
worthy protege and chaplain, is a meaner
Uriah Heep. Mrs. Pansey is the embodi-
| ment of all shrewdness, and yields al
most unlimited amusement. Mr.. Hune's
Gypsies are genuine-such as George
Borrow would have made them-not the
ignorant caricatures so often portrayed
by writer's too lazy to study their sub
ject.
In opening the story Mr.. Hume pre-
sents Bishop Pendle as an example Of
one possessing all the elements necessary
TO human happiness. He has a good
and affectionate wife. His children, a
daughter and two sons grown to early
maturity, are models of all that children
ought to be, The bishop, himself is only
old~enengh to know how to enjoy life,
and is possessed of health, wealth. power
and honor.
The first shadow glooms over his lord
ship when his sons, Gabriel and George,
fall in love with highly undesirable wom-
en-the one, suspected Of ilIegitimate
birth. the other, a barmaid in her fathers
little tavern. Bishop Pendle is much
distressed, and threatens to prevent the
marriages.
The dan kness thickens on night when
there is grand reception in the palace,
and the bishop is called from his guests
to see a Stranger who insists on an i'm
mediate interview. From that hour the
bishop Is In some secret and very great
trouble.
Later in the story 1t develops that
the stranger was a man supposed to have
died on the battlefield of Sedan. Pendle,
then a curate, had seen the mans grave
and his name on the headstone. After
such evidence Pendle felt perfectly free
to marry the widow, which he did in
good faith. Now, nearly thirty years
later, this man turns up alive to teii the
bishop that he and his wife have been
living in sin all these years, that their
children are illegitimate and that he will
keep silence for G200.
To tell more of the story would be un-
fair to the author and the reader. Out
of the situation thus far depicted Mr..
Hume has developed a fascinating story
of intrigue, Of loyal love. Of pathetic
mental agonies on the part of noble
characters who supposed themselves to
be in the wrong and We're not, and Of a
happy elimination brought about by hon
est human endeavor favored by that
Power that shapes the destinies of men
The story is rich in all the elements
of worthy fction-in Characterization, ex-
citing adventure, suggestions of the
marvellous. wit, humor, pathos. and just
| enough of tragedy to make 1t dramatic.