The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-09-09

IS historical romance Of the court
OF Nero. translated from the
German OF william WaIioth. II
is O. well-wriften and admirably
translated tale, but from the standpoint
Of those who read and enjoy books OF this
nature II has two faults; the first is its
comparative brevity. II Is hard to see
Just why readers Of historical romance
expect moro words per page and more
pages per book than other people, but
there certainly seems 10 be something In
the romance-readlng habit which pro-
notes a niggardiy spirit In the reader or
IL II only that romance-writing makes
liberal authors7 when you consider the
number OF words which Senklewicz. Paul
Leicester Ford and the author Of Richard
Carver have so generously bestowed upon
fhirsting public, you are inpelled 70 be-
iieve that the vocabulary Of the romancer
is true widows cruise. There is some
thing miraculous about such endless
streams Of words az these.
Tho other fault OF ''The Empress octa-
via" is that all the admirable characters
arc necessarily removed by death. What
do you get In return FOR the trouble OF
reading an historical romance when you
are deprived OF the assurance that the
hero and heroine are on their way 20 a
united and happy old age? In the present
volume. after assisting AT the death Of
the empress tby means OF an opened vein
in hot bath) you also attend the last mo-
ments OF her adorer. Metellus. who ex-
pires in the following manner on the last
page:
slower and slower grew the swimmers
movements. more and more languid, again
49,
waves then the white form sank. The
neck shone with greenish glirhmer
through the flood: there was a gurgling
sound, few bubbles Of air, and the SUR
face OF the water rlppied as peacefully as
before in the bright shining moonlight"
c"The Empress Octavia,s by Wilhelm
walloth, tr by Mary j. sarford. $50.
Little. Brown 4 co. For sale by r,owman
a Hanford)
Mrs. Steel is always conscientious and
exact, whatever subject she may write
upon When she writes about India her
conscience and exactitpde become fasein-
ating. for they lay open to us an UNI
known and wonderfully picturesque
world. "voiees In the Night her latest
novel, deals with all the hundred eompi-
NaNibn5 VI NHitt anu uittNt INV. mr. u
novel. II is "A better one than son the
Face OF the Waters" Tho multiplicity OF
detail occasionally obscures the writer's
intention and blurs the outline OF plot. I
which Is a striking one. II deals with a
threatened native uprising, whose results
might have been as terrible as those of
tho Mutiny. had II been successful The
hero and heroine together aid IN forestall- |
l,,x h. ale Or nh has M. trk
ling Lesley Arbuthnot. BY the way ia |
rather a better heroine than Mrs Steel |
usually offers. She is thoroughly nice
girl. albeit she considers love affairs as
matters OF little consequence In life. even
the whole. better that Mrs. Steel should |
write Of plots and counter-piots. and up |
risings and siayings and the brilliant |
panorama OF Oriental life. than of exist |
once In any Of It's more commonplace An |
gio-Saxon aspects, for she has, frankly, |
no sympathy whatever with the views OF |
her race In regard to romantic love and |
the part II plays In glortfying life for |
those who SEQ II otherwise Therefore IL |
ia naturally impossible for her TO conooct |
an acceptable or pleasing love story, but |
the omission is hardly noticed In the pres /
WV ftihthtf ~ AH' ~ ~ w htHtt tANiAfhb
matters.
t''yoiess OF the Night" by Mrs r. A. |
Steel. $3.50 The Macmillan co, For sale |
by Lowman 4 iianfordl
!: :: {.
Tho Flower OF the Flock" by. w ". |
Norris. Ia an entertaining tale OF the !
ieisurely description usually produced by |
THIS popular writer. The heroine ~ a
young American widow, and she Is han |
died With "a greater degree % success than |
II often attained by English writer's In 1
their treatment OF this subtle and allur- |
Ing subject, Mira. Van Rces Is mice [
ana she Ia also snappy. The story turns I
upon her resolution net 60 marry tho gor-
seous young Englishman who IL tho |
slower OF the flock" because although /
she cares for him. he is what may be I
eomprchensiyeiy summed up as no partic- l
ular good. The critical reader will hardly !
md that he iustihes his existence even in I
the final moments. when he appears 90
such advantaxe that his eSaetinE lady re- I
isnts. but them II critical on-lookers were