The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-03

time she has called one of them by the
| right name.
| The characters and atmosphere of Nine.
Grand works have. as a rule. an aspect
which Is not only peculiar. but unprece-
| dented In fiction. One wonders whether
the people and things with which she
| comes III contact are really of a unique
nature, or whether there is something the
matter with her eyes: and as no known
| locality In England has been found to an
! swer to her description of Morningduest
| or Danehurst, the conclusion seems to be
that it will be futile to search for the
original Angelica. or Beth, or Babs, as to
| hunt for the scenes of Mr.. Gulliver's sur
| prising adventures
The utter improbabiiity of both plot and
characters is perhaps the most striking
| characteristic of this particular book; and
its second salient quality is the imperti-
nent vulgarity of the conversation. We
| are informed that Babs is a fresh-faced
school girl with lovely eyes and no soul
| the latter statement easily to be believed
and that. while amazingly precocious in
| certain unpleasant ways, she has been
| carefully kept from the knowledge of all
| the real facts of life. How Mrs. Grand
reconciies these two statements she alone
can tell and she is not likely to.
Aside from Babs, the book deals with
a Silly Spinster and Suppressed Spin
ster, both introduced as object lessons,
apparently. though the significance of the
lesson is not Immediately to be seen;
there is mother. as unpleasantly vulgar
and inane AZ mothers generally are in the
books OF this author: there are three or
four Dreadful Men, one Of whom-the
most dreadful-marries Babs mother. If
this be a sin, as the author evidently
wishes us to believe, surely the unfortu-
nate sinner will be sufficiently punished
by becoming the stepfather of Babs. That
young lady, previous to the announcement
of the engagement, salutes him by throw
ing the carcasses Of four defunct fowls in
his face. his offence being that he has, as
she supposes, forestalled her in rendering
aid 10 an unfortunate pensioner. to
whom the chickens We're to he given.
The character of the young lady's cen
versation will not be difficult of imagi-
nation to those who have read of Beth
Evadne. and Angelica, She marches into
her mothers dressing room, on one oc-
casion, and enquiries what that lady
means by this nonsense about being firm
with me" After the erring parent is
properly impressed the dsmsel proceeds:
III you think you ought to be firmer
with me, for goodness sake he firmef.
but don't announce your intention to
the whole neighborhood. If parents
run M Il flag and fire gun every
time they have difficulties to settle
with their children. there'll be a Chi
nese New Year In the neighborhood
every day. and ] shall be blamed for
II. And as to being firm with me!
You can't be firm with me, you know
1t perfectly absurd to think of such
Il thing. IN here to have a good time,
Gsl m
you can't-you know you can't.
The author evidently wishes us to un-
derstand that, in spite of her reputation,
Babs has soul, and that the reader is
expected to discover it. A hint of IL, and
its nature, is given In the following out
burst of emotion:
Its monotony that hato--the same
old thing forever and ever. world
without end, and nothing TO come of
il. I'm sick of IT now as Montacute
is. ] loathe that horrible greenery out
there. You give me nature and moth
ing but nature, and II human, il is
the works of man that claim me.
Cadenhouse, YOU look as neutral as a
fish
And here is another specimen of the
young lady's soul:
II think it a mistake myself to be in
love with. any one in particular. For
III. rest of my life / am going to be
In love with love alone. 1t does make
you feel so nice to he in love with
love-
There is an interesting speculation I
which suggests itself here: il Babs. at
seventeen. is--as she is. what is she like
" 10 be AT twenty-seven2 New York: |
Harper Bros. sl.5o.)
The Soul and the Hammer" by Lima |
Bartlett Ditson. is story of Bohemian |
life in Paris. The purpose of the author |
is evidently pure and high. and the story !
is fairly well written, but il lacks the !
true Bohemian atmosphere. CNew York: |
Godfrey A. s. Wieners. sl.25.
"A Lady OF the Regency, 10y Mrs. Step |
ney Rawson. is court novel of the time |
OF George " and Queen Caroline. 1t is
packed with complications of plot, and
several notable historical characters fig |
ure in it, CNew York: Harper & Bros.
Sl.50)
"Linnct, by Grant Allen. is evidently
one of the several novels which the au-
thor left in manuscript form when he
died. 1t is a tale of the Tyrol, and the
heroine is "A beautiful TyroIese singer
while the hero is an Englishman and
minor poet The author, with his Gus
tomary penchant for American charac-
lcrs introduces two herein, a rich widow |
and a card fakir; and ne also INDUCES
liking for psychological and
oddities. The plot turns in
part upon the strong hold which the Cath
Ollie Church has upon the mind Of the Ty
rolese peasant, and the Inconsistencies to
which, in a primitive state of society,
some of its ordinances give rise. Thus,
we have the peculiar situation of wo-
man, driven by cruelty to leave her hus-
band, willing to live with another man
and dispense with the marriage ceremony
because she is thoroughly in love with the
other man. ard has never loved her hus
band. but not willing to get a divorce and
have the marriage performed in the or
thodox way. The course of reasoning
which she pursues is this: One may sin,
and repent, sin again and repent, but one
cannot openly disregard the commands of
The Church and live in acknowledged sin,
without endangering ones soul. Such
.ase of conscience as this is a peculiar de
light to this novelist. and he has worked
il out as far as was consistent with the
,anons of art and possibly a little far
her (New York: New Amsterdam
Book Company. Sl.5oJ
Or. Dumany's WIFE," 10y Maurus Jo-
;ai. is. ike all of this authors stories
dramatic and picturesque in the extreme
The plot turns on marriage which takes
,lacc under a misapprehension. and the |
ime is that of the FrInco-Irussian war |
pne Of the most charming passages in the
book deals with children, Il subject rare
Y handled 10y this writer. New York: |
Doubleday q Mcclure Company. $l.251