The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-12-15
LITERATURE AND
LITERARY TOPICS.

. have drawn Helen in her absolute unmor-.
aiity4-for she is immoral rather tnan
immoral, recognizing ana understa ndlngs
no impulses but those Of her passion OF
the moment, of whatever sort it may be.
IIonoria is perhaps less well depicted than
the others. She is..a fine woman. but
her speech is too intensely modern at
times. she is not infreQuently guilty of
vulgar slang and moro than once OF little
less than actual coarse profanity. Yet
we forgive her much because of the noble
soul which shines through, though we
could wish that Mrs. Harrison mad made
her heroine less flamboyant in her style
{. $.
IN GREAT WATERS. BY Thomas "A.
Janvier Harper Sc Brothers, New
York.
Thomas A. Janrier, who has been for
D long period before the public as
writer OF fiction, but has only Of late re-
ceived tho recognition which he deserves,
has given us in. his latest book "In, Great
Waters, -four stories OF unusual excel.
lencc They are too long to be classeu
under the generic title OF short stories,
yet, they arc too short to be rated as nov
els. They arc all of the sea. though
rather oc tie coast than of the deep
waters. Tho scene OF the first, "rhe
Wrath of the zuyler Zee is laid in the
quaint Dutch Island of Markca; that OF
the second "a Dulutll Tragedy at Min
nesota Point, near Duluth; Of the third
THE 1eath Fires OF Les MartiEues.
at Les .lIartikues, q village on the Prov
encc coast; and of the fourth "A Sea
Upcast,'' in East Anglia, on the banks
of the North Sea. So, there is plenty of
variety in The scenes and people de-
scribed.
Best Of the four stories We like The
Death Fires of Les MartiSues.' 1t is
a story OF love and hatred. with the
fruits Of both turning to ashes upon thi
lips Tie character of the Provencal
Marius Is strongly pictured; he has all
tho passions Of his race and is master
OF every ono save himself He tells
the story Of his crime and its conse-
quences; and whilc he tells it in strain
that speaks sorrow, we feel rs we read
that there is no true repentance IN MS
fierce old heart, for he is an old man
when we meet him, though the story is
of his youth, but only regret that Its
result was heaviest on him. 1t is q
strong story, as it it's. successor. ~ Eea
Upcast''; but it is a, pity that the catas-
trophies OF these two stories arc almost
exactly similar, as indeed are the main
motives. Yet, both the tales are SO
good that he would not willingly lose
either. NJ Z.
THE UsURPER. BY W. j. Locke. John
Lane. New York.
Mr.. Locke's latest novel, "The Usurp-
err is a strong. virie, intense, and with
al thoughtful piece of work. The usurp-
err is not the occupant of q. throne but
is the holder of great wealth. which is
not rightfuly his a good and consci-
entious man, and when there appears an
heir to the wealth in the person. OF a
absolute and depraved BLACKBOARD, Vel
lacot the usurper is persuaded that the
good which the money is doing in his
hands justities him in its retention. Yet
he has many qualms of conscience, and,
strong man as he is, he is constantly III
state of incertitudc as to the right.
This is the controlling situation Of the
book We do not care to outline the
story, believing that In novel of this
kind much of the interest in the case OF
many readers depends upon the authors
final solution of the problem; but we
have said enough to show the possibili-
ties of the plot. OF these possibilities
Mr. Locke takes full and admirable adj
vantage Entirely eschewing sensation
alism, he maintains throughout height
of interest that is not often reached
by our novelists. OF course the situa-
ton which we have given is not all OF
the story; there are ramliicatlons ana
departures, and all are told with the
same power as the main story. Inc
characterization is excellent. Vellacot,
Bunny" Alicia, and even the minor
personages, such as Burke and Cudby.
being drawn with sure and firm touch.
The interest of the character drawing,
as OF the story, of course centres. IN vel
lacot and to keep such q character con-
sistent to itself was a task of no Slight
difficulty, yet it is one which the author
has flawlessly accomplished. we not
only know what Vellacot dld, but we al
WAYS understand why he did it, and that
is the great test of the truthfulness Of
nresentation in character. The only per-
sonage with whom we We're not satisfied
is yittoria. the Italian girl, whom Bun
ny loves: it seems to us that here alone
Mr. Locke has been once or twice be-
trayed into eXaggeratiOn-rather. per-
haps, into over-empnasis. de has trled :
to depict the passionate. impuisiVe Nea-5
rolitan nature, and, being an English
man, to whom such a nature is neces-
sari!y comprehensive, he has sought to
express his conception III too violently
contrasted colors. This, and perhaps the
lack OF humor, arc the only faults We
car, find in the book. And the lack OF
llumor is evidently because OF the theory
OF Mr.. Locke, and not because OF any in
ability to be lightly humorous, or all
signs fail. We hold that all novels re-
auire hunor to heighten and at the same
time relieve The graver portions; but this
IS only theory, and Nh. Locke simply
does not hold it as correct "A. j.
MR.. MUNcHAUsEN. By John Ken
dricl Bangs. Noyes, Elatt & Com
pary, Boston.
In "A Rebelious Heroine" John Ken
dricl Bangs wrote a really capital look
--one replete with a refined and subtle
humor, which gave promise of better
things to como from him III the future,
since it seemed to herald a change OF
style which was all for the best. I'm
fortunately Mr.. Bangs never pursued
this line of humor, but reverted to the
far inferior methods of his former works
This may have been because the. inferior
methods appealed TO Il larger audience,
and hence We're more profitable; but VIC
should be 10th TO believe that American
readers really prefer broad farce TO me
comedy. However this may be, MI
PancS HIS chosen. in his literary pursuits