The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-09-22
A Sixteenth - ~
y y Century Story.

In several important qualities "a LILY OF
trance, Ms. Mason's latest work Of nc.
zion SURPRISES any Of the recent historical
romances Of which critics, publishers and
aramatiNs have made the reading publlc
almost painfully aware. In thr>irst place.
u Is essentially historical. Indeed there
are whole chapters ia the book whicl,~ arc
| piled with wealth OF accurate. concrete
inforamtion and hitherto unwntten hits Of
lore regarding the religious upheavals
which shook Europe In the Sixteenth cen.
tury that ure calculated to impress tho
| reader With the belief that II is not fiction
but fact which he is reading
One needs not the assurance Of the pub
usher that the author has been some time
IN Holland delvlng among moldy manu-
/ scripts and wandering among ruined ab.
/ heys TO collect the links, mold the sequcn.
! ual chain Of her story and Invest It with
! the atmosphere without which the most
! pretentlous rhetoric would he bald and I'M
| convincing. To pnlnstaking study of orig.
4 mai donacnts, long visits TO the scenes
| depicted and an evident enthusiasm Mrs.
Mason has added marked facility FOR
/ word painting and a sympathy with the
characters portrayed which will cause the
reader involuntarlly to wish that she had
concentrated her attention upon fewer
scenes and given the best and the most
of her artistry to few of her most in
| terestlng and admirable characters
~
There are portions Of the book In which
! Charlotte de BourhG the royal princess
abhess and heroine, is almost menaced
with obsurlty by the mass Of historical
Incidents. political and religious illusions
which I'LL page after page Of the swiftly
moving narrative. Novel readers who are
not satisfied unless their hero is forever
Tn the middle Of the staga sword in hand
or signing like n furnace may find the
stately and reprcssed vlgor Of the book not
emotional enough for their acquired nppe-
tites But il is this very lack Of bonality,
the poise, dignity and sincerity Of the
hook that will win for "a LAZY Of France
the commentator Of the more thoughtful
and at least the absorbed interest OF the
student of both history and romance.
The mass Of character description, his
tory, dialogue and Incident which Ill the
forty chapters are firmly ana arfrnly
strung upon the love tale of william,
prince Of Orange, and Charlotte. who,
though a princess Of France and the ab.
hess Of Roman Catholic convent became
the wife Of the Dutch hero the deliv-
erer Of the Netherlands" Neither history
nor lction has ever attempted to tell this
dramatic, almost tragic story rs Mrs. Ma
son has here presented H. Holland and
France, MS they were In the Sixteenth cen
tupy, when the first Influences Of the refor-
nation wore creeping into the continent,
when half the petty monarchles of Europe
were In arms. lend themselves peculiarly to
the intensely dramatic plot which Mrs
Mason has worried ont.
The jealous cabals Of fanatical but pow
erful princes. the semi -barbaric splendor Of
camps and courts. the gorgeous but vain
panoply Of embattled Europe. and beyond
and above all like a sinister shadow. i'm
palpahle and elusive, but overshadowng
every court and council, the somher,
menacng and monstrous terror of the In
QUESTION These are the motives and the
scenes in which Mrs Mason has found her
characters and scenario. There is neither
afrectatIon nor effort apparent IN her sim.
pie manner n telling the story. II there
Is ornate wealth In the descriptive
passages. It is the setting and not the
language which is responsible.
y \ y
The dialogue that bete nolr of half the
modern historical romances, is particularly
yrle and natural, Full Of the character
and pecullarity Of the period IT is made
to ten about half the story. and vet It is
neither numbered with obsolete words nor
triched out with haf.baked quotations in
foreign tongues Consciously OF otherwise,
the author has completed dramatic series
OF pictures and dialogues which seem to
almost force themselves upon the atten-
tlon Of the student Of the acting drama.
The very descriptions OF court paGenntry
are full Of accurate and colorful detail
that win appeal ia any costumer, aud the
dialogue and scenes sound and seem as
II the author herself were skilled In stage
craft.
The Illustrations by George A. Newman
are an aid and an ornament to the finely
presented test and viii rank with the best
work of the new school of brush llustra.
tors.
GA Lily OF France" BY Mrs Caroline
Atvater Mason The Griffith & Rowland
Press, Philadelphia. American Baptist
Publication Society.