The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-07-07
Touo of the ~ y
- - Megu Books.

Is lengthy piece OF WORK as " ccondlse,
thosc hero was Matthew Froment In
A NJ. Zola deplcs labor in all It's horror
an5 Injustice. and the descriptions OF the
8l9st furnaces and steel works, where man
Il hnf a machine for the making Of money,
H.. written by master hand. But the
fpalstlc power which Is here SO admirable
b,cones merely tedious wheh II Is used
N detail every Insignificant item Of The
>olf In the schools founded by I.uc Fro,
ncnt when he establishes his community
"A labor. and when the ages Of all the char.
Il fcrs.and they are many-are given sew
ll times throughout the book, beginning
ii lNfnmy aud ending only when they be,
4 me great grandparents. The story VI 1.uo
fromcnts effort and success In raising
II ior from a condition of seryltude TO one
a dignity and brothcrly love is interest
I'M If not true. and will be appreciated
IL the dcvotees Of such book as Look
n backwards" but never does the author
Il coed In making his tale seem real.
"a ough IL Is sometimes extremely realistic,
'thc manner In which the hero lives to he
d arly 90 and dies surrounded 10y innumcr-
aale descendants Is reminiscent Of his
Mother Matthew's end in 'Fccondiie." and
n IDS one to the conclusion that the Fro
k,nts were a very prolific and loncslved
nc rather than that their great age was
ia result OF their mode NJ living and
I5nbng NJ. Zola's peculiar ideas Of NOR
Aty are cxempllhed In the relations of thu
and 1osine a betrayed girl Who was
ID him the very type Of his whole work,
LIN who becomes the mother Of his child
ID lie stlll the wife OF another man.
~ common need mpelled them towards
d ch other. The destiny that de-
.Aned them fer each other, that meant
"A the happiness of their race. was hut
|nlhlled Their two souls met in
AL 5 embrace SO long deferred. and in II
1heir love expanded like perfect blossom.
al was but the natural course Of their
81 stence, and no regret or remorse for It
M uhled their minds"
Nor VI Zola's either, though what Ia
iestinv for one couple is immortality for
Mother ia his gospel. which is a tedious
Nc Of work in spite of its mastery
4atment. G.. II.
stnce again has Mr. Garland forsakcn the
,rdlc path Of the problem novel for the
,rr ad highway of plain romance. Not that
N, his latest fictlonal creation the woman
81 the love interest Is in any wise al
az ed 10 dominate the canvas: canvas
ionc the less convincing by reason Of its
IN figures and its simple colorng Tho
lte. ir may be said at once is by way
hi o mlsnomcr Her Mountain Lover
ntrht win equal legitimacy be termed
Il Colorado vs. CharinG Cross: with a Side
sbmpSe Of Society from Certain Point
III View" BESSIE Blake, the not impos-
'if She foreshadowed 10y the title,
;efyes mainly as convenient hcad-and-
.at piece to the travel Impressions OF an
III ophiStcated cowboy; Mary Brien, the
,ibcg woman in the case. largely, but by
ao means entirely. MS preteNt for tho
snl Ike believe" setting UP of a Western
'ahp IN rural od-world England. A gold
nipc Is discovered and partially developed
ID wayshack Colorado, at Grizzly Bear.
nst above Wagon Wheel Can" to nc pre-
'iR and the question is, how to Induce
ono culelcss London capitalist to take
lfalt interest in the concern. Jim Mat,
css trailer, miner, COW pnncher, hand
'onc as Hermes, king diamond In the
'oach Jim Is the gold front the machihe
m wouldn't do" insists his doctor partner
10 send a slick one on such huslness--hed
Infer the whole show. You got me to go
MI hole when no one else could win
moo out Of my pocket with the best dirt
nEthe pan"
~ scardlng his chewing tobacco, having
Nccumbcd 10 the fair Bcssie at first sight.
Hp forthwith entralus for York" en- route
tn ondon with HE orri,.al H., Nso,,. y,,,t-
ue trihuatlons Of Jim-who. whether no
'eA or within strange cities. stands self.
'Qnfcssed the calowest sort of tcnderfoot
T~mmence in downright earnest His pa
hHic Impotence aboard the mig canoe"
~ virgin Impressions of the ocean wilder.
'es' his shrewd analyses of his fellow
W onscrs. are limned In by ne prentice
aand. Time and again Mr. Garland betrays
= escriptive touch, at once crisp. vivid.
ma distinguished, that the late George w
5fefYen might have envled. After weeks
'ed ridden purgatory Jim, merely substltut-
PEI Scylla for charyhdis, sets foot in an.
4en London. Here he tumbles into a pref
NfntanSlemoRt with "decndent" society
sNt the passage at arms between. tho
'ful iant, ollIptlcal ultra-modern "hundle Of
'tnes,' and tho sane. instructive, ele-
nfp tai miner being tclllnEly portrayed. At
lnes even Homer mods and Mr.. Garland
'H plead guilty to several slight mac
'pie cles
~ his hero. Jim Matteson with HIS
'2petual slang; Jim, virlle, racy. rugged
neqielnal; Jim, viewing men, women and
Wa'rs with the unbiased prejudice. II the
'sffdoS may pass. of the gods in the gall
ef4 jim swooping in on the dollhouse Of
'eFty like strong breath Of his loved
nep ntaln air, is wholly engaging study.
RMng an all too brief hour. until the
'NHain rings down upon a little scene
'Ntl the majestic Colorado peaks, no
Ahels us clear away from problems. In.
t'Tpectons 1t is not for us to speculate
IN far or how much Jim realizes his
feF Tor In his hatred Of shams and false
'2sflng; in his love and appreciation Of
'a'Rre' Of all that is simple aud wholesome
N 'Ie--here at least Her Mountain
'f1 and Rose of butchers Cody"
.'2N upon common ground, Suffice It
Nn Jim shows himself al whites" ''as
's to employ Mcredithlnp phrase, who
'*4 not desecrated the temple" or 10
71EP from Meredith to Klpllng as one
.@9o has not sat ON his enthusiasms," II
HN as an antldote to that Twentieth
.3Hzory malady which a recent writer has
'sAnped as New Yorkltls. Jim Matteson Is
HtNnctly worth while