The San Francisco call., 1901-12-29

"A. 1.
y tales, entitled The Laird,s ;. Luck, ,u'I
and Other Fireside Tales, vary
in subject from war with its attenoah-
horrors TO the supernatural ana lls nS
reries. In all Of them there is the nhe
adjustment Of style to subject WHICH men
makes the work Of Quiller-Couch that ol
a master Of the art of story telilne.
Whether the scene is laid in the present
time or in past centuries there Is lhe
,--,., s5,7,irat,1e representation Of the
characteristics displayed by people oL d
particular period.
a,Tbe TWO Scouts is a story of the
F7eninsular campaign, when the forces Oh
Wellington were pitted against those OF
AFsrront. In the service Of the Engllsh
are two scouts. distant kinsmeu and bcth
ramed McNeill. One is a Scotchman porn
and bred. while the Other. though OIL
scotch descent, is a Spaniard by biruR ana
+roining. The methods employed by the
TWO AcNeills in gaining Information OF
The movements Of the French army are as
diverse as their training has been. Tie
Scotch Mcneil, although working IN the
heart Of the enemy's country, olsdalns 10
use more Of a disguise than is anoroeu
him bv throwing a dark riding CLOAK over
his uniform. The Spanish Mcneil, on the
other hand. assumes any disguise Whch
will enable him to penetrate the lines OF
tho enemy. Both men are famous among
the French for their success in carrying
10 wellington information of the plans OF
the other side. The scouts do not work
together. AS a consequence of this ana
Of the secret nature of their work the
French confuse the identity Of the two
men and endeavor to punish one Tor the
acts of the other. The contempt felt by
each Mcneil for the methods Of the oth-
er which reveals an irreconcllable olHer-
ence in disposition and education, has
been described in a manner which lends
2 great deal of humor to a story Of what
is in reality a very serious business-the
work Of a spy.
1.-The Poisoned Ice is a weird tale OF a
plague-infected city. which encounters ad-
ditional horrors in the depredations when
are inflicted upon it by pirates. Some OF
these outlaws are at last brought TO a
well merited end by a priest, who leads
them on TO drink a delicious cordial cooled
nv poisoned ice, which he has manufac-
tlred. It is the sort of story which only
= fine skill in the telling can reconcile one
10 hearing
CAPTAIN Dick and Captain Jack are
two rival English sea captains who nave
an encounter with French frigates during
the war of a century ago. The way IN
which these men bring their ships safe
out of the meeting and the amusing in
cidents to which this gives rise make up
z story to tighten the somberness OF those
which precede and follow.
The opening story, "The Laird's Luck
is on a theme outside the experience OF
prosaic lives. The laird, David Mackenzie,
is a young Scotchman who is attended by
a familiar spirit. This being turns all the
good luck Of the laird to i'll luck. Mac
kensie enters the army, where he BIDS
fair to earn honor. But the .ofhcious at
of hi e+
has no sense of either right or wrong,
bring into his life troubles, whose happy
solution is impossible because Of the un-
usual nature Of their occasion.
Three Men Of Badajos'' is another
story of the Peninsular campaign This
time the subject is the effect which the
actual experience Of battle had upon a re-
crut from a village in England. This
man after entering the army begins to
feel sure that he is a coward and to fear
that he viii lose his self-contrOl when he
goes into battle. As it turns out, this is
Just what he does do. When the time for
fighting arrives he is driven into the thick
Of a terrible fight. where the noise and
the horrible sights send him into a frenzy,
whose effects last until the day Of his
death.
Perhaps the story which shows the
best workmanship is "Phoebus on Halza-
phrOn,' a charming recitation Of what is
supposed to be an old legend Of the coast
Of Cornwall Graul, the King of the land
Of Lyonnesse, is in dire trouble on ac-
count Of the sorrows of his people. Not
knowing where to turn for help, he prays
TO some unknown god of goodness Of
whose existence he is instnctively aware.
After a little Phoebus appears in all the
glory Of his eternal youth. For several
years the divinity helps the people by the
brightness Of his presence and by the
prosperity which he brings upon the land.
To WOO the people from their sorrows
the sun god sings to them the heavenly
strains which once delighted immortal
ears and tells to them the old myths of
the classic land where he has ruled. The
story Of Biton and Cleobis reappears here,
related with such delightful quaintness
that in spite Of its familiarity it will bear
quotation:
In HeIlas, in the kingdom of Argos,
there lived two brothers-Cleobis and
Biton-young men, well to do and Of
great strength of body. so that each had
won crown in the public games. Now,
once when the ArgiYes were keeping a
festival Of the Goddess Hera their mother
had need to be driven to the temple I'm
her chariot but the oxen did not return
from the field in time. The young men,
therefore, seeing that the hour was late
put the yoke on their own necks and
drew the car in which their mother sat
and brought her to the temple, which was
fOrty-five stades away. This they did in
sight Of the multitude assembled, and the
men commended their strength, while the
women called her blessed to be the moth
er of such sons But she, overioyed at
the deed and its renown, entered the
temple, and standing before the image
Of Hera prayed the goddess to grant her
two sens, CleObs and Biton, the greatest
boon which could fall to man. After she
had prayed and they had sacrificed and
eaten Of the feast the young men sat
down in the temple and fell asleep and
never woke again, but so made an end
with life. In this wise the blessing Of
Hera came TO them: and the men of
Argos caused statues to be made of them
and set up at Delphi for a memorial Of
their piety and its reward
Midsummer Fires "D'Arfet's Venge-
ance'' and "Aargery of Lawhibbet" make
up the remainder of the book. The first
is a story Of a husbands trust in his
wife and the reward it brought to him
The hero Of the second tale is an Eng
lishman Of the fifteenth century, who
spends years Of time and toll to bring