New-York tribune., 1901-12-08

ending with his inglorious death from a spear
thrust Withal there is a bewlideflhs ihu
titude Of characters The novel is panoramic III
effect Brilliant pictures Of oriental lie leafV
in the mind a wonderfully clear idea of the
rest tlessness and fermentng intensity OIL lii''
strange critical age Merejkowsh's book IS
dam, where the character of the philosophlc
Emperor is developed under the spectator eso
Here is bit of the scene palnIlhS'
Iu1ian entered the house of the priest, olym-
,,ioIorus It's rooms were small but comfort
shIa and rather bare than luxurious. 1here
was neither carpet nor silver dlSh " We ~
NJ floors and furniture We're OF Woou. anu tIie
>1iraIs Of rIay But everything bore the stamp
+ taste The handle of the kitcheh lamp . 80
- ,oarveIlous little work of art, representing
Santuna With his trident; the bold outlines Oh
carthen lars full of olive oil, won the ao%iilra. %
ton of Julian, and along the vans ran ran Us i
,,,C. and dancing women clothed in the long
robe of votarieS of PallaS Athena ho'eleu .1 i.o3
in graceful scroll work. The little house stoou
all smiling in its bath of sunshine. Netelus'
dancers sea unicOrns. the Neptune on tle ramp
and the inmates of the house all seemed cheer-
full by nature, gutless of uginess, OF malice o
snlaen A couple Of dozen olives. some White
bread a bunch of grapes, some WINE anu :+
these were enough to turn the niue nedi Iii.o
= feast and Diophane the wife of olylnplo-
tlor1ls had in fact tied wreath OF iaurei 10
the door to mark that very day feast DAY
Julian went into the little garden OF the atilull,
I-rGer the blue sky jet of water pulsed INTO
the air and in the midst of narcssus' acaithus
blossom, tulips and myrrh rose "a pIo1Ee s ne
f{prrnes winged and smiling like the rest OF the
coit,pe and poised in the act of taking hight
Above the flowers. butterflies and bees piagihS
in the sunshine chased each other, anu Ia "a t bis
shade Of the porch Olympiodorus ana MS
daughter Amaryilis pretty girl of some seven
teen springs playing the Greek game ol
kottaDCS.
Contrast that idyllic scene with this, where
the clumsy executioner has just cut off the head
t1,.. rInfn NJ
sensualist who even when he knew he was
.,ons; to his death concerned only wlth
the way his truffes were prepared;
The butcher heaved his handle high and
-;rote a stream of blood guShed over the
bands Of Scuba: the head fell with thud ana
rolled away the stone flags. At that mo-
lrpIlt The legionaries burst into the hall Bar
hatiO. Ap0demuS and Scuba hurried TO the OPP
pas5e door. the headsman remaining at loss;
but Scuba muttered in his ear: Take Cesar
head 50 nat the legonaries may not recognize
the body. Its question of life or death for
Us all He not a thief, then faltered
the eXecutiOuer in amaZement. lie found II
difficult 10 carry this shaven head; at flrst ne
slid it under arm, but it became uncomfoTt-
able: then slipping his hooked thumb INTO the
mouth, he managed to bear off the skull OF hm
before whom many heads had once bowed
down.
Mr. Trench. the translator of The Death of
the Gods" claims for its author proud su-
rremacy which Mr.. Curtin, who has put The
Argonauts" into English, wants for the writer
Of that book. He calls her the greatest female
writer and thinker in the Slav world at present"
He even goes further and says: There are keen
and good critics just judges of thought and
style who pronounce her the first literary artist
among the women OF Europe The book is a
terribly tragic study of life in the Polish capital.
and carries with it a lesson deep and abiding
as that of a Greek drama. a man has devoted
his whole life and all his energies to aCCumulat
ing an immense fortune To this end he has
sacrificed the only good thing that life has TO
offer-the love of his family. For all the bland
ishments Of his handsome young son. his keen
and witty daughter Irene. his younger daugh-
ter Cara, his wife Malvina he has had the
one excuse ready: Il have no time" He makes