The Washington times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1901-1902, 1902-03-02
A Clever Burlesque.

Kate Bonnet" Frank r. Stockton's new
novel, appears to be a subtle but definite
burlesque of the historical novel. so in
geniously done that the reader is not at
first sure whether Mr. Stockton has de-
generated in style or is merely going to
poke fun at new object. Afterward
there is no doubt in the matter. Only
very serious minded persons can fail to
see the point long before the end of the
book
Kate Bonnet is a charming girl, daugh-
ter of worthy planter, who all of sud
den determines TO turn pirate and be
lust as wicked as he possibly can. He
goes about it in a business-like way
which is impressive, and the necessary
foil to his wickedness is furnished by
Scotch Presbyterian named Ben Green
way. who follows him with a praise
worthy determination of converting his
soul Mr. Stockton has crammed into his
book more incidents, action, emotions and
moral reflections than even the most ex-
travagant of the cult has before done.
He has made his plot as improbable as
the sanctification of Tammany Hall and
as original as sin. He has made his hero
a paper doll and his villain is the his
toric Blackboard, all of which is in &C
cordance with the conventions of the
modern historical novelist. He has put
in a beautiful hand-to-hand fight between
Blackboard and the other villai" and sew
eral hair breadth escapes of exceeding in
terest. He has finished by causing the
heroine to marry a man eleven months
younger than herself. which fulfills the
necessary condition of one entirely novel
feature in the plot. Finally. he has put
in at the end, apropos Of Hates father
having been hanged. some extremely NOR
al reflections, in which he for the first
time comes near admitting in so many
words that he has been having fun with
the fashion. He says:
with tears in his eyes he folded her
TO his breast, and peace began to rise in
his soul. No greater blessing can come
to really good people than the absolute
disappearance of the wicked.
had striven hard to keep frog Kate the
news which had come to him from Cape
Town. suppressing it in the hopes that
it might reach her more gradually and
with less terrible effect than if he told
it, but now that he knew that she knew
it the blessings which are shed abroad
by the disappearance of the wicked af
fected him also, and he frightened. There
were no functions for Kate, but she
frightened, striving with all her soul TO
have this so, for her own sake as well
as for that of others. As for Mr.. Della
PLANE, Dame Charter and Dickory, they
Frightened without any trouble at all, the
disappearance of the wicked having such
a direct and forcible effect upon them.
"Dickory Charter, who matured in a
fashion which made everybody forget that
Kate Bonnet was eleven months his 81
nior, entered into business with Mr.. Della
PLANE, and Jamaica became the home of
this happy family, whose welfare was
founded as on a rock, upon the disap-
pearance of the wicked
The "and-they lived happy-ever- after
style of conclusion of the modern romantic
novelist has never before been delicately
satirized, and Mr.. Stockton was the man
to do It. And then he has sea fight be-
tween three ships, each aground on a
sandbar, with the tide going out, and a
pirate whose strongest oath is ''bedad'
and whose ship is singularly neat and
trim, like lady's parlor, so that the
heroine need experience no discomfort in
voyaging therein. II is most original
and charming tale, and one cannot help
thinking that Americas most whimsical
humorist must nave had considerable fun
in writing it. (New York: D. Appleton
G. Coz