New-York tribune., 1902-08-31
FICTION.
A SPIRITED STORY OF THE WEST.

"a
''The B1azed Trail" is one of the Romances OF
Occupation which happily preserving for
future generations group of vivid pictures OF
the pioneer life now so quickly passing. 1t Is
Of numbering days in Michigan and of the lum-
Der jack that Mr.. White writes in pooK uh-
commonly spirited. Straightforward and stlnu-
lating His sentimental passages are graceiul
and poetic, and the reader would be sorry "
miss the moral their ending conveys; put le
real strength of the story lies in its study Oh the
hero's battle for success, the conditions through
which he struggles, and the men who surround
him. These are types. the author tells U.S.
which the philosopher will hereafter admire as
the last incarnation of the heroic age, When the
man is bigger than his work. Soon the rac-
tories the machines. the mechanical structures
and constructions. the various branches OF 1o-
operation will produce quasi-automatlcaAy IN
stitutions evidently more important than the
genius and force of any one human being. 1ne
personal element will have become nearly eh1-
mated. In the woods and on the frontier sun
are many whose powers are greater than their
works whose fame is greater than their deeds.
They are men powerful, virile even brutal at
times: but magnificent with the strengeh oi
courage and resource" We may quarrel Win
Mr.. Whites representations but we Will COLI
cede that his hero is admirably drawn. with
something of magnifcence in his strength oi
courage and resource" If he worships success
too slavishly he learns that to make it truly
worth while some gifts Of heaven must so WIN
It. The authors vein IS a serious one' put
humor is there, nevertheless. like the salt OF
well seasoned food. There episodes Of lie
I'm the winter logging camp and on the Drive
that are not to be read without swift SURFING
of the blood, for most of them ring uue' Lie
book is not fautIess: it would be the better for
revision and condensation But 1t is manly
work 1t is moulded of brains, experience and
literary conscience and we would not willingly
it forgotten
Miss Devereux is apparently convinced that
the ex-pirate, Jean Lafitte, was an almost spot
less hero OF extraordinary powers and loVaDe
nature, and she has accordingly devoted vol
ume of prodigious length to the exploitation of
her theory. How worthy and respectable is her
industry, but how dreary are its results!
Whether Ilafitte was really the polished and
moral pirate she imagines him to have been
We will not undertake to say, but that his
comrades. with smirks Of satisfaction. would
have promptly made so fine prig walk the
plank have doubt. He is only surpassed
in this direction by the Waxworks Bonaparte
who comes early into the story as the friend
and protector of the young Jean-"my Pizarro."
the boy calls him, and is called in return. My
De Soto.' 1t is all very soft and sweet, but as
historical romance it is comic. Piratical or not.
a gentleman adventurer we fear that the
Monsieur Laftte of this volume is impossible
save as feeting ideal for the schoolgirl and
an accompaniment to the sticky caramel. The |
authors working knowledge of French revolu- |
tionary history, of French life and the French |
spirit seems to have been largely derived from |
other peoples novels for her French characters |
anything but Gallo. and their talk is aver |
age nineteenth century American. The book |
does in TRUTH mean wasted effort, though it is |
only just say that it shows sincerity, is as !
innocuous skim milk, and its current moves |
with a good deal of and CELEBRITY Where /
the author is sadly handicapped is in the lack
of the sense of humor which might reveal to
her the limitations of her gift
Mr.. Marsh's story plays about an always |
fascinating theme-that of the castaway upon /
the lonely tropic island. Like Crusoe's isle and |
the Chart is richly adapted to all the re- |
quirements of Mr.. MarshS shipwrecked Three |
"a fair maid and the two chivalrous youths |
destined to be her suitors. There may be such
islands on uncharted seas, and if we confess to
scepticism it is not with any intention of under
author is ingenious in making hero skilled /
In natural science and the other an accomplished
mining engineer Thus. full of knowledge and
invention, Stone and Arnold vie with each other
in producing from woods and waters all man
ner of comforts and luXUries for their gentle
mi, ;-,,'