New-York tribune., 1903-03-22

EPISODE OF the lTpiSlut' i'E I''i
Met C'hesney. Illustrated by Maurice Grelffer-
hagen. limo. PIP. 343 John Lane.
RoB1N BR1kANT i. Mt, nh ny Ms dg1v lnnry Dud'"Hy
1IOBA AND OTHER TALES by Arthur Cotton,
With a Frontispiece, by A b. Frost. 12mo, PIP,
81. Henry Holt & Company
UORsEs NINE. Stories Of Harness ;s and saddE !,IG
BY SPwalI Ford Illustrated. l2moo Dp- 2lO.
Charles scribner's Sons
There is a ''Foreword" in Miss McChesney's
new novel; not the predatory page which usually
bears that affected title, but chapter haVlhs
to do with the whole story Of "Cornet Strong OF
Treton's Horse" 1t pictures sudden attack by
Indians unOn a NeW-Engiand village, and es-
pecaIfy the defence made by man and MS
wife who at the moment Of the surprise. are
talking the prospective departure OF the
master of the house to fight in England with the
troops of the Parliament AS the struggle with
the redrnen draws to its close these two stand
together at a loophole. Through the narrow
opening whence the soldiers rnusket had dealt
death flashed a Qufvering humming. barbed
thing, alive with slaughter. One arrow-the last
and It struck silence where it came
The people were gathered in the meeting house,
constraining shaken voices to prayer and praise.
In the last Of the sTnouldering houses, above the
dead stood one struck free for Gods work
Thereby hangs Miss McChesney's tale Thereby
hangs also we regret to say, the cause of her
N----
biguity of the last of the sentences just quoted
from the 'Foreword" aforesaid savors too much
of trickery when we consider it with care. haV-
ing finished reading the novel At the end the
reader feels that rather cheap deception has
been kractised upon him in the framing OF the
plot On the other hand he cannot but admit
that when once Miss McChesney has plunged
into the telling of her romance, rapidly sketch
ing adventures in the field, in the camp, and in
captivity-all well marked by the atmosphere Of
mingled auSterity and reckless ga1iantry which
we associate with the conflicts OF Roundhead
and CavaIier-she is sklful and inspiriting- The
book is of no great weight. but it is entertaining.
In one respect at least there is merit in robin
Brilliant" The central motive is old, but in her
treatment of it Mrs. Dudeney gives 1t new
aspect Her hero and heroine possess adjoining
estates Robin Brilliant lives with her grand
mother at Great Fame At Lesser Fame We
find the hero rejoicing in the hideous name OF
Loten Faigence- Why, We may observe in pass
ing the unfortunate young fellow should be
given a that insistently suggests some
kind of pill prepared food. it is difficult to see.
However he has his redee1ning qualities, and 1t
seems natural enough that all their friends and
the villagers at Wetherford, near by, should take
it 4 matter Of course that Great Fame and
Lesser Fame should be united by the marriage
Of Loten and Robin. In all this Mrs Dudeney
follows convention, and she continues to follow
it when she brings upon the scene the Inevitable
third person, in this pretty girl who has
firted with Loten in Paris and comes with her
mother to settle in the neighborhood Of his
ancestral home OF course trouble ensues, IN the
good Old-fashioned way. But at this point Mrs.
Dudeney gives the narrative a twist of her own.
When Robin discovers the inf1delity Of her lover
she does not, in the of the familiar
heroine OF fiction, spurn him with noble scorn
and retire from the conflict to find her happi
ness in the heart of woTthier man She makes
up her mind to keep him to his word, and the
situation is forthwith developed along lines
which inspire respect for the authors good sense
and penetration. There is something very
human as we'll as IovabIe about Robin; the
duct of Loten eXcites our sympathy, though not
admiration and the painful experience Of
the two makes, in short, excellent stuff for a
novel.
We wish could praise Mrs. Dudeney as
warmly for the execution for the conception
Of her work, but the truth is that robin Brill
liant is a good story almost spoiled in the
telling. It is thing to be leisurely in the
narration Of a romance; 1t is another to be
deadly slow These pages are padded to an
alarming extent with talk about the people who
surround the hero and heroine. 1t is, CT course,
meant TO create an atmosphere, to give the
portrait Of place and It's inhabitants But the
author falls short of her aim The villagers and