New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-09-20

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COUNT zARElA IonaGcc ~, Iy :, : Sir W frer
MaEnry. With FTontspeGe tH NJ y, pe,-,
/ 5sP Go i-in0' p'. DID, h0s'O'' h.
sTAAY-A,T-HoMI>s. by 4 F, wa'ford, SvO Pr.
Sir A. Conan Doyle nas one gift which is
distinctly rare among writer's of fiction WORK
ing IT the present time. He can tell story
Of mere adventure and give it something Ike
literary quality He can make a tissue OF
incidents not simply exciting. but artistic. lie
proves this with special fulness and force IN
The Adventures Of Gerard" In series Of
eight brief narratives he exhibits to us the
exploits Of a briCader under Napoleon. The
exploits themselves entertaining. Though
they smack of the camp and the battlefield,
which have been written almost to death by
the modern novelist they are not hackneyed IN
motive When we read of how Gerard lost his
err in Venetian dungeon, how he captured
SaraEogsa how he cut 4 fox in twain before
the astounded eyes Of some English officers
huutfn. in the Peninsula. and how he did sew
cral other extraordinary things. We are led to
believe that he quite right in regarding
his career as unique. The author Of his being
has invented for him situations and adventures
as novel as they are picturesque and thrilling.
Ert there is more than adventure here TO be-
guile the reader. There is the altogether life
onyoloped, and there is the soldier himself. a
type portrayed with an underlying seriousness
that transforms a figure Of drama into a
wholly credible human being. Gerard sWag-
gers 10 a tremendous degree, but never Is a
false note struck in the speeches or asldes |
attributed TO him. Furthermore, while giving /
him al the traits OF properly boastful man
alarms ia a theatrical era, the author is at
pains to preserve in this portrait the lines !
which JesIeak the true hero and gentleman.
Gerard may brag as much he pleascs, We
never lose faith in him. he never strikes Us as
aught save a natural and captivating man.
The forthcoming season may bring Us some
more important volume OF fiction than this it
cannot bring Us one more diyerting.
The Yellow Crayon'' is amazing tale.
Mr. Oppenheim thinks nothing Of asking Us 20
believe wonders. The secret society whose
doings form the substance Of the book is rep
resented as one established among the great
families Of Europe with view to counteract-
ing the rise Of sociliistic Organizations. Its
titular head is the present Emperor Of Ger
many and that shrewd potentate is credited
with i good natured Willingness to leave the
actual carrying on Of the sOcietys affairs TO a
rascaUy prince who. OF course, uses his power
for his own ends. The action begins at Leuox,
Mass, of all places in the world. There an
elderly uOleman is discovered beWallIng the
kidnapping of his wife. She is a member of the
society whose terrible cdjcts are always set
forth in yellow crayon He has been expeued
from the order. when she is compelled 10 80
10 London and engage in q grave intrigue every
effort is made TO keep her husband At 4 dis
lance. Naturally the Duke Of Souspennier does
not hold with this sort Of thing, and, he is
ana extremely resourceful person, with much
wealth at his disposal he promptly sets about
The recovery of his lost partner. Astonishing
rested a trumped up charge with a celebrity
and brutality worthy of the Middle Ages
our police being apparently much at the
beck and call of the Emperor's secret society
Is the missing duchess-and he is only en-
ahled TO continue on his campaign through the
Washington. But We must not expose any more
81 the details Of Mr. Cppenheim's remarkable
fabric. The tangle grows more tangled as the
story continues, and are kept absorbed until
the last pages are reached. They are only fairly
we'll written pages. and there are too many Of
Crayon" is worth reading.
A similar judgment may be passed upon
Count Zarka," in which another kidnapping
occurs. In this case il is Prince Roel Of Raps-
berg who disappears. and the Russian Govern
ment is supposed to Ice responsible Behind his
disappearance. says the minister who first
Ice