New-York tribune., 1903-04-26

CAPTAIN kEIII4E h c. y. CutcIiffe
pany
PEOPLE e 6oU 6 IN KNOW BY George Ade- Illus
12mo, PIP. "a r. H. Russell.
Mr. Bailey gained considerable repute when
he published his romance Of the war in the
Netherlands in the time of AIva, My Lady Of
, Orange" He does not damage that repute in
Karl of Erbach," but he cannot be said 10
have increased it by writing that book 1t IS
story of certain princpaIites in the time OF the
Thirty Years War, and military figures pass
and repass through its pages, some OF them
historical But while the author always has
something for these people to do. he shows as
he narrates their experiences. less aptitude for
the elaboration of an interesting plot than We
have expected Of him. There is a very fear
some rascal in the tale, murderer and a cow
ard One victim after another falls to his craft
and brutality and this gives the narrative
very doleful tinge, without any really good
cause being offered for the woes that are de-
scribed- But must have done with fault
finding and speak a friendly word for the ex-
celIent work that Mr.. Bailey has done in the
portrayal of his hero. Master Karl is a curious
compound. He is as brave as hon. but for
the sake OF the people in Solgau he does all
that he is able to do as an important parsonage
in the principality TO preserve peace, and it is
through no fault of his that SOgau pres
emily allied with Lich tenstein the domain of the
bad man aforesaid This injudicious arrange
ment Of affairs not only threatens to involve
Sclgau with France in relations disag greeabIe to
the former, but it gives the abominable Ludwig
his opportunity. He marries a princess of Sol
gau, only to murder her after he has connived
the murder of her brother. Karl Of ErDaeh
has his work cut cut for him in avenging these
and other crimes. Incidentally. with that i'll
luck which seems TO pursue the heroes of fiction,
his wise craftsmanship earns him the scorn Of
his people and especially of the woman he loves.
In exhibiting his skill in extricating himself
from his unfortunate situation Mr.. Bailey fails,
have said. to frame perfectly satisfac-
tory plot; but he gives US a consistent and in
teresting figure in Karl, with some originality,
and the book is read with mild enjoyment
THE Captain" goes to swell the list. already
very long, OF novels dealing with Civil War.
1t has. like so many OF these recent romances,
it's conspicuous assistant at the romance re-
lated drawn from the actual annals Of the six
ties. in this case no less a parsonage than Cen.
erl4I Grant. But Mr.. Williams has learned well
the lesson unwittingly enforced by certain Of
his predecessors, that il is a mistake 10 give an
historical character too definite share in an
invented love story, and SO he keeps Grant
where he belongs. not too much in the back
ground, but not too much IL the centre Of the
stage. His book gains II merit also through
being occupied in a fair proportion Of its pages
by episodes Illustrating the life Of MS characters
away from battIeteids. The love story. in other
words, is kept constantly in view. The hero, Of
course, has hard road 10 hoe, and that not
simply when he is On actual service. The path
OF true love Is VIGOROUSLY filed with Obstacles
in these tales of the Civil War. But Mr.. Will
Jams does not fail in his duty to his hero. and
the story closes after a fashion which should
be altogether acceptable to the reader. 1t is
written in a credIJable style, the many stirring
incidents in the book being handled with brevIty
and animation.
Mr. Bain's new collection Of stories translated
from Tolstoi is I e than welcome. The Rus
sian novelist has an StUtude OF MS own toward
literary FORMS and his short stories. like ms
Ions ones. dluer from those OF every Cne else,
from technical point of view But his mastery
in the one form, as in the other, is beyond al
question and in works like The Death Of Ivan
lTIch' his power holds one GREATNESS. MIR.
Balm has translated nine other fleces, in addi-
ton To this masterpiece, and the book is inter-
4stins from cover TO c0ver-interesting for the
various compositions il contains, and for that
spirit which peryades them all and " hch
nay describe as T0lstoi's criticism of life"
Geographical sketch Of nearly fifty pages is pre-
fixed TO the volume. Il readable and useful
--tbuti5n. The photog~avure which serves as
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