New-York tribune., 1903-02-15

A wHALEMAN's WIFE BY Frank T ,fs Buen
With Six Illustrations Emo PIP TX 0'z' T.
Appleton & Co.
THE FOUNDING OF FORTUNES, BY. Jane Bar
low limo. PIP. 34S. Dodd, Mead & Co
WHOM THE GODS DESTROYED Eye BY Josephiihe drihe
ner's Sons
In q nreface to her new novel Mrs. Hggnson
terseIy summarizes the charms of that resloh
on Puget Sound from which she has drawn her
material. She speaks of it as the land Which
is vaguely known to the rest of the world as
.Out-West.'" Some Of the things in her story
raise the surmise that good many readers
would nrefer to know "Out-West" only IN the
yaguest way if the things in question are al
ways to be assumed as going with IT, Inc
mother of the heroine is a nagshs "oi''ai''
MarieIla's father is hardly a more asreeaoie
companion and the household OF Wnich we aie
made inmates while are reading thls DOCK 10
full of that decent squalor, if we may SO oe
scribe it. which has been exploited far 100 olteh
in contemporary fiction. But IN admitting 'i"'
the author has given us sensation as of actual
acquaintance with the members OF the falihe'
family. and with their friends, we Indicate d
certain merit in her work. She is unoenlaoiy
vivid and human. The ranch owner ana MS
v;fa NAV crate upon one. but. at all events,
thew are alive and their daughter is not ohly
alive but deeply interesting. We watch her oe-
yelopment from childhood to her marriage, ana
though some aspects of her character are ui-
conventional enough. they all carry coh'iclloh-
She is a moody and almost morbdly clever
girl more or less at odds with her environment
from beginning to end. She has her romance
and Mrs Higginson relates it with fuH appre-
citation of its importance. Yet If Marlella at
tracts the reader it Is not so much because VI
tbe struggle that goes on in her heart over the
1nIyaI
is because of the numerous traits in her Wnich
bring new touches into her portrait as the iiar
r.tive nroceeds One soon begins to feel q curl
ositv as to what this heroine is going to make
of life and Mrs Higginson holds the reader
attention until the last chapter is reacheu
There is quiet humor in the BOOK especlahS
in the treatment of Mrs. Palmer, with her over
bearing ways and homely speech Ihere are
grim touches. too. and some of these are artistlc
into the bargain. Mrs. Palmer's remorsefui
memories play an effective part in the book ana
the stoical herosm of one of Mariellas lovers Is
also we'll handled.
The high qualities of THE Cruise of the Cache
lot" and of "Deep-Sea Plunderings have MADE
Mr.. Bullen sure of welcome 1or any ne"
book that he might care to publish but that
welcome is unlikely to stand the strain of many
books like "a Whalemans Wife" Indeed. this
is SO unworthy of the author that we Wish some
kind friend had been at his elbow to urge him
to keep it out of print. Hitherto Mr. Bullen has
conquered his reader with the greatest ease No
one could well resist the charm of his sea storles
so packed have they been with human interest,
SO iumined have they been by an imaginative
yet perfectly straightforward treatment of pict-
uresque and wondrous episodes in sailors life
In the present instance all the old glamour is
gone, and we have in its place the whitening at
mosphere of a book which is neither novel
nor a tract, but feeble concoction savoring of
both The hero is a pious young Vermonter who
is supposed to be Man and Christian, but he
oppresses the reader with all the inspdity of a
hopeless prig. When Priscilla Fish, the girl he
loves, is taken with a foolish passion for a hand
whaling captain of brutal nature. and
promptly becomes his bride, Reuben hangs his
head in a despair surprising in well sup
I'ed with the consolation of religion, and ships
has spirited Priscilla away. a cruise after
blubber. Thereupon Ir. Bullen exhibits, through
many pages the good and evil sides Of the old
era Of whaling voyages Reuben luckily finds
himself in a good ship. Priscilla, of course,
suffers bitter disusionment. The upshot of
their adventures leave the reader to dis
cover for himself, but cannot promise him
any entertainment he proceeds upon his
quest Even the descriptions in the book, Of
occurrences in themselves exciting and that in