New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-04-17

Neyil Meakin- Emo, PIP Sll. The Macmillan
Company.
HIGH NOON. BY Alice Brown. Emo PIP jug
HoUghtOn. Miffiin & co.
A BACHELOR IN Already. BY Halliwen SUIT
clife. limo, PIP 326 T. Y. Crowell & Co.
sUsANNAH AND ONE OTHER BY ,, r. Nara NJ ,o
AlbanesL limo. pp. 326. Mcclure, fhlIiipS g ~
The authors of 1.-THE Court of Sacharissa'
have written a sincere and amusing book where
they might easily have produced an affected ana
dull one They ask Us, In the first place. 10
believe that certain whimsical gentlemen call
ing themselves respectively the Exotic. the Am
hassaaor. the Poet the Man of Truth. the
Scribe and the Mime. go strolling in the coun-
try. come upon a beautiful garden. and proceed
with every circumstance OF the most courty
Doliteness and the Quaintest humor to make
friends with Sacharissa, Its mistress. In actual
life this sort OF thing does not happen. and even
If it were to happen the interlopers would never
dream Of sitting about talking dainty nonsense
TO their hostess But In this book absurdity IL
made to seem entirely natural and the reader
soon forgets to question the credibility OF what
Mr. She-inghaIn and Mt Meakin have put be-
fore him. This Is the kind OF tale that is told
in these pages the speaker being the Exouc-
who is relating one of the romances OF his life;
81 saw her go past the window. and loved her
TO distraction: but she had a green feather In
her hat and so 1 realized that II could not be-
Sacharissa is, of course, Immediately interested
"Is that all the storyT- she asks Yes" the
Exotic replica he Is charged with being very
unreasonable II am he says: "A green
feather has always had disastrous effect on
me" We are well aware Of the fact that this
episode is not precisely brilliant In itself But
It is very amusing as It is introduced in The
Court Of Sacharissa-- The book flows on In the
most Ieisurely fashion. demurely droI- capri
cious. poetic and charming. II is a clever fan
tasy executed well and with originality.
Miss Browns twelve short stories, gathered
together under the general title Of High Noon
are delicate studies in psychology, morbid but
with certain fine quality in them that excuses
their morbdity The author has reflected with
a kind Of tender sympathy on the strange expe-
riences which visit the human mind and soul
the spiritual Incidents that do not always OBJ
viously trouble the surface Of thinga but IN
variably leave their mark These tales are
worked out with ingenuity and they are written
with artistic touch Some Of them, IKE
There and Here are remarkably successful
in giving vivid reality to eerie themes. The
book could have been made depressing. yet Miss
Brown manages to avoid too gloomy a serious
ness, and we find genuine pleasure In her rather
mystical narratives
"a Bachelor IN Already Is a book of genial
musings. interpreted with episodes of rural
life. and embracing also. inevitably. q love
story. The hero tells of the scenes and types
of the English countryside he has amusing
anecdotes TO reclte, and while the love story
aforesaid receives due attention. 1t remains.
after all, only part of extremely miscel-
laneous fabric The book is sunny, with a sweet
and beguiling SAVIOR. and makes cheerful
oasis in a waste OF stupid fiction
Problem: What viii happen when fnno-
cent, inexperienced, truthful girl Is suddenly
entang!ed without her volition In en-
gagement with total stranger in order to save
:he domestic peace of base intriguer who is
her sister7 In the solution OF this problem
Mrs. Abanesi takes poor Susannah through
in this grief or in a haven OF Joy we leave the
reader TO find out for himself Susannah is
drawn with genuine power The maidenly
sweetness and honesty Of her, her tenderness for
all who are sad and helpless her sturdy self
respect Joined to a feminine unreason and
foolish pride winning they amusing.
She is the most attractive character in the book.
The wicked sister is the conventional little
schemer OF Vanity Fair without whom most
modern novelists would be lost The invalid
mother with a mania for betting on races is
not realistic The hero Just falls short of being
manly. The minor characters more or less
probable But pretty and gentle Susannah is
quite engaging enough to blind the reader to
whatever faults the story possesses