New-York tribune., 1904-09-24
AUTUMN ROMANCES.
NesO Stories by Le0ett-Yeats, Git-
bert Parker and George McCutckeon


BEVERLY OF GRAUsTAfaK. BY George gI3sd5 Barr
McCutcheon. With Illustrations by 1arEls0A
Fisher. l2mo pp. s57. DOdd. Mead & co.
Every now and then some perfervid adherent
OF the realistic school gravey announces that the
cloak and sword romance has been played out
II is not played out at ALL The masters Ct that
form Of fiction are eli dead, II is true. but their
followers continue TO spin pleasant enough
yarns. producing books which. IL In no way
memorable. make. at any rate. very good COM
pany for an idle hour The skill with which the
average novelist nowadays does his work is a
kind Of marvel He does not need to possess
creative genius or style Let him but develop
something OF the gift for story telling. and.
under the favorlng influences OF an age Of edu-
cation, in which every one acquires some little
aptitude IN writing. he win turn you out really
wOrzmanlike story. The autumn publishing sea-
son has just been opened. and already the new
novels are coming 70 the front In goodly num-
bers. They embrace compositions OF all sorts
and descriptions. but I'm glancing over the first
fifteen or twenty volumes come 10 hand we have
noted especially the iVeliness Of the historical
romaneers. Decidedly they holding their
own
Mr.. S. Levett-Yeats deserves certain con-
sideration for the care with which he writes.
The few books he has published have all been
marked by sincerity and literary finish. "or-
product OF inspiration. but neither does it give
the impression OF a machine made tale. Conven-
tional though the plot may be- il is put together
with such address that II wears rather a spon-
taneous air. The book begins we'll The young
Frenchman who Is its hero has 20 face. while
only nineteen years old. very grim situation
His mother and brother are both dead. his father
is dying. and when hs tries to reach the bedside
OF the latter the gates OF the ancestral chateau
are closed 10 him by a stepbrother. who in spite
OF good birth, is villain Of profound baseness
and brutality. When young Bertrand d'Orrain
pleads with this cutthrOat kinsman for adrnis-
sion 70 their home he Is not merely laughed 70
soorn; the wicked Simon points TO the tree Of
justice outside the gate and asks how he would
like 20 swing from one OF its branches. This. we
maintain. is a good beginning for a romance.
since IT promises peculiar complications. "or-
rain" braTns over with the most extraordinary
complications The hero has Inheritance
with which TO cut figure in the world Of Paris,
but dissipation. duel and the intrigues Of his
stepbrother fling him upon disaster. He goes
into exile. Returning In secret 20 the capital he
becomes entangled. innocently, with poisoner.
OF all people in the world. and though gallantry
IN a perilous moment opens the gate Of fortune
20 him, it leads him straight into the Louvre.
where Catharine de Medci sets him those tasks
which always mean. in historical romance, haz-
Rrdous journeys and unendng sword play.
Naturally Bertrand meets the heroine while on
the road on the Queens business. and naturally
his affairs and those Of his royal mistress are
soon inextrieably mixed together. Diane de
Poitiers also appears upon the scene. and largely
through her evil Vaccinations the substance Of
the story takes on lurid tinge The passages
relating 10 this famous woman are not alto
gether credible. Mr. Yeats handles the details
OF her discontinue at stage of the story With
too melodramatic a touch. But the whole
his sketch OF the life OF the French court at that
time is persuasive. and the interest Of the ad-
ventures Of the hero and heroine never slackens.
"a Ladder Of Swords is a beguiling story OF
Elizabethan days. Sir Gilbert Parker is not as
much at home in historical romance as he is in
study OF modern life like that with which he
won such popularity a few years ago-'"The
Right OF Way" But the practised hand. never
theless. shows in certain aspects Of his new
book, and well serves to carry the reader along.
In a predatory note he confesses 20 a few
anaehronisms These do no harm TO his main
theme. the love story Of a pair OF devoted
Huguenots. Michel de la Foret and his Angelo
begin their career with grievous burdens. The
man is wanted IN France, where Catherine de
Medici proposes to cut off his head. and Eliza
beth is half inclined when asked 70 hand over
the culprit. He has. however. a stanch friend
IN the Seigneur Of Rozel in the Island OF Jer-
sey. and, though that doughty parsonage is
obliged TO yield him TO the minions OF the law.
the Queen is touched by the characters OF the
persons involved, and in the long run the de-
uland Of 'the fierce Medici" Is withstood. There
Is not much action IN "a Ladder OF Swords" for
a book OF the sort. but there is enough, and the
author has given vivid account Of some OF
the picturesque incidents in his brief narrative.
He makes the Seigneur de Rozel very amusing.
and. while his Characterization OF Eliza beth
Leicester and his other figures is not partic-
ularly effective. the things they do are generally
arresting One OF the best passages in the book
is the description Of the Queens conduct when
she mounts palfrey sent 70 her by Mary Of
Scotland with the news Of the birth OF her SON
With the animal comes, among others, a man
whose face is suddenly recognized by Angelo.
III was the face OF one who many years ago
was known 20 have poisoned the Duo de Cham
bly, by amounting the pommeI OF his saddle with
delicate poison which the rider would touch,
and touching would. perhaps. carry to his nos
srils or mouth as he rode. and die upon the
instant" The heroine succeeds In warning the
Queen, and the author continues
Elizabeth noticed the look OF anguished anxiety |
n Angeles eyes, her face like that OF one who |
tsncf born of Wears po5 Iesr sle % some swift IN;
days when her lie was no boon 70 her enemies |
Whispered words were 70 her as loud a. hpaer
sne Mss. however. composed ana still Not l
Your wish IS granted, mistress she said elous /
,nen seoresseo word 70 Cecil at her side. who /
slowly 10 the spot where Sir Andrew Melyili and /
couplacently the faces Of both then her eses So,
tto steadily on the face OF the murderer sem /
hncers aions The Domrnei 7shs ma, % a nsr eioYeo
ton, Unnoted and Insignificant 20 any other save |