The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-06-25
NEWS OF THE BOOK WORLD
Imaginary Attempt to Establish a Repuo-
lie In IreIand-Mucf Fictitious Blood
Spilled In Nain--A Love Story Told from
the Standpoint of the Losing Rival.

"Open Sesame!'' The magic words Of
the Arabian Nights" last evening showed
that they still held strange power. Upon
their utterance book doors swung open
and the occupant of The Uneasy Chair
was-not in the entrance Of robbers
den, but out under the stars watching one
of Ireland's factions try to establish a
republic. The book was Shan F. Bullock's
The Red Leasuers.
OF course, the story is pure fiction. Yet
II it teaches anything i IS this. that II
would be utterly futile for any portion OF
the inhabitants Of the Emerald Isle to at
tempt to free the land from British rule
The imaginary originators of the great
plot on which the story is built have
watched the progress Of the war IN South
Africa. They see in England's crippled
condition their opportunity. They decide
to act James shaw had fought in Cuba,
the Philippines and South Africa. The
commando Of Annoy chooses him for it's
captain. He accepts the place for two
reasons love Of adventure and the hope
Of winning the hand Of Leah, winsome
Irish girl, who has rejected his suit for
one who will, in the strife sure to come
of the plot, be his mortal enemy. The lat
ter motive is much the stronger, and the
extremes 1t drives jamie to rob him long
before the book is ended, of the sym
pathy he obtains at the outset. But
Jamie is the under dog Of this story. And
that is the popularity Of tit is told
from the under dogs standpoint Whoever
read a love story before, told by the one
who loses in the great passion of his life?
This purports to be told so. But that is
giving away the point to the story. Still
! it will be worth the while of fiction read
| ers to get this new perspective. The SEN
sation is quite novel. One gets to see
how the "other fellow" feels.
However, the chief interest in the story
centers in the effort to create republic
All over Ireland, according to the story
are men in the plot. The first thing to dc
is to sweep in the Protestants, and Their
be ready to meet the Britons. 1t Is with
the sweeping in of the Professionals that
the story deals. The execution Of the
plot never goes farther.
Christy Muldoon appears upon the scene
early. It is at meeting at which Jamie
| is induced to accept the captaincy. Christ5
is speaking OF England.
''Think of her." shouted Christy, fist up
raised, his eyes blazing; think of her all then
years ago. an think Of her this mortal hour
Then the biggest tyrant of the crew and the be
damnedest; now the shrinkinest cur that walk
she's done for. Limb be limb she'll drop away
colony by colony into the ocean, till only tn
carcase is left; an then With signifcan
gesture Christy snapped his fingers at the foo
and stamped England into the clay.
That kind of talk does not win Jamie
but Leah's rejection Of his suit does, an,
a few nights later the work Of roundin,
up the Protestants begins. It goes on a
first quietly enough But soon Captain
Shaw discovers that his particular com
mando is a pack Of ravening wolves. Be
fore the night is very far spent, the wor
it has to its credit, or perhaps debi
would be better, is told by the captain i
this:
William Johnston we found at home, a ma
Of 80, with bald crown and grizzled whisker
seated in his kitchen with his family aroun
him and he comforting them with chapter frol
Isaiah. We dealt softly with Johnston. job
Nixon we also found at home, with barred dool
and windows, a carbine waiting for us behind
window, and rusty bayonet waiting for
when the door crashed in. We gave Nike
short shrift and left his house blazing on Il
hillside. Samuel Mobiles was empty, but
we stepped into the yard bullet from the barr
loft wounded trooper and in twinkle Samu
Noble toppled into the yard like sack of corr
!. 81 Thomas Willis, like another in Go
, teen, fired from his hearthstone and fe
riddled like sieve.
And that is only partial summing
the nights work, one of blood and deatl
and all for naught. The authors style
clean-cut and clear and his story is a, GOO
one, except for the disappointment or
l feels that Jamie does not come up to e.
l pectations. He comes very near what
7 K. Chesterton would call a 'watery Re,
l ben"