The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-08-27
neW Book ncWS


 The Image in the sand~-By E. F: Henson. Is this indeed the author of our .Dodo?" Dodo so timid and so fascinating, Dodo so witty and SD wicked Dodo so silly none wished eo confess reading her doings, Dodo so smart that none wished to miss reading of her misdeeds. Dodo which as picture of the English smart set or any other smart set was photographic. MT. Henson's smart people have grown very seriously minded. They concentrate and take long breaths. and so into frances, and raise spirits. But they don't raise our spirits as Dodo useo to do.
 The author has some little nSF fad dish expressions popular with the so ciety folk of today that he sets in ms pages as:
 But who is MT. Caroery9 oohi think I know him.
 "svou can't know him if you think you don't. He Is the whoiesomest young man in the world.
 Oh, you don't know him if you think you don't! It is a wise young belle that can ring any changes, or bring any note of originality out of that now often re- peated phrase of introduction.
 MT. Benson gives a good many fair ly good dinner talks and pretty good tea-table chats. enough to let us feel that he takes ms notepcoh into tno swim, the real swim.
 For the swim is what this wise Mrs Desmond, the very large Aunt Julia, in regal brocades, declares 1t to be. sYes certainly dress. politics, golf, but not derisively like that All the chat ting, the frivolous conversation which you will hear and take part in is the symbol of something much more impor- tant--of kindliness, in fact, interest In FaII ftIr
 The heroine Ida, daughter Of Sir Hem ry Jervis. Is deeply versed in Eastern lore. She gives an hour daily to medi- tation. She believes in concentration. when .agitated she takes some long breaths,' or concentrates" "1f you can concentrate your Rind on any thing, really concentrate 1t, the thing is yours," that is Idas philosophy. But very little comes of 1t in Ida's case. If Eastern lore Is to be brought into a smart society novel with success MT. Benson's seems hardly the hand to do 1t.
 He puts his occult science and be- liefs into words much as versiher would a bill of groceries, the one rings about as true as the other.
 Mrs. Desmond's efforts to keep the charming Ida in ordinary bounds ex- cites sympathy, the young lady Is prone to lead every conversation into such depths. For our consolation we have 1t that she is ESQ dreadfully rich." and of that white innocence" "a person of immense charm," in spite of being one who knew "all sorts of strange and upsetting things" All this we take Mir. Benson's word for. For in effort to depict the occult he has failed to give life to his creations, his people are all quite as dead as are his Egyption mummies, and harder to ~r2 AAsa nR some 5000 years ago, Let-nekht.
 Sir Henry has a servant and master, Abdul man versed in all white mag ic. White magic has only brought to Sir Henry the sound of his wife,s voice, the sense of her innocent pres ence. He desires the touch of her hand, ~ffer very flesh and blood pres ence. This can only be had by prac- tice of Black Magic. Jim Henderson Is an English student of deep matters who has no fear of Black Magic, nor any computations of conscience upon any matter. He has become possessor of an amulet, a sort of concre.s six thousand year sleeping powder to the evil soul Let-nekht. If this be kept intact Let=nekht's soul ~wiu sleep, If be broken Let-nekhts spirit will be loosed to do all the evil desired. Hen derson, Sir Henry and medium, a donkey-boy, Mohammed, hold a seance In temple peTore the Just dlscoV- cred statue of Let-nekht's Ka. They are within a circle about the circle were symbols in the sand across which no malignant spirit may pass Git is we'll evil spirits can be so easily eontrolled) The circle Is further 1flanked by Crux Ausata, at the cor ners, and between "a couple of Sevos- tikas." Those three seated hand in hand Gas ip ring -around-rosy plsy) are safe from intrusion of the evil spirit which they wish to invoke. Af- ter a rapid clapping of muffled mum my hands the ghost appears, malig- .s nant beyond expression. -:- F..
 Ida, grown anxious at her fathers absence, has followed to the Temple She enters just as the spirit has man. ifested itself. Being outside the circle she became under the influence of the malignant soul of Let-nekht MT Benson has worked at his plot in very disjointed way. He keeps Let-nekht for an evil genii, but the old Egyptian is a useless adjunct to his own machina- tions. The dragging of all this i'm possible stuff into London drawing