New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-04-29
NEW FICTION.
Books by Robert Grant, Maurice
HezUIett and Others.


SoT World ADVi 81 Ss aI HsTisf Emo. PIP $40
srTNckRFE By E. W. HOrnung. Illustrated EDDY by
George W. Lambert. l2mo, pp- Sss
p, S Iis ARENA Stories CT Political Ifs .,I By
IN 15e5th Tarkington Illustrated by A. / hell 1s
Mcclure. Phillips Co
NJ Grant. in the Selma White of his I'm
,o,,,sre5 BREAD" presented powerful STUDY o.
:. ,,,,lo,.sl,, TYNE. which has now become iallli-
- - veal lie. Everybody knows something OF
"a. ,-,,aa ambitious creature who clothes hei
coli in cant and whose religion II Is 70 seI oN
= ..7,te Orchid" Mr. Grant has introduced u
rs another type which is quite as true Du' o-.
bo7n into a socially important ser anu $50 80
an v-avs that are worldly wise. Lyola <Aiio-1
-, - l,rae6ine. cleverness and beauty mas no
,ee6 10 push and scheme for the plaoe - -
,,l,icb IS TO her desirable-everythlng mas Oo'''0
:, ~ ,,rt8 in her hatred Of the commonplace
- ~ dread Of being bored she chooses ~
- o,,t her white hand and ruthlessly take "ha'
does not rightfuIly belong TO her. she uOeS '
nth the decisive insolence Of eonqueIlls s.
-, e,- she has no more sense Of moral opllsa-
ZION than has the more vulgar Selila-
succeeds. Society. while it grumnies' a0Oe
- ,-,,,,,rbant selhshness, and smiles upon heI
a,,en when she sells her child to her ol'O'ooo
,,,,gbena for the millions which are 10 give He.
-, With his penniless successor MI. Gram
- che nortreit OF this resourceful ana oe-
+o--,,ras Young woman with a sure touch As
= go, of character THE Orchid" is well oe-
,,eloned and compact There Is stern u.s.
about the movement Of the narrative nv
yeassr yyinces when its grtuamest s1aee
cached and the heroine takes on her most u
heroic aspect but IL does not occur 70 nm
question the consistency OF the whole uie@ az
,a,,.o5a This IS one way Of saying that the
A. - str
accent OF a page from the comedy OF lie ltsell'
T-ci5entailv. ana without any ostentauous
sra-sin, IN OF a moral the book cannot Uu'
-.,,,e Cor the thoughtful reader as a commentary
on life q book making for reflection
A. Hewlett returns in his new COLLECTION o.
abort stories TO the field from which he ore" me
material for his Little Novels OF taiy an
b,r NEW Canterbury Pilgrimage" It Is the
feld Of old romance, in which men aho "Oils--
accent lie as a conflict an affair OF not emo
tons ana violent deeds. They love and they ole
,tt,, an sropressive readiness. as though the or
binary span of human existence were so snort
as 70 make anything ike prudence or VAGINA
nion not siraply contemplate, but ridiculous II
IS all immensely entertaining and exhilaratlhg'
ttfs ancient mode OF living and dying as MI.
Hewlett presents IL, and some OF his pages
exert in remarkable force the spell OF the true
we are bound 10 believe, whether we like 1t or
not. The Love Chase" the last and the longest
OF the tales IS IN some respects at least as per
suasive as anything that Mr. Hewlett has ever
written. The life history Of young Nelo Nelh'
poet secretary Rmorist diplomat ana curious
" seasoned Adventures, is all Of piece, and
we hang breathless upon the issue OF those
events which bring him into thrilling relation
with Cardinal Guido Gonzaga, Simone della
10 he
Iy Emilia FIordispins. whose charms are at
the bottom of al the trouble in the tale. The
atmosphere Of the Renaissance in its most tur-
bulent phase is brought into these pages, and
we feel all the time, We have so often felt in
reading Mr.. Hewlett that he is playing the part
Of the social historian effectively as he is
playing the part OF the romancer. He leaves
much the same impression in ''Buondelmonte's
Saga" a shorter excursion old Italian soil
-'I3razenhead the Great" to continue the unfa-
niliar task OF going backward through vol
uIne, is not made OF such good stuf-it trem-
bles unconsciously on the edge Of burlesque-
and THE Hearts Key" is likewise disappoint-
ing. But what troubles US most about every
thing in this book OF Fond Adventures sue
cessful and unsuccessful stories alike is that
the texture Of the authors art has in it a vague
ly disconeerting quality. as though an admixture
OF dross had been brought In TO exc out designs
once woven OF threads OF pure gold
Mr.. Hewlett has apparently become self-con-
Bcious. In this book. as IN his recent volumes
OF Tuscan travel, we get. il is true much Of
the old substance. but in Fond Adventures"
as IN Its immediate predecessor. the substance
IS al overlaid with flowers Of rhetoric The
style Is brilliant, but forced It attracts atten-
ton 70 itself where It ought TO fulfil its pur-
pose IN merely telling what the author has
70 say. There is not duh page in the volume
he drlll he led T2r1f
e he does not modify his mode Of writing, he
runs the risk Of founding a new spasmodic
school, exploit for which we are sure he
has no taste. He is too valuable a writer TO be
lost 10 US through fondness for the purple
patch BE should leave the trick OF writing for
effect TO lesser men and treat his rare gifts
With greater reverence
AR. Hornung also would be none the worse for
q little adnonition. offered by some sympathetic
friend. We confess TO having read the ten chap
tiers OF "StingaTee" each one OF them an indie
pendent story illustrating the character of the
Australian highwaymsn who gives the book its
title, with unfagging interest Each OF the cpl
sodes is skilfully invented, ana in fact, merely
as a group OF rafting good yarns these produc-
tions justify themselves beyond cavII If Mr.
Hornung is content 10 be praised as a compe-
tent workman. deft in supplying an hours d.
version for the practised reader Of fiction, he
IS welcome 70 our most cordial concentrations.
on the other hand. after reading 'Stingaree"
with amusement, We are constrained 10 wonder
3n the more critical mood which follows on en-
3oyment Of exciting melodrama, whether this
polite sensatOnalism is. after all the sort NJ
thing which wins novelist enduring laurels
IT Is possible to have TOO much OF a good tbina,
''Rafiies" was a Joy when he first appeared in
AR Hornung's pages. and his welcome is not