New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-03-25
MARRIED MISERIES.
Tar7ous PaIliah0es offered in Three
Recent ROmdnceS.

oStat AtOHtOHAtS.
'OG Oh story Of the cande-Ih Fifties BY
GSoTEe Wright limo. pp. E8i. The Bobbs-Mer-
Haze o Win T4R tf RIy9RGE - BY Louise Closer
Haze l2rno. PIP viii, Sls. Dodd, Mead & Co.
UNDER THE ARCH. BY Lady Henry Somerset
I-Ino' PIP SSe. Doubleday, Page q co.
The obvious moral OF Miss Aexanders STORY
OF the candle-lt ffties' is that it is unwise for
maiden TO wed one man when she loves an
"lher' especially when that Other is a good
looking young minister. There is nothing very
new In the lesson and nothing very new in the
story in which the old situation is invested with
certain quaint charm by its semi-Southern
setting Of fifty years ago. There is more than
a suggestion Of Mrs wilkins Freeman in the
authors treatment Of her village and country
side types, which are deity. if not always pow
eTtully. drawn. The end Of that redoubtabIe
fre-eater, Colonel Belmont is so unconvincing
that one would not be surprised to learn that
IL was, in fact, a close transcript from nature
Judith Ia Monde is the name Of the heroine
80 also innocently represents the temptation
- the world TO the young minister and incl
dentally arouses something of the devil in him
The story is saved from its logical tragedy by
q stroke" Of some sort which affiicts the hus-
band Of Judith when, on their wedding night
he finds her and her ministerial friend hobnob-
hing together. In real life the stroke" would
probably have fallen elsewhere. and the sur
prised and chagrined wife would have been de-
prived Of the pleasure Of expiating her viola
ton Of the proprieties by nursing her husband
until his death mercifuny left her free to mate
with her affinity. Yet the whole the char
acters in the tale are human enough in the way
in which they behave in the situations which
the author has contrived for them, and even
The young minister is, in the main, manly and
sympathetic It is safe to say that his occa-
sional lack of discretion will not be laid up
against him by d large proportion Of feminine
readers.
Mrs. Hale has contrived to build a brightly
written and entertaining story Of an automobile
tour through Italy on the finsiest OF structural
foundations The pretext for the trip is so
wildly farcical, and so overelaborated in the
opening chapters. as almost 10 discourage the
reader from following the writer's fortunes in
Europe The account OF the motorists expert
euces. however, is amusingly told, and enlvened
with much natural and some artificial comedy.
one gets an excellent idea of the country and
some sort Of notion of the adventures one is
- kelly to meet if travelling the same way If the
y authors style betrays too evident effort to be
'snaruy" up to date. it must be admitted that
most Of her substance is excellent fun; and If 1t
is book that can be laid aside almost anywhere
without profound regret, it is also one that can
always be taken up again with pleasure The
numerous drawings by Mr.. Hale, Of scenes by
the way. especially those printed in tints, are
effective bits Of illustration. though not in the
least in key with the text. The readily accepted
explanation. Of course, is that they were not
intended 10 be.
The arch under which Lady Henry Somer-
set has constructed her recent novel of London
social extremes is that sung by Dante Gabriel
Rossetti:
Under the Arch OF Life where love and death,
Terror and mystery, guard her shrine / saw
Beauty euthroEed.
There is nothing especially esoteric or precious
in the story. however. There are two heroines,
one beautiful naughty and cOnventionally mar
riad. the other charming, self-sacrificing and a
..sattler,eDt worker" Both are in love with the
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