New-York tribune., 1906-08-25

Harper Bros.
TEE TREAsUETE. T..1 OF dIs agAyM Ty,,5 Romanse Of
ssS5S'rsit of the author. I2mo. pp. v az Dodd,
Nead Co.
-vr LADY OF THE WELL. BY Eleanor Alex
aile leenfer l2mO. pp. viii. S2s 'Longmans, Green
& GO.
TIE gorEoM OF WITH THE 5o,E wEF 49,. Ry FeasTles r @
~ Alex Q. Levy. limo, pp. SS2 G. w. Dill
fngham Company
-HB PINK TYPHooN: By Harrison Robertson.
charles Scr1bner's Sons
--~vrrDo AVENUE TO WATER STREET. Be
s1g the story OF Transplanted Church. BY
AI1SSh A9dIss5hinc Bruce. I2mo. PIP. s5s. Funk & wae-
nails Company.
.7,chard the Brazen'' is amusing tale. The
..,5ors seem 10 have been captivated by droll
az. 70 have entered fully into its spirit and
= have made story out Of it with light hearted
..so To be sure, the idea is not a new one.
~. hero of this little romance is one more Of
.sosa innurnerable youths who have gone mas
-,s-ading in recent fiction. reserving the dis
,,s,,re Of the truth about themselves for that
s.,nv moment in which the heroine is ready to
hsstov her hand and heart upon the right man.
o.. there IS so much ''go'' about Richard the
srazsn" that we readily forgive the authors for
rslvsng upon an ancient motive. They get
Il
he son Of a Texan cattle king. The girl whose
Ise he saves and thereupon resolves TO marry
q .be daughter Of his fathers business rival.
The TWO families are suddenly at daggers drawn,
and Il is obvious that the love making OF Rich
s-s Is bound TO be slow. Fortunately, however
he has the opportunity 70 enter the household
~ his fathers foe in the guise OF a British
nobleman and though the reader knows per-
sscfly well how it is all going 10 turn out affairs
gre kept enveoped in mystery for the actors in
fhe comedy. and the reader looks on with
ebuckle The plot, in spite OF its entanglements.
moves quickly enough toward it's pleasant
climax This is, IN a word, a cheerful trihe.
very welcome just az the moment when the dull
ssason IN the publishing world is coming 10 an
end and the march Of the autumn books is
beginning
With all its variety OF incident its mystery
and its intricacy OF plot, Mr.. ForInan's latest
novel is one Of those tales which the reader
feels are, after all. really only beginning when
the author cuts them short. The situation that
forms the climax in this instance is reached
lseitimately enough, and caps the story far
ss told But what the life OF the hero and
heroine Is likely to be, in view OF the disclosures
of that situation, opens up a problem which
might well form the subject of another novel
much better worth the writing. However, one
may be relieved to believe Adr. Forman will not
be moved TO write II. The book tells OF the
mysterious disappearance Of a wealthy gentle
man Of a morose. malicious and retiring DISPOSE
rOn. who has somehow acquired young, beau
rful and charming wife. She is In love with
another mana perfect paragon. The compli-
cations which ensue, ana which we ere not
justified in revealing. could only occur between
mo persons who were, as the author IS at pains
TO explain. totally devoid OF a sense OF humoT
The tale is terribly intense without being in
lls least probable. Its moral is apparently that
love, true love, love devoid Of any sense OF
hunor. not only condOnes but justifes any
thing.
There is much prattle about love in Miss
COreli's novel The Treasure Of Heaven" in
which We also find a rich man Disgusting himself
su5 strolling out into the wide, wide world in
the hope that he may thus settle the problem Of
existence Apparently the masquerade motive
Is epidernic just now. In Richard the Brazen''
Il makes for gayety. Mr.. Fornaan turns it TO
s0msre purpose. In Miss Corelli's hands it
yields fustian. TIE hero OF this book is a ven
cradle millionaire whose heart IS nearly broken
because Love has not been added unto him.
This worries him dreadfully. Before the story
has gone very far he has serious talk with a
wonders what she would say IL he asked her TO
marry him. She confesses that nothing could
give her greater Joy. Whereupon he spurns poor
Lucy, ard points out that. il she had only had
The good sense TO repudiate his absurd and
unnatural proposition" he would have made her
his sole heiress Naturally she is inclined to
tear the old gentleman limb from limb. How
ever. he survives her wrath, and, putting on the
clothes of tramp, goes to look for such happi-
ness as tramp may hnd on the English coun-
frysde He finds It IN solid chunks. The poor
and lowly are as kind 70 him as though they had
steppe5 out OF stained glass windows. To throw
their goodness into higher relief two wicked
noblernen are introduced. travellers in a wicked
automobile. With the brutality OF the worst
days Of the Roman Empire they slay harmless
child upon the highway and pursue their NAL
odoVous course, not even looking behind to see
whether or not they have left the infant welter-
ing in its gore. But destiny is at their heels.
The poor father OF the mangled infant appears
upon the scene. convicts them Of their guilt out
os their own mouths. and then jabs the wickeder
Of the noblemen IN the throat with clasp knife
until he miserably dies Meanwhile our million
are tramp looks on in anguish. and is presently
glad to find himself in the hands OF a young
woman. who tenderly nurses him through the
illness brought on by the shock to HIS nerves
She is a sweet creature, this nurse, and, OF
course, poor So is her lover Was there ever
such chance for an unhappy millionaire? The
one in this book secretly draws up will leaving
eyeryth thing he possesses TO his benefactress, and
then pathetcally turns up his toes TO the daisies
This ought 10 be the climax but Miss Corelli
knows what she is about. The heiress annoys
her lover excessively by being, all OF a sudden
50 absurdly prosperous. He talks to her with
positive asperity That is enough for Mary
She flies to "a rocky platform Oyerhanging the
sea- and there "murInurs plaintively' before