New-York tribune., 1906-06-30
FICTION.
Minor NOUels, Pleasant and I'm
pleasant.

THE COLONEL OF THE RED HgzzARs. By
John Reed Scott with three ihus5rati9ns fd5d ms IN
S4l. J. B. Lippincott Company
TONIC. son OF THE sIERRAs: A Story of the
Apache war. BY General Charles King. With
mo fnF Pp 8 " i9HHs DngSsm Rs
THE SIN OF GEORGE wARRENER. By Marie
Van Worst 12mo, PIP. S6- The Macmillan Com
With frontspiece in colors by James L Wood.
l2no. pp. S35 J. B. Lppincott Company
Zenda is 'outzendaed" in the extravagant tale
of twentieth century adventure entitled THE
Colonel Of the Red Huzzars." No remote and
possibly overlooked Balkan state is the scene Of
this romance of royal intrigue. but a great king
dom is set down in the very midst Of the map Of
Europe TO serve as the stage on which to exhibit
the rapid promotion of United States major of
engineers 10 be an Archduke of Valeria and heir
presumptive of that presumably ancient dynasty.
1t came about naturally enough Gor the author S
purpose) through the descent of Major Dali
berg from that forgotten second son of Henry
" of Valeria who abjured his birthright and
right of succession in order 10 accompany La
fayette to America and TO fight with Washing
ton for the independence of the colonies. When
the major is sent 20 Valeria military attache
TO the embassy his remarkable resemblance TO
the celebrated portrait of his famous ancestor
lLe Cleh 10 luelllllg HOW reign
ing monarch seizes upon the happy accident to
destroy the ambitions of an uncongenial resident
heir. how the major seizes' the opportunity of
paying court 10 the Princess Dehra. whom he
has long worFhpped from afar. and how he
overcomes the plots of his rival (for both throne
and lady love- may be left for the author TO re-
veal. Without the least illusion of reality the
story is told with so much liveliness of incident
and gayety OF sentiment tast it will serve we'll
enough TO beguie few hours summer
afternoon.
II there is certain family resemblance in
most of General Charles Kings stories of army
life il is for the many friends of that family
an agreeable assurance that each new addition
10 it will prove 10 be congenial member of the
group. Not otherwise is ii in the case of Tonic.
Son OF the Sierras,' the scene OF which is laid
at a frontier post in Arizona in the TG's, during
Crooks campaign against the Apaches. The
love interest, involving the rivalry of two young
West Point graduates for the hand of the COM
naanding officers daughter is maintained
through a rapid succession of skirmishcs with
the redskins and the characteristic incidents of
garrison life The plot centres on the mysterious
actions of friendly Apache scout Tonic, the
righthand man of the hero, who has been mis-
understood and mistreated by his less worthy
cIassmate and rival Apart from the romantic
interest in the novel, General King has under
taken TO prove the fallacy of the theory that
the only good Indian is dead Indian" and to
show that even live Indians have been capable
of exhibiting nobility of character, loyalty to
their friends. and strong personal affection.
What inspired Miss Van Worst TO write the
sordid and unpleasant story of suburban life
which she calls The Sin of George Warrener'
is hard TO determine. There is not one of the
leading characters who is not despicable. al
though a certain amount OF sympathy goes out
10 the dull Wall Street clerk who ruins himself
for the sake OF the vain and heartess wife who
wantonly betrays him. Whatever the object OF
the book its moral. if il has one, is not likely
to reach those 70 whom It's possible lessons
should appeal That II is written with consider
able skill in depicting certain phases Of life in
and around New York that unhappily exist, is
no excuse for bringing them out 10 the light
which they naturally shun. and in subjectine
them TO microscopic scrutiny. study Of sin is
not necessarily harmful. and may, indeed. be
helpful, II IL shows how. through sin or in spite
- sin. man may rise 10 better things. There
IS no such lesson in Miss Van Vorsts story. The
,,eunion OF husband and wife in the last chapter
&c hased on neither repentance nor forgiveness
hut on the fact that neither OF them has sufh-
Giant Imagination TO think OF anywhere else 10
go Presumably the sin Of George Warrener, as
,ba author conceives IT. lay not much in the
crime that he committed to indulge his wife's
selesb extravagances as in his absorption in his
business. which left her unconscious of his af-
.ec,ion and a ready victim TO the first conner who
o-fered the attentions which she craved. From
this roint of view, their reunion may be re-
carded In the light Of the punishment that they