The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-07-29

The Castle of Lies, by Arthur vesey. this is a tale of mystery, of intrigues. and very absorbing one. the readers will find 1t.
 An American tourist, caught in the whirlpool of Balkan politics. occupies the center of the stage; while the lesser lights who revolve around him are an intriguing woman. Madame Sophie de Varnier, Dr. Starva. her chief ally, Cap tain Forbes. Miss Brett and Sir Nor timer Brett, who is consul general and minister plenipotentiary at Sofia, Bull garia- Sir Mortimer's claim to dis tinction rested on two things: First of all. scandal has been busy with his illustrious name. However, am afraid that's very ordinary sort of notoriety. But when I tell you the so- Der fact that if he just winked war. would break out in the Balkan Penin- su1a you will grant that he is factor in the game of European politics" So much for the opinion of one Locke, American consul at Sofia. in regard to Sir Mortimer, who has been trusted
 implicitly by the British Foreign Of- flee. So far as English affairs were
 concerned he had been a dictator in Bulgarian politics. There had been re- peated attempts to bribe him. But he had been strong enough to resist all pressure-whether exerted by the Sul- tan or by Ferdinand. Prince of Bull garia. But after fifteen years of un-
 blemished record. Sir Mortimer had
 fallen 8 victim to 8 vulgar intrigue with a political adventures. the Coun- l tess Sarahoff-a woman of marvellous charm and beauty. Since the days in the garden of Eden, when Adam ex- cused his disobedie ice by saying: l 'The woman whom thou gavest to be
 with me, she gave me of the tree. and did eat," it has been ever thus. Sir Mortimer was damned politically be-
 cause he was in love with a woman. A | kings messenger was sent to Sona to
 demand Sir Mortimer's return. But when he arrives Sir Mortimer has left his post with the beautiful Countess, and left no trace of his whereaoouts.
 The messenger cannot deliver his dis patches Sir Mortimer's mother and
 sister have arrived on the scene. to try and rescue him from the influence of l the Countess. Then begin the intrigues
 and counter-intrigues. The American | tourist, MT. Haddon. bears a striking l resemblance to Sir Mortimer, and is used by the conspirators to imperso- nate him, ostensibly he is their tool,
 but he remains their guest, only that he may effect the release of Captain
 Forbes, learn the truth concerning Sir
 Mortimer. and clear the atmosphere generally. The game becomes very
 complicated. For a time Haddon does not seem to hold the trump card. lie
 seemed to be enmeShed in a net-word
 of chance, and to be simply unable to carry his plans to a successful conclu- sion. There is even danger of Haddon being arrested for complicity in Mad anne de VarnierNN intrigues, but while he has engaged in this queer intrigue, in this queer country, Haddon has not
 forgotten to explore the by-ways and | the hedges of the land of love. Espe- cially that old yet ever new region, a girls heart. There are few things more difficult to know. but Haddon under 1 took 1t, along with his other task of
 resculng Sir Mortimer and Captain ! Forbes, and it Is she, the girl with l whom he is so desperately in love, who | comes to his rescue and enables him
 to play his trump card. outwitting the
 conspirators. shielding Sir Mortimer. | and saving Prince Ferdinand's life. Aside from the fact of its being a spirited romance. some idea of the Bal kan question may be gained, the evils from which the Turkish East suffers, and the necessity of setting aside Ot- toman rule. All this is used, however, merely as a background for the story,
 that is so spiced with adventure as to keep the interest alive to the end. | Characters and scenes are well imag- ined. Picturesque accounts are given of the scenery, pleasant descriptions of 1 the castles. Castle of Happiness,
 Madame de Varnier had called it.. | though our hero lived to prove 1t a yeritable Castle of Lies"
 
 Learn to labor while you Wiat for