Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-03


mix things up effectuaIly. and before the
tangie is unwound and the facts are all
known quite a number Of interesting per-
sonages have appeared on the scene In
nephew of the late lord. The deAouemsnt
is unexpected and well handled The story
is marred by evidences OF carless prepara-
ton as on page ~ the valet of Lord Arm
cliffe Is mentioned in the same brief para
graph of the will as both David Simpson
and David Johnson. Again in the confess
sion of the murderer on page 800 occurs
this rather palpab Bile non sequitur:
Il found an old bottle and some dlrec--
tons. 1t said that five drops day
would kill man in month; ten drops
day IN fortnight; twenty in week and
so on. had special reason for fastening
the end. so gave Lord Arnciiffe five drops
daily and he died exactly IN The month
The impatient murderer armed with n POI
son like this would surely have been
tempted to hasten the end e. bit more
expeditiously.
This story was printed serially In the
Sunday magazine section of The Star.
NAPOLEON's LOVE STORY, an Histori-
cal Romance. By Waclaw Gasiorowskf.
author of The Hurricane" &c. Trans
lated by the Count de scissors. New
York: E. P. Dutton & Co.
The relations between Napoleon and
Madame Walewska have often been dis
cussed, from the personal, the historical
and the moral points of view. but it has
remained for this young Polish novelist to
embody It In the form of fiction In an ar
tistic manner. utilizing the conqueror Of
Napoleons heart as type of noble Polish
womanhood. This has been a somewhat
difficult task. for Madame Walewska has
been often represented as an intriguing,
scheming adventures. worning her way
into Napoleon's good graces and gaining
possession Of bis secrets for the purpose of
enriching her family. This author presents
her In a far different light, describing her
as the victim rather OF her famlly'S am
bition and avarice, notably her husband,
doddering octogenarian. He creates the
keenest sympathy for the unfortunate wife,
caught in the meshes Of an intrigue between
the half blinded husband and the willy
courtiers about Napoleon, eager to forward
his suit in every possible manner. The
narrative Is at times unpleasantly diffuse,
and there ts a mass Of extraneous matter,
so often characteristic of the continental
novelist Occasionally it progresses slowly
on this account, but the dramatic moments
are none the less intense. The author has
followed historical lines accurately.
KARL GRIER; The Strange Story of a
Man with a Sixth Sense BY Louis
Tracy, author of The Wings of the
Morning. &c New York: Edward j.
Clode.
This story Is familiar to readers of The
Star, for 1t appeared In the pages OF the
Sunday Magazine a little less than year
ago and in that form attracted general at
tention as an absorbing narrative Of mys-
terry. Karl Grier, the of a Scotch
father and a German mother. possesses a
sixth sense which enables him to conquer
space. At times he passes into a state of
mind which enables him to see what Is pro-
ceeding at great distances and he can also
hear sounds which are too faint to be de-
tected by other ears. He understands all
languages, even that of the animals. As
result of trese remarkable faculties he I'M
dergoes many strange experiences before
this sixth sense Is taken from him. The
story reaches an intense pitch of interest,
as is usually the case with Mr.. Tracy's fic-
ton. An absorbing romance is developed
In the course of the narrative, but 1t does
not obscure the suggestive train of thought
laid by the author regarding the secrets of
the human brain.
PETER AND ALEXIS; the Romance of
Peter the Great. BY Dmitri Merejkow-
ski, author of The Death of the
Gods" &c Sole authorized translation
from the Russian. New York: g. p.
Putnam's Sons. Washington: Wood
ward & Lothrop.
This is the first novel by Merejkowski on
a purely Russian theme. and in 1t he dis
closes to the full the exceptional powers
of description which have made his previous
productions notable in the field of fiction.
He treats at rather too great length of the
conspiracy OF Alexis against his father,
Peter the Great, resulting in one of the
most appalling tragedies ever enacted in
the annals of European royalty. 1t is
decidedly unpleasant story, for 1t deals
throughout with brutality, drunkenness sin,
suffering, torture, fierce passions, all the
evil elements OF the early Russian life,
many of which remain IN evidence today.
Some of the scenes between Peter and his
faithless son are oyerpowering In their
realism. The author, himself Russian,
spares nothing In the attempt to paint a
picture Of the great ear in all his i'm
petuous nature his simplicity, his shrewd-
ness, his far-seeing judgment. his uncon-
trollable temper, his rigid adherence TO tho
letter of his law, his fanatfcal churchman-
peasant suffering under the persecution of
the church are revolving. but historically
important.
EROUW GROBELAAR; and Her Leading
Cases By Perceval Gibbon. author of
Souls in Bondage" New York: Nc
Clure, Phillips q Co. Washington:
Woodward & Lothrop.
Were 1t not for the humorous touches
which Mr. Gibbon adds to his text It would
be too uniformly gruesome to be acceptable
Almost every story-there are seventeen of
them, short sketches and each in the form
of a tale from the lips of garrulous Vrow
Grobelaar-turns on a shocking tragedy.
Blood. blood, blood-it is everywhere. Now
It Is a tale of balloons descending from the
hills to ravage the fields and, when driven
off with slaughter, led back by native,
their king. to be slain by the hundreds;
again ii is the tale of feud between a
family and the man who has married the
daughter against the fathers will; again 1t
IS the tale of farmers wife beseiged by
drunken kafirs who. intent upon torturing
her babe. chokes IT to death herself to save
1t from torment. In the very hour of her
rescue. The author has caught some OF the
high lights of the tragic life OF the Beers,
and they are admissible only because of the
art of their rendition. Vrouw Grobslaar Is
a diverting old woman. sharp tongued. but
soft-hearted and with q wonderful memory
for leading cases to apply, one by one,
to the domestic situation.