The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-08-04

" s5sH4
rHE TRAITOR BY THOMAS Dixon
Jf Published by Doubleday, Page
and Company, OF New York. PIP.
s3l. ,s1.50.
The reader is informed that this
volulnc,ga story OF the fall or the In
visible Empire" and dedicated TO the
men OF the south who suffered exile,
imprisonment and death for the daring
service they rendered their country. as
citizens Of the "lnvisible Empire"
closes, as originally planned by MIR.
Dixon. the trlogy OF decentralization
embodied IN THE Leopards spots.
"The Clansmnn" and "Tlie Traitor"
"'rhc Clansinan.' says Mr.. Dixon.
'cnded with the political triumph or
the kt KluX Khan. or Invisible En-
Oire. The story OF ,rhe Traitor opens
with the order OF dissolution BY Gen
cral Forrest. and is SGT IN the httnos-
phere OF the fierce neighborhood fcuds
which marked tho Klan's downfall In
tle Piedmont region of the South"
The background OF the story Is men
eioned as the foothills OF North Caro-
lima. and the time stated az the period
beginning with 1870 and ending with,
1872.
The leading characters of the book
are john Graham, cX-Ghief or the
Khan. and hero OF the story; Major
Graham, his father: Billy Graham. his
brother. and Alfred their family but
Ter: Mrs Wilson, widow with whom
the Grahan,s are boarding and Susie
Graham, her daughter: Dan Wiley. a
1pountainecr. Steve HaHlc chief OF the
new Khan; Judge Butler. of the United
States Circuit Court. Stella, his daugh-
ter: Aunt Julie Ann. cook for the But
lcrs, and Maggie, Stella's maid; Suggs,
n detective. and Ackcrmann, of the
United States Secret Service. Isaac a.
Postle, sanctified negro: the United
States Attorney General, Hon Beverly
Johnson, OF Maryland: Hon. Henry,
Etanbcry, OF Ohio. and President u. $.
Grant.
The Graham family. as one soon as
certains. have been tdespoiled By Judge
Butler. who has obtained possession
Of their fine ne. estate. through fraud The
shock and grief Of giving up the old
home causes Mrs. Grahanls death, and
unsettles the mind Of her husband
shortly after the opening chapters
of the book, In which John Graham
has disbanded the Ku KluN, ihe5brings
suit against Judge Butlerbfor tile re-
coverS of thee Graham property, un-5
Justly held by him While the suit IS
pending. and the two men arc known
10 be at variance with each other,
Stella Butler. the JUDGES daughter
conccives the madcap idea of giving
ball ut the old Graham home. and of
inviting the Iiu klux to attend it in
their paraphernHlia
Against all rcmonstrance she car
ries. out her desire. AS the original
organization has already been dis
solved, new XII klux, with Steve
Holt, the enemy of John Graham, as
leader. are the ones to attend.
I-arkn, a political opponent of
Judge Butler, takes advantage of the
occasion, to enter the Graham man
sion by secret ind crground passage.
dressed like Iiu klux member. to
penetrate to the library and to stab
Judge Butler to the heart. Then, re-
firing as he comes, he makes good
his escape.
Stella Butler suspects John Graham
of bang her fathers murderer. When
she has caused him to avow his love
fer her and finds she loves him In re-
turn she becomes convinced Of his in
nocence. but II is too late. Graham Is
arrested. is proved innocent of muir
der by Larkin.s guilt being estab-
lished, but Is sentenced to the Albany
penitentiary as a former leader of the
Ki klux, Steve Holt having accepted
official position and br:ke money to
play the part Of The Traitor
q ]
Is, is rendered endurable By the faith
fulness and devotion OF Stella Butler
Before his case can be taken 10 the
Supreme Court of the United States he
Is pardoned and returns home To marry
Stella Butler and reconstruct his life
on new and substantial basis or hap
piness and Independence.
Mr.. Dixon's readers who have follow
ed him throughout the series in which
4 NJ
riod or Southern post-bellum history,
Will put The Traitor" down with a
sense of lnality,ssas If thescurtaiii had
dropped or. a great tragedy that in
the 'Trilogy" has been freshly
burned into the minds of Southern
people.
THE WlNDFALL-By Charles Expert
Graddoek, Dnfeid & Co. u New
York publishers PIP. 40. sl.5o
love Of nature, tlleSrlclncss OF imagery
and phraseology. and the power vi
acter-drawing that has tor years
rendered Miss Murfee. distinctly note
BILE as a Southern writer.
Like many other stories she has
written, the scene of this lies WITHIN
the shadow OF the Great smoky Noun
tans. where she is most truly and
est bits OF the story, and one or e.hu
most characteristic occurs in the nrst
chapter, where Lloyd, the manager ol
nessee mountain town, taking an after
noon walk. first meets typical noun
tain girl. Clctilde Pinlf.... TIC meet
Ing Is thus described:
"a girl was standing half in the
golden glow and half In the emerald
gloom of the shadow, gazing up visit
fully at bough, gently sWaylng Just
tossed It. he saw the prize that iured
her--a great Indian peach tile last