The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-09-10

development by striking touches here
and there-a momentary hush of
desert silence, the splendor of the
African day, the chill of its dawn, an
Arab boy singing softly, a passing
caravan, glimpse of glittering black
eyes under the head of burnous. And
there is constant contrast between
the west and the Orient. the mystery
that abides, fascinating, insidiously
poisonous, Turing but never revealing
its face.
The book is splendidly proportion
ed. The impression of the opening
chapters, which one approaches with
memories of that elaborate earlier
novel, is somewhat disappointing to
the reader, who, in his reminiscent
anticipation, must get farther into
the book before the eXactitude of line
of Mr.. Hichens's design is unfolded
to him. Then he sees that these open
ing chapters are but the gorge
through which Lady Wyverne had
her first view of the hushed sea of
sand, under the Spahis guidance, on
the night of her arrival at El-Akbara.
We must except Mr.. Hichens's es-
timation of the Arabs power of fas-
cination for a While woman. The
idea is not a pleasant one. She is
an Englshwoman, well-born, we'll
bred, spoiled by the indulgence, fiat
terry and obedience of the men of her
class, foremost among them her
straightforward, trusting, sports
man husband. The Spahi is the son
of chief of the desert, French Of
ficer with a veneer of Partisan civil
lization. The Englishman goes Off
into the mountains to shoot barbary
sheep, leaving his wife alone in the
hotel on the selvedge of the unfa-
thomable east; of the Arab he does
not even think; he is niger in
his Anglo-SaXon eyes. Then they are
opened and the duel begins, the prim-
tive battle for the possession of a
woman, fought with oriental wea-
pons on the one hand, with occidental
on the other. TAe contest is brief.
Mr. Kitchens knows the Arab, one
thinks as Pierre Lott knows him, but
with the difference that lies between
the two races to which the two au-
thors belong Lofts Arabs are kin to
Cooper's noble Indians; he loses his
sense of perspective, and admires
without reservation. Kitchens is fas-
cinated even while he. is repulsed by
traits of duplicity, treachery, lawless-
ness, but he never loses sight of the
barbarian beneath the dignified, self
possessed exterior.
The woman is tempted, but not
! lost. Hers has been a sheltered life
not unlike that of the east in its Sc
curity up to certain point, where
complete liberty is given her by So
ciety, liberty to take care of her
self, or to stumble into pitfalls Hel
| husband she has never studied; he is
so simple on the surface. 1t takes
the edge of a precipice to reveal tC
her the man he really is, more pur-
poSeful, more mastery, more deter
mined than the mysterious Arab with
his poetic homage, his caressins
speech and passionate thought. There
is far more in this story of com.
parative psychological analysis thar
appears on the surface of its syn
thetic pages. Only the briefer form
could avail to give this narrative its
tragic potency, its haunting sugges
ton of the possibilities of musica
Interpretation. Of course the libret
fist who, is certain to take the book
in hand will see to it that the tragedy
of the close is placed in the hands o.
the husband, not in those to which
for some unaccountable reason, Mr.
Kitchens has entrusted it.-Harper &
Bros.