The sun., 1907-11-02
NEW BOOKS.


WE GhANhWfW'o NA6Ng AAUpoWts
Mr.. F. Marion CrawEord's story Of Are
thusA" CThe Macmillan Company beglns
In an interesting manner COnstantinoplo
Is far away. and so In the year 1870. but
the romancer steps across the distance
readily and with assurance. IL h notice
able that no uses for his story the language
Of this day. rejecting utterly that myseeri-
GUS and machine style 90 generally thought
by authors dealing romantically with
remote period to be suitably archaic. The
dialogue. structurally and in the detail
Of its material. il practically such ne might
be- uttered Familiarity in Fifth avenue or
in the psrlors of Hempstead. L. 1. This
eases and, in our opinion, recommends
the tale. IL makes the reader feel very
much alive and at home, even though It
be- 1870. and his ears catch OF necessity
now and then the alien Cadences OF the
waters Of the Golden Horn.
COnstantinOple in the first chapter is
Guently and happily pictured. II reels
on tho panoramist's spindle like vital
creature spurred. The curiosity OF the
reader will be excited by the letter from
the Venetian merchant directing the pur-
chase for $50 ducats of a slave girl with
slender ankles and sound teeth. The visit
Of the purchasers agent 10 the house OF
the slave dealer 10 interestingly described.
The slave dealers wife, giant negreEs
with crimson hair. is a figure to surprise
the reader. The starvation scene in the
beggars' quarter in. for sundry reasons.
not 50 effective as IL might DO. but the
reader will be satisfied that the girl Zos
was lovely and he will be sorry that she
should have had to sell herself to the slave
Uy..A s..In - N n
not think that the reader will have any
fear that she Is going to be unhappy. On
the night OF the sale she had an excellent
supper OF birds and sweetmeats and wine.
The romancer's humor, which he exer-
cises frequently. finds particular expression
at this point. II was desirable to keep
Zos in a pleasant frame OF mind. he says
1in order that she might produce an agree
ableimpresson on the expected purchaser"
The dealer who had bought her knew this
very well. Indeed he had once missed
a very good bargain because the mer-
chandise had burst into tears at the wrong
moment There are some passages that
remind us Of Mr.. Gunter's stories, but not
30 definitely that we should wish TO charge
the author OF this tale with deliberate
imitation. We do not think that the reader
the weak but amiable Emperor John and
the entirely wicked Emperor Andronicus
or about the strife between Venice and
Genoa to get the upper hand in political
and mercantile affairs at Constantinople.
Mr. Crawford 10 at no great pains to make
these matters interesting and it is likely
that the reader will follow his example
and dismiss them with slight concern
But ha s.rgU hs, o. H.,
OF the mystery involved in the curiously
potent expressions. by the four toes and
the Ave toes" and @Over the water both
salt and fresh; and though he does not
care two straws for the Emperor John
he viii follow Caro- Zeno eagerly when that
hero goes up the Amena tower by means
Of a knotted rope to deliver that monarch
from imprisonment.
It is at this point that the action Of the
story has its chief expression. ZenO had
great potential powers, but really he did
not do much besides going up the tower.
When he was shut up in the dry cistern
all he did was to wait until his friends let
him out, and it was Zoe who invented the
plot by which the wicked Andronicus was
finally overthrow. The torture OF Zoe
by the employment of the horrible borer
OoeCAo "aS ShOCNinB' haPPlly IL Was lnJer-
rupted In good time. Tocktamish, the
Tatar warrior, was thoroughly vigorous
and terrifying when he went drunk to the
banquet and belabOred the guests and
rified the strong box. The last part Of the
story seemed to us perfunctory and sIurred.
For that reason we preferred the first part.
Arethusa was the name that Zoe bestowed
upon herself when she became a slave.
Her real name was not even Zoe. 1t was
Blanca.