The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-07
Literary Lights and ShadOhs
BY S. MAYS BALL.

The Spanish Jade. by Maurice Hewlett.
 Doubleday. Page & Co.)
 MT. Hewlett has written his new book, The Spanish Jade, in the style of his Forest Lovers' and "Richard Yea-and- Nay" which is quite different and more pleasing to many than the style he em- ployed in his "The Stopping Lady" pub lished just before "The Spanish Jade" In "The Stopping Lady MT. Hewlett seemed to be writing in a Meredith style, many people insisting that 1t was copy.
 In "The Spanish Jade" the author re- veals the soul of Spain-the Spain of 50 years ago, lawless, passionate haggard, everlastingly medaeval and splendid. The story opens on the desert plain around Burgos, over which rides a handsome, graceless rascal, barefooted, happy as a king, singing as he goes to the murder of his sweetheart-a horse thief, snug gler and murderer, an outlaw hidalgo with the morals of hyena. The morn- ing being still young, and his intended victim easily within reach, he stops long enough to go to mass and to lay his long knife for moment before the crucined Christ. Another man Is riding the same route as EStaban, a young Englishman, MT. Manvers trying to forget a love dis appointment in foreign travel. MT. Man. vers is five or six hours ahead of Es- taban and when the outlaw overtakes the young lady, whose assassination $ the object of his errand, she is riding on the saddle before MT. Manvers, who has rescued her from crowd of ruffians. "Manuela' Is a heroine impossible to sketch in a re|Sew. She is one of the regular Hewlett herolnes. She was vivid beauty flercely colored, sunburned with tawny golden hair and jade green, far-seeing eyes, slim and little more than a child.
 These three ill-assorted people stop for the midday meal Manvers of course, does not know that Manuela and Estaban had ever met before. After resting. Manvers strolls away to the river and the murder is done. But 1t Is the body of Estaban and not of Manuela that the re- turning Englishman finds there stabbed to death. She has left him her crucifix as if in compensation of his kindness. On the crucifix, of course, hangs the se- quence of complications, and not until the very end of the tale does the Englishman clear himself of the charge that he was the murderer.
 Books which have attempted to inter- pret the soul of Spain have fallen be- hind such delightful work as MT. Hewlett shows Tn ''Ine spanish Jaue. MT t1eW- lett gives us a tale of primitive passion in which live and move and have their ver- itable being an Estaban and a Manuela, a Louis Romonez de Alaia, who was en- titled to wear his hat in the presence Of the queen and who lived on 5 pence day in a garret; Fray Juan de la Cruz, priest and simple philosopher; Sebas- tian Goldsmith, a Gil Perez servant and Sister Chuca of the penitentiary. The whole book Is really delightful. It is vivid, unforgetable story of love and adventure in old Spain. MT. Hewlett de- lights in the magic of "the necessary word" always, when 1t does seem that 1fatnral one would have done the ser vice better, but his style, at all events, is moving and splendid, full of color, power and charm.
 "The Spanish Jade Is really delight tful book.