New-York tribune., 1908-03-28
Literary Nesvs and Criticism.

the general drift of Mrs Frankau-s argument.
Merely for the idea embodied in it THE Heart
of Child" is worth reading
Miss Frances Powell's heroinessare nothing il
not irresistible. Beginning with the sorely
troubled out all-conquering young lady in "The
House on the Hudson they nave all revealed
fairly magical powers for causing the men with
whom they come in contact to fall head over
heels in love with them. Miss Pauline Dav-
enant is no exception TO the rule. Her cousin
Sabins regards her as hopelessly dull ugly and
insignificant and prophesies that if goes
visit her cousin Cynthia that fastidious indi-
vidual will think her siInpetou But this
visit about which talk is going on when the
story opens, proves the occasion of one more of
those triumphal marches which Miss Powell is
evidently fond Of arranging for the girls of her
imagination Lena goes TO Elnhampton, is
ceived by Cynthia with open arms, and inlrn-
diately begins 10 collect proposals of marriage
II this were all there would be very little in
rerest in the story, but there is a mystery in
the background. indicated by the title of the
book. "Old Mr. Davenant's Money Cousin
Cynthia has had children Paul and Paula
One Of them is dead Her possession OF
fortune depends upon the sex of the surviving
child This fact contributes a strange uneasi-
ness to the entire family circle. There is
kinSnIan Of Cynthia's in the house who is evi-
IDENTITY in position to make things very un-
comfortable for everybody concerned. Of course
he is enrolled amongst Lenas wooers-
That complicates the problem for her but we
must not divuIge the upshOt Of her visit 10
Elulhampton- II is enough to say that il is
romantic and that the mystery with which il is
linked lends a zest TO the readers pursuit Of
Miss Davenant's sentimental adventures.
In the most casually formed group of
new novels there is always bound to be at least
one devoted TO the unravelling Of a crime. The
detective" story to-day is The Henllock Ave
nue Mystery IN which a murder at once over
HhelTns innocent man with a tremendous
burden Of what is known as circumstantiaI evil
dence Mr.. Warren Fullerton and Mr.. Arthur
Lawrence, both lawyers, at dasgers drawn
some subject unknown to their friends.
Mr. Fullerton is murdered. Mr.. Lawrence is
obviously the man suspect OF the crime
newspaper reporter of the type that seems 10 be
turning up on every hand in fiction OF the sort
is led to make Investigations Of his own, and
with great rapidity he comes upon one state OF
affairs after another calculated to make the
affair darker and more complicated. There is a
young woman il the book who has been loved
by Mr Fullerton and is loved by Mr.. Lawrence
There is a millionaire's wife who has had deli
cate business relations with both the lawyers;
there is the millionaire himself, going about in
frenzied frame OF mind there is q divorce
case in the background and there is a meddle-
some detective, bent stirring UP the whole
queer mixture But the newspaper reporter is
e clever young man and Mr.. Doubleday puts him
through his PAGES in adroit fashion The tale IS
wound I'D with the surprise indispensable 10 a
tale OF this kind. It Is a credita bIe piece OF
popular fiction.
There are two veins of humor skilfully worked
by Mrs. Warner her Seeing England with
Uncle John" In the first place her book is
partly made up of letters from young wife 10
her mother, letters bubbling with girlish happi-
ness and marked by a wonderful solicitude for
the writer's baby. The gravity Of Yvonnes re-
marks about the infant only makes them the
funnier. They raise a emile whenever they
crop out. The author gets the rest of her fun
from the unconscious absurdities OF Uncle John,
who will be remembered having had, in an
other book. some interesting French experiences.
On English soil he exhibits the same quaint
He and Yvonne between them
supply the reader with q good deal of mIscei-
Ianeous information about historic scenes, but
IL is 10 their personalities and TO the perform
ances Of their friends that the book owes its
2 bout Mrs. Warmers sentiment and hUuor. She
is spontaneous and sincere. Those readers who
epioved Seeing France with Uncle John will
find equal pleasure in the present volume.