New-York tribune., 1909-03-27
Books CT Fiction by Henry Har!Gnd'
.4licc Bro-cn and Others


TIE ROYAL EN- a Romance BY, By Herr T. r3 mar
land 12rno PIP 345. Iode. Mead & ~
THE STORY or THYTazA4. b Eli Ales step6ens g5TMi
i2T5o. pfs s2s Houghton Miitiin Company
THE BReNZE BELL BY Louis Louis 1oSenlt emo pp K,
Illustratsd, by Harrison F4shei- 4'''0 -
$50 Dodd. Mead & Co
JOHN SILENCE: PHYsIcIA,N EHTkA0iNiot IaAoo p5
NARY b. Algerno1 BiackVyooo A-i'iO ~
S9O Boet0n; John W Luce * %
THE LITTLE GODS Masque Of "a he i5 Far ns3es Ess
s5rl1a- Emo. PIP, 292- Boston; Lite D'O"''
.--l,e F2oz-af End" begins with an incident that
provokes disbelief. Two ladies sojourning IN
Venice are tempted one evening to linger IN 'iie
moonlight at the Lido When it occurs 70 theIl
To return TO their hotel they find only one soi-
sofs II the landing place. and are constrained
=. ,ce,,- the l,ogpitalitv Of Prince Bertram' its
,s-ner. for no other boat is available. ! he
reader VINO knows his Lido must chuckle at the
,ses ~ any one being uarooned on that cheer-
81 s,ot F2,1t if the point is worth notice X Is
,,csuse tits so characteristic Of the light IRE
sronsihle manner ia which The RoyaI filG -
written In the earlier part OF ms career '+-
late Henry Harland was an author VINO "oi heo'
ss Il were with his eye on the opJeCI Al
,or6 he gave free rein 70 the talent toT roliid0e
.f7at was in him and produced IN Inc Cal-
di,al's snuff Box" story as delicate as d oi'
of gossamer. Its success encouraged MN -
,a,ee+ his excursion into that domain which
had yielded so sparkling an inspiration 10 lAie
.,,,,ors NJ Prince Otto" and The Prisoner Of
venda" and though he never quite achleyeo the
illusion achieved by Stevenson and Anthony
Hone ne dealt very prettiiy with his romantic
-ncrive. He used it very skilfully in the book
,,non which he was collaborating with MIS-.
E5arlan6 at the time of his death. and which she
has since completed. in this instance the nero
me is . rich American girl Ruth Adgate' VINO
loves a man she has evidently no chance OF
raarr-v;ng and :s loved by another on whom she
Is in the last degree unlikely 70 bestow her
hand. The comedy in which the hetress is IN
volved is the veriest triie, denoting scarcely
any po.ve.s Of invention. But II moves Viva
cieuslv enough; one Of the conspicuous hgures
IN il, Harry PontyCroft, Is an amusing talAeF'
and. in the long run. The Royal End" in its
gay fashion. is more satisfying than many d
novel aiming at higher things.
Miss Browns new novel is a study Of charac-
.er the story Of a New England type Thyrza
Tenant. the heroine. IS painted at full length
We see her first as child of nine. She is an al
serlv wonlan Just awaiting her sons marriage
shen the book is closed. she, by the way. has
n aot herself been married From the beginning
d she has trials to endure, and in the middle OF
he novel the worst of these is set. so that the
author may still have plenty Of space in which
n show her heroine rising above disgrace by
sheer tenacitv of viii and finding, at the end
something like happiness The writers OF novels
ike this one are curiously ingenious IN thelr
,t,fIding ND of the strong" situation. The old
fashioned way of getting the female prodisai
MO 2 corner was TO throw her into the hands
xr-fsh II a
enough. in all conscience, for the feeblest sister
Now. in Kipling's phrase. you put silded roof
n, the horror Thyrza's betrayal is not the sole
source Of anguish TO her. The man who ruins
Ter life promptly Tnarrics her beloved sister
The latter of course must never know the truth.
Thvrza's JOB is therefore nicely cut out for her
she must carry her own cross, and she must
sive no sign OF the wrong done as well 70 her
sister as to herself. The book is obviously one
# EXQUISITE charm. Why, we wonder. must
3eveists deal in such revolving stuff? OF course,
a-e expect to be told that the powerful noveIlst
writes for mature men and women; that ne.
or she. fs-a deep student of the tragic side ef
ife and tha; from books like Miss Browns lat
est there proceed some of the most ennobling
essons 10 be enforced by art upon the think
nr. reader. But as a matter Of fact Miss
srax-n's heroine is not in the least impressive
~ illuminating On the contrary, she and her
-,is@orr11nes saturated they are in morbid
rentimentality. never for moment inspire
szrnpathy. Oaly in the earlier chapters. when
rbvrza is still a child, is she interesting. Then
,e- portrait as Miss Brown draws II seems very
ifeIike. -
The author Of The Bronze Bell" possesses a
shrewd faculty for creating in his reader, al
the outset q mood of eager curiosity His hero
IA introduced TO us as young fellow with the
traits of the man of action and the scholar
David Amber is at the moment on his way to
the house Of a friend on Long Island. He ex-
poets no adventures more exciting than those
Of the duck hunter. Almost Immediately. how
eyer he encounters a sinister Oriental and very
soon after that he is implicated in train OF
events including the murder of that gentleman
The heroine, who is also the scene soon after
the rsse OF the curtain. goes of 10 India Mr.
Amber follows her but not by any means for a
simple courtshi1- He must play his part IN the
DEVELOPMENT OF 3 secret campaign looking to
the overthrow CT the British power, In fact
The Bronze Bell is brirlful OF surprise and
peril Things happen to the hero which ought
10 turn his hair white But novelists do not