New-York tribune., 1909-02-20
Il Romance of Adventure on the
Spanish Man.

Iapplncott Company J.,
GA sss15re 2 islno. Pp 5si e P DuttOn Co.
THE STRAW. By Rina Ramsay. 1zmo' pD- "a
--rz.r sT1-FJT OF DREAMS. BY Edith Sessions
Tupper limo. pp. 90. r. ". Dodge q %
n,r z1aseseld has written in Captain Mar
rsref~ what we take TO be his first novel We
t,ore il will not be his last one. 1hls "IiOei
has a flair FOR the romance OF the sea- aH4
..,.c,aIlv of the sea in those old days when
witnessed the gallant and desperate oeeoS u
ventlsrpen adrenturers and hard bitten despe-
-s6oes De has composed some spirited verse,
and now IN prose he shows that. as regards SUD
stance. at any rate he has the root OF the mat
ter tn him IN form his book is as curious q oi'
OF writing as have encountered IN d tols
,s,,e This author seems to live at once in the
mast and in the present. His dictcn, whlie not
fn any way archaic. is subtly adjusted TO 'he
stufr Of his narrative; but every now and then
there win peep out some little touch viv1dly re-
rninding rs that Mr.. Nasefeld is living ana
,.-3+.-e- ;n the London Of 1909. The odd thing
&c .,,at while the result little amateurish II
sk mt at all unpleasant. On the contrary MI
MssefeId's pages have an ingrataflng or-si-
-.li+1z He IS unconventional for the best Of all
reasons, because he cannot help himse'i. An
old hand would have made this story move more
rspadIy. would have left II more shipshape IN
every way. but he would aot have made II so
charming
The hero, an English gentleman, who gives
cha hoolx SITS title. is SO deeply in love with a
,..ornsn 1sl1b has chosen TO marry another that
he has resolved to take himself away from Eng
land end TO work out his destiny on the spanish
Main He goes in a ship Of his own, appro-
y,rssteiv named the Broken Heart, ana ne goes
l,s It added. with the most aniable OF intentions.
1le knows that ne may fall in with pirates IN
fact he intends &c establish himself IN the midst
burning towns and otherwise bioodthirstlly COM
rart1nr themselves he viii play the part OF d
T,esnefuI trader. fraternize with the Indians
deal automatically with the Dons, ano' per
chance raise up a new province for his King
incidentally, Of course. he VIII DO MS pest 10
snrzet Mistress olivia Stukeley- and the ras-
oa1lv huss,and who has in some mysterious way
cant,,red her love Fortunately for him. and
for The reader. the fates ordain that at the very
-aornen+ of Captain Nargarets ernbarkation the
yessI -suresentatives of his majesty come not
1Ipon the trail of the husband AFORESAID, oent
,,uor apprehendEng him and hanging him for
forgery yEFereupon Mr.. and Mrs Stukeley
come aboard the Broken Heart and, in spite OF
rbe cannon balls Of their pursuers. emerge in
sass+r 1,pon the high seas. Hence unspeakabie
distress for the already melancholy captain.
e+ntsIer has slIlfuIly concealed from Eis wife
She fact that a crime IS at the bottom OF their
sudden deuaTture She still believes IN him, and
The man who really loves her is too chivaIrous
n onen her eyes 20 the truth AS the voyage
reugfbens the situation for every one IN the
ship becomes more and more difficult rising
gradually. the end OF the narrative ors"s
near TO tragic plane
r. Sc good story that MI Meseffeld has TO
fell fut he shows his ability rather IN the por-
travail Of character than in the management Of
his Mot Captain Margaret is strangely inter
esting type and his companion, Perrin, has a
similarly fresh attraction. Stukeley, unscrup
11lous brute, is admirably painted. and perhaps
more beguiling than any Of these figures is Cap
tain Ca-nnock, the ex-pirate who is employed to
command the ship. This picturesque rufian,
with strealzs OF gold in him. is both amusing and
1o,at,le. he is a man. every inch Of him. olivia
though not quite failure, is. the whole, the
one weak character in the book. She is never
altogether credible one fatty refuses to believe
that even a wife who idolizes her husband could
be so slow about realizing his true nature as is
this heroine OF Mr.. Masefeld's. Olivia is not so
much trusting she is dense and idioticaLy
nre6uIcss Eoyvevef we easily put up with her
sbsurdfties for the sake OF the men III the ship
with her, and the romantic atmosphere in which
they are all enveloped. Decidedly we hope that
nGr. AIase6eld will write more fiction.
The first novel in which we made the acquain-
tance OF Catherine" was an uncommony clever
n
Eud character went into the tissue of that story
its personages were more than persuasive: it
ended as in reality Il must have ended, and its
course was frightened by humor. satire, and
sympathy II would be hard TO draw a genuine
Ei-4 Of that Catherine type more charmingiy and
rrrrtfrfIIfy than Mrs. de Ia Pasture drew poor
little Catherine OF Calais AS true. doubt, is
she portrait Of GATHERINGS daughter. a girl Of
q very different nature. We take no exception
what obtuse young heroine Of the rev book.
she IS presented with intuition and spirit-and
SO are the other characters who revisit US in
these pages. where we deplore 2 declenslon in
the ezthorss method IS In the nelodramatic de-
vice Of her plot We do not believe in the
kidnapping OF PhiIipps-it is really invention
not worthy Of so competent novelist It need
not be denied. however. that unnatural as # is
&C IS managed with some skill and that it is the
sort OF thing which serves TO thrill many
reader Of the modern novel
The Straw Is 8 rafting story Of the hunting
dead- Svith 9 love motive running through it and
supplying dark contrast TO the gayety of the
authors deity sketched sporting folk Miss
Ramsay opens her narrative with frolic, but
presently sounds graver note; then she re-
turns 10 her lighter mood, and throughout the
hook keeps or alternating the two currents of
interest. The hunting scenes all well done.
but Il must be confessed that while they 1lI a
good deal OF the space they could not alone
hzve carried t.le book. The readers curiosity
rs TO tbs probable upshot OF the herone's mar
riase is soors aroused. and the author deepens it
sr each succeeding chapter. The girl falls into
The hands Of domineering hunting matron
with a passion fer matchmaking, and this selfish
tntrigaer biandly hands her over to a hand
some scamp. The man who loves Judy is