New-York tribune., 1910-06-04

2. a.
THE PERJURER By W. E. Norris. l2no
pp. Sl2. Brentano's-
MORNING STAR. BY Il. Rider Haggard
With three Illustrations by A. c Mi
chael- 12rno. pp- 5os bongmans' Green
& Co.
TIE WILD OLIVE, BY the author Of
The Inner Shrine Illustrated by
Lucius Hitchcock. l2no DO. 3H Har-
per & Bros.
A posthumous work of Marion Craw-
F, ford's would naturally take precedence
| in almost any group Of new novels For
old sake's sake one is eager to see what
! his last story is like. The Undeslra-
BILE Governess" turns out to be in moth
! ing more striking than its unlikeness TO
the characteristic productions OF this
/ delightful romancer. The plot is Of the
simplest and most conventional sort.
An English family. living in the coun-
| try, is in need of q governess, and the
mistress of the house. having sbeen ex-
asperated by the mischief wrought by
one pretty mink after the other. sends
to the paper an advertisement contain
ing this appalling statement: Charm
of manner, symmetry Of form and brill
fancy of conversation especially not de-
sired, as husband and three grown-up
sons much at home" Coming upon
this at the end of the first chapter, the
reader looks forward to sheer farce, and
for a time he wonders If Crawford did
not, perhaps, intend to put this trif7e on
the stage AS it develops, however, it
is plain that ''The Undesirable Gov
erness" would never have done in dra-
matte form, and it scarcely meets the
requirements Of fiction. Certainly, it is
not quite worthy Of the authors talent.
The pretty governess and her curious
deception. the love affair in which she
and the heir of the family are involved
and the irruption OF a party Of wrecked
balloonists into lunatic asylum as a
means OF bringing on the climax, all
seem the productions of purely mechani-
cal effort. The book is amusing, in a
mild way, but that is the best that can
be said about il.
The first compliment which the re-
viewer is always bound TO pay TO new
novel by Mr.. w. E. Norris is one testi-
flying to the finished workmanship of
that author. He knows precisely what
he is about. The naturalness and ease
Of his stories delightfully."- atone for their
want of originality and for the trace Of
unpleasantness which they generally
bear. His unpleasantness, we hasten to
add. is never of the unsavory sort. Mr.
Norris is too much Of a man of the
world, too much Of q gentleman, for
that. He IS unpleasant, rather. in the
sense Of tantalizipg his reader with ar
rangements that work hardship for this
! or that parsonage in the book for no
very satisfactory reason. Thus. in '"The
PerJurer" We have a heroine we would
like to see married to the right man, and
not only are we disappointed. but. since
the right man is to go unrewarded for
all his loyalty to Helen Monk, we won
der why our sympathies should be
reused for him. And yet we enjoy the
novel, Mr. Norris is so skilful and SO
besuiling. He begins with a capital sit
uation. His heroine. an orphan. is
brought up in the house Of her uncle. an
old widower. who is a perfect tvpe Of
the rigid rather dull. but somehow ad-
nairable British noblenan. The son and
heir Of Lord Lavernock is scapegrace
wherefore the old man leaves the bulk
of his fortune to Helen. with the nm
spoken hope that she may marry his
son and, keeping the estate in her hands
prove the salvation Of the name. There
Is problem for q nice Young woman, /,
Miss Monk is hard put to il to make up
her mind, and the reader is very glad
when Colonel Julyan comes upon the
scene He has his faults, but ne has his
virtues. too. and one homes that he will
achieve the heroines happiness and his
own Then. as we have indicated, Mr.
Norris incontinently upsets the apple
cart He does IT so adroitly that almost
We are inclined TO forgive him. Still
he does not persuade us that the de-
nouenent is exactly studied from life
II seems, instead. the outcome of his
own wilfUlness Anthony Trollope. Of
whom in a dim way he sometimes re-
minds US. would have known better how
to wind up the narrative. But Anthony
Trollopse had genius.
Mr. Rider Haggard has invaded the
domain which in historical fiction has
lain fallow since the days of George
Ehers. and tells in The Morning Star"
a romance of ancient Egypt that is de-
cidedly well worth reading It's accu-
racy IS vouched for by no less an author
ity than Or. Wallis Bulge keeper of
Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities at
the British Museum. who, when the
author submitted the story to him for
critical reading, advised him TO leave it
exactly as it is" But the romance is
the thing, a romance that is far older
than Rameses, the romance Of youth and
beauty and love and of the great vent
ures it inspires and rewards. Rider
Haggard's hand has not lost its cunning.
Here is as good a tale of the dawn of
civilization and the springtine of life as
one can wish for on a quiet summer
afternoon. And how timely the author
is, in these days Of metapsychics and
the puzzle Of double personality. with
his use Of the ancient Egyptians belief
in the personality within the person
the hG-and of all that strange mingllng
OF magic and superstition Of which the
papyri give Us repeated giimpses
The anonymous author OF one OF last
years best sellers" sustains the often
fatal test OF n second venture success
fuzzy. The Wild Olive" is rot great art.
neither was ''The Inner Shrine" taJf.