La Junta tribune., 1911-03-04
"Ths rhsater Terrible"

CnATies Eo"1u ueWcs anu puUhsneu
by the EdEerson- Palmer Press, Chi
cago and Denver. has recently come
to this office with the compliments
Of the publishers.
The book 10 . Colorado product, and
It's scenes are laid In Plume, a Col.
orado mining town, and In Denver.
Sketched briefly the story is this:
Old Peter Brown and his son. Stan.
dish, came from Iowa to Plume. Colo.
where they began prospecting for
>npid. Long and earnestly they sought
he weeks heightened into months
and still the vein that they felt
certain was awaiting the picks gave
not CLEAN. In the meanwhile
Standish had learned to love the
daughter of the landlady at Plume,
and had gained her promise to be-
come his wife as soon as he should
be in a position. financially. to marry
her-or when the gold 'panned out" !"
Al length resources were exhausted
and Standish had to go to Denver
and get work In order to have money
TO pay their debts and 10 carry the
search further.
While he was in Denver his sweet
heart met and learned to love a
young mine overseer and wrote break
ing their engagement. Immediately
upon Standish's return to Plume eff
forts were renewed earnestly and the
vein was struck, but the shining gold
Knocked the broken hearted boy. II
he only had struck the vein few
months earlier he need not, he
thought, have lost his sweetheart.
The years sped and the mine yield
ed wonderfully Old Peter Brown be-
came a rich man, and, at length died
by accident in remote level of his
famous mine, declaring his Christian
faith with his last strength In let
ter he managed to write to his son.
The years sped again, and Stan
dish learns TO love little Italian
maiden. Fiorna by name. whom with
her dear old grandfather he has be-
Offended. They are married and go
No Denver 10 live, wnefe standish,
having much wealth, soon attains
much power. He becomes interest
ed in politics, inadvertently. and
wields fine influence there. He gets
mixed up. again inadvertently. In
great eastern trust: he Is the chief
promoter OF scheme which results
In a short line railroad over the
mountains, west: but best of all, he
Is. through everything. no-le hui
mani,arian who never forgets that
men are their brothers keepers. He
is, as the author tells us he meant
that he should be, fine testimony
TO the fact that a man can com.
mencing with no other advantage
than his Intelligence and his own
two hands-build unto himself a
mighty fortune. and having gotten,
can use his wealth In way that VIII
make 1t u blessing TO all with whom
he comes In contact.
The story is not without It's Intense
ly dramatic situations. and the death
OF the old man In the wet and lone
some blackness OF the great mine
that had brought him untold thous'
ands Is haunting tragedy. which
the writer portrays with an unparai'
lelled realism.
There are. however. many foot
marks OF the amateur along the
maze OF the books yerbosity aud
k.hrough It's tropical tangle OF ad'
Jectiycs and capitals and interjcc'
lions. II seems pity. II pro
duction evinces real genius In the
writcr-whioh this one unquestioh'
ably docs--to call attention to the
lesser iack-such ms rhetorical ana
grammatical impcrfections. Yet these
are things that may not be ignored
There can be that In the setting OF
= Jewel or the framing Of n beautiful
picture which viii take away all
sttractiveness and make Of the
jewel set or the picture framed n
thing AmosS the commonplace.
Il II. TO our judgment. In these
impcrfections. and In too great com
pass that the book misses greatness.
30 many ideas are suggested aud No
many. many references are made 10
lAnous inctdents and famous person
aiities. ancient and modern. that one
becomes bewildered BY the story's IN
trtcacy and ovcrawed by Its pompor'
ity.
There u another defect We are
not among those who believe that
A.. l. eh..