Evening star., 1914-09-26

THE HIDDEN CHILDREN. BY Robert
Chambers, author of ''The Reckon
ing" etc. Illustrated by A l.
Keller. New York: D. Appleton and
Company.
r. CHAMBERS is an ambi-
III dextrous man. Not only is
V he able to write novels with
both hands. but that he
writes them with both at
the same time is beyond doubt. In no
other way can reckoning be made OF
the prodigious output of his work.
nor reason assigned for the sharp line
of cleavage that separates his few
mastery novels from the large body
of those that are merely mediocre and
even poor. One envisages this writer
as throwing off-say, with his left
hand-in easy dexterity and rapid sue
cession those airy souffies of romance.
the feathery nothings of social life,
with which, like good shopkeeper.
Mr.. Chambers meets the large demand
of idle readers for merely diverting
stuff. AT the same time. too, one sees
him setting his good right hand to a
painstaking artistry of genuine and
substantial romance. The Hidden
Children" along with three other sur
passingly fine tales of revolutionary
work. The title of this novel points
TO a traditional custom of certain In
dian tribes. whereby the white captives
were permitted to send their infant
children into exile and safety under
elaborate rites and ceremonies and
conditions set by the tribe. The title.
too, covers the hero and heroine of this
romance. The whole is a finely woven,
artfully patterned, brilliantly colored
web of colonial life. 1t is, besides, a
penetrating and inspired study of In
dian character. The story is based,
broadly, on the work of the continental
soldiery in exterminating the Indian
and half-breed allies of the British.
The setting of this enterprise is the
wild and SURPRISING beauty of New
York state. Its course is the devastat-
ing march of the continentals through
the Indian country, through the Long
House of the League of the Iroquois.
Himself storehouse of Indian legend.
full of feeling for the amazing love-
illness of this Indian country. in full
possession from every point of view of
the history of this period; a keen and
sympathetic analyst of human nature,
and withal master hand at story
novel the seasoned virtue of these
powers. 1.-The Hidden Children" and
the three romances that go with 1t
stand as the direct descendants, the
chastened and law-abiding descend
ants. of the novels of Fenimore Cooper
These together-the Cooper novels and
the four Chambers tales of revolution
ary days-sum the picturesque and ro-
pTecolonial days in the region with
which they deal.
PERCH OF THE DEVIL. By Gertrude
Atherton. author of "The Con-
queror." etc. New York: Frederick
y. Stokes Company.
For this. her latest novel, Mrs. Ath-
erton has sagaciously chosen a theme
that never goes out of fashion; one
that is always on the carpet, so tol
speak. This theme covers the unceas-
ing struggle, open or secret, that goes
on between two or more of one sex to
@ gam possession Of some one person of
the opposite sex. In this case two!
women strive for the same man. One
has the possible temporary handicap
of being the mans wife. Out of this
same fact, she has, too. an ultimate
down inside man is something-call
1t honor, virtue, decency, or call iti
fear, hurt vanity. genuine remorse, or
call it all of these together-thatt
drives him ultimately out of his err
RANCHES to the safe and respectable
shelter of his own lawful freside. And
this. in sum, is the story that this far
seeing, we'll divining writer has told.
1t is the story of how Ida Compton
won her own husband away from her
hest friend. IN it's course the romance
portrays. the courting of Gregory
Compton by Ida Hook, the raw, COM
1nonplace beauty of Butte. The love
call of this beautiful creature was as
native and unconscious as the tune of
4 mourning dove. Caught mapping,
Gregory Compton was reduced by it
to "a mere prowling instinct" and was
rendered as helpless "as if he had been
born a fool" And SO they were mar
Compton was little more than highly
developed thinking machine, calculated
solely to test mines for their gold, its
quality and probable quantity. The
story goes on to tell that Ida Compton.
left to herself and wholly under the
urge of snowy ambition. grew from
chrysalis to gorgeous butterfly under
the tuition of her trained and educated
incident the two fit about Europe with
a train of impecunious minor mobiles
about them. Upon their return home
both find themselves irretrievably IN
as in him lies to love at all, he ap-
pears to love his wife's friend. The
story ends. however, with man and
wife settled to a jog-trot understand
ing of domestic compromise. Beside
serving the purposes of very inter-
estinG social problem, these characters
stand as types. Ida Compton is that
wonderful woman of the west that the
gold mines have turned out and that
life has polished into a great bril-
liancy of mind and manner. Gregory
compton is energy, 1orce, business acu-
men, unconquerability, done into the
shape of mana United States man.
Ora Blake Is the overtrafned and rela-
lively Intellectual person, whether man
or woman. The romance. as a whole.
is soaked with the spirit of its western
setting. Its title, the name of a mine.
touches the course of events here and
there with a wild and beautiful breath
of poetry.
CLAY AND RAINBOWS. a novel. By
Dion Clayton Calthrop, author Of
"Susette," etc. Frontispiece by AL
fred James Dewey New York:
Frederick A. Stokes Company.
This is the book of Sir Timothy
Swift, more lovable hero than whom
no one in many long day has had
the good gift to fashion Sir Timothy
is an incorrigible. He Is hopelessly ro-
mantle. He is the most besotted ideal
ist that, in clay-made world. ever
chased the rainbow of his own bright
dreams Whatever alluring shape the
clay may take-whether beautiful
woman, or honest-seeming man, or
helpless child. or stray cat. or lost dog.