The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1921-08-05
CONDENSED
CLASSICS
THE MYSTERIES
OF PARIS ~
40 ~
r,sr H
ny EUGENE SUE FR,
#
~ EUGENE SUE
A Condensation by
Msss Sara Ware Rasaefs
70 INTERPRET Justly the works
of Eugene Sue. one n,s,s,+ r.,

70 INIERfRET Justly the works
Of Eugene sue, one must snss
forget sa tnke into considers
ten thesepoch at which they wen a,s.ss,,
place III world literature,
When Sue was born the rscpeE WIN 6
9TH q comparatively new sprefnct
There had, ait is true, been tbooe.s bo.
fore Its advent, for the apye,ssfnn N
printing had put reading matssr With.
IN the frefsh Of the people: a,rt unti,
Fiction Ssiade its appearance most OF
'the material published had been of a
religious trend, consisting of lives of
the safsEs, and treatises on THEOLOGY
'and science. Even then such voIun,ao
were cestly, to say nothFng,of their he.
ing OF far too porfaierglfs ia nature IN
answer the cravings sf "a public scant.
lily e6lcated and DESTROYS for enter.
tainment at time wIlan amusements
were few.
therefore, when out 0of this arid lit
:erafy waste tine nwsl sprung into he.
Ing, we can easily rpfcture the eager
ness with which fine hungering masses
fell upon 1t, Hesa, eat last, was some
thing human ami within the scope of
the everyday ulsaTf's understandings
here, In fascinating form, were nre-
scented not only with characters from
the life with which he was familiar
but also adventures in those n,Us+fc
realms OIL romance that he had smaae-
fned. IL WEES like water to THE
thirsty!
Hence, III when reading the very
early nswsls, cor even those of the Rsster
decades no which Sue belonged, VIE are
consciens mfsstilted dialogue, and mel
odramatfic nnd improbable sftuatiouS.
let US remainder that the writer's oof
this eEa ware to no small extarft mi
oneerS I'm 81 Ssparsely troddssn wfifffer-
ness of faft;aand that when 1.-THE world
was so rHsw and alI'' i'm Itinerary de
VetoPment tt is a marvel that their
handfWUrk has endured for 30 MANY
years. RR4e's Mysteries af Paris"
pennsd ina 1912, seems touched with
the fires off everlasting youth. Indeed.
1t naE1st possess sle charm of universal
appeal SUritt would never have held its
place fGTaalmost eentmry. whenvwe
consider hhow few of agrr gresentasay
novels survive second season, weaare
forced sto doff our caps to tfkfs artist
of the Past, who, hike Stevenson. $50
we'll merits the sobrfqusf of ''FDusitala,
a Teller oof Tales" ana the secret of
whose Spell lies i'm the eternal ciiffd
In MS answering To the 8oreerfes osF aa
nSsterstory-teiler
The book in question lis "a tlrbyrfrtth
Of exciting and dramatic happenings,
which, ecleveriy woven together, ana
body the authors unique philosophy
that tdeGquest for good Rlay he made
qufte as seductive a crusade las tlae
quest for, evil; the 0nIy difference iy-
ing in THE goal toward which one
TURNS has steps Certainly the story
bears rouis this theory, for we are sswept
along blythe magiciEnts tunnning page
after page, chapter after chapter, uR-t
TIL his creative resources seem aimit-Sj
less. Never for an EnstarE does ourl,
interest nag. When the bsok lis fin
1shad we feel that had Sue SO or
daIned he could have evolved just as
many more plots with an equal de-
gree of ease.
He opens his narrative with a scene !
In the sluns of Paris, where gFleur4de- |
MARIE, a beautiful girl of the streets, |
is being Niciously attacked by the |
Siasher, "A brute of the underworld. |
"A trivial qEarrel between the two has |
arisen and she man is about he strike |
this helpless creature when suddenly !
a stranger .ntervenes, ana by superior |
strength and wit lays low the assail-
ant. Ghe newcomer lis a NJ. Rudolph, i
VINO styles himself painter of fans.
although poorly CARRIED and speaking
the Jargoa ofshe pavenaents, we speed
ny reaEze that he is something Gsher /
khan he pretends; and in this suFpo-
sltlon we are &oon justified, for pres
shuy we learn that in truth M. Ru-
Uoiph is no other parsonage than his
royal higaness, cihe grand duke Of Ger
ofstein In disguise. The Slasher, how
ever, does not skslow this. and neither
ooss his pretty companion, and we
soop md tie three cronies seated ami
aoiy at a cafe table relating fog one
another's amusement the stories of {
their past lives. Ii
rudolph has little to say. He is an 4
artlsan, ne declares. The Slasher
frankly admits himself to be an es-
'aped convict who has served in the
saueys for murder; but with the in l
of human nature he an
LOUNGES that while be fMs no scrupleS V
lgainst murder. he ayill not steal. S
'leur-de-Marie, or GAaa.euse, as her (
omrades term her. is sixteen-year- I
I'd Waif who has never known any /
aren't save Screech Owl, cruel wom-
n from whom she fed wtsen child Y
or has she had any home save prison v
'alls and the haunts of vice. Never S
heless, despite her vile surround e