The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1921-08-05
CONDENSED
CLASSICS
~
THE MYSTERIES
OF PARIS
~
By EUGENE SUE u

By EUGENE SUE
Condensation by
MIss Sara Ware eassef4

Z Miss Sara Ware eassets 81
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TN INTERPRET justly the works
Of Eugene Sue, one must not
forget to take into considera-
ton the epoch at which they won their
place In world literature.
When Sue was born the novel was
still a comparatively new product.
There had. 1t is true, been books be-
fore its advent. for the invention of
printing had put reading matter with
In the reach Of the people; but until
fiction made its appearance most of
.he material published had been of a
religious trend, consisting of lives Of
the saints, and treatises on theology
and science. Even then such volumes
were costly. to say nothing of their be-
ing Of far too ponderous a nature to
answer the cravings of public scant-
lily educated and DESTROYS for enter
tainment at time when amusements
were few.
Therefore, when out of this arid lit
erary waste the novel sprung into be-
Ing, we can easily picture the eager
ness with which the hungering masses
fell upon it. Here, at last was some
thing human and within the scope of
the everyday mans understanding
here, In fascinating form, were pre-
sented not only with characters from
the life with which he was familiar,
but also adventures in those mystic
realms Of romance that he had imag-
ined. It was uke water to the
thirsty!
Hence, II when reading the very
early novels, or even those of the later
decades to which Sue belonged, we are
conscious Of stilted dialogue, and mel
edramatic and improbable situations,
let us remember thai the writer's Of
this era were to ne small extent pt-
oneers In Z sparsefy trodden wilder
ness of art; and tAat when "the world
was 50 new anS all" In literary de-
velopnent It Is a marcel that their
handfwvrk has endured for 50 many
years. Sues Mysteries of Paris
penAed in ES42, seems touched with
the fires OF everlasting youth. Indeed,
vt mi1st possess the charia OF universal
appeal or it would never have held its
place for almost century. When we
consider how few of our present-day
novels survive second season, we are
forced to doff our caps Ito this artist
or the past, who, like Stevenson, sc
well merits the sobriquet Of '"Tusitala
IA Teller of Tales" and the secret OF
whose spell lies In tint eternal child
In us answering to the sorceries Of @
master story-teller.
The book in question is labyrinth
tf exciting and dramatic happenings
which, cleverly woven together, EN-
body the authors unique philosophy
that the quest for good may be made
quite as seductive a crusade as tn,
quest for evil; the only difference ly
ing in the goal toward which ont
turns his steps. Certainly the story
bears out this theory, for we are sweep
along by the nsagician's cunning pags
after page, chapter after chapter, un
til his creative resources seem limit
less. Never for an instant does oul
interest lag. When the book is fin
ished we feed that had Sue so or
dained he could have evolved just a
many more plots with an equal de
gree Of ease.
He opens his narrative with a seen,
In the slums of Paris, where Fleur-de
Marie, beautiful girl of the streets
is being viciously attacked by tn,
Slasher, a brute of the underworld
"A trivial quarrel between the two ha
arisen and the man is about to strik
this helpless creature when suddenl,
q stranger intervenes, and by superio
strength and wit lays low the assail
ant. The newcomer is NJ Rudolph
who styles himself painter Of fans
Although poorly CARRIED and speqkin
the jargoR Of the ravements, we speed
lily realize that he is something othe
than he pretemds; and in this suppe
sition we are soon justified, for pres
emily we learn that In truth NJ. RI
dolph is no other parsonage than hi
SOSUA AA6AAA~SSS UAAC 3 anu uukc VI Otl
Olstein in disguise. The Slasher, how
ever, does not know this, and neithe
does his pretty companion, and W
soon find the thrse cronies seated am
ably at cafe tsble relating for on
another's amusement the stories {
their past lives.
Rudolph has little to say. He is a
artisan, he declares. The Slashe
frankly admits himself to be an e.
capped convict who has served in tn
galleys for murder: hut with the IL
consistency Of human nature he al
nounces that while he kas no scruple
against murder, he >ctll not stea
Fleur-de-Marie, or C.taA!aMse, as he
comrades term her, is q sixteen-yeal
old waif who has never known an
parent save Screech Owl, cruel won
an from whom she fled when q child
nor has she had any home save prise
walls and the haunts of vica. Neve
theless, despite her vile surrounS
ings, she has kept her SOU untainte