Judsonia weekly advance., 1921-08-04

he binds the siasher to him for life by offering him hss hand with the re- paark that the convict has honor and heart.
 Here our story begins.
 Rudolph, we soon learn, has two aims in venturing incognito into the filth of Paris. The first is to dis cover, # he can, the whereabouts of Mrs. Georges son, Germain, who has been taken from her in his youth by a vicious husband. The second is to trace, if possible. his lost daughter. who is supposed to have died in in fancy It is around these two themes that the romance moves. In pursuing them M. Rudolph is beset by every im- aginable adventure. He is locked up in subterranean cellar, where the waters of the Seine slowly creep up to his neck, and from which prediea- ment the faithful Slasher rescues him.
 Innumerable traps are laid for h,s feet; but from each successive snare he miraeulously escapes. And through out this series of entanglements he never abandons his premise that no matter how depraved the individual, there is potential good in all human ity. which, if nurtured, will blossom into virtue. In consequence he be- comes a sort of "inferior Providence" to those whom he meets. He saves the blameless debtor from prison, and places an honest livelihood within his reach. He does a thousand kind- nesses. On the other hand he does not hesitate to bring the unworthy to justice. Relentlessly he causes the eyes of a wretch who has been pitt less to the weak to be put out, that he may know what it means to be helpless and the prey of the strong.
 The story is a network of crimes and their eventual punishment, and everywhere triumphant we find the creed that in the breast of humankind burns spark of the Divine.
 The portion of the tale dealing with the kidnapping of Fleur-de-Marie from her home with Mrs. George by Screech Owl, the blinded schoolmaster, and the imp Hoppy is novel in itself. How these wretches wait for the in- nocent girl; convey her to Paris by coach; and thrust her into the arms of the police, who in turn deposit her In prison is exciting reading. From prison she is released by a written or der, only to fall victim to a band of hired ruffians who try to drown her in the Seine. AS she is floating down the river, one of her old comrades from Saint Lazare leaps in and saves her life. Next we see her in the great Paris hospital, and it is at this june olstein obtains trace of her; discovers that she is his own daughter; and bears her in triumph to his magnif- cent palace to be transformed from a fugitive of the streets to her Royal Highness Princess Amelia. Here, for a brief period, we behold our little Fleur-de- Marie the idol of the court, and sought in marriage by prince of the realm.
 But the stigma of the past Is eyes fresh in the girls mind. She cannd shake it off. Though she adores hei lover she refuses to wed him, saying that she '1oves him too much to giv. him a hand that has been touched b! the ruffians of the city" Poor, braW Fleur-de-M Marie! She at last seeks peace in a convent; and when she dies there. we have no regrets that her blameless but troubled life is end ed.
 In the meantime what of Germain?
 We search for him through an equal. ly ingenious train of happenings. With all M. Rudolphs wealth and astute- ness it is no easy task to find this missing boy who is lost in the great city of Paris. But he is found. Like Goualeuse, the young hero has kept his soul unsullied by evil. Urged to rob his employer, he has not only re- fused, but has given information against those who plotted the crime, that they might be brought to justice. As a result of this good deed, how ever, he has been bounded from one end of Paris to the other. At last he falls victim to monster of crime, Jacques Ferrand, a corrupt notary, who casts him into prison on ficti- tious charge. He is no fayorite, for by scorning to mingle with the vicious creatures about him he incurs their wrath and suspicion, until at length they dub him a spy and resolve to murder him. From this fate he is saved by Slasher, who appears in the prison just in time to fell his assail- ants and pilot him to liberty. Even- tually he is restored to his mothers arms and to his pretty sweetheart, Rigolette, whom he now marries.
 The skill with which Sue constructs his story, introducing character after character, and bringing these varied elements into a unified whole, is a marvel of artistry. It is also inter- esting to note throughout the novel the authors knowledge of medicine his handling of drugs, his portrayal of hospital practices, and other technical