SOME RECENT FICTION.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2438, 17 April 1915, Page 5

SOME RECENT FICTION.

A FRENCH KIPLINO. One of the most popular of presentday French authors i 6 Pierre Mille, most of whose. stories_ deal with military life. His last collection of stories, "Barnavaux et Quelques Femmes," now appears in an English translation,, the title being "Under the Tricolour," the publisher Mr. John Lane. Oiie rarely goes wrong in buying a Bodley Head book, but Mr. Lane must be specially congratulated upon having introduced Pierre Mille to English readers. I have styled M. Mille "A French Kipling," and certainly there is much in these stories of French soldiers and their experiences in varioiiß out-of-the-way corners of the world whioh recalls memories of "Soldiers Three" and of those redoubtable modern musketeers Mulvaney, Ortheris, and Learoyd. Barnavaux, the leading character in these stories, is, however, thoroughly Gallic in temperament.- The "mauvis garcon" of hi 6 regiment, three times a sergeant, twice reduced for breach of discipline, and once for misbehaviour, he is nevertheless always "un bon enfant," a good fellow, - his irrepressible, gaiety and optimism never being beclouded iby his punishments. Always,, too, he is a, true Frenchman, to whom the cry of Paris is just as strong as was that of the Vauxhall Bridge JRpad to th 9 Cockney Ortheris, or that of his native Yorkshire to that big, sulky, fightable Tyke, called Learoyd. M. Mille makes his hero the central figure in n any a curious and exciting adventure, and generally the scenic atmosphere is exotic. Thus we Have epi&odes in Senegal, in Algeria, in Cochin China, in Madagascar, and always M. Mille contrives very cleverly to give us the very spirit and colour of the place. There is pathos and tragedy,' as well as humour, in these French soldier stories.' 'The , title -story deals with a N delicate subject; a subject which De. Maupassant, one feels, would have briitalised, but which in M. Milk's hands is rendered almost idyllic. In another story, "Lepers' Island," a note of real and very ghastly tragedy is struck, and thero i.; a little 6tory, "The Pigeons," in which the characters are poor -music-hall .artists, the pathos of which, though quite unforced by the common devices of, stagey sentiment, is singularly convincing. I can warmly commend M. Mille's stories, feeling sure that all, who read them will be struck by their originality of subject and the consummate .artistry... of their, handling.; Some'effective coloured illustrations are contributed by. Helen M'Kie.

"THE DAY OF JUDGMENT." There, is a fine dramatic interest in Mr.' Joseph Hocking's latest novel, "This.Day of Judgment" (Cass'elT and Co. ; per'Ferguson and Osborne), which is certainly' the best story this muchpractised and popular author has given us for soine time past. The plot is not altogether ' novel, but Mr. Hocking's treatment'of the rather hackneyed situation of a judge, who is personally prejudiced against the accused, trying_ a man for murder, and, before the trial is over, discovering that the prisoner at the bar. is his own 6on, is commendably. original and strikingly effective. Mr. Hocking's sorely-tned hero, Paul Stepaside, is a young man whose mother has contracted "a Scotch marriage"—marriage without minister and witnesses, but by the. simple consent of the .contracting .parties—and;, is.. almost immediately afterwards deserted bj her husband. Wilkie Collins waxed indignant, in his "Man and' Wife," on* the iniquitous results which might follow upon Scotch marriages, but according

to Mr. Hooking such unions aro still possible, though, fortunately, not frequent. Young Paul becomes in time a prosperous Lancashire factory owner and a member of Parliament; but he ■ never coases to seek the long-lost father, vowing vengeance upon him for Laving deserted his mother. How father and son come into contact, and conflict, in politics, how the son meets and falls in love with his adversary's daughter —who turns out in the long run to be of quite another parentage altogether— how a business and political rival of Paul's is murdered, and' Paul is accused of the orimo, of the sensational trial, and yet more sensational sequel of the true murderer baing discovered just in time to Save her lover from the gallowc —and of how the whole mystery of Paul's relationship to Judge Bolitho is cleared up in. 6uch a way as to allow of a happy ending for all concerned it ■would be unfair to Mr. Hocking to relate in detail. Mr. Hocking has written a really clever story of its kind, although, perhaps, ho might have cut down the account of the trial a little. An excellent feature of tlio story is the description of a North Country olection. This is admirably done.

"FIRST COUSIN TO A DREAM," Those who read and remember Mr. Cyril Harcourt's firs t novel "The World's Daughter," a most fantastio but quite delightful story of the maddest possible kind of love-making and marriages, must have often wished to know how that jolly, and most eccentric pair of young people, "Ursula and Jerry, get along in the married state. Mr. Harcourt now supplies the desired information in - a story, "First Cousin to a Dream" (John Lane), which is practically the record of Ursula's honeymoon with lier "beloved Jerry. The story, however, is: complete in itself, and is not to be considered as a formal 6equel. Mr. Harcourt takes this character on a long tour of the Continent, including scjournsat Sorrento, at Capri, at lnterlaken, and Monte Carlo. We meet in their company a host of entertaining people, and, needless to say, high spirits and an all-pervading sense of humour govern the narrative. Perhaps one may get just a little tired of the too persistent "smartness" of the dialogue. At times Mr. Harcourt is a trifle, too openly clever, and the fun becomes a little forced. But the young wife's maternal longingß are prettily hinted at, and one feels that a happy childhood is in store for the' little lad who comes to the household when once it is set. u pin London. Perhaps later on Mr. Harcourt may introduce us to a Jerry and Ursula whose real charaoter is tested by some great sorrow. Hitherto their even existence has been almost too rose-coloured to be true to life, in

which stern facts have to ha faced, or later by even the happiest of irresponaiblea. Meanwhile, let the young folks enjoy themselves. Their escapades make very delightful reading.