SOME RECENT FICTION.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2504, 3 July 1915, Page 9

SOME RECENT FICTION.

TWO NEW '/AMERICANS." , There 'has been, of late, a certain . shrinkage .in the - supply of American 'fiction dealing witli life in, "tho wild iand woolly West," a y fact' not alto- ■ gethor unpleasing to tie hardened and 'jaded reviewer. I can, however, corl.dially commend .Mr. Robert-Ames Benfnett's fine story, "The Quarter(Breed" (Browne, Howell, and Co., Chicago; per George Robertson and Co.), as being 'specially worthy of attention ,by novel l readers. For it' is not only strikingly original in its plot and many of its incidents, but it * possesses a /psychological quality not usually : found iin fiction of this kind. The central ; figure, Captain Floyd Hardy, - is the '/United States Acting-Agent in command of an Indian Reservation in one of tho..'North-Western States. ' Zealous, honest,, and fearless in the" discharge of 'his duties, he comes in conflict with another Easterner,- a rascally fellow, and a French lialf-breed, <SSo have discovered a gold mine in-'ulie Reservation, and are cheating thet.lhdians into 'working it for them,' paying them in ■ 'trading goods"; and breaking tho' :'United States law at every point. Tho '-half-breed has a. daughter, a .beautiful girl)'' educated'' iii ' a' Canadian convent, and Hardy's.love for this girl,/whose' ' father's 'scheriies he is ' outwitting, , speedily complicates matters. The plot is ■\vork'6d ' j ;ojit'' ,to. ini' ordinal and ar-

tistic conclusion. Marie Dupint's character is developed with great ability, and the story is fairly packed with .exciting and well-described. incidents. "The Quarter-Breed" is the best American story, in itsjowh particular class, that "Liber" has read for some time. In "The Head Coach" (Scribner's and Son, New Yorjc, per George Robertson and Co.), Mr. ltalph Paine gives us a, fresh and brightly written story of American college life, the scene being laid iu a small college in one of the New England States, the hero, "Deacon Kiiigsland," now a young clergyman, having formerly enjoyed a great- reputation as a "centre" at Yale University. The fight led by the young. parson, in coaching the college toam, for "clean sport" and "straight" football, is ' the • central motif in Mr. Paine's story, which,, apart from its merits as a well-told tale, prorides New Zealanders with some interesting pictures of college life in America, and emphasises the many, differences between Amerioan football and tho game as it .is played here. : The author's' account of ■ the consternation and horror with which the senior deacon of the "football parson's church" receives the news that his pastor is to get two hundred dollars and his expenses .for coaching a football team for two-months, , is. very amusing. - It takes a. long time to convince the ''church'," but the team and its parson-trainer go off on "the cars,." Deacon Ezra Stiles is there, Ms parting words being as follow:— "You ought to We ashamed of yourself, parson: but unless you lick'em in good shape, don't you dare to come back to Mason. Corners. We're turrible proud ;of you in this village, ail' while this football is'plain back-slidin' an a fall from grace, an' a snare of the devil, fur's I kin see,' don't you let none of them rich churches kidnap you away from us, will you, ,' hey?"; ■ The parson's team does all right, and so does the parson-trainer, for.'ho secures , a pretty wife by his. tripV as well as honours for his team."THE SALAMANDER.'' With stories, of - fast life in New York,: tbe life of the vulgar rich and their' panders and parasites, ,male and female, novel" readers are by this time all too familiar:- -There are, however, certain distinctly novel features iu Mr. Owen Johnson's story, .. "The Salamander" (Martin Seeker : • per George.Robertson and l Co.), which fully justify the popularity the story has achieved not only in America, but in the Old Country. Mr. Johnson's heroine belongs to a class of young women by no means confined to New York. Sho first appeared in modern fiction in Marcel Prevost's famous novel, "Les DemiVierges." She is a young, lady who wants luxury and excitement, every day and always, and is prepared to sacrifice her modesty—to a certain point—and self-esteem in order to/lead the. sort of life in .which she finds a fictitious happiness. Mr. Johnson- explains the Salamander type in a long and; interesting preface, from which I quote a, few sentences: "Her (the Salamander's) education has been quickly. formed. The great fraternity of the Salamanders hiis taught her; of their curious,, devicus under-standing..-'Her "acquaintance with w<h men. is necessarily limited, bnt s"he can meet what men she wishes, men of every station, men drawn to her by tho lure of her .laughter and tantalising arts, nien : who simply wish to amuse themselves, or sombre hunters who havo passed, beyond the common stuff of adventuresses, and seek with a renewal of excitement this corruption of innocence. : She has ro. fear of these,last, matching her wits against their appetites, .paying them back cruelly in snare, and disillusion., She lives in motors' and taxi-cabs, dines .in a new restaurant, every night, and with-'difficulty- each week scrapes up the necessary dollars to pay her board. She • knows the inside, of'pawnshops, has iecret treaties with tradesmen, and by a hundred stratagems procures herself presents which may he converted into cash. She is. fascinated by" 'dangerous' men. She adore? perilous adventures, and:, somehow or other, miraculously, she ~-never fails in saving her skirts from the contagion of the flames." "What, never?" I may here add to Mr. Johnson's pen portrait. "Well, hardly ever," would, I fancy, be nearer'the actual truth. Mr. Johnson's -'Salamander heroine very nearly comes to grief, but always escapes in the nick of time, and oarries her virtue, through -to tho safe haven of marriage. But' anyone who reads her story must see how difficult it must be to escape. It is a-brightly written, amusing, clever story, "The Salamander," but'it is in. its own way a very cruel story. A society must bo very rotten in which tho Salamander type, is common, and this story should "give furiously to think" to American fathers and mothers. "THE CARNIVAL OF FLORENCE." Miss Marjorie Bowen, the author of "The Carnival of Florence'/ (Methuen. and C.-), must be a. wonderfully industrious'lady, for story follows story from her pen with almost bewildering rapidity. She 'has now, it would seem, daserted the Netherlands, so long her .favourite background, and turned to the Italian Renaissance as a relief from her long study of Dutch history. In her latest story, she introduces'us to_ Florence, the Florence of the Medioi, her period being the same, as that dealt with in George Eliot's famous romance, "Romola." The heroine, the fair Aprilis, has a most 1 romantic career, being betrothed to one man, who, wrongly believing her to be unfaithful, deserts her, marrying a second man whom she does not love, and in love with a third, the reckless, debauched, .but handsome, young Piero de Medici. Poor Aprilis is rather 6curvily treated by Fortune, but we leave her, on the last page, seeking comfort in the arms of a husband who had hitherto been her husband in name only. The chief interest of the story, 'however, centres round Fra Girolamo Savonarola, the inspired fanatio -who, for a time at least, replaced tho vicious rule of tho _Medici, with' its thinly disguised paganism, by a stem; puritanism. Miss Bowen's methods are not those of George Eliot, but they afford a fino presentment of the dramatic side of tor 'subject. "Tho Carnival of Florcnco" is a novel much above tho average, and is well worth reading. The Hero of Urblno. Another story of tho Italian Renaissance is Miss May Wynne's "Tho Horo of Urbino" (Stanley Paul and Co.). Miss Wynne is a skilled writer 1 of historical romanco, and her new story will please all who enjoyed that fino story, "The Helmet of Navarro." The sccno is- laid in the Duchy of Montselto, when Cesare Borgia was craftily endeavouring to wrest the rich 1 little State from the grasp of its hereditary princes. l The adventures of tho Duko' Guidobaldo, together with- a romantic love story, form the theme of a novel dealing with one.of tho most turbulent as/1 brilliant periods of Italian fcis&TXi.

The clash of steel echoes in almost every chapter, and the subtlety of-the Italian nature, especially of the Borgium nature, is cleverly laid bare. A very readable romance. I ALAN!ALAN! "Alan! Alan 1" by Eirene - Wigram (John Murray; per Whitcombo and Tombs) is » somewhat unconvincing story, in which there is a predominance, of what is meant to ho tragedy, but is too often mere melodrama. Tho hero, Alan M'Quoid, murders a relation who has, lie considers, unjustly deprived him of an estate, and who adds tho even greater offence, so he suspects, of robbing liiin of a woman's love. Unfortunately bo allows tho lady to be charged with tho crime.of which'be himself has been guilty, and only by a mere accident is she saved from a sentence of imprisonment for life. The story of Alan M'O.uoid's madness, for completely sano .it is impossible to accept him as being,, is wildly improbable, and to tell the truth not a littlo tedious. SARABANDE. The "white slave traffic" might well be given a well-earned rest by novelists. In Miss Gertrude A. Bell's story, "Sarabande" (Greening's Empire Library), an-English girl is kidnapped at a London railway station, and hustled away, after, being drugged, to Egypt. Here she is rescued from a slave-dealer by a handsome' young. Englishman, and the rest of the story is mere padding, the description of the much overdone Nile trip, tho principals returning to England iu duo course to figure in a "double wedding.at the old Devonshire church." THE FULL PRICE. Lady Charnwood's story, "The Full Price" (George Bell and Sons; per Whitcombo and Tombs) is so taken up with the sayings and doing of Lord This and Lady That that very few commoners ever put in an appearance on the scene. Ail elderly statesman is a prominent figure in tbe story, the heroine, being a young lady, who' at first is inclined to place social ambition before the liighor claims of true love. The latter wins in the end. but the story of tbe conflict is too long drawn out. A FREELANCE IN KASHMIR. Lieut.-Colonel G. F. MacMnnn's story "A Freelance in Kashmir" (George Bell and Sons; per Whitcombe and Tombs) is a wonderful mosaic of Indian history and romance, the period being that of the later days of "The Great Anarchy " a name given to the j'ears following the death of ; the.Emperor Aurangzebe and the dismemberment of the Mogul Empire to the-bringing of peace, to a distracted country-by the rise of the English. The pages of Lieut.-Colonel MacMunn's romance are crowded with scenes of war, descriptions of palace iiitrigues, and the ambitions of contending princes and adventurers. If 1 perhaps the author has somewhat overcrowded his stage and been too generous . of, interesting detail, he must bo credited, nevertheless, with having produced a very ■ lino , story, his freelanes hero, David Fraser, one of a'small host of European adventurers who found fame and wealth—sometimes a tragic end—in India of; tho olden days, being a very fascinating figure.

FLOWER OF THE MOON. "Flower of the : Moon," by Louise Gerard (Mills and Boon) is a prot,tily told'story of a littlo English girl who is brought up in a West' African village, where sho. is held in 1 high, roveronco by the natives as a "moon-child."' Her romanco ends,'--or rather begins anew, with her wooing by a man'of her own race; But'the white man's happiness involves sad heart pains for. the young Arab , who had sheltered her in her childhood. . Tho West African local colour is ; picturesque, but tho story is, I fear, too "idyllic to'be true to real life. "THE STORY BEHIND THE VERDICT." 'A liew book from, .-tho' pen- to which wo owe "Pigs in'.Glover" and "Bac-carat,"-is alyays .welcome, and although it is a novelty to find Frank Dan by (Mrs. Julia 5 Frankau) writing a detective story, still, it must bo admitted that in "The Story Behind tho Verdict" (Cassell'and.Co.,.per S. and W. Mackay), exhibits all the ingenuity and dexterity of an eld and practised hand at the" particular game of fiction.. Tho chief, figure, whose hobby is criminal investigation, is a. •'young playwright. , He' plays tho Sherlock Holmes role with consummate ability, and Mrs. Frankau gives ns a distinct novelty in the person of a. feminine prototype of the famous Watson, in this ' case the' hero's own mother, who, however, does not engage in tho active side .of.the investigations. Tho story is also Temarkable, amongst "detectives," for the smartness of its literary style.- *

"THE SNAKE CARDEN." ' ''The Snako Garden,"- by Amy J.' Baker (John Long, per Whitcombo and Tombs), is a well-written story of South African, life, tho heroino being a young Englishwoman who, beforo emigrating, had been involved in an [intrigue with which she. had become disgusted. In South Africa tho lover turns up again and tries hard to revive tho old liaison, Another man, however, has a purer, better love, and in the end,' after hearing a confession of her guilty past, chivalrously overlooks it and marries her. The minor characters are exceptionally woll drawn, especially an old Boer woman, who is driven almost frantic with rags when her only .daughter' (by an English husband) prefers a'man of her father's racei to tho speciallyselected Dutchman whom her mother would fain seo her marry.' The local colour of the story is picturesque, and a native rebellion provides a strong dramatic interest. Altogether, a • very attractive story, if onoe the ralther ugly episode in the heroine's earlier life bo forgotten. BLESSINGTON'S.FOLLY. Mr. Theodore Goodridge Roberts,the author of "Blessington's Folly" (John Long, per Whitcombo and Tombs) will be Temembered as the author of that excellent story "Love on Smoky River." His new story deals with life m Labrador, Whither an ■ American financier (an honest one, mirabile dictu) has retired to foil the plots of a gang of scoundrels who are plotting his ruin. To the desolate littlo fur trading station of "Fore and Aft Cove" comes, one day by accident, the son of the financier's deadliest - enemy. The young man -has become so disgusted with his father's rascalities that he has refused to further profit thereby, but at Fore and Aft Cove, where his real idontity is known, he is received with great suspicion. He falls in love with the financier's daughter, rescues her from a burning house, shoots a ; man (one of his father's emissaries) who is plotting the discovery of the financier's secret, and eventually love and honesty triumph all along the, line. Fur trappers, and fur stealers play minor roles in the drama, or, as perhaps I should say, comedy drama of the story, and the local colour throughout is bright and convincing. THE FADED VISION. A' strongly religious tone pervades Mr. A. K. Ingram's story "The Faded Vision" (John Murray; per Whitcombe and Tombs). Tho story deals with the conflict between two strong .motives, acting upon the mind of a young English country gentleman of a normal type, in whom, after a time, through the influence of a bard-working Anglican priest, a long dormant religious faculty is awakened. There is some very careful characterisation in this novel, tho appeal of which is not necessarily limited to the purely religious mind. . ' '