SOME RECENT FICTION

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2747, 15 April 1916, Page 9

SOME RECENT FICTION

"The Individual." Muriel Hine's (Mrs. Sydney Coxon's) latest story, "The Individual" (John Lane), has for its hero a young and brilliantly clever London, surgeon, whose special hobby is expounding the gospel of Eugenics. After declaring that "it is too vital a matter, the future of the race," and solemnly declaring that "it it conies to a choice between them, the individual must go," it falls to the lot of the confident theorist to himself become baffled! with the prcrblem of racial advantage versus personal happiness. He goes to Italy on a holiday, and there meets and marries a charming young lady, of whose race purity he has,' so he thinks, satisfied himself by careful inquiry. Later on, however, he discovers his information to havo been incorrect, and learns, with horror that there has been violent lunacy in his wife's family. The Eugcnist for a timo triumphs over the individual; for ho informs'his wife that there must be no offspring of the union. The wifej however, revolts, and an open breach is avoided by the husband proceeding on a Eugenics lecturing tour to the Antipodes. As n matter of fact, .the practical application of his theories had come" too late, a child being born to him during his absence. The wife conceals the fact from him on his return, and on both sides an unfounded jealousy creates new trouble. Eventually the Eugenics problem for Tavorner and his wife, at least, disappears, for it is discovered that the tetter's "aunt" bad been her mother, and 1 the fear of hereditary taint had been auite plusory. Need-

I less to say that in tho skilful hands of the author of' "Earth" £ °d 'April Panhasard" a well devised P' o " , 18 worked out vory cleverly. The main Incident, the rebellion of the wilo against a doctrine which compels her to be a wife in name only; is handled with laudable dblicacy. Thero is some exceptionally clever dialogue in the story,: and the Italian background ot the earlier chapters is very picturesque. A novel much above tho average. "The Eaglo of the Empire." Mr. Cyrus Townshend Brady, tho author of more than one woll-written story of tho Napoleonic wars,! now gives us, in "The Eagle of the Empire" (Hodder and Stoughton, per S. and W. Mackay), a long and lomantically „erfling story of "The Hundred Days. tiis hero, a young French office, who has served -muter Napoleon in Germany_and elsewliere, was on tho bridge at Leipsic when it was blown up, and rescued the much-treasured eagle of his regiment. When Hie finds' his way back to France he carries; with him_ tuo eagle, but by this time his hero is at lilba, and the eagle is a symbol not 111 favour with the' Government. He refuses, however, to give it up, and w' lel * S 1 ® Emperor returns the Eagle of tho lit Regiment of the Line i 6 proudly oxposed as the illustrious esile bravely faces the troops sent to oppose llim. In love'with a young French lady, ot noble birth, and whose family is strongly Royalist, the hero has a rival in a gallant young English officer, and' for a time the course of true love is sadly rock-strewn. • The olosing scene ot tho 6tory is laid on the battlefield of Waterloo, where the two young men both play prominent parts, the story closing witn the capture of the much-prized .Eagle by the .Englishman, who, however, _ is mortally wounded, and by the heroine rewarding the gallant young Frenchman with the greater prize of her hand and heart. A well-told, most fascma ting story of love> anil lvar.