SOME RECENT FICTION.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2162, 30 May 1914, Page 9

SOME RECENT FICTION.

MR. LOCKE'S LATEST. -A. 11 . 0 "' s'ofJ fro-ni the- industrious pen of William J.-IfOcke- is always .stije. of a hearty welcome from att avidieiKfe which has gone t»i.t increasing in siiio ever this pqpular author deli.ght.oii novel-readers with "The Beloved Vagabond." ■ In his latest story,. "The iortunate Youth" (-William Heinematia; per George liobertsoft and Co.), he is just ns cltarmingly whtasieai and fantastic as over. .Perhaps, too, one might almost say, as preposterous as over. Biit,theu, most of us would rather have hiiu proposterous thaij practical, : pre--lerring his fantasies to tho OYCr-aC'jMr-at-o realism of certain of his rivals. Certainly, Sir. Locke's books-- came as ah agreeable .relief from - the sobrieties, . the too-often. drab and diitgy actualities of life. Sis "Fartwia-to Youth," Mr. Paul 'Kegwo.rthy 9 ■or J'aul Savelli, as. he chooses- f for a fee-, to call himself, is indeed- a very lucky individual. ,13orn in the slums of an. ugly northern town, ho runs away from home with., a travelling.pedior, joins, later on, after being' an. artist's model, a small theatricaj company, and then, wheai alap'st penniless, is practically adupte.d hy a wealthy- lady, who sees-it hts Grcnian facial beauty proof af aristocratic birth: Paul becomes a prii'alo secretary, develops into a lj.no platform speaker, and blossoms forth, in duo course, as the ■ champion -and lflipcr of a Young . England Party! .It tho zenith <jf his snccess, returned jo Parliament at ail <.'pcoii-i.naki»g by-election, in 'lovo with, and Jove-d bjy a real live f princess—it is tnjo, only a. Balkan | princess, but . still a princess! —tho _ cdifico of his fame.., and pride is shattered by tho discovery"that--lie is the son of a gentleman wjidj in his earlier carccr . toad ' fnnsued tho humble ftvoctftion. of a iish-dealcr, but who hud ove»i!tua'l!y achieved fame stud fortune as the head of tho. great Trust jsj.'.Pfeh' P«nlaces, Limited. It is not a pleasant sitijjvfil'ciji for the - beloved pi a princessj'tfo hope of the Young, Etlgland party, and the, hero of his benefactor's ' long ami .clearly-cherished and rcaiantic iieliol in her protege's myStefioiis but ai'isiocratic origin. But Paul Sivelli nets the position'.like a man—a:ul a gentleman —and honesty raiMl pluck' a-ro duly rewarded. The crcwning luck qf th'c ."i'ortunate Yts<3th''' i;s for rftyalty itself to reconcile the hero m ilh his prin-cess-love. . lir. ifooke iias never imag-: iued a situatiaft." tr.oro fantastic than tho scene at a dinner party whore the Princess astonishi® tte .eoiM'paii.y hy asking a royal pcrsonago what sho is to do. ... "For the past year-1 havo been wanting Mr, S.ivet'i to ask ine to marry hint, and ho obstinately re» fuses to do so. Will ycu tell me, sir, what a 500?. woaiau is t© d 0.." ■,And then, "as dates and duehcs.ses, and Cabinet 'Ministers, tho of England," loph oii, 'astonjided, 'thft young prince, "with quick, tactful dis.of British t'onvwition,". springs ■to his feet, raises his champagnegglassS s and says: "My lords, ladies, and, gentlemen, I have tho pioasr.re t<> amiouhee tho engagement of Her Highness tho Princess Sophie Zohraskii and Mr. Paul Savclli,' I ask you to drink to their health, arij| their filiate .happiness.", No wonder Paul's friend of his youth, the: whimsically philosophic fild pedler, Barney Bill,- should close the story by asking: "Haven't ycr got the great tilings yer believed yer wre bfl-rit to? Ain't yer .rick? - Ain't yer famous? Ain't yer a member .of Parliament r' Ain't- yer going to -marry i» Hoyal Trip-' cess. Good God Almighty! What iiiore d'yer want!'" And • Paul's bughiiig answer is ".Nothing its the wide, wide .world." Fantastic, ■ yesjeven preposterous, but eminently satisfactory ft) lovers of romancc and sentiment, after all, tho lovers of -ssutime-iit Coilstitato a big public: Mn Lt)eke.knows exac-% whatthat pu-tjlic Wants, and. ciu-ly jjrodtiees the goods. It is only i'afr to adtl, however, that the manner of tho pKS(3tßtioi.i_ is so eminently charming, so replete with gay humour,- light aftct optimistic philosophy,' and all charity and good nature, that serious, -criticism _ is iairsely 1 disarmed, and ciiptious criticism quite .impossible. ...By .;tiJ mcatts read "Tite Fortunate Youth." ,'li is a frankly ini' possible but wholly delightful novel.

"OH, MR. BIDCOODI" A new "Bodley Head 1 ' iwvel,..which can be recommended &> -sufferers from "Hue," or meufai depression,. is 51r. Peter BlundeiPs Suriously-elititlfid stery "Oh, Mr. Bidgood," a nautical conwdy (John Lane), Sir. Bluuctellj whose highly-diverting navel, "The Jiliger of Mr. Blec," -was so : wt>l-l reviewed last year, again takes ns to the East, the action of the story caromeneing' at Colombo. Mr. Bidgecid i» chief eil" gineer of the British cargo steamer Susan Dale, which is carrying guaflowdor, destined, for the Eussituis at Port Arthur. At Colombo, however, samemysterious passengers are . taken «j board, and the. result, when thy.•Vessel is Hearing Singapore, is an attempt to seize the ship-- and divert her .to the Philippines, where rt ebniie>o-pe.:ra sort of conspiracy is -tja bo'assist®#. Also on board the vessel como two yoOTK ladies, and one of tlio -of tlio ship, an amusing little persbiiage,- who is soon desperately in lava with owe or the ladies .aforesaid... Hw mutiny is onelled, and tlio ship saved, largely through the tact and cmiago to say nothing of his expert meclianioa.l -latowiegge of the corpulent. awl pob:l-e!iinred chiftt engineer, w)i.o has been, threughoirt the voyage,. tJic twit for the trit, v supposed wit, of most. of the little * coilipany on beard. Mr- Bidgood is a capital character,* quite equal to ailyt'tnng Mr. W. Jacobs has dwie, and this' jeal» ousies and heartburnings and fuinneiftl transactions ef the chief a-tidhfs sjyipner are, at times,'.q-iiite riotously iujiny. Not "even Mr. Cutelyffe llyr.e has' svieceeded in bringing home to » non-ex-pert a sense of the .cornmantHng importauce of the engiae'-roam. Intleidj Mr.

Bklgon.il. to riiy mind, is a nuieh more convincing chief than was ever thy fa-utt-nfcj M"loiJd. By tl:io way, Sir. Biundoll daringly ehaUGitgcs a long accepted precedent, for not one of the t'hrw enof the. Susan Date is a Mad! "Oh Mr. R'idgood!" should bo doublestarr.ed l>y all who like good., whole* some fun, and lots uf it.

SHORTER notices* "J'iio Indiscretions of Dr. Oarst&ir-s," by A. Be 0. (Heinetnann; per George Ito-hertsou ami C(r,), rewinds mo somewhat of Couai! Doyle's "Under t-ha Jie<l Lamp." In a series of short stories <rr sketches, a fashionable* Loudon doctor describes certain curkras, •seijsnt-io-r.i-al, or mysterious professional experiences. In mare tha.ft olio there is a distinctly dramatic, almost tragic, in* tcrest. Iji others, there is a lighter touch. All the stories- are well writton awl, so far as a layman may judge, the medical details—which, by the way, are never technical —suggest that if the- author bo not- a doctor himself, iio has enjoyed the assistance <sf.stfn.ie medical friend. A very read* it-Mo book £01? a railway ■ journey or steamer trip.

Marguerite Bouvofc's novel. "The Swile; of the Sphinx" (A. 0. jl ! C'i«rg aiid Co.; per George Robertson apcl Co.), is a singularly old-fashioned story, told in a stilted artificial style, which recalls the gandy*g-ood} ? stories, professedly for girlish and "fatoijy" reading, whieli were so popular in,mid-Vic-' to-rian days. 010 scone is Baltimore, and tiio story is mainly concerned with tile education, a-BiasSnonta, and social ambitions of three or four young .ladfcs, the principal male character, an unspeakable .prig, eventually marrying the chief lady fiimre—a model of all the graces and virtues. Frankly, the story is dreadful piffle,

The villain of 0. Guise Jlitfcrrcl'B story, 'The Hidden Mas].-:" (Greening ftnd Co.), is & sort of Jekyll and Hyde persaiiagCj being at tiisi.es a hideous dwarf; at otlifirs, quite ordinary in his physique, and changing his outward appear, Hire at will, bv means, partly, of an abnormal anatomy and the use of cor" tain mysterious _ tabloids. As a villain he leaves nothing to be de«ired, aitd the story, although outrageously , improbable, should please those who seek en* U'rtsinraciit 111 luridly, sensational fifr tjtin.

"The Truth About Camilla," hv Gertrude Hall (HVnriemaiui; per George Kebßfiso.n and Co.), 15 a star*' of close upon four hundred pages.! 'the heroine- is an Italian giru Of sftnie. beauty, and of a decidedly ajjidaeious tenipcrain.en.t.,_ especially when. the placing of her ■affections is concerned. She marries, first* an o-id Italian Couiitj mext a handsome. tenor, tires of him, and then a- "niorgatiatic marriage" with a ric.-i ami tnMtfifeaged Aawricajs, ■finally, after quite a number' of "love Passages," setting down at fifty as the 'Ma.rchese Filifeerti, Camilla's ardent 'teJitperameirt 'is a factor in her much' varied matrimonial and other experiences, but the woman is not naturally vicious, and her training and earlier eiiviMUmrat in list- Ixo taken into ccuis-idera-tion ore too harsh a judgment is passed, rite background •of the story rs almost entirely Italian, and it is clear that the author is quite at home when working: before such a scenario.