Page 4 Advertisements Column 4

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11955, 2 May 1902, Page 4

IyTAGNIFICENT NEW SERIAL, BY A FAMOUS AUTHOR. We have great pleasure in announcing that we have secured for publication in these columns the latest work from the r*n of a, - writer of the very foremost rank,. MR. 3. R. CROCKETT. Author of " The Raiders." " The Grey Man." " The Black Douglas," " Lilac Sunbonnet." " Sweetheart Travellers," etc., etc. Our New Story from his pen is entitled "PLOWER 0' THE pOEN," and the opening chapters will appear in the columns of the NKW ZEALAND Hbbai,d TO-MORROW (SATURDAY. THE AUTHOR. Mr. S. R. Crockett's name and work are so widely known and admired that they need no recommendation here. It is sufficient to say thai; during the last ten years no writer has achieved success at all comparable with that of Mr. Crockett, nor has any contemporary novelist so firm a hold on the fictionreading public. Since he sent forth " The Raiders" in 1324, he has won triumph alter ; triumph by his bracing and charming stories of Lowland life and character, anou wan- . dering further afield for the scones and characters of his stories. He has published'not fe'>er than a score of substantial works in eight years, and all alike are marked by a wonderful charm and felicity, of expression. .His delightful portraiture is also peculiarly fascinating, whilst his dramatic insight and : mastery of- detail render his plots both powerful and convincing. It is not,. ' therefore, surprising that his works are so absorbing that even Lord Kitchener read " The Grey Man" through on the eve of Omdnrman. They have received the hall mark of Mr. Raskin's approval. The great art critic and writer had Mr. Crockett's books read aloud to him as they were published in his last years, and formed a personal friendship with the author. It is sale to say that no living novelist is read so widely and loved so truly as Mr. Crockett, and wo venture to prophesy that his latest Btory will still further enhance an already great reputation. SYNOPSIS OF THE OPENING CHAPTERS OF " FLOWER 0' THE CORN." The story opens in the Netherlands, where the great Marlborough is encamped with his army in the year before Blenheim. On his staff i* Maurice Raith, late of Lord Cutt's Regiment, now the great duke's favourite, to whom he has promised a regiment, a:ad whose behaviour he is watching with paternal interest. After receiving Irienuly advice with becoming docility, the young officer takes a stroll till he comes to a spot where a revelation awaits him. Walking in the cornfields, blue and white amid the gold," is the loveliest girl he has ever seen. And the young officer, who has beheld the fairest and finest Court ladies unmoved, is stricken once for all. His gift for the right phrase comes to his aid, however; in a flash he has named her, " Flower o' the Corn." There is no other name for her, he feels convinced. "So Flower o' the Corn she was till Time grew old." He quickly discovers that the is Frances Weliwood, daughter of Patrick Wellwood, the stern Presbyterian chaplain of Ardmillan's Regiment, and when, tne next morning, he starts on a secret mission, ho carries in his heart the vision in the cornfield of the gentle daughter of the hardy Scot. The Duke sent his favourite Raith to stir up the Camisards to active rebellion against the King of France, in order to keep him within his own. dominions. At the same time, though Raith is ignorant of the fact, the chaplain . Wellwood, accompanied by his daughter, undertakes a mission to the Camisards. intended to foment their hostility to the power of the Church, and thus to serve the ends the allies have in view. After many exploits he at last reaches the headquarters of the Camisard leader, Jean Cavanier. where Raith is maltreated by the people, who take him for a spy. He is res- ; cued from the clutches of the mob by the timely and unexpected intervention of Frances Wellwood, who, however, does not recognise him. He resolves to preserve his identity a secret, revealing it to none save Cavalier, to whom he has brought messages from my Lord Marlborough. But he has reckoned without his host— to be accurate— hostess. Ho is lodged with tho innkeeper, whose daughter, Yvette, a brilliant brunette, chafes under the straight life of tho psalmsinging Camisards. She quickly finds out that he has mot Frances Wellwood before, and, indeed, makes herself fully acquainted with the state of things in the breast of each. She then begins to play a very deep game. What this game is, we must not, in fairness to the author, reveal at present, but the plot from this point takes some startling turns and developments, and the story will be followed with breathless interest. ! The opening chapters of •TTIHE -SLOWER 0' THE riORN," BY MR. S. R. CROCKETT, 1 Will appear in our columns j TO-MORROW (SATURDAY.