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Show A ROMANCE OF OLDEN DAYS. .Sir Mortimer: a Novel. By Mary Johnston. With colored frontispiece, and ciRht other Illustrations by F. C. Yohn. Published by Harper & Brothers. Now York: A. U. Dergo Sz Co., Salt Lako. Tho author of this fine novel has made her own clientage. When she writes a romance, ro-mance, tho reading world awaits Its appearance ap-pearance with Impatience, conlldent of a treat, and sure of Rood work. This tho public has In tills exceedingly woll-lold laic. The tlmo of It Is placed In tho days of Queen Elizabeth, when the English and tho Spaniards were In hot struggle for tho supremacy of the sens. Sir Mortimer, llko many another English adventurer who was half explorer, half pirate, seeks the Spanish main for his booty, and sees tho hard service tastes tho savagery, and feels tho humillaltlons which It was the delight of tho Spanish lighters to vlalt upon up-on the Englishmen who fell Into their power. Tho wholo of England was crazy with tho Idea of gaining sudden and glittering glit-tering weal tli, wrested from tho Spaniards. The favorite pursuit was laying for tho galleons as they sailed from Mexico or tho Isthmus, and carrying off their wealth to London. But not always was the Englishman English-man successful; many a tlmo was the rav-agcr rav-agcr snared and ruthless vengeance dealt out to him. And so It happened to Sir Mor timer. Ho was made to drink tho bitter bit-ter cup to thclrcgs, and returned to London Lon-don a broken man. Ills sweothoart, faithful faith-ful and with a wealth of lovo In her heart for him, was considered by him to be beyond be-yond him, a disgraced and as ho thought a. dishonored man. Tho scene shifts to England and Qucon Elizabeth's court In Its splendor, and with tho gallant gentlemen gentle-men coming Into and going out of It, historic his-toric characters, many of them, and wlih 1 nuch graceful, high-spirited and gentle 'adlcs as wo arc wont to think the world will never seo tho like of again. The hearts of these gay and winsome folk were not all true and noble, but one, Damaris, Sir Mortlmor's sweetheart, was not of noble blood only, but of noble deeds and steadfast stead-fast mind also. Thus, when Sir Mortimer, Her lover, was pilloried as a traitor, sho repudiated the slander and held to her trust In him, and when ho was vindicated, sought for, and brought forth to honor, her reception of him was a dream of splendor. splen-dor. It is a powerful novel, the best of tho author's productions; It will certainly cn-l cn-l hancc her already very high renown. |