OCR Text |
Show L 1TOBLE ITALIAN PEASANT. f 4 eeoever Shall Offend. By F. Morion; (awford. With eight Illustrations drawn I'Rdmo with the author6 suggestions. rHoraco T. Carpenter. Tho MacmlUan Nnpany. publlshors, Now York. $1.00. jr. Crawford's Italian romances novo ems famous, his "Heart of Homo" be-hla be-hla beat, hitherto. But tills novel sur-jtts sur-jtts It Tho plot Is tho groat villainy l stepfather; a deop and oubtlo rasool, stops at nothing, but Is wholly doffed, do-ffed, and 1b fully doscrvlng of tho ono-na, ono-na, "Whosoever shall offend ono of littlo "ones which bellevo in me, it re better for him that a millstone woro ified about his neck, and that ho were iraed in the depth of tho sea." lis story is that of a rich Italian widow p marries an adventurer from South serica. and the happy llfo they lead, r eon by a former marriage becomes a t friend of tho stepfather, and all Ss well. But a woman friend of tho r suspected tho stepfather all tho with no reason; yet hor suspicions l moro than borne-out Tho son Is mado pua through a pitiful oxperlenco. tho Kher Is poisoned, and yet tho criminal But tho troubles, llko black clouds 0n a mountain peak, gather about lilni, 4 finally all becomes known and ho gots .Ju3t dues, A peasant girl of a raro W Is tho real horoino of tho story; tough her lovo for and dovotlon to tho fpeon. that young lad Is mado a maji, A ho acts tho manly part. But tho girl, epl7 mindful of tho Boclal gulf between fm, naves tho young man from himself; tosh aho dies and tho finest character of ? book passes away, yot It seoma tho p iray to oolvo tho intricablo puzzlo. l a elory of great power, told by a tcr of narration, and wo think that t tho best of Mr. Crawford's novolo. F roputo will certainly ,bo enhanced by atrenuous novel, which is captivating 6m tho first pago to tho last |