Review oj Reviews, 1/10/13. 



NOTABLE BOOKS. 



8.33 



Later on Stella and Mrs. Lekejian 

 went to one of the Cairo hotel balls, 

 which were frequented by the highest 

 class of English visitors. There she 

 met her lover, and was heart-broken to 

 find that during his short stay in Cairo 

 he had learned what her position was, 

 and practically " cut " her at the ball — 

 an agonising experience for the poor 

 girl. To fill up her cup her cousin had 

 learnt to love her with the fierce pas- 

 sion of his race, and his contempt and 

 hatred of her English lover is under- 

 standable. Then, during a special fes- 

 tival, at which all the family were pre- 

 sent, Vernon saves her father's life 

 from the knife of an assasin, and thus 

 these two, who had been gradually 

 growing apart, are bound together 

 again — but for a time only. 



A curious interlude is brought about 

 by the arrival of Stella's schoolfellow 

 Xancy, Vernon's sister, and a quaint 

 little love affair between Xancy and 

 Stella's brother Nicholas. Both Ver- 

 non and Stella had thought the visit 

 would be a terrible mistake, and had 

 tried to prevent it, but in vain ; and, 

 once arrived, Nancy simply washed her 

 hands of the English inhabitants of 

 Cairo, though she had introductions to 

 man}' important people. Even Girgis, 

 the cousin, and his relations did not 

 seem to surprise her very much. Girgis 

 had :onceived the idea that if he 

 could only do something wonder- 

 ful, he would be able to induce 

 Stella to break off her engagement 

 to Vernon, and marry him ; and, 

 brooding over his country, he decided 

 that the great thing would be to drive 

 the English away, by assassination, if 

 necessary, and had gone so far as to 

 clasp hands with the men who intended 

 to kill Lord Minton on one of his jour- 

 neys ; but, partly through hearing thai 

 Vernon was to accompany him, partly 

 through awakening to a broader and 

 purer view of his country's needs, ( ■ 

 gis went to the conspirators and an- 



nounced to them his refusal to go with 

 them the lengths they intended ; and in 

 his case this meant bodily injury from 

 his own countrymen, and his death 

 shortly afterwards. 



To a sensitive nature such as that of 

 Stella this was a terrible blow, and 

 when, soon after hearing of it, Vernon 

 came to her with the angry statement 

 that her cousin was an assassin, and in- 

 tended to assassinate him as well as 

 Lord Minton, her love, strained beyond 

 endurance, snapped, and she told Ver- 

 non that parting was for them the only 

 right thing. She could never leave her 

 people, who were bone of her bone ; 

 and he could not take to wife a woman 

 despised. 



The remainder of the story shows a 

 new Stella, evolving through suffering 

 into something richer and finer than 

 she had been before ; nor does it leave 

 her forsaken, for another Englishman 

 had entered into her life, a man who 

 had studied our native subjects from 

 the native point of view ; and when at 

 length she was somewhat weaned from 

 her sorrow, hoped to teach her that life 

 might have great joys and many in- 

 terests, even though lived in Egypt 

 amongst a despised people. 



Sir Douglas Sladen, in a preface to 

 Miss Lonmer's novel, speaks of the 

 Syrians as a singularly beautiful and 

 gifted nation, white people in everv- 

 thing but race. The ostracism to which 

 English society condemns them is 

 astounding to them as it is undeservi 

 for they know that they are the equals 

 of those 1 ondemn fellow subj< 



and fellow Christians. All questions 

 have twi sides, however; and to intro- 

 duce Copts and Syrians indis crimin- 

 our houses is unthinkable. 

 Miss Lorimer for this, but 



only that when we find intelligence, 

 cultivation, Christianity and beauty, we 

 aid not ostracise the ; ors be- 



cause I hey arc nol of i >ur race. 



HALL CAINE'S BANNED BOOK. 



The Woman 7'/-.,,, Ga Ue. By Hall 

 Caine. (Heinemann, 3/6.) 



Hall Came is a wizard, and the 



world knows it, for his novel is to ap- 



pear in fifteen languages. His artistry 

 is as marked as ever il was, and so is 



his enthralling power, lie takes the 

 whole gamut of human emotions love, 



