the author of these works by her publisher we have already quoted. We will now proceed to give a selection of extracts from others. The reader will not fail to observe how happily cordial—affectionate, almost—were the relations of these two—the gray-headed publisher and the young lady novelist.
The first of our selection has to do with "Ardath," which Mr. Bentley had been reading in manuscript form:
"March 3d, 1889.
"You have been very patient and considerate, and I think you believed that I would not lose any time in reading your Romance, for a Romance it is, and a most original one. I have read it all, that is, to 964. I should like to see the conclusion.
"The story of Al-Kyris is a magnificent dream, the product of a rich imagination, the story rising towards the close to considerable power. The design, the method, the treatment, all are original, and the fancy has an Eastern richness, and, I presume, a legitimate basis in fact.
"There is so much in the work that I could write yards upon yards about it. The fine drawing of Sah-Lûma, its consistency, and the moral taught by him; the character of Lysia, typifying Lust; that of poor Niphrata, of the King, and the finely conceived character of Theos; the scenes, one after the other, in rapid succession, ending in the fall of Al-Kyris, should give you a status as a writer of no ordinary character.
