NOVELS.
NEVER SAY DIE.* AN interest attaches to this romance wholly irrespective of its intrinsic merits. It is certainly the only novel ever written in English by a member of the house of Romanoff. And it makes its appearance with singular opportuneness at a time when, owing to the attack of M. Guchkoff in the Duma and its sequel, Russian Grand Dukes are attracting a good deal of attention. But above and beyond the quality of uniqueness and the topical interest of Never Say Die, it claims notice as a deliberate attempt on the part of a member of a reigning house "to prove to the world how wrong it is in thinking that we are the happiest beings on this earth." Some ten or more years ago the Dutch novelist Couperus under the title Majesty
wrote a most powerful and impressive romance, obviously based
on contemporary Russian history, on much the same theme. His hero was unequal to his destiny, yet his sense of duty debarred
him from abdicating. But M. Couperus was writing from outside, and, however acute his perception, it could never equal the actual experiences and emotions of one who occupied the position described. It is this fact which lends a peculiar
psychological interest to the work before us. Here we have not the vicarious sympathy of an alien mind, bnt, presumably, a cri de coeur issuing straight from the organ affected. " There is no doubt," frankly admits the writer, "that financially we are well situated, but is wealth the only happiness in this world ? Take also into consideration the many official duties belonging to our position, and how much more we are exposed to public opinion than humbler mortals. Which is the greatest happi- ness in this world ? Surely love for a woman—the choice of our future life and family life. And even in this we have not the facilities of private individuals. We have less choice, and there is often the question of religion. So it will be easily understood what a terrible lottery marriage in our position is, and why, consequently, there are so few happy unions."
Apart from the disappointing fact that the venue is changed to Germany, and the scene laid in a small German principality, the story opens promisingly enough with a minutely circum- stantial account of the Court, household, equipment, and surroundings of Tiefenbach, the capital of Prince Adolph of Donnerwetter and his consort, Princess Louise. Lovers of scandal will be balked of their prey, for the family life of the princely pair is above reproach. Prince Adolph and his wife are paragons of the domestic virtues ; but the Princess is a tremendous martinet, and inspires more awe than affection in her seven children. With six of these after the first few pages we are not concerned at all, the narrative being almost exclu- sively concerned with the misfortunes of Prince Franz, the fourth son. This handsome and accomplished youth, a keen student of military science, and adored by his men and brother-officers, is always alluded to as "Franey," and the endearing diminutive is well chosen, for a more gentle and amiable young Prince we have never encountered in the whole range of contemporary fiction. At the dawn of man- hood he falls in with a lovely Princess, but his ruthless mother promptly intervenes, and Francy's first romance is abruptly terminated
"Poor Franey returned home madly in love, and feeling most depressed, unhappy, and discouraged. He had a violent scene with his mother, but could not say the least thing in his defence, as he was not allowed even to mentiqn the name of the Princess Margaret. This, of course, was simply and purely caprice on his mother's part, as no better match could have been found for him. Both were young, both were of the blood royal, they, were not related in the slightest degree and there was the right difference of age between them. But the Princess Donnerwetter had the strangest ideas regarding marriage. As is the case with many mothers, she was frightfully jealous of her sons, and would not admit the idea of marriage for them, hardly finding any one good enough. The result was that she had not the happiness of seeing her children, • Never Say D:e. By the Grand Duke Michael Tdichaelowitcla. London : Collier and Co. [Gs.] except her daughter and one of her sons, married before she passed away."
Seven years elapsed before the unhappy Prince recovered from this crushing blow. This time his choice was even more disastrous, for Miss Schweinitz, though as good as she was beautiful, was only the daughter of a General. The attach- ment, perfectly blameless, though clandestine, was foredoomed to disaster from the outset; and as soon as the terrible Princess found it out, Prince Franey was packed off on his travels. The hapless lovers, however, contrived to correspond freely during their separation, and a recrudescence of the tender passion on his return results in Francy's being exiled for a whole year. His father, it should be explained, though secretly sympathising with his son, is as wax in the hands of his masterful consort. Finally, after partially consoling himself with the society of an English Countess, poor Franey is stricken down with brain-fever, and nursed hack to health by the Countess and her niece, an athletic young lady of great attractions, who proposes to, and is accepted by, the distressful Prince. The narrative closes with the letter in which Franey, greatly daring, announces his marriage to his father, and leaves him to break the news to the redoubt- able Princess.
The Grand Duke Michael's romance, viewed as an apologia pro domo sua is, we fear, hardly convincing. The moral, how- ever, is sufficiently clear,—that if a Prince who is at once susceptible and attractive goes in mortal dread of a capricious and tyrannical mother, his matrimonial ventures are likely to land him in considerable difficulty. For the rest, we must be grateful to the author for having given us one of the most refreshingly ingenuous stories that it has ever been our fortune to come across. It should prove invaluable for reading aloud, as may be gathered from the following brief extract :— " His first visit [to Naples] was a great disappointment, the two things which struck him most being the insalubrity of the place and the unpleasant odours penetrating it. The oftener he saw the town, however, the more impressed he became, being lost in admiration at its beauty and wonderful scenery. He remained at Naples two days, in order to enjoy at leisure the celebrated churches. He then proceeded to the environs of Naples, namely : Vesuvius, Pompeii, Castellamare, Capri, Amalfi, the Bay of Salerno, the Castle of Ischia, Pozzuoli, and so on."
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