The Jest of Fate. By Paul Lawrence Dunbar. (Jerrold and
Sons. Gs.)—This is a novel by the well-known negro poet. He presents the reader with his photograph upon the first page. The story deals with negro life in New York, and it is difficult to imagine a more sordid and disagreeable description. The only value of the book consists in the fact that it is written by some one who must know what he is writing about. A respectable negro butler is falsely accused of stealing money from his master. He is dismissed, found guilty, and imprisoned. His wife, his son, and his daughter go to New York to seek their fortunes. The son is a barber, the daughter a dressmaker. The son lives among negro music-hall artists, and finally murders one of them. Of the daughter's career it is sufficient to say that she goes on to the music-hall stage. The mother forgets her husband, and goes off with another man. At this juncture the real thief is discovered, and the butler comes out of prison to witness "the jest of fate."
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