University of Virginia Library

“The author of this book has been long and favorably known as one of the best novelists
of the day. We doubt whether there is in all the west an author whose writings
have been so universally read, and have received so much attention and praise, as
have those of Mr. Bennett. The frequent appearance of his thrilling stories in the
columns of some of the first literary journals in the country, speaks no less loudly of
their worth and excellence, than do the high prices which they at all times command.
Though he has often followed in the footsteps of the illustrious Cooper, in describing
with a truthful pen the character and eccentricities of the Red Man, the success with
which his books have met, proves him most decisively to have been no servile imitator,
for he who can write a good book, locating the scenes and events on ground passed over
by the world-renowned author of `Leather Stocking Tales,' must, indeed, wield a pen
of more than ordinary strength; and this we, without a moment's hesitation, pronounce
him to have done. Whether as the delineator of border life and wild western scenes,
or the more pleasing aspects of civilized life, he ever wields the same graphic pen. The
drawing-room and the prairie seem alike familiar to him. We can award this book no
higher praise than to say it is better than any which have preceded it from the same
pen. The moral of the story which stands out boldly upon every page, cannot fail to
produce a good effect upon all by whom the book is read. We are clearly shown, that
though the guilty and vicious may for a while elude detection and exposure, virtue will
eventually triumph and meet its just reward.”

“Mr. Bennett has already gained a wide popularity through his works before published.
He has written several stories, the scenes of which have been laid along our
western borders, and for delineation of border life and character he has no superior.
The scenes of the present volume are laid in New York, and the story throughout is
of deep interest, and conveys a powerful moral lesson. The characters are all life-like,
and drawn with a skillful and brilliant pen. The publisher has issued the book in a handsome
and substantial style.”

“The author of this work is, we believe, a western writer, who has attained considerable
popularity in that section of the country, by his tales of border life and adventure.
The scene of the story before us is laid in the city of New York, and the
striking contrasts of that vast metropolis—its wealth and luxury, and its poverty, vice
and crime—are vividly portrayed. Occasional passages of true and natural feeling,
or of startling power, reveal the capabilities of the author, and give the assurance that
he is equal to a work that shall bear the test of a higher criticism than The Forged
Will.' The moral of the story is a good one. It shows that guilt, however triumphant
for a season, meets its just retribution at last, and that virtue and integrity, which
resist the assaults of temptation, seldom fail of their `recompense or reward.' The book
is `got up' in a neat and attractive manner, as are all the works from the house of its
enterprising publisher.”

“This is one of the best of Mr. Bennett's novels. In reading it, you are vexed by
no tedious preliminaries, but find yourself embarked at once on the full tide of the narrative,
and swept along irresistibly. Unlike his other novels, the scene is laid, not
among the fiery, impulsive, and hot-blooded inhabitants of the southwest—the early pioneers
of civilization, whose peculiarities the author so delights in describing—but in the
city of New York, where is enacted a drama as thrilling as any tragedy of border life
or Indian warfare. The romance is full of interest, and lovers of excitement will devour
it greedily.”

“This is a capital story—one of the best ever written by Bennett. The scenes are
principally laid in the city of New York, and show the author to be equally successful
in this respect as in portraying `life in the far southwest.'”