Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-07-17
A NEW SUMNER NOVEL.
A REpIsW OF FRANs n. SrUCh roN's
"rHE LArE MRS. NULL"
The First Experiment in Extended ticiion u,
writer VINO Had Made MS Reputation
with ssiiifuI short stor,es-u,s New
work And Its Charsc, ertstic-

"The Late Mrs Null To any one who Is
familiar with the short stories he has been
producing during the past years 1t seemed
almost hazardous eX Xperiment. They were
IN their nature principally sketches and the |
material which lie used was of such impun- |
deraole substance that we can we'll imagine
how difficult it would be to mould it into the
long, free complete story of the novel. Mr..
stockton ia ot that bolder kind of writer's who
iearlessy employ the fitful freaks of their
fancy and place them on their canvas in
sometimes almost too glaring touches. The
situations OF his characters sometimes Just
escape being absurdly ridiculous, but the
shrewd genius OF the author resCuos them
by giving them a sudden turn and u re-
suit we get that peculiar Concal effect tor
which his stories are noted.
We wonder at and admire more than any
thing else the bold daring of Stockton. lie
fearlessly overrides all the rules and laws of
the conventional story. When we launch
with him in his boat we cannot possibly
know where he will land US. And the
stream of his stories Is full of sudden twists
and turns which constantly bring us face to
face with bold jutting rocks. These We ad-
mire amazingly "a we pass them by, but it
is only when We have passed that we see
how nearly we come to striking them and he.
ing ANONYMOUSLY upset Stockton's mind,
or imagination rather, seems to be full Of
practical inventions. 1t is not OF that vague,
dreamy kind which delights in giving us
flights where we soar aloft perfectly secure
under the powerful influence OF the myster-
ous wand. There Is nothing in him of the
magical of the fairy tale, but everything is
explained according TO Il law of its own.
Even in "A Tale of Negative Gravity
which is one of his most veuturesome and
most absurdly ridiculous, all the forces and
powers used are explained in quite plsus-
ble manner. II in sudden freak he might
desire to transport any of his characters to
the moon. instead of whsking them off on a
moon beam, he would be sure to invent a
machine 10 carry them there which would
appear to be not at all impractical. StoCktOu's
inventive genius aud his Imagination seem
to dwell together in the same chamber and
always aid each other. And how he con-
trives not to allow them to conflict is truly
remarkable To write fairy tale, for in
stance, full of magical wands and mystical
cloaks which move the characters about like
puppets, aud rearrange them when they get
into difficult situations, is comparatively
easy but to be able to lead them into the
most absurd predicaments and comical situa.
tions where IL would seem that nothing but
a miracle could rearrange them, and then to
relieve them suddenly and in accordance
with the strict laws of fancy or reason without
II seeming at all unnatural or Improbable
that we think requires a rare combination of
the powers OF the mind-and that Mr.. Stock.
ton has 10 great degree.
HIS SUDDEN SURPRISES.
His chief delight seems to be in giving us
| sudden surprises. He leads us sometimes
| along very comfortably and quietly when
suddenly we come face to face with a sphinx
often in the shape of question which we
| cannot answer and which haunts us becaus SO
| of its tantallz!ng perpleNity. In the enigma
! of 90 The Lady or The Tiger" for instance,
| We ere left wondering which was within that
| door, ana we can wonder until eternity and
| never know. And we are not surprised at
| Mr.. Stockton's answer to some one who
| wrote to him about 1t, when he said he did
| not know, and then added that "If you de-
! eide which il was-the lady, or the tger-you
md out what Kind OF person you are your
| self" That answer is lust as much of an
| enigma as the sphinx itself Likewise in
"The Discourage= Of Hestancy" we are con-
| stantly wondering whether the bashful man
selected the lady who laughed or the one
who frowned. The only other similar in
stance We now remember is in HawthOrne's
Marble Faup," where, when we have fin
| ished the story, We sit and think and wonder
| whether the ears OF poor DOnatellO had fur on
| them or not And We ask every one, tor we
| want to know.
But pardon this long introduction. We
| want to take little glance at "The Late
| Mrs. Null" Ii you read it, knowing moth
ing about the author and expecting to find it
Il
| noVee writing, we think you will be disap-
| pointed. But If you have read the " Rudder
| Grange" sketches, 1.-The Discourager of
| Hesitancy," " The Lady or the Tiger" and
| the Tale OF Negative Gravity " you will in
| measure be prepared for the delightful sur
| prises that you will meet. II you know any
| thing OF stockton you will be prepared 10
| find that unromantic, practical Lawrence
Croit IN the awkward predicament OF being
on with the new love, before he is of with
| the old" But if you are not very alert YOU
| will be startled when you come to the end
and find the " surprise party" which the old
| Widow Keswick has prepared for Mr.
Robert Brandon, that fine old Virginia gen
| tleman.
| SOME NEW FEATURES.
But while the book is full of startling oc-
| currences and surprises, which amply illus.
| trate the peculiar character of that one cham
| Der of Stockton's mind which Edward
| Eggleston used to say had been denied to the
| rest OF mankind, still we think there are
| other features OF the story which merit special
| mention. The most notable of these are the
| several negro characters which like ebony
| form the setting of the stOry-and like il are
sometimes more beautiful than the enclosed
| picture Aunt Patsy, Uncle Isham and
Lefty, Peggy and Plez, form a cluster of
most interesting individuals who in them.
| selves are very original and unique. They
| OF course are the necessary appurtenances to
the fine old farm ofMidbrauch, which stands :
L u
oak, CHESTNUT ssssafras and sweet gum.
| ANY one who has been there and wandered
| around through the walks and drives of one
| Of these beautiful Virginia country homes
| can fullyappreciate Mr.. Stock toms description
| and could almost fill the house and grounds
| from memory with the very characters to
| whom he introduced us. These Mr. Stock.
| ton describes so truly that we know he must
have met them. And yet he avoids drifting
| into that realism which seems too prevalent
in this age. To view the negro character
| through such a lens as the realistic writers
use would, we think, produce sad failure.
That sable individual, more perhaps than an Y
other type OF character we have, needs 10
have thrown around him at least the shadow
OF romance aud sentiment. He needs a little
| ldealization before we can get at the ideal OF
type which il back OF the individual. AS
We read we can almost see the little
huts just beyond the outer fence
where the negroes live and are 50 happy.
What an original, unconscious being old
| Aunt Patsy il, as We hear her grooming by
the little open window of her shanty, stitch
ing with her bony fingers, the few remain
ing patches to her crazy quilt that was soon
to become her shroud. And the last view
we have of her at the "big preaching at the
negro church where she had gone To hear
Brother Enoch Hines preach, is quite in ac
cord with her lite and a fitting close
Dar'll be pow'ful wakenin', an ain't seen
de Jeruslum jump in a mighty long time y
she says What a vivid description Mr.
Stockton gives us of that interesting cere
mony-and how strong this picture-a hel
little black eyes sparkling through her grea
| iron Sp6ctacles. her head and hody