New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-01
MIR. HOWELLSS NEW BOOK.
A STORY OF NETWORK LIFE.

uo,vells has taken his type from Vhe '
nIace t. is a study OF life in Ne"-iorh' anu 'io
author has brought together such gallery VI ouu
and strongly differentiated characters es oouiu
rerbans be found in no other city OH the cohuiheho
while the conditions and phases OF social lie repre-
scnted are not less distinctive ana pecuhar' Inc
warob.s T. is true. are from Boston, but they serve
tho nurnoss of external points of observation
whence 70 note and sufficiently TO emphasize those
features Of our city life which of necessity strike
itranrers and outsiders most forciby and with
the greatest freshness of suggestion. new maya
zine is founded with the money of old Dryfoos a
natural gas millionaire" whose primary object
ia 70 give his son Conrad-a youth of saint-lilxe
character and dominant altruism-opportunty TO
become business man. The prime mover OF the
venture is Fulkerson, a true Western Yankee. il
the phrase be allowable, whose engaging lmpu-
dcnce fluent slang indomitable assurance. and sub
stantal loyalty and goodness of heart are sure 10
mako him AS great a favorite with the reader as
he is with all who know him in the story. The
Marches. too are capital, and nowhere has Mr.
Howells better presented that peculiar American
bumor which finds motives for half-sarcastlc Jest
and ouip in even the most serious things, less OUT
Of lghtness Of heart than from an almost desperate
consciousness of hopeless incongrulues ana pei
plexities Inherent in the general scheme
In the character of Beaton Mr.. Howells has re-
turned to ono of his favorite types, the man VINO
is SO weak of WILL so facile OF manifestation so
self-conscious, interpretive ana ana unsyhpa-
thetic. that that he wastes his Lille IN tentauVe
efforts in visionary aspirations, III perpetual con-
Hicts between the lower and the higher impulses
always ending in the defeat OF the latter. ms
is a rarely subtle and delicate study. Beaton is
DISTINGUISHED from other types OF the same order
by a depth u sefshness and superfciality OF cul-
ture which when operating together, mako him
sometimes almost brutally rude. lniirm OF pur-
pose. incurably selfindugent, not capable OF warm
or enduring affections, sensitive only when his per-
sonality is concerned handicapped by his versa
tility. which lures him into fritterlng away his
talents upon half dozen experiments at once, thiS
Young man is drawn with a clearneSs, comprehen-
sion and insight entitled TO be called mastery.
As 10 Colonel WOODBURY. and his pretty daughter
we must own to a doubt concerning the SoutDern
pronunciation ascribed to them by Mr. HoweIs'
So cautious and diligent student must have put
bis theory Of Southern accent TO the test no douot
and no may be right. But certainly his speIhns
is new and departs widely from every previous
attempt to represent the Southern speech. DO
Southcrners habitualy say Soath' for SOUTH
and woe for war;" and awtists" for artists
and NAH" for my" and oap for out ana
so forth and so on? And is this in some special
way the pronunciation of the New South FLOR
we observe that Mr.. Howells makes the accent OF
Miss Woodburn very much stronger than that oil
her father the old colonel. We shall not venture
to take issue with him directly on this question:
but shall await enlightenment from the Southern
critics, and only trust that they will not disagree
among themselves about 1T.
Over against the Marches, who stand for Boston
culture and the critical Puritan spirit modlned
by oommercialism," must be set that remarkable
Dryfoos family, which offers the combination
of Pennsylvania Dutch stock with natural gas
affluence. But as in al such instances the male
head of the house is less impossible IN some ways
than the feminine members The old mother is
by far the most estimable Of them, for She frankly
rcnounces all efforts at self-improvement and
adaptation, cordially and consistently dis1kes
the change wrought by wealth in her outward
life. is unafrectedly miserable in her brownstone
mansion, and has but one wish, namely, to be
back upon the farm where all her happy days
were passed Her daughters Christine and Mela
belong to that order of profoundly and hopelessly
vulgar parvenus who seriously believe that their
money makes them the equals of everybody. Their
modification at the neglect with which they
are treated in New-Yorlx does not teach them any
wisdom in this respect They merely think that
there has been some mistake, that the news Of
their fathers wealth has not got around and
when through chance they are admitted TO
social circle entirely above them, they conduct
themselves with aplomb and confidence ex-
pressive of their general theory. Conrad. their
brother is man born out Of due time, with the
ture and spirit OF o saint and martyr. In Cath
Ole age and country" Mr.. IIowels says Of him. he
would have been one of those monks who are
santed after death for the angelic purity of their
lives and whose names are invoked by believers
in moments of trial, like San Luigi Gonzaga.'
The DISPOSAL of such character in a story Of
modern life must always be exceedingly difficult
In the present instance Mr. Howes appears 10
have been almost forced by the difficulty into
adopting one Of the resorts Of that sensational
school he so strongly disapproves OF, for he kills
poor Conrad off by chance Shot during melee
of car-strikers and policemen-and IN the same
disturbance finds the means Of eliminating an
other awkward person, the German Socialist, Lin
dau This latter, again, is not at all like Mr..
Howcllss ordinary people. lie Is. in fact, I'M
nassjoned. strenuous, almost heroic But, indeed
H. must be said that in 4 Hazard Of New For
tunes' Mr. Howells employs the heroic element a.
he has never done before. Margaret Vance, the
rich girl of society who is so profoundly moved
by the sorrow and suffering around her that
She becomes a Sister of Charity old Lindau
who RACES against gabidaP and trusts and
com binations and domiciles himself in the
Bowery that he may be with the poor; Conrac
Dryfoos who is killed while seeking TO prevent
fighting between the strikers and the police, are
each and all cast in the heroic mould The author
deals here with the play of strong emotions and
great passions. CONSCIOUSNESS of the weight
and seriousness of the social problems whose sur.
face indications lend so much pictnresqueness &c
| this novel may he said 10 underly 1t. The sweep
! ing flow OF the life currents OF the great cit,
seems to have encrgized the authors style ant
given to his matter a pregnancy and force which
| all his readers ought to welcome with delight
| N.l.ora hns the futilitY Of such wealth ~ nr..