New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-08-25

ord roner,ance rel,indes the dying finmc IN her
bearf and she forgets and forgives with mag
niGcent absoluteness which could scarceT oe Ut
tanned by a man. This is one OF the hhes, anu
deepest touches in sinsuiarV powerful "''
beautiful story. ;.t
All tho troublc however, is brought ABOUT Will
ont malice or reconciliation. IL is tragi-comeuy
% - IN which the most innocent things are
made 70 take on the scmblancc OF sinister sig
riecopoe through the distorting medium OF d
ioa1ors mans jaundiced Interpretation ana the
or,orSo incidence of their occurrence. San uiac-
int ,,,rites n note on some Of Coronas paper
for tho purnose of preventing meeting between
Eous,ino and Gounche and leaves II on the latterS
toilet table fastening it down with goid PIN
roaIv belon ring to Corona, but which she nad
lost and Gouache had picked up In the street
without any idea Of its ownership Here we nave
annarent circumstantial evidence which only heeus
70 be weighed by jealous man TO acquire uooin-
inc weight and which might have even rouseu
jealousy in a previously unsuspicous hiho' All
this is admirably developed, with haVurainees
hevond praise So also in the case oil the crime
80 Arnoldo Meschini. the librarian and forger of
,,h;oh tho old rascalprince of Montevarch is the
,ictm The whole Meschini episode, indeed, is
exceedingly clever and strong. The feelings OF the
murderer after he has done the deed MS recourse
to the brandy bottle to restore his courage MS
exnltatjon after the first effects OF the stmuiaht
make themselves felt; the absence OF reiaorse SO
long as his normally callous and evil intelligence
is supportcd by an artifcially stimulated nervous
system. One feels that this is criminal VINO
might 90 far had he his imagination undef control
but with the first yielding to drink ne Is iqst'
for the false tonic reacts upon his nerves that
every return TO sobriety adds TO the horror and
him back upon the bottle. Meschini
has intellect enough 10 have not
only avoided suspicion, but to have profted by
the murder could he have kept his brain clear;
but when to brandy he adds opium his mind is
on the way to virtual eXtinctioD and while
whom strongly inebriated he can still plan lucdy.
all action is impossible to him because it demands
sobriety. and he dare no longer remain sober. All
this is a remarkable physical and psychological
study.
Not the least striking feature Of SAINT lhIio'
is the minute and profound knowledge OF Italian
society and the Italian character which it shows
Mr. Crawford says in this book that the ioreg ner
AT large never has any real understanding OF
Italians and he goes on TO make this rather
surprising assertion: 81 do not hesitate TO say
that. without a single exception, every foreigner
poet or prose-writer who has treated of these
people has more or less grossly misunderstood
them" This is, as ne admits. surprising state
ment,o nor is it rendered the more acceptable
by the contention that TO understand Italians
man must have been born and bred among them
for, while Mr.. Crawfords own intimate knowledge
of them must be acknowledged, there is really
not sufficient reason for assuming that nobody
else has has acquired a similar acquaintance IN
similar WAYS. Mr.. Crawford deprecates northern
| Ia Il INIT "a
lie" but. surely. If the plot so unhcsltatingly
entered into by his own Prince of Montevarchi for
the dispossession of the Saracincsca by forgery
and fraud is 10 he considered fair illustration
of the principles of some OF the old Roman no
biity, the northern view of Italian ethics W" I'D
seem less harsh and mistaken than he represents
il to be- or course the proGity and honor OF the
SaracineSca to be set against the deliberate and
cold-bl)oded scoundrelism Of Montevarchi; but
even SAINT Ilario himself is shown TO harbor in
his views no slight inheritance of barbarlc prin-
ciples and tendencies and his resolves when he
believes Corona guilty tolcraby medieval for
a man Of the nineteenth century. We are not
questioning the fidelity Of Mr. Crawford's por.
traituie. We have doubt that 1t is hfelike
But at the same time, and even because OF this, 1t
seems hardly just TO blame the northern people
for regarding certain Italian characteristics with
scant approval.
This however. is by the way. As regards the
novel itself there is likely to he but opinion,
namely, that il must rank with Crcfensten'
as the best work the author has produced. 1t
fulfls every requirement Of artistic fiction. 1t
brings out what is most impressive in human
character and what is most interesting in human
action, without owing any CT It's effectiveness to
sensationallsm or artice. 1t is natural, fluent
i'm evolution accOrdRnJ with experience. aphiC
in description. penetrating In analysis and absorb
ing in interest. II may be permitted to hope that
Mr. Crawford has not runs the curtain down
finally upon the fortunes of the Sara ,ineSca.