New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-06-08
HOWELLSS NEW BOOK.
4 PSYCHOLOGICAL STORY.

| 4 PSYCHOLOGICAL NloRl'
THE su,Dow OF A DREAM. Bv W. d. Hcwclls
| Iomo. pp els Harper " brothers.
In his now story Mr. IIowells Offers rather study
in ethics than picture of NE ana the poOich VINO"
he sets forth he not venture 10 solve though ne
tenders some suggestions toward solution The
case prcsen,cd Is in a special manner case Of con
science aid Of kind to have given plenty %
cxc-cse N III. riediaevn casulsts. man of strong
Imagination has q wife and friend in whom he puts
| implicit trust Against his yonnG wifc's judgment
he insists upon the friend who IS clergyman, living
with them Presently this head Of the housc falls III
Of an incurablc heart complaint. His bodily suffer
ings are so great that they react upon his mind. In
fac, he Is on the 10 insanity when he becomes
/ afflicted with q dreadful dream the frequent rccur-
renee Of which without change wears upon his already
weakened mind. impant, morbid ideas therein. and
generally accelerate, hi, decline Il wife /, devoted
10 him bis friend no les. But the caumnlous dream
po,ons him against both and ho suspects them Of
beng in love with one another and only waiting BIT,
removal 10 marry. No such thought has consciously
entered the mind Of either. Tho wife thinks ory Of
her husband. The friend distressed by the growing
aversion Of the invalid 20 hs wife. hut has not TIC
rcmotc, clou Of IT. cause. doe he perceive
that he himself j, included IN this aversion. Mean
while the doctor in attendance is the only conHdau 81
tho dreamer. who dies suddenly. had been autic-
patcd and n tie vcr, at 4 pert hi, VT ,illc ty
Al his death he has told no one but The doctor wnt
his dream Wa, HIS widow IA aware thit the doctor
knows is character. hut .Ic IS Satisfied with DIS a.,
sgranc~ tiii II merely an uica'on ~ approach.
uc Insanity. and docs not question him further.
Th"n that happens which 10 the casIa! observer would
seem 10 confirm and justify the dead mans ic,ou,
suspicious The widow and the friend become en-
Gagged 20 MARY. one la alter tn, the widow + cN-
aiming the papers left by her husband when she
lnds a memorandum referring e. tho fatal dream IN
such terms t.nt she Is impeof 20 ascertain H. actual
nafu-e. Tho effect II thi. Information upon h"r f.
almost parlivHiug and sh" r''rn- homo WIEN hu ono
idsa- - throw tho rceq1us hiii'y ~ deciding what
course n ta,c upon her hctrothch. After a !on-
discussion between this sensitive couple, they reach
tho conclusion t'a- thcv ar~ bound - part but tho
question whether thcy w0uh have adhered T. ths
resolution remains unanswered and uuansw"rahl". f1r
;hc man is Killed los RAILROAD oeciou, TIE -,me
day. Thus shadow 81 dream" has fallen upon
their 1--we, and bnght~d them. The woman de-
within year from broken heart and So the tragedy
closes. But the problem remains. whether tho dc
clsion % which they and which ended Their
happiness justified and right. Mr.. lovells
msrshas the arguments on both side, with skill and
force but he does not undertake To prp''Uncc judg
ment and the reader who reflects carefully upon tho
several views presented will probably De mdispo.cd
to determine the In ohhand way.
The embarrassment ~ Hernia Faulkner and Nevii-
an embarrassment realized for the first Tin" when
they learn what Faulkner dream va--consi-is prn-
olpaly in their inability distinguish precisely At
VIVA, period they began 10 love ono another. Both
endowed with high cousclcntlousucss and delicate
sensihility they arc the more p-rplcA~ the further
back they carry their researches. II occurs 20 both
that they might have ben ~ love without knowing
IT, and precisely because they are 50 perfectly limo
cent and purr>hcartcd the revelation Of IN" dream
cngcnders In their minds self accusations none tho
less severe for being founded wholly upon imngina-
ton. one NJ Mr. IIowcllss finest touches here B,
tho nd In abs hut
thoroughly feminine aud even high minded way In
which Hernia puts aside the doctors reiterated
reminder that the dream. being simply expression
Of mental unsoundncss. could be entitled 10
weight whatever md calmly proceeds to ar-u" with
herself that her husband could not have entertained
such a suspicion unless he had really perceived
thing TO found It upon. The course Of NEVIS
ratocnation IS also exhibited with rare subteiy and
throughout his difficult par Sir lIowells shows
the scope Of his art in fully recognizing and making
account with those impractical Illogical. pcrgcr,c
and morbid Influences and lines II Thought
which often scatter 10 the winds all the connsels
Of material wisdom in real life. which exercise
powerful control over human action; and which,
no matter how they be denounced for Their FOLLY.
nevertheless compel a certain puzzled from
those best capable Of approaching ther significance.
The great struggle between Hernia and Sevl on
the crucial question Of the incidence Of the dr@m
full Of deep Interest. IL Is study in psychology
in morbid Psychology. would Say-and 1t Is
admirably done. Throughout the story, which Is
supposed 10 be told BY March, one Of Mr. Howellss
characters In a Hazard Of Now F"rtanc' March and
his wife play the part Of a Crock Chorus. They
discuss tho conduct Of faulkner. Of Hernia OF Ncvl
In the various situations which succecd another,
and Mrs March brings to th commentary the feminine
OF thought which Is distinct from and onon so
rTcconcablc with the masculine IN matters of thi,
kind After the death OF Nevll at the very height of
The criS IA Of In. do
conjecture what would have happened had he Ive.i
Mrs March IL inclined to think that they havo
considered their discrimination married and lived
unhappuy. March himself naturally shrlnls from
proDouncing judgment In case where the coa-s.r
male intelligence nay easily go nstny but he ~,
marks upon the apparent hopocssnes, OF the sita,a
ton, and especially upon the closing In Of Fate or
Something about these two unfOrtunatss In such a
way that the very exercise Of their highest virtue
entailcd upon them the severeet punishment. For
It is Of course evident that with less sensitive
characters the shadow OF the dream would have had no
influence. Practical people would have flung IL
aside without hesitation adopting the doctors view
that II was simply the product Of diseased and
perverted fancy and therefore that carried 10 weight
and possessed no Significance The question whether
the practical people would have been right I'm This
position Is not 10 be answered hastily for
IL Is not OF abstract ethics. but largely of tenn
permanent.
II Hernia and Nev had been able 10 take this view
they could probably have married and lived happily
But 10 do would they not have 20 change their
natures , Being what they werc-that is TO say. in
Docent Of all wrong doing IN thought and act nos
sessng as they did the highest conceptions Of duty
and honor. wac It not the other hand inevitable
that they should And It impossible cmancipate them
selves from the shadow Of the dream To such
delicate conscences the selfinqulry whether they had
really. though unwIttngiy begun 20 love one another
before the death Of Faulkner must have presented
Itself had they Married. In spite Of all endeavors to
overcome the Doubt; and thus must have arisen mn
tua conceslments, appreinslons Of gait and the orc
train u subtle disturbing Influences which can so soo
wreck marital happiness. That these two really hal
ground for self accusation could not inprnvc tho
situation. for II Is not facts but our Wow Of fact
which determines relations 10 them and their I'm
NIen II,.iIIh La. .,-oi