Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-05-19
THE CRITICS REVIEW.


and trvino 20 worL un intn snr.- eo',ie'
solutIon-telenatby or soms other eSsonaDle non .a
stories Of the uncanny which owe two.tbirds .,
their charm to the weird Imagination of IN.
TELLER and 70 thu mpsicaI and fasc,natIn
in which thew are told. "o'N'
Bulwer's "The House and the Brain., NJ.
shelley's "Frankenstein,n that coiloo,,an
of queer stories publisbed n wear or two arr
| and entitIed ..The Rrokon sbafts, s..van.e.,.
..Tbro y,r J.nat g., ,,t. Sa.,- 20 ,,,,a
49,. a,.w M his .,o DooA y. fonanoes, rhe
merry Meni Foe's ran OF the House of
Usher"-these and dozen others will occur at
once to readers whose liking is for ghosts and
| haunted houses for roseoruoians and vItcbs.
| ,-s
| NOT one OF the witch-oooks or ghost-books
Is better than the collection Of stories, re.
markable alike for theme and treatment to
when Mr.. 4. r. Sullivan has given the name
| J,,,, a.,J W., u,.".. ""o 1,s 49," sso nan.,
DuV unu Ntgnt otoT'es' tOharles Scripners
sons; H. Watts d Co. VI, paper bO.)
Poe and Stevenson and Hawthorne are sug-
gested TO the reader as he turns tho pages. The
| style has Mr., steyenson,s macmillan charm ono
| IA rlad 10 read these mnsIcsi sentonnos and
| TO read them over agaIn n oniv FOR the ,,.jody
"Tho ;rinctmre ~ SHcna.au anaa ..Maas,sn eae ~,
borio,i Wawtbopne might have written' And
| even Hawthorne has not in This vain written
in s hadnS Te %ors m ,nrs eeetiye
| NoibInc aincc n wtborna's dav has been done
| 40 wall ''"ee eiA""'noi"e uA' A"' Ds'A Ne
| ..
| NfR. surYrv.ris "a, f,o,r boIno n reaIIst
M M -, - -" 'v". N -, AZ.
| Ills work IL not ~ al IN hne Win hr'
Howells or Mr. James. Ho 10 an idealist His
| stories arc romanoes. As bents romance, tho
soene IN laid in romantic places. in quaint old
| towns ~ uaiIa,s 80 u.irinrn ga Go,man.
and Italy The bacEoround ~ "The Tost
Rembrandtp n The Harue Here "a the way
| In which the writer makes tho soene help the
| impression OF tho weird story;
III you are OF certain age, and temporatei
ho .aH and c,v,I Ill., w yio ~ nm rS
op tSo igS. ,ha, III. asi.ut Sni% nc,rras,
| and II. above nil. the Commercial spirit OF
your own enterprlsing notion often oppresses
ana disheartens you-why then tlnstcad OF
taklng tne hurried pain M2ng Wnlcn the
gulde bo0k hastens youl you VIII Walk leburey
paek from Scherenlngen over tbe anclent dlke,
that is really long, straight lofty arbor OF In
terlaoing elm branches' and you will wonder at
the contentmont IN the thces OF tno peashns
women, anu ~ tho Darparlo gnaeu cIowhs nna
earrings when they wear. on eltner nana
| you VIII eaten glmpses OF sunny Rhruent, hna
chooso moro than ono villa you would DO glhd
| 70 call your own; while the trees go on before
you, IN among inc broad oanals ana splenuia
aces built for comfort, with no state apart
nents IN them, Until rev steps more nave
brought you TO the border OF the shadowy
wood, upon which the old hunting seat now over.
reaches. Here hro acres OF superb becomes with
moshy TRUNKS ana gnarIeo rooth, reoaliihg some
shehanIeu IoIcst OF the protneis uIiilhn, hIla
that picture OF 10 lott over IN your memory
from tho pantomime OF ohildhoodi only now
you nnd the drehdful abode OF fabulous mon
sters and misshapen goblins haunted only by
M inylslpIo ohorns OF plackplras' 700 ,ar ABOVE
your mead 70 rear or even 70 heed yon'
NOT word Is out OF place. or redundant
Every phrase is polished into perfect SYM
metry. And yet with no lack oftorce' either As
vehicle Tor these queer, outoi.the-way, shud-
dory, uncanny, dreamy stories the style is SIM
ply perfect.
And the stories Gordon" is tha ghostliest.
The cold chills attack the reader. Here Is
splendid apartment, hung with tapestries ana
leather, IN which the hero finds lodging. The
master is from home, gone on long, myster-
ious journcy-to Lapland, says the old servant,
who. In his masters absence, is permitted,
or says he is, to let the rooms. Back comes the
hero from the Paris streets to spend his first
night In his new room, and here is an arm chair
drawn before the smoldering fire, and beside
the arm of It. upon the table lies open strange
book, It's vellunl covers worn and moth-eaten,
Its musty leaves yellow with age 1t is entitled
'The Trial of Francois Rayaillac for the Muir.
der Of King Henry w., 1910" And then, enter
'S "IsSmodiately a strange terror seized mo-
vague, unreasoning it was, like child's In the
dark. dropped the book, caught up candle
and peered into the chamber, then searched
ndSn fajiad 70 ,ssssnrs me snoLa ana was
startled at my own voice. 1 tried to sing, but
the walls gave back mocking echo that was
nnendurable and returned to the library with
,ro.s,n same nc ~, ~, ra,no,, f niobt
mara 0
-.
A ND then the light begins TO 70 out. leaving
n a iono sp,oly trail a,d the Arc bnrns
,.0,,a oas.,a sa Say,,s,Io % .SaSow" d ~ ,roSins
n strange glow In the mirror. Ah, the rnirrori
II looked at It and grew numb with horror
For I aa,y ,horo tho raan,,ion of a nan,s faco
o' n,sa~, s"V,0 ~" ,n' ornro.s,nr hat avor IN
30 Mucous IN lts expression tnat even IN
crowd, one would have turned from II with
loathing. have never been able to describe
could barely trace its outline. But should
know that face II saw II at the top OF the
Great Pyramid OF In the plains OF Arizona,-
anywhere indeed upon. the lnstanti and
should shudder at the sight as do now at the
thought, like q frightened animal"
Ana 80 the climax e0mes ~
character Study In Tie book, Indeed, IL Is the
only story which makes All ehdeav0f In that
direction, The hero and the heroine are drawn
bIs,,ssd ~ bssies,e nststfav ss belAhAp especially
Altogether here Is a notable assembly Of
stories, told ehafnlhgty, ~ pefmaheHt value,
by ah authef Whe IA touched with real genius,
49,
Teeb. had and Indifferent ara tbs fsiiewine,
I'''' sae aie ,sa ais ,ne ,ete"ims
a mystery 9Me huH MaH w. r. L9Velll,
marked NINTH edition." belonging 10 thVell's
ndeteetiyen seFies, The Rlet turns an tho Feb,
nary of a mail peueh ON heard train soma.
,pbars near pittshuYe RVran n Adsit is tha
where near tHssss'hi bffeh ~ fesb " the
author
4 hWange WatHahea tltand MeNally
20, pS 5isWis 81 matIlse4 ~ hegihs as 1aIshaal
HmsrlEna, a gbad dsaI ~ shoatins ana asbar
Observation-Disclosures In III also eounterfeitipg,
hypnotism is the ''stIange intatuation,n
Hduntfngs (f, u, Lowell a Oa1 by Vernon