New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-10-26
CRAWFORD'S NEW NOVEL.
AN ORIGINAL AND CHARMING BOOK.

Mr. Crawford's new story is original in subject
and treatment. Il is something Of an experiment
to write a novel upon scheme approaching the
lines of the old-fashioned dramatic unity, but the
success Of the trial completely justihes it. The
whole of the action takes place within the space
of thirty hours, yet there is no redundancy OF
matter and while the plot Is strikfngly simple
and the characters introduced are few In num-
Der, the interest is unfagging throughout. and
every sentence tells The scene is cast in Munich
The centre of action is the obscure back room OF
a cigarette-manufacturng tobacconlst, ana nearly
all the actors cigarctte-makers Russians foies
and Germans The love-story which furnishes
the passion of the romance is complicated by
concurrent study in alienism, and remarkably
close and clever study it is. The figure OF the
Count, whose long exile and poverty have en-
gendered strange mental disease marked by re-
current hallucnaton, Is drawn with such sharp
ness of outline and carefulness Of detail that he
might be made the subject Of clinic. Inc
pathos of his illusion, which takes form in q
weekly belief that friends from Russia Will call
at his lodging to announce his restoration TO his
title and property, is deep. But the character OF
this poor Count apart from his in1rmity Is Singh
arly noble and refined. He Is with ell his pow
erty true gentleman; simple, courteous always
considcrate and self-sacrifcing, incapable OF
mean action. and so thoroughly yet unostenta-
tiously dignifed that the peasants and Bohemlans
with whom he works in the little factory instlnc-
lively realize the difference which separates his
nature from theirs, and respect even while they
Joke over his alteration.
Every week, on Tuesday evening. the Count
cravely announces that his friends are coming
for him on the morrow and that lie is going
back to Russia. Livery "Wednesday he spends in
his room waiting TO: them. Every Wednesday
night, as the clock strikes ~, he realizes TINT
they will not come. TheL he goes to sleep, and
waking on Thursday morning, has entirely for
gotten everything that has happened since he
left his work, to which he returns TRANQUILITY.
making no reference to the now oblitcrnted record
of the previous day or course he Is thought mad
by his feow-workmen and work"omen,
and in fact he is mad, by intermis-
sionsi But , one of the cigarette girls.
named Vjera noting and impressed by the beauty
and tenderness of his character, has fallen in love
with him. and from this passion springs heroic
action. The picture of the cigarette makers at
work, with the discrimination of the several
strange Municipalities ooncerned-the Cossack'
Schmidt the Russian peasant, Dumnof, the Count.
Vjera the master tobacconist, Fischeowltz ana MS
| Russian wife, Akulina-is little masterpiece OF
genre" painting. Never has Mr.. Crawford done
more brilliant realistic work than here But his
realism is only the case and cover for those IN
tense feelings which, placed under no maSeer "ha'
| humble conditions produce the most drama'lc
and the most tragic situations, ana, actng accolu-
ins to their nature, draw to such situations inc
interest and sympathy of all in whom the heirsnlp
| Of q common humanity operates This Is Sc
cret Of genius. to take the most coarse ana COM
| mon material the meanest surroundings, the
IL i'll
vehement passions which sometimes dominate
| all human beings to build up with these poor
elements scenes and passages the dramatic ana
emotional power of which at once enforce attention
| and awaken the profoundest interest
The march of the little drama. SO confined IN
nont of time. is necessarily rapid, but there is no
| appearance of undue haste and though the many
striking scenes introduced are made by the very IN
cessiveness and vrility of the writer's art to take
on something Of the aspect Of tableaux, the trans
| itiops are perfectly easy and natural. The gen.
eral impression produced is perhaps exactly "ha'
| a. high ideal of fiction demands. There B no
| city or town in the world. where. II one coulu
closely follow the actions and vicissitudes OF
single related group Of men and women for thirty
| six hours, the materials for some romance woulo
| not be found. I'm actual life we walk bhndly
! among these elements Of strong emotion, and MISC
| their significance and their connections; or II we
catch gmpses here and there Of somewhat beyond
| the common, our own destlnies hurry us FORWARD
too quickly for us to extend our knowledge piece
out our fragmentary perceptions, or discover the
| clew TO the mysteries which surround us. 1t is
the function and privilege Of the true artist to seize
any one portion Of the ever-moving panorama, to
meet the procession, and hold it under our eyes
long enough for us to see clearly and understand
| fnlly lust what II means. In his own experience
| every human being must have garnered one OIL
more Of such completed dramas; and strange, In
deed must be the life that has not entered into OF
been entered into BY some Of them. But the 1ul
| value Of qualities and emotions Ia best realized
when no personal element enters into the examina
| ton of their exercise, and 30 it is that fiction
offers peculiar opportunities for the study and The
display of whatever Is best and worst in humanity
| Mr. Crawford, TO his credit be 1t said, has ar
| evident prepossessiOn for the beautiful and Gle
waited both in the material and spiritual worlds
and seldom il ever has he followed this wholesome
preference to better ends, or with happier art
than in "A Cigarette Makers Romance Thu
love and madness of the Count develop the low
and devotion of Veru. The nobility Of tht
afflicted exile is emphasized and sancti6cd by TIL
character of his affection, and this again react
upon the girls pure and selfess emotion and lift
| them both far above the common level. Thu
subtle manner in which even coarse aud dull
natures are moved and in o manner refined b.
contact with such characters as the Count 1
well shown in the scene ut the restaurant ont
those. which Immediately follow. lin these pas
sages pleasant humOr relieves the tension, q
the same time frightening the effect Of Dumnof'
and Schmidts loyalty to their friend The ques
Of the so marks by vjera and Schmidt ia power
. fully described, with the final and unspeakab
painfu sacrifice by which the girl saves the LIZ
and honor of the Count. The one piece Of ap
parent artifice In the whole book-hnd therefore
blemish-is the device by which the genuine lette
IL sscribed to Akulina. This Is rather too obviOu
IN attempt to put of the readers discovery OF tn
Genouement until the chosen moment for produoin