The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-10

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| SOLUTION Of the great problem presented.
! What is man in himself when brought up
! pure from the contAgion of evil example,
secured from external temptations and ap-
! pealed to only on the higher side OF his
naturel Is he essentially good, and thus
likely to develop into an angelic type Of
; manl or Is he essentially evil, and there
| fore liable TO act out his evil nature despite
whatever benignity OF environment The
trend Of public opinion seems, on the
whole, to incline toward the former alter
native OF opinion and IL IL this which ap-
pears TO recommend itself to Mr.. Bach
eler. Rayel is good. noble, generous TIE
world when he becomes acquainted with
| 10 at first interests him, then it shocks and
grieves him. Finally it awakens his pro-
found compassion, and he bends all the
| gifts and energies OF his nature TO make it
| better than when he found il. In other
words his function in life becomes in a
measure that of a new messiah; but,
being Of mortal psrentsge, the effect
OF his effort is to be sought rather
| in the stimulus Of noble ex-
ample than of natural accomplishments.
| Rayel cannot work miracles, either on the
physical or spiritual plnne. But he can
prevent wrong, he can help the feeble and
| nurse the sick, and he can give his life for
| his friend. All this and more he does and
, we are made to feel that no one can have
| Lueb huu huOWu buCu man without OSlnR
| thereby increased for the time being in
mental and ethical stature
But though the world failed TO corrupt
! Rayel during the few years that he lived In
it, it did not leave him quite denthless. The
necessary acquisition OF audible human
speech made him practically conscious Of
| the lmpracticability of absolute veracity
! de was brought into personal collision
| with crime In its most actIce and sinister
| form and ha knaw tho uf iOUa
that could not be requited. His lite, from
the external point of view, was conse>
quently an unhappy and unsuccessful one
| but it is precisely from this point Of view
| that no trustworthy estimate of such q life
can be formed. There are spiritual satisfac-
| lions aud compensations which transcend
| any OF the vulgar rewards of existence
Rayei. 10 the midst of his disappointments
and grletS, enjoyed "a happiness which he
| could neither communicate nor describe; 1t
| belonged to the sublimity of his nature,
| and could be known only to those similarly
| gifted. That he should die in the early
stages Of his career was perhaps inevitable;
he must either conquer the world or be
| conquered by IL, or die; and, the first al
tentative being out of the question. the
third is certainly moro welcome solution
| than the second. whatever may DO said as
TO its purely human interest.
| Ii must not be inferred, because ! have
| dwelt mainly on the serious side OF this re-
markable little book, that its lines are uni
formly gloomy. On the contrary 1t is full
Of arch and pleasant humor aud of graphic
and dramatic description. The very first
scene in the book-the mysterious. speech
leas old man, appearing out of the storm
and dying before the more important part
OF his mission could be fulfilled
attention TO tho evolution of the tale, and
there is no relaxation till the end. Yet SO
N.lV u . 49,
quietly and unpretentiously are the marvels
described, that thero is never any feeling Of
resistance OF incredulity. Tbs evolution is
logical, and it is accepted. There are some
very natural and honely English folk in
| troduced Gt tho beginning Of the story, and
a heroine who possesses the proper degree
Of physical loneliness and several other
good qualities as we'll 10 the practical
novel reader nothing will appear more COM
mendable, i'll the technical handling Of the
narrative, than the wise forbearance which
had omitted erything that is not structu-
rally essential to the work in hand. There
Is not as much padding as could be
carried on the point OF pen. and not a
reservoir pen either. 1t Is possible that too
much has been omitted, but, upon the
whole, no one is likely to quarrel with an
author who leaves US with an unappeased
appetite for his wares. On the other hand,
the story is arsistically complete. Ii might,
given the preliminary data, have be'n car
ried out 20 entirely different tissues, but
what the author aimed 30 do he has suc-
ceedsd in doing. and that is all we can ask
OF him.
work so short, significant and preg.
nant, and from the merely literary point OF
view, go little open to attack, cea hardly
fail TO be q focerunrsr Of other books which
may enable US to gauge more fully the
writer's quality and possibilities He has
shown somewhat of a new force-he is an
element to be reckonei with. One feels q
desire to know how he will treat other sub
jscts which ere, just now, attracting
thoughtful and creative minds. Prophecy
is risky business. but certainly should
not be surprised to hear, in the course of
the next few years, that something ct once
important and captivating had appeared
over this geHtlaman's signature. At all
eventI, he has started out in the right track,
and he seems mature enough not to be in
danger OF being sed1ced from it. Tho
Master of Silence" is q good book, with
good title, and good titles, bV the way, are
not the least part Of the secret of success IN
literature. JULIAN HAWTHORNE.