New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-03-21
NEW-PUBLICATIONS.
A VERESTCHAGIN IN FICTION.


TALES OF SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS. BY
Ambrose Blerce 12mo, PIP. 800 san Francisco
Y. l.. q. Steele.
The name OF Ambrose Bieree has long been known
as that OF q humorist and satrst OF rare Po"cI9
and great orisnalty but the volume Of short stores
which lie has now published l. - hey Tauic"iN
and strangely different from all Is previous "oif
1t is In fact a vein, and not less PecuiA' ar"
distinctive than are his earlier writings lheS7 .i''
are 50 original as 10 DEFY comparison anu .'oS
are slngularly If not always agreeahy Impressive
The ten stories OF soldiers which occupy more IMAM
nolf the volume inevitably recall the paintings VI
The Russian artist Vcrestchagin. They deai WIN ,no
realism of war. They show the diverse Oh il"'''s
slory They are mnutey elaborated pictures III
what the American soldier actually experienced III nc
great war They are also "reminiscences ior T'0
writer himself was an actor In the scenes he uc
ecrbes and derives the marvellous prechioh vi uo''ii
in his studies from personal eNpeIo"O ,,.,.
ON, q, the stories is a tragedy, clear-cut' instinct
and nerciless in the accomplishment oi 'no D'
,ylieb here assume the antique form ana sway
~ 80 ., ufs and fate is illustrated win an
audscitv djrectness, and hali-nochnS ~
which enhances the grcwsome ehect Oi "o 1
stances so powerfully related rake, JOE eA""p ,,
,torv entitled One of the MISSING f' .n
misber sent in advance Of the line 10 nhu o,' ,t
a bodv Of the enemy has been withdrawn cli'"o' "
q rickety wooden building TO get DeV'cI ' -
,ho country some distance away, but hot out %
r.rge be secs a Confederate regiment retFea'lhe' nc
impulse 10 take shot at them Is 'oo cn,.d
resisted but Just as he is sighting his rine o no
crate missile strikes the crazy DmIuine IN - q.
e and knocks If to pieces. lie RECEIVERS MS sense "
snd h,roseIS hurried in the debris and 50 )amheu oS
,.r and nlanks that he can move neither manu. ioo'
or head though he is able TO breathe Freely anu % ~
seriously injured. Then, willie he Is eA""'''"e wv
mass living upon and about nm, 10 u9'''' -.
means of extricaion his attention ""9 "''o' $50,
what seemed TO be a ring of shining metal
surround some perfectly black substance anu ~ w." We,
somewhat more than "A halfinch In uidihe'ci' -
DENLY occurred to his mind that the DIacNneSs
simpy shadow. and that the ring was III NV"
muzzle of his rife protrudng from tie pilo Va -
He was not long in satisfying himself that ''n' wac
- 10 - was a satisfaction. By closing either eye III
could look little way along the barre-to INC P',I
where il was hidden by the rubbish tha' n'iu ~
could see the one side with the cOIre'pohul"H wv "
apparently the same ANGLE as the other sue WI" ."
other eve Looking with the light eye, inc "oHpo"
seemed TO be directed at point to the el' VI III
neod and vice versa He was unable To Sce t"o
MINER surface Of the band but could see INC ""'0
surface OF the stock at slight angie Inc ~ 70
in fact aimed at the exact centre of his lofehe"u
Now the man thus pinioned ana heu i"'"P'o'
motion with a loaded rifle pointed straight az 90"
centre Of his forehead. brave soldier VINO i''
often faced the muzzles of rifle and cannon. bul ''
situation WAS different lie knew that ihe sish'eS
shifting Of any stick in the debris ''du he'' '''-
and the life might discharge the latter anu - ~
hought OF this and faced the deadly weapon l"iIo',V
the tension grew rapidly Inc """i' -,
grim and even CHASTITY situation is not impaired pS
.pv trick of sensaonaism. The reader Is gwen "
understand that the rifle had really been Gs' h"' su
when the building fell, and that. therefore, ue luz
,ri.oned man WAS i'm no danger. Eut he dd Eo hHu"
this and for Inn the rifle was loaded. lhtie IL
law hour after hour, his brain weakening WIN ~
bndv and III, mlzlle of the rife playjD larger ana
in h-
indy not free from the charge OF morbdncss III
together but wonderfully subtle ana strohe' ="
reade, irds himself feeling with tie Hepies' sou''
thinking his thoughts suffering MS MENTAL "7"'i',s
Some rats scamper over the rubbish NJ onoo H'
fears that they Ray against the trigger anu H,e
ii,a o,,n Optical Illusion, assail the poor WIetci'
The rife seems coming closer TO him. lie thinks nc
eos n move sometimes he loses consciousness
AGAIN he wakes to j knowledge OF his POSITION
A. last after period of torment such AS few writers
coud depict as it here depicted the man Is driven
20 suicide BY pushing bit OF broken Stat painfully
na laboously he succeeds in lodging 1t against the
trigger and presses II hard There was oi co'"90 ~
explosjon: but the fearful expectation ana MENTAL
certainty of what 10 happen produceu inc S'"o
.gec, that the bullet would have done. ana TIE man
+ dead The final touch is given TO this extraordinary
tow bv the arrival of the dead mans brother at The
rpin and his failure to recognize the corpse winch
was 80 altered TO appear TO INN L" nave Dec' uc'u
a week And the time that had elapsed between Tue
foil Of the shanty and the dedth o. inc MdH Wa
oxact,v the interval between O'Clock and eighteen
Minutes. and i O'Clock and forty minutes M
otber strikncly strong story is The Affair at
coulters Notch@ i'm which southern oihccr oi ar
,uery in the Union Army finds himself 30 situated
that il becomes his duty TO fight rebel battery
nIanted nm the lawn Of his house. The HniI
issue of this artillery duCWhich proves to have been
quite useless from military point of views the dis
covery by the artillery officer that hiS wife and chili
have been killed IN the affair "A liorscinan IN The
,torvn is another Illustration of patriotic devotion
10 duty carried so far TO Involve outrage upon
family affections a remarkable. weird and curious
sketch is that entitled "Cmcamauga' - an adventure
on the field of battle by deaf-and dumb child There
is nothing like it in fiction.
Indeed there IS not OF the nineteen stories In
Mr. Blerce's volume which is not remarkable In some
WAY and the effects the author has preferred are win
hut one exception the reverse OF cheerful The IN
nuence OF the Imagination upon human conduct is
frequently employed as Il motive. but the maglningo
dealt with are never agreeable ones. ANY one who
can read &" A Watcher by the Dead at night and in
solitude without experiencing some creepy sensa
lions must be unusually strong minded, and 1t may
be said of the generally Mr. Stead of his
IS not recommended To children young girls.
people of any age either In short, the fault OF
the volume IS excess Of the grimmest realism life
presents but its merits great and should be 50
obvious completely to It's defects ut least
IN the judgment OF all lovers Of good literature, and
II must be recognized more than justifyng all that
we have said OF the powers and gifts OF Its author