New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-02-03
PIERRE LOFTS NEW BOOK
HIS JOURNEY IN THE DESERT.

LIZ DESERT Par Pierre Is Lott E DE rASaae"e
The first passages in the diary OF which Pierre
Lofts latest book gives us transcript are aA'3"
February z, 1884 The last we're written on Nar'n
q in IN. same year In the brief space o. month
there we're gathered together the impressions cry
,aliized IN lie Desert" II is inevitably a 'hh
book one OF Lofts thnnest yet while II Is easy 10
determine the value OF the work. II Is difhcut 10
define IL. charm. II is tcnuous and therefore I'M
important shallow and therefore ephemerai' ye'
all OF Lofts writing is tenuous. end despite i1s
superhciallty much OF Il has seemed 10 give inc
promise OF a long LIE. This very DOOR lie DeS
.r," reaches US In the tenth Parislan edi"on'
Part OF it's popularity at home may be explained
hv Io,fs place In the feminine and fashonaoie
French heart. Much OF II must be due 70 ms
artistic and rhetorical felicity There Is niue else
TO be commended in the book IL Is as barren OF
incident as the panorama 10 which IL IL ch'eny DC
voted only one or two picturesque episodes oeihs
introduced TO break the even progress OF the nara
tive
yst oui O, the monotony OF the Arabian waste
AZ ,oti has achieved variety. and he has done IL
through his sensuous instinct his iacuity 10 '"'
delicate description ,or word-painting OF the sort
which has made Madame Chrysantheme ana
'.Phchcur d'Islande' famous. Ii Is often extraor'
dinarlly vivid and convincing, but 1t Is also always
artificial, always insrained with that spirit OF
sonbisticatIon so characteristic OF the French he
nuts on an air OF being terribly In earnest, YET the
reader has an uneasy feeling that he may pesih
TO talk about the decorative value OF the SPHINX
and 10 look for 'chic" In pyramids and ooeusKs.
But IL Is not necessary TO force this thoroughly
Partisan phase OF VI. Lot! TO the front 1t exists
IN all his work without spelling the latter. and In
the end his power OF attraction Is undimned. Ihus
lie Desert IL full OF a strange. sensitive beauty.
and palpitates somehow with the fevered breath
OF the sands.
NJ Lott seems TO have essayed the desert some
what as he tried Japa.i. In search OF a sensation
lie found H. IA. went from SucZ Mount SINAI.
pauslng at the celebrated monastery there. ana
then travelled northeast. expecting 20 reach Fera
ami it's ruins. But at Akabah a. the head OF the
gulf OF that name. which runs IN from the IKE"
Sea- he was warned tina, Egyptian authority had
given place to Turkish ia the region he wished TO
explore. and In the abscnc" OF the ryht credeh'aH
he compelled to modify his plans Traversins
the uppermost belt of the desert OF FL tn NJ Lou
recrossed Syria and terminated his 'traveis 80 'ar
as their record goes. az GAIA on the MeGlter-
ranean Reference 10 the map VIII sho" the
reader that no ereat area was covered on this
Journey and that neither endurance nor inirepidity
was involved In the task. NJ. Lott does not
describe adventures With all his skill In touch
ing up' ths one trhng attack from Bedouins. 20
which his camp subjected ne Ia still anyth'ns
but Marco Polo lie Is Pierre Lott instead.
which. in lts way. Is much better not dscoV"rer'
rhctOrlan,
Is with infinite subtlcty and grace that he brings
the long level lines OF the Syrian desert into his
pages with INFINITE color and precision that he re-
produces the ose-tnted mirage. the glortes OF the
sky and the dun. dry sameness OF IN" earth'
broken from time time by mighty powders ana
ancient ruins. always animated by the bizarre out
lines Of his caravan. hi; fiat. nevertheless. and
unutterably imnioble Till the gorges OF the North
are reached. Ii Is In its sense OF th0se Things
that lie Desert" Is "A source OF pleasure and one
OF the most enjoyable OF Lofts books. Dromedar'es
and their drivers. the coors OF the dawn ana the
mysterious solitude OF the nlght-i is on such sun
jects that NJ Lott has spent himself bringing home
TO the reader all the loneliness, pctnresqucness
and welrdness OF the desert. lie has fervor.
nnesse, minute observation ana an equally fine
touch. 1t is a proof Of the individuality and
distinction OF his art that he has not only ac-
curscy and ciearness. but the vaguely impressive
tone OF the desert. which only deep sympathy
could evoke.