New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-12-29
RECENT FICTION.
NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES.

NOVELS AND ShORI SIORlES.
A CHOSEN FEW SHORT STORIES BY Frank
r. stockton With an etched 2 portrait by by o va
Charles Scribner's Sons
DOLLY DILLENBECK BY James L. Ford. illus
trated by Francis Day. l6mo, PIP 1872. George
II. Richmond Co.
l6mo, PIP. S22. Houghton. Mifiln & Co.
A GENTLEMAN vAGABoND AND SOME
OTHERS BY F. Hopkinson Smith. l6mo, PIP.
1s2 Houghton. Mihiin & Co.
A CUMBERLAND ,yENIDETTA AND ;soo OTHER Fl
STORIES. BY John Fox, jr. l6mo. PIP "a,
Harper Bros
i2mo. PIP. 34s. d. Appleton & Co
A HARD WOMAN. BY Violet Hunt. 12mo. PIP III
D. Appleton & Co.
THE WONDERFUL VISIT. BY H. G. Wells 1smo
PIP. 245. Macmillan Co.
A SON OF THE PLAINS. BY Arthur Paterson.
12mo. PIP. 26l. Macmillan CO.
The genius Of literary creation and that OF criti-
cism being but rarely united Ia the same person. 1t
is an obvious conclusion of which there are many
illustrative instances that authors are prone to be
the poorest judges OF their best work. In view OF
this fact, 1t is to be noted especially creditable
to Frank r. Stocktons Judgment that in selecting
from the mass OF his compositions the nine stories
which fiji out the 2l5 pages of "A Chosen Few ne
conrived 10 throw the responsibility for the selec-
ton on the public by limiting his choice to his best
known work. THE stories contained In this little
volume" he says. were chosen. by virtue OF
sort Of civil service examination in order that they
might be grouped together representative
class Of the authors best-known work in this line.
the line in question being represented by the now
famous The Lady the Tiger Associated with
this ingenious fiction We find, "A Tale OF Negative
Gravity" (Which was favorite with the late Robert
Louis Stevenson "Asaph." "His wifes Deceased
No Of ba
HYDE (also one of Stevensons favorltes), "Old
Pipes and the Dryad," THE Transferred Ghost.
THE Philosophy Of Relative Exstences' and "A
Piece Of Red Calico" Detailed criticism OF these
stories is certainly uncalled for In view OF their
popularity Fortunate Is he who is about TO enjoy
his first reading OF these ingenious tales which are
so delightfully."- plausible and persuasvely prepos-
ferrous On this latter point II Is to be observed
that Mr. Stockton stands unrivalled among con-
Temporary writer's II IL the personal gift which ds
tnguishes him from ell his kind The method Is as
simple as it Is probably difficult Fundamentally 1t
is the method OF the mot, depending for Its effect
on a contrast between manner and matter. The
extravagance Of the latter must be matched by the
almost prosaic sobriety Of the former In CON
versatonal the trick IS old the hills but
Mr. Stockton OF the first 10 apply II to the
short story, using It not as mere ingredient but
as the very foundation OF his fiction. What the
wits have been doing for centuries in half dozen
number OF pages He invites our attention to an
utterly preposterous theorem, and forthwith pro-
ceeds to demonstrate II with a gravity OF manner
and scientific precision OF phrase which might win
the envy OF Euclid. When he is not doing this
Mr. Stockton is simply tormenting as in The Lady.
or the Tiger" that insoluble riddle which set the
public by the few years since and Is destined
to tax the ingenuity OF succeeding generations
From the point Of view Of construction James L.
l1oi,,t he
sired but there is question to the sincerity Of
the authors motive in putting It forward "por-
trayal OF certain phases Of metropolitan life and
character"-phases with which by the accidents OF
his profession he has been thrown In close contact
and Of which consequently he is competent to
speak with authority. T. Adolphus Dienbeck or
as he Is called by his friends Dolly" is a familiar
enough New-York type of the young man about
town. His habitat Is the section Of the city COM
monty known as the "Tenderloin: his friends and
associates theatrical managers OF the second class
and that numerous cohort OF impecunous pseudo
gentlemen who spend their days loafng in or about
barrooms and cafes. These are the persons who. in
Mr. Fords picturesque Technology. constitute the
class OF "genals" the clever chevaliers dndustrie
who manage to eat the best OF dinners and drink
the choicest OF wines without having cent in their
pockets The reader who would know how this is
done respectfully referred to Mr. Ford's novel
where their artfu methods OF "sponging"
searchingly examined In the persons OF General
WhifYetree and Jude Donothing and others. Into
this society Dolly" Dillenbeck rich. good-ooking
and green" is rresstibly drawn in his eagerness
TO be part of the town and to have his I'LL of
that well-dressed Bohemia which allur
ing to the callow. pleasure-loving youth of the
metropolis. He Is with certain social differences
the same type which Professor Matthew's attempt
ed to draw in Winslow Pierce in His Fathers
Son." but studied at closer range and in greater
detail The young man Is swept into the vortex;
he is 'sponged' upon by the cafe 'genals'' and by
the theatrical managers and ends by marrying a
young woman for whose brilliant histrionic
his purse is responsible. Mr. Ford has evidently
expended considerable pains In the elaboration of
the character OF Dolly" but doubt II the reader
will be prepared to concede that the result is en-
tirely successful He s to be sure the centre about
which the action turns. and In far is indis-
pensable 10 the development OF the story but his
outlines vagu' in comparison TO those OF the
host OF characters among whom he moves The de-
feet In Mr.. Fords novel. limited at the out
set. Is In its construction. which is loose and
rambling. The frequent interpolated essays and
asides should either be omitted altogether or rele
gated 10 appendix.
The title OF Mas Saran Orne Jewetts latest
volume applies only to the opening story. Be-
sides this there ar nine others which with n
single exception. deal briefly and graphically with
some phase OF New-England rura! life. The ex-
ception noted Is a story entitled "A War Debt" In
which Is related the experience OF young New
Englander who undertakes to return a teacup to
its lawful owners In Virginia. from whom 1t was
stolen during the war. The detail OF this tale is
worked out In the authors best manner. and the