New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-01-26
MISS WOOLSON'S STORIES.
WORK THAT is CHARACTERISTICALLY
AMERICAN.

| DOROTHY,
Constance Fenimore Woolson. lzmo, PIP %o'
Harper &. Brothers.
Circumstance decreed that Constance Fenimorc
woolson should spent greater part Of her life
| abroad but the undlsguised pleasure Of this resi-
dence not strong enough to accomplish COM
| plete expatraton. We are aware 1t was the fash-
| Ion In the years directly preceding Miss Woosoh
tragic death to refer to her typical Instance OF
the European zed American. These Italian tales,
however leave no doubt to the incorrectness OF
| this accusation Reading between the lines 1t 10
quite clear that the authors affection for the coun-
try Of her birth remained strong to the last Ihere
are moments when this affection Is almost explicitly
expressed; It is uniformly the subject Of innumera-
| bic hints and insnuations and furnishes the
| groundwork OF many Of her stories.
This National prejudice appears strongly IN AZ
least two OF the stories in the volumes before us
| ponteily in THE Front Yard. and with somewhat
| more disguise In "A Pink Villa" Artisticaliy the
former story IA considerable below the usual lever
of Miss Woolson's work but in respect to the quar-
| ty we have noted it is as good typical instance
as Is TO be found among her latest works. The race
| bias OF Prudence Wilkn. the New-England woman
who married worthless, lazy Italian, ana ehded
her miserable. sad selfsacrhc.nS life among her
husbands worthless relations on little Asssi
| farm is sharply indicated. and this perhaps ac-
counts for the artistic deficiencies OF the history.
Tho purpose Is a little too obvious and the differ
entiatlon OF characters lacks subtLty Inc ltaIahs
| are too much ''of piece too uniformly seish ana
| lazy and Prudence Little too uniformly se"-saV
| r,acins However the tale Is built up on good
| material and u.s. furthermore. important as human
document throwing light on Mss WooIsons char'
| acter.sic IDEAS.
The same idea is exploited with far more art and
| among more congenial surroundings IN INK
villa The story details the history or an inter
national love episode worked out on the traditional
lines There is the ambitious mother. the fasc.hd'-
inc ov.reducatod daughter; the facile. eIusNe'
! foreign nobleman "a Belgian In this instance)' ana
there is finally the simple unconventional serious
American who appears at the nick OF time ana car
r.os the day over every ones head The main lines
Of the story lack originality: but the attentive
re,dar soon begins to see that the merit Of the tale
derends only remotely on them. ana directly on the
subtle analysis OF character. the deu Gi1erehta''ol.
OF national traits In this respect "A fihh VIVA
f. a masterpiece Of the first order ana VIII chal-
lenee comparison with the best Work OF 'he last
,v,enty.ave years. In Niles Woosons gallery OF
charming Young girls none that We recall are pet
tor than Eva Churchill. and even Henry James
might look onylously a; David ROD the f'or'u"
rcformer whose unexpected Introduction INTO MIS-
churchurs little circle OF Sorrento oilers LEADS 10
such an unforeseen social tragedy aha' "s We nave
no doubt to the happiness OF Iva
lanes tried 70 sketch the same sort OF charac-
| ter in m. person Of Newman" In his American
hut what II took his 800 pages TO no. MISS "oo''o
has accomplished in a tenth OF that NUMBER anu
10 our thinking with quite as satisfactory result
Rod IL only studied from the me- o"' nc 49,
one can. the saying Is, see al arouIu MN,
I,ut good as he is considered by himself ne IS
sti better when studied in the light OF me sur
| rorndngs into which he Is brought HIS a''N"
&. Ike the arrival OF fresh spring breeze on
| hot summers day Ike the opening OF w'ndo" 'N
A close room Evas interest in him Is not at All
,o,cal. indeed II seems TO be the most natural
thing IN the circumstances. Considering the s'i.o
Of her feelings II Is inevitable that she shou'u IAN
I'm love with him and he with ner. HOW ar'iu''y
this result f. brought about the reader must u's-
cover FOR himself For our part we Wish only 10
d-,. attention 10 the fact that the evolution OF the
,al. illustrates one Of Miss Woolson's individual
prejudces. which Is that 1t Is Impossible 10 e'u-
cate the Amercansm out OF a hea'thy America"
,l,i I, may be temporarily held In allegiance. as
II was in Eva ChurchIlls case; but given the prop
or opportunity and It Will leap to the surface ana
decl,r. Itself with Irresistible force. as DID IN the
case o. Eva Churchill.
A coroary to the persistence o, the Amer-
can instinct is Miss Wooson's confidence IN the
| inherent goodness and nobility Of human nature
or 70 pu, the matter differently the essential
ra,uralness and simplicity OF the human emotions
in a society subjected and enslaved to worldly con-
ventionalitles In making this generalization we
are particularly reminded OF a story entitled
Florentlne Experiment" which VIII DE ROUND IN '"e
second Of the two volumes mentioned at the OUT
40, Tho setting OF this tale Is in the most com
r.c,a sense OF the word worldy-such worldliness
"A Is to be found in It's fullest flower among the
foreign residents OF European capitals The actors
are rich base. cynical. They play the game OF
love as the japanese juSglers walk on swords. IN
the comfortable assurance that the dangers are
marc appa-ent than real. due allowance being, OF
course made for the practice and SIKH OF the
actors Margaret Stowe and rranord Morgan are
| admirable types OF this sort Margaret Is perhaps
somewhat inclined TO take the situation seriously
| a, arst but a particularly audacious sally on Nor
CANS part puts the facts before her In the right
light From this point the comedy IL carried on
with perfect consistency up to the climax. when
those VINO have been dece!vng are the victims OF
their owl. playful deceit The heart comes to tho
rescue OF the artce and the tale ends as all true
love stories ought to end No analysis OF this
s,ory can convey idea OF its extreme subtty
or OF the elaborate play OF serious emotions on
which II is based We would warn the reader not
TO overlook the dramatic effectiveness OF Margarets
rebukc to Morgan. Not only Is her speech con-
| ceived In a highly dramatic manner but the situa-
ton is planned with n skill that might easily win
the admiration of a playwright. The story is sat
sfactory from every point OF view. and represents
IN our opinion the most complete example OF Miss
Woolsons art
No mention Of Miss Woolsons work would be
complete without paying a passing tribute to the
skill with which she utilities her backgrounds Her
Italian scenery is not only accurately drawn, but
Il IT, we make bold to state the best reproduction
Of the fascinating original that has been given to
us In fiction. one must know Italy to appreciate
this quality the full but the untravelled reader
must certainly fall enslaved TO Its charm. The au-
thors eve has overlooked nothing essential; she
mas noted. after Henry Jamess manner. all the
superficial traits but she has also left him FAR be-
hind In the depletion OF the movement and atmos-
phere The stories have mentioned contain ex-
ceent examples Of this gift There is. for in
stance a ygnette of a walk in the Cascin In "A
Florentine Experiment which should not he
missed. and several glimpses from "a Pink Villa
which will bear more than one reading. In this
connection note that the authors point of view
IS often original as her descriptions are exact
as when, In the story entitled Dorothy" one OF
the characters Is made to observe as he stands
the parapet OF Mrs North's villa. that your gar
den is like an opera box. Mrs. North; you sit here