The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-07-25
FICTION.

II was thought that after ROBERT
Louis Stevenson had written "Jekyll
and Hyde" and ''The Suicide Club" the
possibilities of the horrible In fiction
were pretty well exhausted during this
generation at least: but H. q. Wells,
In his latest book. proves otherwise.
"The Island Of DR.. Moreau" New York:
Stone & KimbalD is described on It's
title page as "A Possibility" Human
ity can thank their stars it Is not ike
ly ever to become a reality. Such
narrative of horrors, so intense, realist-
ic and vivid, and yet nowhere sensipiy
overdrawn. has rarely before seen PRINT
In any age: 1t confirms Mr. Wels
claim to the possession of the most am
bilious and strenuous Imagination IN
contemporary letters.
Doctor Moreau Is u noted vivisection-
tst, who, being driven from England py
the barking of unscientinc sentimental
Ism. establishes himself in small
island In the South Pacific. For ten
years he here experiments uninterrupt-
edly. Then q castaway (who tells the
story Is thrown on the island and sees
such astonishing results of the doctors
handiwork that he demands an eNpla-
nation. The chapter headed DIR.
Moreau Explains" is the pivot OF the
book. We quote from the doctors talk:
You forget all mat a skilled vivisettor
can do with livias things" said Moreau.
"Smal! efforts have been made, ,--amputa-
tton, tongue-cuttiug, eNcisions. pt course
YOU know sQ1lnt may be induced OF
cured BY surgery? Then in the ease OF cH-
cisons you have all kinds Of secondary
change, pigmeutarv disturbances, mo iih-
cations of the passions, alterations III Inc
secretion OF fatty tissue. These
are trivial cases OF alteration Surgery
can do better things than that. There Is
building up as we'll as r.akii.g down ard
changing. You nave heard, PERHAPS. u!
common surgical operation resort.i 10 IN
cases where the lose has been 1@s;ro.cc;
nap of skin g cut from the forcn2:9 q,
turned down on the nus., and meals III Ihe
new position This Is a l!nI III grating
IN a new position of rart of an animal
upon itself. Grating of freshly Cbtained
material from another animal Is also pos
sible,-the case of teeth. for example. The
grating Of skin ana bone is done 10 ia
ciiitate heating: the surgeon piares In the
middle Of the wounl pieces Of skin siiipped
from another animal. or fragments OF
bone from u ,:c,!m freshly killed Hun
ter's cock-spur-poas ?lv You ha;" neNd
Of that-hourished on the bulls neck; ana
the rhinoceros rats OF the Algerian |ou-
aves are also 10 lie thought oi--m 'nsters
manufactured hy transferring a slip IRON
the tail of ar o:.,iaary rat to its snoIt, an
a!lowin.; it 20 heal IN tina; position.
Manufactured MONSTERS SAID ].
Then you mean to tell NE
Yes These creatures you have seen
are animals carven and wrought INTO new
shapes. To the study of the Elasticity or
living forms my life has been devoted.
= It's not simply the outward form
of an animal which l can change. The
physiology, the chemical rhythm OF the
creature, may also be made to undergo an
enduring modification. "A similar op, "a
ton is the TRANSMISSION of blood.
But perhaps my meaEdng grows plain now.
You begin to See that 1t is possible thing
TO transplant tissue from one part or an
animal TO another. or from one animal 10
another: to alter its chemical reactions
and me ethods of growth; TO modify the ar"
ticuIation of it's limbs: and indeed to
change IL in its most intimate structure
There is further conversation along
this line, until we come to the follow
ing:
But" said /. these things-these ami
mails talk"
He said that was so and proceeded to
point out that the possibility Of viVisec-
tion does not stop at mere physica. meta
morphosis. A pig may be educated. The
mental structure Is even less deterninate
than the bodily. In our growing scitnce
OF hypnotism We find the promise Of a
possibility OF superseding old inherent in
stincts by new suggestions. grating upon
or replacing the Inherited fixed IDEAS Very
much indeed Of what We call moral cduca-
ton he said, Is such an artificial moGl-
cation and perverslon of instinct; ptg-
nacity is trained into courageous self
sacrifice. and suppressed seXuality into
religious emotion. And the great differ
ence between man and monkey Is In the
iarynX. he continued,-in the incapacity
10 frame delicately different sound-sym-
bols BY which thought could be sustained.
The island In other words, was peo-
pied with man made animals. having
the shape, the voice and some OF the
cruder instincts of men, set before Il
background of ferocity and bestiality.
The putative narrator Of the story lived
for nine months amongst these beast
folk and the novel is mainly descrip-
tion Of his and their unparalleled ex-
periences. At the end. DR.. Moreau, who
held over his creations II singular
power. Is killed by half-completed
monstrosity that broke away from the
bandages Of the vivisection table; and
the beast-men gradually lost the hyp-
motto suggestions which made them
partly human in thoughts, and relapsed
into their original animal instincts. The
pictures drawn by Mr.. Wells of the con-
sequences of this unanticipated emerg-
ency are sufficient to convince the I'M
scientific reader that the old plan OF
populating the earth Is decidedly the
safer.
A word should be said for the me-
chanical appearance Of this interesting
volume. 1t is ideal. A prettier book
was never published.
In different vein, but every whit as
interesting, Is "Dr Nikola' by Guy
Boothby published by the Appletons
IN their Town and Country library).
DR.. Nikola is an impossible hypnotist
and discoverer of occult mysteries, who
makes all persons bow to his strong
mesmeric force and relentless will. He
learns that in n Thibetan monastery
live race Of monks who have accumu-
lated extraordinary knowledge cover
ing thousands of centuries. He de-
termines to penetrate into this holy
Of Oriental holies and possess himself
Of its wonderful secrets. He does this
disguised as IL Chinaman. and is detect
ed at the last minute. with singular
consequences. The reader who begins
this novel will swallow many improb-
abilities before he lays the book down,