New-York tribune., 1896-11-22

,hor east productions. 1t ID not tnat
tho accustomed touch Of Mr.. Barrie Is absent Ills
humor plays ingeniously through the DUN .
is clearly drawn. too. The author 'ec''f -.
not failed him. But his inspiration hans' anu ."s
hook wanders slowly on TO climax "N'on ,e" 80,
a feeling OF disappointment one mas "o. .,,,ur [
for ANYTHING very startling. not even lor any '",ae
dramatic but one would have liked to say soo'o'
n Tommy with a belief in the lad as nun','
animal and he fades away at the emu "s
ho were nothing OF the sort What Is he' theh,
since Mr. Barrie's image Of him is so wen "rousm'
He is one more example OF what the Do' 20 -
when n clever author attempts to paint MS poi-
,ro,, using tho colors Of a palette based on MS
the authors. character. Of course Mr. Barrie mas
not consciously drawn upon his own nature Io' "''
delineation of Tommys. But he has maze ion'i"'
n pocket edition Of himself he mas maue nm
oueer little embodiment OF the Thrums se"'i'"e'''
the Thrums idea and interest In Tommy aS
Tommy Is soon lost sight of. HIS doihss are i
lowed as a kind OF fantasia on ihr u"'9 n -,
strange air OF unreality keeping the mere Dos -"
der For example, there Is the pasS"eo 49,,
deals with Tommy's misbehavior at the c'ia'
meeting. and the prayer wnich nc oneiF ~ ~ 49,,
the fashionable lady who had been aihuseu " 49,. a
talk and had led him on 10 swagSer lot ne' oe
"The Rev Mr. - rose to pray in a LOUD VOICE ioi
the waits I'm the body OF the hail. AL 'he s"
moment rose Tommy and began to pray III d
saueaky voice for the people on the pidtioii i -
had many Biblical phrases, mostly picAeu up ~
Thrums street, and what he said was uis''"o"'
heard in the stiffness, the clergyman peiis SUI
denly bereft of speech. Oh. he cried, look uo"i.
on them ones there. for. oh, they are uh"or'ns ~
Thy mercy and oh. the worst sinner IS her is, iaus
ship her sitting there so brazen In the Diach oT @
with yellow stripes. and the worse saiu r. 4 ,mint m
the better pleased were She on MAKE S,,ine ne. .,
shame for tempting OF poor boy, ,iorset'!tns
suffer little children, OH, why cumbereth she the
AZ This III noint Tommy was elected from the hall
At the same point. II he has not aireaus ,,d s,s
himself away he loses all claim upon our coi'siu ~
"ration as Boy. He is not Boy he Is tne aie
mouthpiece of Mr.. Barre's humor or course he@ ~u
do not speak having authority hot n's t5o ,be
born in Thrums having been adopted ihfo 30 Inc une
circle where all good readers pa NJ from the
ire supposed dwell Speaking rieiss me-. & ~ iau IL IN
outside IL seems to us that Tommys prayer IS III.
conceivable as piece of boyishness WI we 10 pn nU'
forget that he is assumed to pc an ulusua, nus & hi
lie Is rot called Sentimental Tommy ior notniis.
But no amount of sentlmentality can MAKE @ ioiiins
the kind of small creature TO get up ana play S s
MIR Barrie describes him-and stili permit MN "a ~
remain a Boy The whole scene Is at...lCi't, IN. a., % fu
strained We are grateful for those touches OF a aun
and because Mr.. Barrie has such deit way NJ Mn
them These pleasant passages VIII keep !,
perhaps long after It's hero's inherent uhrea'ly -
recosnized and admitted; & T.. pcture Of hopeless
brutality a picture revolving that why the @ au-
thor drew it must remain forever an an Ihieverns
able mystery The book dea with the ..,eEstrS, ,,,
fights and murders OF a region whose attrdc.iions
may be surmised from the following oDser aO n,i
What was too vile for Kate street. oevtn D..,s us
and RatcuT Highway In its worst day, what was
too useless incapable and corrup-ail tnh' @neiiieI @
in the Old Jago" Tossed about IN ms Willis Iis
cauldrou the Child OF the Jago. little Dicky
Perrot presents himself TO the reader; spectacio
for gods and He is not Boy but q q II mons @
trosity' ike every one else in the Jago Tne rec e.
ord Of his foul beginnings and early taxing OF H.. ~
written with striking ability by Mr Morrison me
honk ls evidently true 10 the broad phases or crmi
noI iife I'm one OF the sinks OF London Ihere Is d
certain stern power about the story w1'cn sbuddnr
uands respect. But every page brings snuuuci
~ repusion and Dcky Is the uncanniest OF an t ,Ie
horrors slat rise the surface II ne were p1S 1
We should think Boyhood had gone out with tne
Dodo II some one does not soon write the rishC
eort ~ a hook we shall think SC anyway