The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-01-18
FICTION.

PAUL AND VIRGINIA OF A NORTH
ERN ZONE. From the Danish Of Ho!ger
Drachmann. Translated by Thorkild A..
Schovelin and Francis +. Browne. Blue
cloth, Emo, handmade paper, $l.2J.
Chicago: Way 4 Williams.
The thought which is in ones mind
as one first takes this book in hand Is
that there must be something of assur-
ance In its challenging comparison with
the immortal classic of st. Pierre. But
II one should be guided by this prema-
ture impression to lay the book aside,
unread, one would make sacrifice as
needless as 1t would be great. For.
with due allowance for differences in
environment. this idyll of the Northern
land Is certainly not unworthy to stand
on terms of equality beside its more IA
nous predecessor. 1t. too, deals in sim
pie, direct manner with the loves and
foibles of plain peasant folk. A strip
of sand on the bank of the Danish sea,
with a streak Of forest for background
and some few small houses of fisher folk
or sailors scattered throughout the
foreground, ever In view Of the restless
waves forms 1t site and supplies what
critics would call its atmosphere"
while gloomy old blacksmith, with
his sturdy young son, a drink fond sea
captain with his pretty but spirited and
motherless daughter, and a precise and
punctual old coast signalman, with a
few incidental additions, comprise the
whole Of the stOry's human element. One
could not imagine withal a more COM
monplace setting for romance Of the
heart, and 1t IL to the authors distin-
guished credit that, sculptor-like, he has
moulded from this crude clay figures Of
flawless verisimilitude. His picture Of
Tonnes, the great hulk of bashful boy,
who, under the influence Of a modest
passion, awakens gradually to mans
emotional estate and, under this spur
goes forth undaunted to conquer the
world Is excelled only by his fine de-
lineation Of the young maiden Mamma,
in whom alternating cOquetry and re-
morse. pride and fluent sympathies. the
Kaleidoscope surface-Dlay of ever
changing moods and fancies which wells
the depths Of loyalty and Of love below
ger Drachmann. with kindly humOr, has
caught the life-like view of "the eternal
feminine" His Mama pulsates with
human vitality and is creation fit to live.
Moreover, unlike some writer's of his
cline, this Danish st. Pierre has no
hobbies to ride, no crazy theories to ex-
plot and no Problems to solve. He Is
content with the artists function alone.
and cares not flip of his finger for all
the diseased decadents or inclpient male
and female paretics since pathology be-
gan. We look with eagerness for fur
ther translations of Holger rDrachmann's
works. To the publishers of this pres
ent translation a word of praise is due
for the books neatneSs and judiciOus
putting together. Few recent volumes
have ecualled it In the various details
of mechanical excellence.
STRANGERS AT LISCONNELL: A Se-
- ,t. II,,IIa To-, AL,
Cloth, 12mo, sl.25. New York: Dodd.
Mead & Co.
One of the few genuine literary tri-
umphs of last year was that won by
Irish ldylls,' work which quickly
ran through four editions and received
praise without stint from critics and
laymen both here and in Europe. 1t
was a group Of sketches depicting with
fidelity and with ever-manifest sym
pathy and tenderness the humor. pa
thOs and temperamental versatility of
the Irish character. Unlike Lever or
Carleton. Miss Barlow made no endeav-
or to heighten her effects by gro.
tesqueness or eXaggeration, but kept
patiently and with artistic sincerity to
the limits of truth, the result of which
was q vein of literary achievement
wholly new to the discriminating pub
lie, and as welcome as 1t was novel. The
present volume Is a continuation Of
these charming studies, with the pleas
urable characteristics of the earlier
work quite as prominent in the new.
Its interest Is wholly in its human ele-
Tent for at Lisconnel humanity is ev-
erything and natural phenomena are
nil.
'"rhus." the author tells us. at the
opening, "the generations as they sue
ceed one another, wave-like preserve a
well-marked rhythm in their coming
and going-Dlay. work, rest-not to be
interrupted by anything less pereinp-
tory than death or disablement. This
war-by-the-wall swings and swings its
bobbed pendulum without pause, but
one swing is much like the other. and
their background never varies. Little
pnf Oh Il nfr