The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-04
VIEW ROCKS.
Brisf Review. Of HrPortant and Istsre-tisg
New Fnblications.


Mfr. William sharp IL an author OF .ombre
mind. He works evidently under the inspira-
ton OF the double purpose 20 make Us shudder
and 70 make us think. This was evident In his
dramas in imitation OF Maeterlinck. The way in
which he agutated the bed curtains In the inn
preston called THE Birth ~ aSoul." was full Of
symtolical srue. Nobody who read that strong
drama OF horrible hereditary Consequences
could possibly retain the smallest particle OF
affection or respect for his grandfather
aad his grandmother. The whisperer,"
too, was a remarkable piece Of symbolical
business. T. our mind Il surpassed anything 0t
Mae.erNnck's Where In Maeterltnck. for in-
stance, can one fad amid the depths VI the stars
= vast shape. seated On a golden sun among the
PleIades, that amlses Itself By swinging for
ever, as a lamp ot incense, the seven stars, and
With them a.! the stars aad planets and suns
and moons Ia the universe2 Maeterlinck il
great. but since the advent Of Mr.. sharp he
cannot be said 20 be the limit. The whis-
pcrcr" has 50 many capital letters that one
Is quite overcome with sympathy and pity
FOR the neglected lower case. one Of the
character Ia The whisperer' Is the rhythm Of
the sap IN the grass and the trees. OF the blood in
all animal thihg.. Of the running waters, the
falling devs and rains. the e~Guipolse OF the
oceans. the four winds of the world. and
the vast swing Of the earth. No other drama
We imagine, IS supplied with such a character
It occurs 10 Us that It would be rather difficult
to fit out such a character for the purposes
Of stage representation. The shape. swinging
the Seven Stars ard all the other suns
ard moons % the universe. would be
rather hnmpered, too. among the wings and
the dies. on the other hand, II we consider this
a. q closet play. we still do not see what Is to be
done with the Shape. No closet that we ever
heard Of could accommodate a character given
10 such stupendous pastimes. We should think
the shape would prove disastrous even on the
Stevens grounds in Hoboken. Iii : p~lzzling. also,
TO think OF the provision OF the myriad aerial
beilzs that come down from the starr depths
on the flowing wind in this play. Miss Amelia
Somerv.lls has banted very successfully. She
might do for one aerial being. but she couldn't
possibly play the whole myriad. As TO the Man
in the sharp drama who discovers in his hand 4
blade OF grass that he has not plucked, We
should ike to see him undertake to prove his
case to a park policeman. \ book OF stories by
Mr.. sharp, The Gypsy Christ and Other
Tales Stone & himhaIl, Chicago, is less i'm
aginative. perhaps, than the Maeterlinckian imi-
tations, but it Is full OF gloom and terror.
and IL IS PROBABLY imaginative enough. In
the story OF The Craven image" here, one
must SILVER at Mr.. Sharp's experience in Mr..
John Tregarthen's haunted house in Ken
sinEton. Mr.. sharp reached the house
In the evening in a dull November rain, and
was entertained for an hour before bedtime in
a manner that Consorted perfectly with Mr..
Tregsrthsn's aIstere ard sombre habit OF mind.
The two sat IN a dark room together, without
the soIace Of drink or tobacco, and Mr.. Tregar-
then questioned Mr. sharp concerning a tomb
stone thus inscribed