New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-04-04
FANTASf AND FACT.
Mr. HARDYs WHIMSICAL FLIGHT AND
THE NOVELS OF MR.. FREDERIC

THE wEIIgEIovEp sketch ;s Of r Ts%nsrSs By
oc,dHo pp W. fa ss ha @pe Brohers
IN THE SIXTIES, BY Harold Frederic. Octave,
PIP. x. AZ. Charles Scribners Sons.
IN THE yALEEY BY gcI Haroa s s9n
THE LAYTON GIRL BY Harold Frederic oc-
tavo. pp xi Az Charles Scrbner's Sons
sETH's BROTHERS WIFE. Study Of Life IN
the Greater New-York ny f5ro,d r,ons''o'
Octave, pp. vii, 405. Charles Scrlbncrs Sons
For the first time In his career Mr. Hardy has
.-ritten an ambiguous book. one that leaves a
vague indetermtnate impression or that IL II
touches the ina gnaton at all with vividness Goes
so like a flare Of jagged light across serene SKY.
Hitherto the great interpreter OF Wessex life wnich
means also of human life In It's largest sense mas
kept close TO nature and save for the early NERO
dramatic Desperate Remedies" his work has peen
distinguished by peculiar unity. peculiar sanity
In 'The well-Beloved" we have little. II any, OF the
old repose Mr. Hardy has for the nonce aban-
doncd the well-worn grooves Of human experience
in which he has always found so much that was
new and profoundly moving. lie has let his fancy
60 audaciously. wildly. in the exploitation OF Il
Pigment Of his brain whom he calls at one point OF
the narrative 1.-THE Wandering Jew OF the Love-
world 1t ought not to be surprising perhaps. that
the book fails to ring true. His life semed no
longer professional mans experience, ne says IN
describing Jocelyn Pierstcn but ghost story.
ghost story TO be enthralling must have at least
genuine ghost in It. But the hero Of this novel Is
neither ghost nor n man. neither true nor false
but a strange. inconceivable Individual Tot Whom
Mr.. Hardy extort no more respect, no more
permanent regard. than though he was hlmsef a
ffth-rate novelist dealing with thrd-rate sub
ject. The truth is that the subject OF Tne Well
Beloved" Is no! necessarily OF minor character
In Poes hands Il could have been developed into
N
makes no appeal at all to the imagination which
Is ready and willing to grant him his fundamehtai
points.
1t Is on those points that THE Well Beloved
goes to pieces II Is credible that man. espe-
clally such a Joceyn Plerston Is represented
to be- might pursue his ideal through the world,
constantly identifying her in new personality.
Some men like that. But that any man should
take 1t into his head to regard each reincarnation
Of the goddess literally rencarnation so that
the various women In whom he sees her are mere
shells inhabited at various times by the self-same
spirit is something that 1t stretches credulity 10
believe. One may grant certain amount OF den-
nteness to the mans own view Of the matter But
Jocelyn Pierston Is altogether too definite and
when we are told that he was aware, in his teens
of all that his emotions meant, we feel that Mr.
Hardy Is trifng with the roots of that human
nature which he, more than most modern novests
knows instinctivey. 1t is permissible to write a
fdntaStical romance but When the Enthusiastically is
frankly combined with what purports to be truth,
then that truth should be made plausible ever
1t could be made-the fancy and the fact must bal
ance. In THE Well-Beloved" all is anonymous and
doubtful. When the hero grasps the fact that the
first incarnation OF his love the most potent
and seeks to it by loving the daughter OF the
woman, there is some reasonabeness In the stu
alton. When the granddaughter arrives upon the
scene and recaptures his heart, she to do it
by virtue Of Mr.. Hardys ingenuity, not through
any natural volition imaginable in life
This unfortunate impression is assisted by the
style Of the book. Where did Mr.. Hardy learn to
write as ne has written In these pages? The
strength is gone and the poetry. except In a few
widely separated places. The feeling for nature
remains and there is a hint of the old touch in
those chapters which have to do with the ancient
promontory. the Isle OF SINGERS, TO which the
is constantly shifting. But there are some
things in this book like the account Of the recep-
ton at Lady Channecliffes. In the first chapter OF
Part Second which might have been written by
any of the society" novelists OF the day. How
cheap and fiat it find Mr. Hardy COM
hitting to paper banalities like these: But he still
moved on searchingly. hardly needing certain
spectral mps other than Aphrodtean. who always
haunted these places and 1eeringly pointed out
that under the white hair Of this that rlbboned
old man, with forehead grown wrinkied over
treaties which had swayed the fortunes Of Eu-
rope. with a voice which had numbered sovereigns
among its respectful listeners. might be heart
that would go inside nutshell; that beneath this
that white rope OF pearl and pink bosom might
lie the half-lung which had. by hook or by crook.
to sustain its possessor above ground TIL the we'd
ding day" To read this with the memory Of say.
the introduction to THE Return OF the Native" in
ones mind is to groan In the spirit. On the whole
It seems a great pity that Mr. Hardy did not let
this tale lie in the pages OF the periodicals through
which II first couple OF years ago. II does
him credit in fact, It is an lnexplicable volume.
dating from about the same time the authors
masterpiece. Jude the Obscure" and yet showing
no more resemblance to that tragic work than
Marie Corell. shows TO Thackeray. II may have
been amusing to Mr.. Hardy to take this whimsical
departure, to be In one volume at least a dabbler
In fantasy. But he is only a dabber. 1t Is to be
hoped that he Will return 10 the firm ground on
which he has moved for so long with sure a step.
on which he has produced some OF the noblest
works of modern fiction.
Perhaps the greatest OF the merits OF Mr. Harold
Frederic Is his resoute adherence to the level upon
which he belongs. II Is true that he abandoned II
once. abandoned It long enough TO write March
Hares" which Is one OF the ARREST. sprightliest.
gayest and most artistic little sketches OF the last
five years. But that book may be praised II may
even be regarded the authors most brilliant
work. without its diminishing the force Of what
has been said above-that Mr. Frederic Is most
admirable In his caution The novels and short
stories which are appearing now In a handsome
uniform edition undoubtedly characteristic OF
tho normal habit OF his mind. That IL neither
ardcntly romantic strenuously realistic. On
the contrary, 1t gives us fiction marked by a kind
Of vivacious sobriety There Is animation enough
in 1t to make 1t readable. There Is stodity enough
In 1t to keep 1t from being too keenly remen-
bered This may sound severe But It is useless
pretend that Mr.. Frederic is q great novelist
In every one OF his books save March Hares" he
just misses reaching his goal with unqualified suo-
cess On the other hand. when his merits are con
sidered they arc seen to be great enough to promise
him a substantial posterity In a minor way lie
has sympathy for character and skill in the por-
trayal OF II; he has dramatic movement which II
sometimes sluggish Is nevertheless invariably log!-
cal and human: and finally be has nresontad La