The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-07-17


heart-of course, 10 is love-unadulterated
right from the soul OF her. Whom man jilts
a girl he is "A mean old thing who falls in love
with every pretty face he Sees and doesn't
know his own heart twenty-four hours to-
gether.
With n woman, however. Of course. II is
different. Her affection is not wholly devel-
oped by one, two or half IA dozen heart affairs.
Finally she strikes some one whom her soul
tells her is real mate She is not tickle.
She simply doesn't know what love Is until the
right man awalSens IL. What is gone before
Is merely trick OF the heart and misin'
depreciation of passion.
Mrs Jennoss Miller, who teaches women
how to mould their bodies and drape thoir
dresses, has written novel, THE Phnos-
opher Of Driftwood" (Jenness Miller Publica-
tions, Washington, ID. O., by which is suggest
cd the above observations. The book IL In
teresting for its plot and its love story, its
incident and its romance. Aside from that
ii is problem" book, and its author argues
case for true love rs bearing upon the marital
relation and the divorce condition. As We
CLEAN srom its philosophy, nothing legal should
be allowed tn interfere with the course of
true love. IL should be allowed to run
smoothly. You can tell true love because IL
is constant. II constancy isn't an element IL
isn't roal love. How any one is to know as TO
the matter until the experiment Of lifetime
of trial, we don't know Maybe Mrs. Miller
doesn't.
Here is Almeda. the heroine. She is a good
and fond and philosophic girl. Indeed, all the
characters in the book are good and fond and
philosophic. There villains. Every
body possesses like unselfish nature that
prompts them 20 surrender their shirts. II
need be. for the good Of another-that Is
everybody but the women. The women make
no sacrifices. They are left unembarrassed to
follow the dictates OF love. Almeda Is not
used to ths world when she Is somewhat
struck by rich young man from town-one
of those young men OF fiction who have moth
ing 10 do but go to shore resorts and make
love and indulge in philosophical reflections on
their own uselessness. But this affair doesnt
trouble her seriously. She really becomes in
love, thinks she does, with sturdy young
friend of her childhood David, the one Mt
tractively positive character of the book.
They become engaged after companionship
for perhaps twenty years. After her engage
ment, third young man turns mp, inoppor-
tunely for David as would appear, though
fortunately for Almeda as Mrs. Miller would
young man fall in love at sight In two days
the engagement with David is broken. AL
media is filled with shame that her heart
should play such tricks with her. but David
agrees with the author of the book that If she
had had more experience she would know it
is all right. Almeda's father and mother. it
seems, separated because her mother didn't
know her own mind when she was married,
and fell in love with another man after she
was married.
Almeda escapes this embarrassment by
falling in love with some one else in the mid
die of her engagement to David. So all ends
well with her. though we should like to hear
from her later in life, having a suspicion that
she may fall in love again, this time for keeps
get a divorce and marry again. We really don't
zee what there Is to commend her husband
above David, for instance, who Is really fine
fellow.
And we should like to have Mrs Miller, or
some other equally talented author, give Us
problem book on the social question from the
side of the man who falls in love. Suppose,
for instance, instead of Almeda's mother IL
had been Almeda's father who had fallen in
love again and had divorced his fond wife TO
rnarryY Would the wife have been as un'
selfish about IL as the nan is represented to
be and bid him God speed" with his new
Affection And suppose David had met
pretty girl in Paris and Tilted Almeds for her =
Would Almeda have been 40 philosophical
And would the author have declared 1t per-
fectly all right, We trust so for the sake OF
fair play.
(For sale by Gregory
About as good reading as sympathetic
mind and heart could ask for Is the story OF
'sBrichanteau, Actor translated from the
French of Jules Claretie, and published
through the Boston house, Little, Brown a. Go.
The name and fame of NJ Claretie are al
most world wide. Ho is the general manager
of the Comedie Francaise, an Academician
and commander in the Legion of Honor, and
n vo.uminous and versatile writer. His style
I'm "Brichanteau," at least, is singularly
fetching IL Is book to charm the reader.
"Brichanteau," the actor, Is type. One
Of M. Claretie's reviewers says, "a type
which il probably unknown in America
but after reading the book we should say that
this is not altogether so-ospecially when we
mark the transition OF the Legitimate his
trion TO the stage Of the continuous perform
anee." The promptings of art and the ne
cessity of acquiring ones bread ana clothes
often lead through divorgiug paths. Many an
actor, and many another attempts 10 strad-
die on two planks in the stream of life and
falls between 20 drown. Brichantcau Is the
Kind of "A fellow who never loses his artistic
instinct, though he Is, perforce, compelled TO
relinquish one plank and hang TO that that
best floats him through material and not al
together appreciativs world. This is the pa-
thos OF the story-for 10 is exceedingly pa
thetic, the humor Of IL being OF the truest
quality in admixture Of smiles and tears.
delightful FELLOW il Brichanteau. pity he
cannot make success OF it. But no failure
drives him 10 lower the standard set in the
heart. however much the head may turn 20
expediency. And no disaster can embittor
him or make him envy his fellows, who with
no moro, and even less OF genius, somehow
contrive to secure material reward without
sacrifice.
Brichantcau is always an actor. yet always
artlrss II Is always posing, actor fashion,
hut to pose il pature with him, tho unaltor.
abo expression Of the artistic instinct. Al