The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-07
TWO NOTABLE NOVELS.
The Christian, MIR. Hall Gaines Latest
Contribution to Fiction.

! paper interview that he spent three years
upon his new book, The Christian''-one
year in gathering the materials one year in
writing the story and another in rewriting
It. Ii he had taken another year and had
cut the volume down at least one-third in
its length he would have improved it. 1t
is too long and covers too much ground to
be artistic or to hold the readers interest
throughout. It seems to have been the au-
thors purpose to bring every phase of Lon
don life into his story. and he has come
near doing it, though with what accuracy is
a question. The materials which he so
industriously gathered and put together in
clude a fashionable clergyman who is used
to represent the church in it's decadent
state hospital, a baby farm, an Angli-
can brotherhood, high social functions, a
music hall, theater, a cabinet council a
Derby day. an orphanage, the slums in gem
eral and long list of personages who tes-
tify these various scenes and conditions
The novel was announced in advance as a
development of the idea Of Christian social
ism, and it was also said that the writer
meant to show the impossibility of living
a thoroughly Christ-like life under modern
conditions. Neither of these statements
seems TO be fully borne out. 1t is distinctly
stated in the opening chapter that the hero
John Storm, became Christian Socialist
and, disregarding the plans for public ca
reer made him by his father, entered the
church, but beyond that the theory figures
very little AS for the second assertion
while Storm certainly endeayored to lead a
religious life his attitude towards the world
was not Christlike. He did not feel love
towards it, but anger; he had no sympa
thy. nor had he an understanding of hui
manity enabling him to see that all grades
or society, whatever their special iniquitieS,
struggled upward. He saw the sins of ndi-
Viduals. and stamped all the men and wom-
en- in their respective circles as equally cor
rCpt ana given to evil; The hero and hero
inc both come from the Isle of Man. The
former, John Storm is the son of a lord
VINO lives as recluse upon the island and
nephew of the prime minister. The heroine
is Glory Quayle, an orphan, whose father
had been missionary, her mother the
daughter of a French actress. The clergy
man has "a forehead like an arched wall
The lower part of his face seemed heavy
under the splendid fire of the eyes" The
girl is taller 1nan the common; one of her
eyes had brown spot, which gave at the
first glance the effect of a squirt at the
next glance coquettish expression and
ever after a sense of tremendous power and
passion. Her voice startled you with its
depth While standing in tho same place her
feet We're always shutting" The story
opens with the taking leave of their island
nome, he to enter upon church work in
London, she to become a hospital nurse.
Glory a girl of twenty, is put into Storm s
care by her grandfather, a simple-minded
Manx clergyman. who feels confident that
she could have no better guardian. The
vicissitudes of the lives of these two per-
sonages in London make up the story
Glory spends six months in the hospital,
then becomes a singer in music halls. then
eaPac f bur after storm denou GGeIRg
ire congregation and the canon
for their hypocrisy and w;ekedness he
enters an Anglican brotherhood breaks his
vows, wants to follow Father Damien re-
enters the brotherhood. comes out becomes
a missionary in the Sums leads the people
to believe the world is coming to an end,
goes mad. tries to murder the actress, re-
covers his mind, and, having lost prestige
tally wounded. The girl who is light-mind-
ed, though so talented, is sobered by Storm 5
misfortunes. realizes her love for him, re-
nounceS her theatrical career and marries
him on his deathbed in a most theatrical
manner. In spite of all the overcrowding
of events and rapid change of scene the two
are kept well to the front, and though
neither is agreeable to associate with, what
ever of interest the book contains centers in
their proceedings and fate. In spite of this
fact and of chapters and passages of much
force and intensity, the impression gathered
from the book as a whole Is not one of
genuineness and sincerity. Glory's letters
home are feature of the book being scat
tered through it to the end, and more re-
markable epiStleS were never made to pass
for those of an unsoDhisticated maid who
had lived almost without other companions
than her unworldly grandfather and two
maiden aunts. After she has been in the
hospital for a few weeks she goes to a
nurses BALI with a fellow-nurse, who, as
it turns out was not discreet young per-
son. There she makes the acquaintance
of two titled gentlemen, who, few nights
later, take the two girls to the theate-.
After the theater they take tea in the gem
tlemen's rooms Glory, who is represented
as telling everything to her family, writes
of this episode thus:
But the best sport was after tea was
called limitations
of the people we had seen at the theater.
OF course. she couldn't initiate a man while
she was in WOmanS frock, so, being as
bright as diamonds that night and twice
as impudent as a white stone she actually
conceived the idea of dressing up in a mans
clothes. Naturally the gentlemen We're en-
chanted, so l hope Auntie Rachel isn't
terribly shocked. Mr.. Drake lent me his
knickerbockers and velvet jacket and
she helped me to find the way to put them
on. With my own blouse and my own hat
q am wearing a felt one now with broad
brim and feather), and, of course, my own
slippers and stockings, l made a bogh of
q boy l can tell you. | thought Polly
would have died with delight in the bed
covering her face and crying, Glory, how
can YOU? >
From a letter describing her hospital life
this passage is taken: ION Saturday it
was a little boy of five who hads his leg
amputated, and now when you ask the
white-faced darling where he's going to he
says he's going to the angels and he'll get
lots of gristly pork up there. He is, too.
The personnel of our vineyard is abundant,
but there are various sour grapes grow
ing about The house surgeon is a
young fellow named Abery, and since Sat
urday he has so much respect for Glory
that she might swear in his presence Tin
Manx), but Sister Allworthy takes care that
she doesn't having designs on his celibacy
herself. He must have sung MS Re
riously drunk and wanted to inject NOR
phine into patient recovering from trouble
of the kidneys 1t was an old hippopotamus
of a German named Koenig.
Mr. Caine says in an interview that he
fore publication in order to prove the cor
rectnesS of his delneatiOnS of the various
phases of life. He must have omitted a
hospital manager, else he would not have
assigned nurse VINO had Deen IN framing
but a week to the care of a surgical case
1t is evident that lesson of some sort
is meant to be taught by this remarkable
book but it is less evident what the lesson
is John Storm is a fanatic, whose creed Is
first remuneration and then denuneiation
He is morbid and i'll balanced and mistakes
his love for a woman for love for the Lord;
the woman is pert, slangy and silly, ana
after $40 pages of their adventures most
readers will close the volume with RELIEF.
CHASTITY Dortrayals the world Is not the
hopelessly unhappy place Mr.. Game has
nictured it. The book is from the press OF
Appleton & Co.. New York.
Jerome: A Poor Man.
In her novel, Jerome: A Poor Man"
Miss Mary E. Wilkins has made a much
greater success than in any of her former
sustained works of fiction. 1t has a unity
lacking in Pembroke and an air of truth
fitness to nature not found in 'Madelon."