The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-19

AseN~AS - tu0 UlNInly W pANuVh~
able modcsty of n young and unknown author.
or 1t may even DO that the book was written By
Winston,Leonard, son Of Lady Randolph
Churchill, though, from internal evidence. this
sooms unlikely.
Tho Celebrity. whose name is ncvcr mentioned
throughout tho courso Of the story, is n clever
and persovering young man, who has won ro-
markable success with n series Of short stories
and q novel. He has become famous. Publish
ers pay him vast sums and print his name in red
letters on the covers OF their magazines. and he
10 kept constantly before the public by those
amiable apd industrious persons who supply q
yenrning world with Literary" gossip, and print
pictures OF popular authors. their bicycles. their
pet parrots, the favorite armchairs in which they
sit and walt for inspiration, and so on. The
stories that FIRST made him famous dealt
mainly with tho affairs OF aristocratic young
men and aristocratic young women, and were
differentiated to At situations only met with In
that society which does not havo to send descrip-
lions OF its functions to the newspapers" They
were distinguished by their high moral tone and
unapproachable principle. and his hero invaria-
bly, adopted an air Of calm ana easy nonchalance
when about to fall upon and utterly an
initiate some wicked or inferior person;
while he himself Is the hero OF tho young women
Of tho country, from Portland, Me-. to Portland,
Or. They write letters to him and ask him for
his photograph or for advice. whereas men
almost invariably guy" him and affect TO re-
gard his writings with contempt; which latter
phenomenon may not improbably be due to o
certain amount Of everyday. old-fushioned
jealousy.
This fortunate young mar 10 further described
as being amiablo and extremely generous, and
as possessing an enviable thickness of the outer
cuticle that renders him impervious to the
-. IA a.
are fred at him with great frequency by all tho
other characters in the book. Ho has an In
exhaustible wardrobe, and he travels with q
man servant, and both circumstances seem, for
some unaccountable reason, to give offence.
"There was nothing Bohemian in his character;
1t yearned after the eminently respectable. It's
very eccentrlcities were within the limits Of
good form. Tho Celebrity Stunned the biscuits
and beer of the literary clubs. and his books
were bound for tho boudoir."
He has written a book that has been much dis
cussed by the young women who make up his vast
and appreciative audience. The hero Is q young
man OF q sterling though undcveloped charac-
ter. who has been hampcred by an indulgent
parent with a largo fortune. He is a butterfly,
and sips life after the approved manner of his
kind-now from Bohemian glass. now from YES
sells of gold and silver. He chats with stage
lights In their dressing rooms and attends q ball
in the Bowery or o supper at Sherry's with q
ready versatility. The book. apart from it's In
%tention. really gives the middle classes an OK
cellent idea of what is called high life"
Unfortunately, the Celebrity has in his book
committed himself to q statement OF his firm
belief that woman Is more constant than man,
and that mans Inconsistency 10 the most despi.
cable and objectionable of offences. This is the
peg upon which the story hangs. With the best
4 49, ~ ltalo,1N H- -. A. a.
live up to his teachings, and the Celebrity in
private life proves to be far from an ideal hero.
"A lion in an ass's skin is still o lion In spite
Of his disguise. Conversely the same might be
said of an ass in a lions skin. The Celebrity
ran after women with tho same readiness and
helplessness that q dog will chase chickens or
that o stream will run down hill. Women
differ from chickens, however. in the fact that
they find pleasure in being chased by a certain
kind of q man. The Celebrity was this kind of
o man."
In order to seek respite from the attentions of
his too appreciative admirers, he takes another
mans name and seeks the seclusion of a small
village on one of the Western lakes. ITO tell
the truth" he says. II often wish I had never
written a line. 1 am paying tho penalty of
fame. Wherever I go I am bounded to death by
the people who have read my books, and they
want to dine and wine me for the sake of show
ing me off at their houses. Icould stand a win
ter. but the worst comes in the summer when
one meets the women who FIRE all sorts of socio-
psychological questions at one for solution, and
who have suggestions for Stories"
From this point on everybody scores of him..
He Is involved in a series ofludicrous misadven-
lures. and is made to exhibit himself on every
possible occasion In tho most ridiculous light.
Moreover, he entangles himself with two re-
ms rHa hlv ahrANuH mi pvnnnar xvhn Cnnap{rA
to bring about his discontinue. Even when.
after having been exposed as q humbug and q
hopeless bounder. he lies PROSTATE on the deck
of a yacht suffering all the agonies of seasick-
ness, the other folks gather round and say the
rudest things about him.. He has a wretched time
of 1t to the last, and is forced finally to fly to the
woods. The story. which 10 fashioned without
much art and shows some curious eccentricities
OF style. is nevertheless told with q good deal of
humor. Perhaps the Celebrity scarcely deserved
such cruel treatment; but, as he said. he was
paying the penalty OF fame.
NM. Henri Lachambre and Alexis Machuron
are tho authors of "Andree's Balloon Expedi-
ton in Seerch of the North Pole" IF. A. Stokes
Company. an account of the preparation.
equipment and departure of the balloon, from
the first broaching of the idea of the expedition
to the final sailing In July of last year. Tho
first part of the book, which contains over fifty
excellent illustrations. consists of q short
biography of Andree and q minute and
interesting description Of the great aerial
vessel. followed by an account of the
abortive first attempt to sail in 1896.
written by NJ. Lachambre, the constructor of the
balloon. The second part is written by NJ.
Machuron, and gives q detailed account OF the
second expedition and tho departure of the
heroic explorer and his comrades. Strindberg
and lroanEaI Altar tho aSnndifinn Ind haan
waiting for over a month at Danes Island, the
favorable south wind at length arrived. and on
Sunday, July IL, 1897. a start was made.
Three OF the most adroit sailors, each armed with q
knife. hold themselves in readiness. at . given signal.
to cut ths three cables. by which alone the balloon 10
now held captive.
There is profound silence at this moment; we only
hear the whistling OF the wind through the oodwork
OF the shed. and the Tapping Of the canvas which
hangs over the upper part OF the south side.
Among the cordage OF the car are seen the three
heroes. standing admirably cool and calm. ' :
= -.t II - .--l..