The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-15
NEW BooES.
-, reviews or Importnnt ara Enterosttng
view Publications.

-. Anna Olcott Commelin Fowler & Wells
E~.ry, tells us that Mrs. Reginald Hnlbert
sr,moyed from Brooklyn and had settled her
Ut her elegant homo on Fifth avenue" This
~. ~o.r,ainly a transition. She was now ostab-
,,,h.a in n street which was nicely asphalted
IA nroyided in its invisible ponctralia with
.-o-rons water mains. II In Brooklyn she had
,rrod in one OF those still numerous streets
-hich are loosely cobblcd. and In which the
Sr,s. makes n pretty appearance in the spaces
ss,,reen tho stones. sho must have been i'm.
,,,,,od BY tho sense that in moving che had
An. something which had secured for her q
",snty OF new impressions. BESIDES, she now no
iyonper needed to cross bridge or ferry In order
% get to the Broadway theatres; and that,
,urslv. was a circumstance involving q pleasant
ealing. One does not like TO spend tho greater
mart Of twcnty-four hours In getting to the
theatre and In getting home again from II.
There can be no doubt Of tho elegance Of Mrs.
Halbcrt's new home. The story goes or to say
that IL " had been fitted up IN tho most elegant
manner. Costly pictures adorned Its walls, one
ar two marble statues displayed o taste for the
hast art, and q conservatory Of rare plants and
flowers showed q love for tho beautiful In ma
ture as we'll" That the marble statues should
have been limited to one or two 10 q cfrcum-
stance that could undoubtedly be explained.
Probably the size and arrangement Of the house
called for ono or two marble statues rather than
for three or four; and there can be no question
that q limited supply Of marble statuary, pro
tected in an interior, is likoly to be better than
an unlimited supply of s~tatuary Of iron and
plaster exposed in the front dooryard-a kim
and o manner OF display Of statuary that recon-
mend themselves to numerous lovers and
patrons OF art at Fort Washington and in tho
unrsr rearhea NJ the cItv uenernlly.
The Halberts gave o dinner that was marked
By elegance in every particular. From the con-
s~ervatory delicious odors exhaled from tho
flowers In bloom into tho adjoining dining room,
where the table was laid with costly silver and
glass;" where "the soft light OF wax candles in
rosecolorcd shades shed their glow" and where
."the blazing logs in the open crate occasionally
In sudden bursts of flame added fresh brilliancy
10 the sparkle Of cut glass and the CLEAN Of
silver There was also q butler. who lot people
in, and probably suffered them to 60 out, and
who seems to havo done his duty In all par
ticulars. Mrs. Halbert was Gin Partisan toilet
and diamonds" She went in to dinner on the
arm Of o German professor. and the company
was otherwise distinguished. for the hostess
"had a penchant for gathering people about her
board who had made themselves Of consequence
In one way or another"
~ WYNN 10 Shoubh 49, 80 VIVA
omitted to assure the. unbroken pleasure and
tho unmitigatcd success Of the occasion. but
unfortunately one Of the guests was o Miss
Schuyler. a lady whose habit 1t was to visit the
poor. and whose philanthropy invariably ex-
pressed itself in o didactical and mournful
form at dinner parties. This was o sort Of
thing that Mr.. Halbert could not abide.
With tho arrogance Of q millionaire he thought
he had tho right to DO cheerful ut dinner. and
after the mischief was done. he said very plainly
to his wife that It was Q mistake to have had
Miss Schuyler. There IN no doubt, however, that
this earnest lady was valuable for the general
purposes Of the story. Tho story 10 concerned
with tho inequalities and sorrows Of the world.
and those are precisely the matters that Misa
Schuyler was very conspiouously concerned
with. Nothing could stop her ct the dinner.
There was terrapin. and there were courses Of
game and Wines" and there were creams,
fruits. ices. bonbons, and Coffee. but all OF
these hne things were quito powerless to check
Miss Schuyler in the flow Of her reproachful
and depressing remarks concerning the poor.
There is nothing In the story to show that she
did not ose her terrspin.T or p1rtake, Of tho
courses of game and wines, or of the creams,
fruits. ices. and oil the rest, but she certainly
did not suffer herself to be diverted by them.
Through all the glamour and varied sweetness
of tho occasion she remained constant 70 her
idea, and sorrow was not subordinatod merely
because she ate.
With the exception Of Mr.. and Mrs. Halbert,
who had moved over from Brooklyn with the
idea Of enjoying themselves, the people ct the
dinner did not seem to mind. The German pro.
fessor. who was himself poor and lived In q
boarding house. ate heartily and "discoursol
with animation on o variety Of TOPICS" and
Mr.. Delaield, Q millionaire who had como in q
STATELY carriage" from his magnificent
abode" "lauRhed and chuokled until his kindly
taco beamed with good nature on ell around tho
table,"
It was soon enough proved that the gloomy
Impressions Of life entertained and expressed
BY Miss Schuyler wero founded in sufficient
reason. Tho tale goes ON to relate O
great deal that was wrong orr unfortunate.
The millionaire elafeld Is speedily ruined, and
his beautiful daughter Ruth, who listened to
Miss Schuyler with politeness and concern,
marries Q poor artist and dies ut the end Of o
fow serious years. Tho daughter Of another
millionaire, whose property 10 30 curioualy tied
up that she never gets a dollar Of 1t. is welded
bya rascally lawyer. who 10 enriched by this
property shortly after her carly and welcome
death, and there is Q heartless elopement. and
sthl another wedding, which 10 all right except
ettonueu W an overwhelming impress
sion Of melancholy.
Miss Schuyler is certainly the right person to
forecast the nature of the tale. She erdures
very well throughout the general unhappiness,
which 10 not surprising. for she was plainly built
tnat way. in the phrase of Goethe. and needed
unhAppiness in order to thrive. Nothing in
particular happens to Mrs. Halbert. though It 10
70 Dc remarked that there does not befall her
quite all tho reward of Joy that ono might think
was properly incidental to q removal from
orooklyn; but Mr.. Halbert is visited with a do
fusion which takes the form of 4 belief that he
ua pauper. and which 10 q sufficient punish
ment, doubtless, for his suggestion that Miss
schuyler was not exactly the right sort of per-
son to ask to dinner.
Inc author employs short quotations for chap
tsr headings. Chapter XIV. has two Of these, ono
nom PEBBLES and one from Turtullian. Chapter
Avl' has one from Ian Maclaren. which says:
Name but the ALMIGHTY sees the sorrow In ilka
eert an them at suffers most says loast."
translated this means that none but the
almighty secs the sorrow In every heart, and
mat those who suffer most say least. The re-
necton seems familiar, and part of IL at least IL