The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-03-27
A ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS hook.

fact that il has been published here ia /
three different forms. once I'm the Cos
mopoIitan. once 10y Il newspaper s. adi- .
cate. and now in book form. IN any +
event. It would probably have been one I
of the conspicuous books Of the year, +
from its striking originality of title and .
plot Il was 10 have been called THE F.
Eartiaus- had rot George Du NaUTier's f.
book come into The market jus, in time
10 pre-empt this title, but The War of
The Worlds" is. from commercial point
ef view, a better name. and ii is fully as
appropriate as the original title,
The book might be called a scientific
fairy tale, Of the sort which jules
Verne made popular IN two languages.
Il deals wilh the invasion OF this world
is. creatures from the planet Mars, who
are represented as immensely the SUI
peiior Of mankind in intellect. executive
ability and scientific a-tainmcnts. The
notion IS not a new one at first sight
FOR men have been figuring on the pos
sible or probable inhabitants Of the
planets ever since they understood the
nature Of those bodies. and hundreds of
fantasies have been conceived along this
line The difference between Mr.. Wells
notion and other notions. however, IS
considerable. For one thing he does
not, as most writer's before him have
done take IL for granted that these
planetary people are beneacent beings.
Instead OF introducing them as angels
about TO teach The inferior race Of man
how to live. he makes them warlike in
I'D
in intellect and destructive power, but
without any moral qualities 10 speak Of
that is from a human point of view.
He represents them as huge cuttle-iish-
es al brain and fingers and eyes, with
out emotion. without passion, without
moral qualities. and his idea seems TO
be that by the intellectual evolution of
countless aeOns, the muscular and diges-
tive organs Of the frame have disap-
peared, leaving only a huge brain. a pair
of extraordinarily brilliant and piercing
eyes, and two punches OF long, slender
and powerful tentacIes which execute
the commands OF the brain. The inter
esting question is here opened for dis
cussion. where Mr.. Wells thinks the
moral qualities are located. The emo
tons according TO this picture Of the
the heart lungs, and digestive organs,
and the Indications are that the NOR
ais OF the MarUians went with them
For that matter, however, so far as
they figure in the book, they have as
much moral sensibility as the human
race probably has, viewed from the
standpoint OF a rat or a rabbit. In the
story, they are in The business OF invas-
ion and treat the human race exactly
as the human race has treated the in
ferior animals inhabiting any wilderness
Of which IL cared 10 take possession.
Their fearful power Of destruction is de
scTibed with skin, and the devastation
wrought IN England by their mysterious
heat-generating and yapor-producing en-
Eines IS pictured with a Nividness that
makes IL, in spite OF the weird ina gina
tive grotesqueness of the story, almost
a reality. The reader. not being certain
for q time whether the author intends
10 allow the Martians 10 conquer or be
conquered and not seeing exactly how
the human race has any chance against
them is interested from the first.
one Of the particularly realistic touches
comes in in the description Of the attack
on London. The sense of personal Sc
cUrity, which is the birthright of Lon
doners. prevents any general panic, even
when the papers daily tell Of the havoc
wrought by the terrible visitors. The
people are accustomed TO reading startling
news and living safe al home, and not
until the last paper printed in London ap-
pears, with huge headlines, calling on the
citizens TO leave the city 10 escape Ger
tain death, do they bestir themselves. The
insensate curiosity exhibited by the ay-
erage man IN dangerous neighborhood
IS also touched upon by the author, who
describes graphically the crowds which
gather IN the neighborh0od Of the Mar
fians. even after a regiment has been
demolished by the mysterious heat-jets
sent forth from the shell-lille arnor OF
the creatures. Finally London IS half de-
molished and wholly deserted and the
journey of the fOrlorn man who tells the
story. through the brain-wrecking chaos
OF the ruined city, is Ike bit OF the
Inferno. II IS only herein the last
few chapters Of the book-that the real
purpose Of this curious nightmare Of fan
cy is disclosed. In 10 this point II seems
20 be merely an imaginative tale Of tn,
Jules Verne order; the only interest be
ing curiosity as 10 the probable outcome
Of il an. But here comes in psychology
cal element. The human race II appears
IS 10 be reduced 10 the position which tn
animal creation occupies on the earth a
present. They have been conquered bl
the intellectual powers Of a superior race
Of beings whose own planet has grown
too small and too poor 10 maintain it
They are now 70 be used I'D. body an'
soul. for the good Of these beings. Thi
destiny IS viewed by mankind in genera
with very much the same bewildered an'
unreasoning terror with which animals OF
an uninhabited island may have Tegarde,
the advent 81 the first shipl0ad Of mel
with guns and knives
i is the old story Of the survival Of tn
fttest. preached with such admirabl
cOmplacency boy those who consider them
selves III. and who are for the momen
engaged in extirpating other beings WHOM
they consider inferior. Mr.. Wells wOr
up 10 this point is "a Satire gently pro
pounded query 10 the effect. How w0ul
you like it yourselvesZT Il is calculate
70 arouse wonIermcnt as 10 the rca
benefit Of wars Of determination. and N
reader is moved u ask whether, after al
II would not bc more useful for these su
peFior beings 10 show their superiority +
some other way than that Of destruction
Meanwhile. the human race IS by n
means ready 10 serve the purposes Of III
Creator by being devoured. and just her
Mr. Wells introduces a chapter which il
fu it's way. Il masterpiece. The hero dis
covers al artilleryrsan crawling abou
among The bushes OF wimbledon Com
mon. and collocuy casues The two mes
fair samples q their respective classe,
one a writer. the other a soldier haV
learned IN these few days Of hunted lif
10 retreat under bushes rs the wild cree
lures do. for their talk. The writer
brain. sensitive refined educated is D,
wildered beyond description by the hol
ror of the scenes he has witnessed; III
soldier Of q ruder fiber has some Ggh
left in him stiIl. and has been bringing a
his brain to bear on The possibilities