The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-12

them, ana NO lO0kh upuu "AEhtekO ~ y
mistake and life In general AZ but . poor
thinr-to DO made the best Of. by iudicioua
compromise. NJ seldom OF late had he fiat
tered himself on tho growth Of Intellectual
rusto which proceeded in him together with q
perceptible decline Of baser appetitos. 90 long
his torment and his hindranoe. His age was
now seven and thirty; at forty he might hope to
havo trodden under foot the instincts at war
with mental calm. He saw before him long
years Of congenial fellowship. Of braoing travel,
Of weli-directed studiousness. Lot problems OF
sex and society 60 hangi He had found a better
way
But, in spite of his principles and beliefs. he
marries, and after q year or so Of moderate hap
pinoss IL dragged into tho whirlpool Of semi
fashionable London and suburban life-a dreary
round in which melancholy men and shallow
women live beyond their incomes and ape the
manners Of that class that 10 gradually taking
tho place once occupied by England's ~aristoe-
racy. The story 10, 40 We have said. q powerful
ono. and thoro are one or two scenes In the book
Of strong dramatic interest, while one OF the
minor issues, an intrigue between . beau
tiful woman whose husband has absolute
faith In her and q stout. elderly per-
son with thin hair and q large bank account,
10 managed with great skill. At no time 10
the reader actually told that the woman has
been false TO her marriage vow, and yet, by
imputation. tho author conveys tho impression
OF her perfdy a. foroibly as could q lola In
pages Of downright and drcary realistic" writ.
ing. Mr.. Gissing's work has always been
marked by sincerity and earncstness. and his
latest book 10 written with tho dignity and re-
stFaint OF tho true artist, but his view Of life
may perhaps DO not unfairly shown by one short
but significant quotation:
Next morning the weather was nne; that 10 to say.
enc could road without artificial light and no rain fell.
Mr.. George II. Richmond. undoterred by any
fear of the ~oficious Mr.. Comstock. follows his
issue OF D'Annunsio's "Triumph Of Death"
with 1.-THE Intruder" an English version Of the
Same authors earlier novel, L'Tnnocente. pre-
pared by Mr.. Arthur Hornblow. It Is o morbid
and depressing study Of the abnormal. from
which one would imagine D'Annunzio to
DO q cold and callous analyst, absolute
ly lacking In any sense Of humor. sat
uratod with the ideas Of S~chopenhauer, Leo
pardi, and Nietze. and seeing his fellow men
only through the medium Of o defective mirror
that too often distorts the human countenance
into the hideous grins and commissions Of the
epileptic. Tho Triumph Of DEATH" with all
its Objectionable qualities, revealed far greater
powers than would DO suspected by a reader who
made his first acquaintance with D'Annunzio
through this historical and sensational effort.
Tullio Hermit, q morbid and perverted SON.
eualist, compelled by the curiosity of n corrupted
mind. has repeatedly insultcd his wife with his
open and notorious infdelities, She, loving him
always. has borne him two children, has suf-
fered in silence. and has been ever ready TO for
give when he returned to her. At the opening
of the story he is under the dominion of q woman
whose violent and empoisoned charms evoke
In him the image of that mistress of Menippo
"a L-- an -atH
youth, thou art oaressinG @ serpent; a serpent
is caressing theel" After ono Of his numer-
Gus expeditions in search of serpentine delights
he returns to find that the angelic and forgiv.
ing wife has, in O moment Of weakness, yielded
to the opportunities Of q lover. and in conse-
auence is about to become q mother. The child,
L'Innoccnte, is born, and the husband, tortured
by the thought that 1t must forever stand be-
tween them as O reminder Of tho irrevocable
sin. etealthily takes 1t from tho cradle, ex.
poses 1t to the air, and 80 brings about its
death. Not q pleasant theme. perhaps-but
one of intense human interest. that in other
hands might have formed the foundation
of a greater book. But the historical raw.
ings OF tho maudlin and neurotic husband,
have nothing in them of the normal. and all
tho pathological symptoms that precode tho
death OF the child are dwelt upon with such
wearisome and inartistio iteration as to make
the most tender-hearted and long-suffcring
reader wish that the poor little wretch would
die and be done with Il. There are, however,
many fine passages in tho book. and Mr.. Horn
blows translation. which, from the title, ap-
pears to have been made from the French YER
sion, is satisfactory, though such an expression
as ''panioky terror" is q blot upon the page.
Hero 10 an extract from the description Of Flip
po Arborio. the novelist and lover of the wife,
which seems not altogether inapplicable to
D'Annunzio himself:
His romances. full Of complicated psychology, at
times very subtle. often false. disturbed sentimental
souls. fred reStless imaginations. taught with gu.
prems grace contempt of common life. They sus.
gested an intense vision OF life. a. II life were Q vast
connagration Of innumerable ardent nGurss. Each Of
his characters fought for his chimera. In o hopeless
duel against reality.
With D'Annunsio. however, 80 many of his
characters do not fight. They simply rave.
DR.. p. w. Joyce. who has written many works
on the history and archaeology of Ireland, and
whose translations of some of the old Celtic To-
Rends and romances are we'll known. has com.
piled an excellent "Child's History of Ire
land" Uongmans. Green & Coz. Without
descending to childish phraseology he has
written In plain and simple language, and
he traces Ireland's history-from the days
when Murkertagh O'Brien presented to VIII
liam Rufus q number OF oak trees cut In o
spot that 10 now covered by q part of Dublin
city-down 10 the death of 0'Connell in ls46.
Tho little volume is we'll illustrated and bears
as frontispiece an interesting reproduction In
color of an illuminated page from the Book of
MacDurnan. a copy Of the gospels written by
one Of the old Irish scribes about A. D. $50.
Tho old soribes OF Ireland, who were generally, but
not always. monks, and were held in great honour.
had . method Of fermentation not used by scribes
OF other countries. It 10 chiefly q sort of beautiful
interlaced work formed by bands, ribbons, and
cords. which are curved and twisted and inter.
woven In the most intricate way. mixed
up with waves and spirals, and sometimes You
500 the facss or forms OF dragons, serpents, or
other strengthening animals. their tails. or ears, or
tongues heightened out and woven, till they become
mixed up with the general design; and sometimes
oddiooking human faces or full figures OF mon or of
angels. Tho pattern Is often 30 minute Is to require
the aid OF q magnifying glass TO examine It.
"The Palmetto" Is an Ingenious work of ho-
ton. written by Mr.. Francis Stephen Heffer-