The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-05-27

| creased by an understanding OF psychic
laws, and moreover. the race will grad
ually be freed from the chains of super
stituton which have prevented the devel
! opment of the logical faculty in the srea
| majority of people. Natural law is more
wonderful than any miracle. when it j!
| thoroughly understood. and the sweep
ing away Of certain superstitiols will il
! no way diminish the power of the imagi
| nation. NJ. Flammarion seems to be aim
ing at some such development, and Il
! him is due the credit which belongs Il
all earnest and fair minded invest gators
/ New York: Harper & Bros, S2.O0.)
Miner Fiction.
Love in Cloud by Arlo Ea.es- is de-
nominated by the author "a comedy in Eli
gree" and that is not a bad name for L
! 1t deals with much the same class OF 81
ciety and general types as Mr.. Eates' pre-
| yious novels, THE Pagans, The Philt-
tines ard THE Puritars." not to menti n
~ Wheel of Fire" which is perhaps Il =
| strongest book that this novelist has wTh-
ten. Two of the characters in the last
! mentioned romance appear in this one
| DIR. Chauncey Dmmoat and Elsie ID -mmont,
| his pretty, clever, inconsequentiai wife.
/ Mir. Bates seems to be rather fond OF this
/
zarre caddishness, they make good foils
for his other men and women.
For some reason or other Mr.. Bates seems
to have a grudSe against Boston Society
with large S. he takes the attitude of
cynical observer, in correct evening dress,
with gardenia in buttonhole. pointing out
to the bystander his various acQuaint-
ances and explaining to him how hollow
all their iSeals are and how little superior
they themselves are TO ordinary folk. But
it may be suspected that if he were writ
ing about any other class of people he
would be just as satirical, only, in that
case. it would not be society" which he
would charge with insincerity and petit
ness. but, perhaps. the common and vul
gar shop girl and her young man." In
short, he seems to be personally aggriev-
ed by the snobbshness he sees, and has
the air of consoling himself with the OBJ
servation that the upper classes are not
SO good as they think they are. He be-
gins one chapter in this way:
One Of the distinctive features Of good society"
is that its talk is chiefly of persons. Less dstin-
gnished circles may waste precious time the
discussion of ideas. but in company really select
such conversation is looked upon dull and
pe6antic-
The charitable reader may, however, be
permitted TO hope that even in good So
ciety there may be few persons who are
not ashamed of having ideas, and that
the world is not altogether unin;eresting
even II this authors doll is stuffed with
sawdust.
Aside from this persistent cypicisn,
which hits one in the face in nearly ev-
err chapter, the book is really clever. The
plot turns on The authorship of much
discussed book entitled Love in Cloud,
and the incidents are whimsical and in
volved enFugh to make the character
drawing extremely effective, since the sa-
lient traits of each person are brilliantly
exhibited. OF course, there might be a
criticism TO. offer on the good taste of the
episode in the closing chapters in which
young girl is practically befooled into an
engagement with a man who is nothing 20
her, and Who looks upon her modification
and embai rassrnent In the light of huge
joke The opinion of really good society,
in Boston or anywhere else, would be that
that man was cad. but Mr.. Bates seems
to feel differently about il. However, the
story is original. and originality in these
days OF problem novels and hackneyed ro-
nance is more or less refreshing, especial
" when combined with such thorough
knowledge of the art of putting things as
tina; possessed by this writer. Boston:
Houghton. Miffiin G. Co. sl.50)
..,rh, .ro,,obstonar lie n pav hoot, bv
80. W. ,,.. - .orho Cra,,or
Inclination" and il is emphatically psy-
Geological study. hardly to be called ro-
nance at all. 1t is simply what might be
caiieu d hii.etoseope pi.'c Vi ~ "a
',iiee eiai aeteis' ehsdseu III .ie soiu, III,
problem, briefly, is this: |
a man "i'noit ,liohey OF very mueh iai
Ell. mas hau so'ie hihu Vi d io'e "haii win
a priiiiant woman hoNeiist, III "hieh ne
mas Deeh lhe one 10 become urea hrsC ne
mas, however kept all her Ietters, which
acteristic SORT amounting Almost 10
complete reVeiatioh Oh the woman inner
NE during period OF several years AT
the beginning oil the DOOR TINS woman mas
been dead tcf some tline, anu her quohdafn
lover mas become strongly attached TO
M r,v ber no rrosenIs NO love Ie,fars ~
Nc n,bar u.o,,,.n IN tho n,,hiic In , ,,.o-
roIume edition without letting anvbodv
nov tba, ,bav vrare u,ri,,ep IN hin, Thon
he marries his new love and ie Ideally
in every way excant I, bis
conscience wbtcb strange N cav hntbers
1im sornewhat esnecIalIy whom he sene bie
DI dead woman 6 lfnD.lclf trust has given |
to the world.
ANYTHING more utterly conternptible and |
Dlackguardly than this action is 1arel,
-ound In decent society, but the ohronicler |
IF the episode seer.s to have some sort uf
with the man whom she has
,hosen for its hero. At any rate. she al
ows him to become reconciled with his
wife after his performances have been
ound out. and the bolls closes with very
air cbaDce Of happiness for them both.
The general conclusion seems 10 be shat
hrnrgh his ccouudrpiiV hptToyal pf cpnfi- |