New-York tribune., 1900-07-08
FICTION.
AN EXCEPTIONALLY STRONG NOVEL. on
A DIFFICULT THEME.

ENQCH WILLOUGHRY. BY James Wicker
Shom. l2mo pp. 356 Charles Scrbner's sons
THE I5 MELoQN FARM BY Maria Louise Pool.
--H'o, %. 4oL Harper K Bros
THE MEASURE OF A MAN Rv = rf,f,..--,,
f'eStolt LIMO, PIP. 302 r. F. Fenno & Co
SptrituaIIsm is a very tickIish subject for q
novel any subject is that relates To psvch5c
matters In recent years, for example. hvp-
hotIsm mas lured many novelist to disaster
II takes an artist to deal successfully with
facts that lie so far out Of the range of human
understanding. So the author of "Enocb VII
IouEhpy IS 10 BE- especially commended for the
discretion with which he has handled the Spirit
uaIists who figure SO prominently in this mar
rasive supplying its essential motives Enoch
WiiIoughby is a Quaker belonging 10 one Of the
pioneer settlements in the West His religious
fervor to his astonishment suddenly begins to
manifest itself through the phenomena of con
uo- His strange twitchings and his stranger
outbursts Of eXhortation at the Quaker meet
Ings bring him into disrepute with his sect
Even his wife. Hannah who is herself con.
UoIed at times believes that for the sake Of
policy he ought TO resist the influence But be-
heVIng 1t 70 be good. ne yields to it, and con
sequently brings suffering on himself and his
family. These suferings include the separation
OF his Wifes younger sister a gentle natured
Quaker who wishes to marry her The relations
Of these young people supply the romantic eIa
ment in the book which is treated with great
delcacy and charm. Finally they overcome op-
position and marry, only to experience through
spITtuaIism trials that test their loyalty to
each other. but fail 10 weaken it, The story
is throughout human and strong. The char
acter Of the hero seems plainly drawn from life
and Is made impressive by its simplicity its
Christian patience ard its devotion 10 duty In
deed. the whole book reads like transcript Of
actual occurrencae, arusticauy made to serve
the PURPOSES Of fiction.
Apart from its intrinsic merits. The MeIoon
Farm has pathetic interest in being one Of
Tie last pieces Of work cone by the late Maria
Louise Pool. 1t is moreover. very charac-
teristic Of the author 1t seems odd that Miss
Pool should have begun her career as a novelist
comparatively late in life, for She had to high
degree the story telling faculty. once started,
she produced novel after novel with astonishing
Tapidity ard apparent ease. Her faculty. how
ever, was undIsciplined, at times she could not
keep H. always at its best in dealing with
homely themes, from descending INFO meIo-
drama which gave 10 much Of her writing a
curious hectic quality. This defect is noticeable
in The MeIoon Farm" but it does not keep
the characters from being. on the whole, life
like. Miss Pool introduces again the heroine
who has figured so prominently before in her
pages. Billy Armstrong, now returned TO her
country home after the sudden failure of her
voice and the termination of her operate career.
Billy" braveIy takes up the old life, and, when
she moves with her mother to the MeIoon
Farm. the property of her mothers old friend,
Rawdon Meoon. she begins a new career Of
romance. which finally restores her voice, wins
new stage triumphs and gives her the great
love of her life. To achieve these results, Miss
Pool brings forward again 'BuIys" old lover,
Vane Hudreth, who, in spite of his continued
success in opera. appears at the MeIoon Farm
in the guise Of a farm hand. This use Of Hill
dreth sufficiently indicates the melodramatic
tendency Of the tale. However. the interest
never nags-a great merit The story abouuds
in those delightful descriptions OF country life in
which Miss Pool -Xceued.
The Measure If Man" has a most at
tractive hero in rough chivaIrous English
soldier who falls IN love with pretty English
girl his superior by birth and breeding He
Woas her wins her n1arries her. and then his
troubles begin During his long absence from
EngIanI shortly after the ceremony his wife
becomes interested in a young man in her own
world. and fancies that her love for her husband
has cooled. Just how the situation is straight
ened out need not be explained here. The theme
would be far more effective if it We're more
adroitly handled one interesting character
cannot sustain a long drawn out and dun mar