The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-07-06
NEW P IMPLICATIONS.

1 of the leading books of the year--a 1 book of rare interest, which aWakens 1 remembrances of George Eliot's style | and creative power. It is in short 1 literary masterpiece It is q story of modern English life, with vivid pictures of certain phases of fashionable Eng fish society. MT. Gissing is a literary artist and excels in this work all his previous productions, Of it the Lon- don Spectator remarks: Tt is eXcel- lent. It holds the reader by it's en- crossing and sustained interest. There are at least half dozen remark able portraits of modern men and Wo- men, and great deal of convincing H. l lustration of the manner in winch character is molded by circumstances. A really masterful study of that ego- tism which just lacks the quality of ruthlessness to render it triumphant"
 Mr. Gissing has a keen insight into the human heart and reveals the character of Dyce Lashmere, the charlatan of the story, with rare felicity. Nowhere is ,I concrete definition of his character giV- en, but the story reveals it as clearly as the mirror shows objects before it. Lashmere's assumptions of superiority, his unlimited confidence in his mental prowess his absurd pretensions, his de- | termination to "get there,' his ambl- tious ideals and his obliviousness of his limitations so clearly seen by the clear headed Constance, whose love for him is at last extinguished and who turns him down" at last, at the crisis of Lashmere's hopes and the failure of ,i .o1,o ar Sot fp,,th with striking vividness, yet without apparent effort. The story runs as smoothly as limpid, unruffled stream. A very striking indi- viduality and personality is that of Lady Ogram. All the women of the story are bright women, gifted and cul- tivated and womanly and all the 1 characters are drawn with artistic skill, revealing themselves in the mar ration of the story. The Brooklyn Ea- gle, after reviewing the character of | Dyce Lashmere, says of "Our Friend, the Charlatan:'' Such a man is Dyce Lashmere; and MT. Gissing, having con- ceived and weaned his creation until his own identity is artistically merged in the subject he portrays, sets himself to devise a plot for the display of his
 
 nuity and naturalness. Dyce is private tutor to the son of widow of comfort able means named Iris, whose affec- tions he has easily dominated by masterfu good fellowship which he de- cides to assume toward women and in his subsequent adventures he floats on a loan from Iris. From the beginning you perceive that he is a man who forms theories of conduct from con- | scientious adherence to reason, without actually seeking gain; theoretically he | is a philosopher-he does not discover the loafer in himself until things go hard with him. Losing his tutorship, and hearing that a former friend Con- | stance is secretary to rich old eccen- | tric named Lady Ogram he promptly asks Constance to introduce him and 1 at a single interview imposes himself l on Lady Ogram as a coming man. The old woman, autocratic, eccentric and keen as a needle, supports his candida ture for the British Parliament; but wishing to protect her niece from mar riage with an adventurer, insists that Dyce shall formally engage himself to Constance. Constance really loves Dyce; but she Is a woman of strong character and fine pride, and when Dyce suggests that they pretend an engagement in the hopes that Lady Ogram will die before it's fulfillment, while leaving him free to look out for an heiress she appears to meet him on his own footing of selfish expediency. The niece, from jealousy, encourages him. Dyce promptly repudiates Con- stance and proposes to the niece; Lady l Ogram discovers it and dies in fit af- ter leaving her fortune to Constance.
 Dyce, whose singleness of aim in looking after No. 1 would be full of 1 broad humor In the hands of a humor- ous writer (which Mr Gissing is noD, promptly goes back to Constance in the expectation that she will overlook his numberless insults and keep to the original sham contract; she at last shows her strength and her contempt, and in despair, after losing the election, he marries Iris for the sake of her small income. She loses this and only then does the author permit his puppet to reveal the utter despicableness of his character.
 Our Friend the Charlatan" is an amazingly clever-a masterly-satire, and there will scarcely be a dissentient voice in the acclaim which will at last | welcome Mr. Gissing to an undisputed seat among the greatest three living | artists in fiction. In workmanship he is unexcelled; he has finally adopted the realistic method of George Moore, and the result, with his infrangible re- serve and pellucid simplicity of express sion, is a picture of life and character as close to reality as it is possible to at tain through the medium of words on paper"
 Copies of the book may be obtained at Judd's, price $1.50.
 A book much talked about, q virile book dealing with live issue, an issue about which John Wannamaker a few days ago stirred up all Philadelphia to | fever pitch is Charles K. Lush's "Au- tocrats," work of $40 pages, pub ! lished by Doubleday Page & Co.,, New York. This unusual story is full of the 1 atmosphere of western enterprise and l energy, making a dramatic incident of a combination of politicians and capi- | talists to secure street-railway fran ohise in western city. The promoter 1 Bidwell is q rich man, and powerful l and attractive personality, who is also 1 a masterhand in a political game that 1 extends even to the United States sen- ate. The foundation of '"The Auto- ! crats" is the influence of money in mu l nicina1 nO1;tics Ridwell unsCrupulOus,