The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-28
A Spnnish Novelist.

book by the same author, bearing thu
title of The Fourth Estate To th'
American public generally ii may have
seemed doubtful whether any good car
come out of the Spanish Nazareth. anC
hitherto it has scarcely been supposed
that Spain has had any literature since
Cervantes. Certainly Spanish novels have
had no such vogue as have those o
France, and the few specimens which
have been translated nave not. as a rule
been of a character to encourage the
reader to beg for more Of them. But in
Valdes is TO be found an author with a
genuine talent for story telling, keen
and delicate perception Of the values OF
character, a most artistic style, and
withal a real Yankee sense Of humor, dry,
shrewd, and naive in the extreme. The
former book was translated by Minna
Caroline Smith and the translator of this
one is Rachel Challce, but in both cases
the work has been wen done, and the
peculiar style of the author preserved.
in view of the extremely poor literary
output of the season as regards American
novels, II is worth while for anyone who
likes good fiction to observe thoughtfully
the contrast afforded by this Spanish
novelist There is no clap-trap or slip
shod trickery in his books; he does not
seize upon some event or phase Of recent
history to add attractiveness to his
work and make it sell; he is not sensa-
Nonal or morbid, or affected in any way.
The present novel deals with the rise
of what might be called the yellow jour
nal in small Spanish town called Sarrio;
In fact las generally happens there are
two yellow journals. at loggerheads with
one another; and by means of them the
and transformed from a sleepy, proper
and quite self-important little provincial
city to a bad imitation of Madrid. This
development, however, forms rather the
background for the main action than the
actual theme of interest. for the atten-
ton of the reader is mainly given TO the
three principal characters, Cecilia and
Nenturita de Belinchon, daughters of a
rich Goldfish merchant, who has married
a cigarette girl (real Goldfish aristocracy,
this, and to Gonzalo de las Cuevas, the
colossal, rather unheroic but very hu-
man hero. The characters of the two
girls are as complete contrast as could
be found in literature, though not more
complete than may be found in real life.
Cecilia is the saint Venturita the CO.
quette; one is the good angel of Con
zalo, the other his bad angel, and there is
a certain poetic feeling in the way in
which the author describes the long con-
fiict between the two women and between
the clements of the mans nature and in
Gonzales final recognition, in the moment
lf his death, that there are fatalities
and that if he had been a hundred times
in the same position he would have done
the same. The constant and delicate re-
serve of the story teller, who possesses
ha NJ Loo hi fr, he
reader to infer, is one of the greatest
charms of the book. 1t is. in fact, piece
OF what one may call idealistic realism,
and that is precisely the sort of fiction
which must, in the end be recognized
as the highest type of all.
THE Fourth Estate is a somewhat
more ambitious book than THE Joy of
Captain Ribot" which was hardly more
than an idyl. In the former we have
complete and vivid description OF life in
a little Spanish city, with its provin-
ciality, its conceit, its simple goodness,
and equally simple folly. its wickedness,
and its caste lines. Those who look for
the conventional Spaniard in this tale,
however, will hunt in win. The men of
st. Jago, portrayed in the melodra-
matte novel, are fierce, black-browed
crafty, and mysteriously wicked musta-
chios, who use terrible oaths; the wo-
men are either old hays, or maidens with
large black eyes. brown skins and sur
passing beauty. There is not single one
of these earmarks on Senior Valdes' peo-
pie. His hero and his hero's inamorata
are both intensely blonde; there is not
dusky beauty in the book; there is no |
swearing to speak Of, and though there is |
a good deal of fierce talk, it amounts to |
very little in actual combat. Above all |
these people are not crafty nor cunning; |
they are supremacy honest and simple, |
and their devices are of the innocent and |
self-betraying order. In short they are |
very much like provincials the world !
over; and much of the conversation is
not unlike that in George Eliot's novels |
of English provincial life. II novels of
this kind become familiar to American
readers, the average romantic novelist |
will have to revise his idea of the Span |
lard and put some new machinery into |
his plot-factory. The only thing in Ameri- |
can literature which in its dealings with |
Spanish character resembles the work of 1
this author is the little collection of Mexi- |
can tales which are the work Of Thomas !
A. Janvier. Mr. Janvier's Spaniards and |
Spanish-Mexicans are rather like those |
of THE Fourth Estate"
There are hundreds of fine points in this |
novel, which one may discover by reading |
II more than once. for on the first read |
ing the interest of the story is enough |
One OF its exquisite strokes Of latter-day /
irony is TO be found in the fact that Don 1
Rosendo de Belinchon himself cod-mer- |
chant and celebrated man of Sarrio. start
ed the newspaper which eventually
caused, or helped to bring about. dire
disaster TO HIS family. The description
Of the public meeting at which the estab-
hshment Of the paper was discussed is
one OF the best examples of unaduIterated
fun In the whole book. Another piece of
subtle comical.ty is the description OF the
purchase Of the printing press Like some
OF his larger contemporaries. Don Ros-
endo de Belinchon had the idea that the
mere fact Of having a newspaper was 90
Ing to be Of immense benefit 10 Sarrio !
and he was so enraptured with the notion
that he actually grew sentimental over
the material means Of it, as follows:
Here. he said, is lying In idIeness
the most Influential instrument OF bu-
man progress, and this not from any
Ldult OF The owner, but through The
deseruon OF mankind How much in
formation, how much spiritual food
might II NOT have produced during
these barren dumb years, Whilst bar
barlsm and ignorance are rafupant IN
the greater part OF our country. thar
printing apparatus, the only agent of
their dispersion. stands motionlcss for
the want Of hand to work it and 10
ence and politics.
He almost kissed and fondled the
machine IN his enthusiasm. The print
er. seeing his visitor so well discussed
IN us favor could not be outdonc. and