New-York tribune., 1902-07-06

TWENTYsIX AND ONE ana otner Stores 5;dTRH jrR
Translated from the Russian. Preface by Ivan
Strannik l2mo. PIP 2i2 J. f. Taylor %
sELECT0Ns FROM TIE W0RdDS ,iJc 81 {ba lis
tory OF Short Story Writing. Win CIiticai1 ioaao anu
Historical Comments by SherWln Cpu!' --"'0'
PIP l12. Chicago: a. Z. McClurs " -
Mr.. Hutchinson has made good story out OF
elements, referred by him TO the history of Mel
son and he has done this by the JudlcloaS
process Of avoiding too close a devotion TO the
great sea fighter Nelson enters the Dook IloIe
than once. and in fact his participation Is IN
dspensable to the action of the story buI 'ile
authors main point has been to eXhipit 'he "U
ventures of young seaman brought ihto Coh
tact with the famous man. and started by MIN
upon an enterprise from when eAcllihs 't"
tions are soon developed. Sent home with I'M
portant dispatches bearing upon the movements
of VIleneliye's fleet he loses his ship Just alter
rescIing a man and woman of France from the
wreck of their own little vessel. and' hhulls
refuge in a smuggler's cave he wakes up 'Ae
next morning to find that he has oeen roDoeu vi
his precious packet In the mean ulhe' III"
Frenchman and his companion have olsaP
peared Fortunately they are all on English
soil off goes our friend upon the chase ana III
a peculiarly bad temper for he like the reaoer'
has made I'D his mind to fall in love with the
very woman to whom it is natural to attribute
= share in his discontinue. We refrain from
explaining her act. The tale goes on at a ldil
pace carries the hero from his stormy puiSuie
across the downs into the frivolous society Vi
brighton and the presence OF the TIihce Vi
Wales. brings him again into the company VI
Nelson and involves him toward the close in a
dramatic and very well invented affair touchlhB
the safety of his commanders me 1t Is nap
,,ilv devised romance and it is set forth with
spirit.
aris rpIa
of 1ivartinP experiences in the French capital
The hook can scarcely be said to possess plot
but that is a matter of little consequence Ihe
aim of the anonymous author would appear 10
he simply the sketching in VlVacouS' impress
sionistic fashion or certain types and character-
istics Of French life. She has her persohaseS
and she deals with them and with their oolhsS
in a more or less consecutive manner Out tHe
result remains a book into which the reader
may, din at onv point and be just as well amused
as if he were to begin at the beginning and go
Systematically through all the chapters. IN
either case he is sure to be entertained. 1t is
not anything like 50 clever a book as 'ne one III
emulation of which it may possibly have been
written The Visits of Elizabeth. but II VIII
do very we'll being the whole a sprlshty
performance
The three stories by Gorky translated in the
volume to which the first of the trio gives d
title are good Illustrations Of the Russian au-
thor's ability to get powerful effects out ol uh-
promising material ''TWenty-six and one"
deals with the devotion OF u company of biscuit
makers to the young girl who flashes like a sun
beam into their cellar every day for a moment
and then is gone 1t ends duly tragic note
In ..,Tchelkache' we are shown thief and his
rrotege the former rising. for all his well nlsh
lacti,I traits superior to the peasant lad Tor
,.boea Innocence our solicitude is first invoked
"Malya" is the story of a man ana MS son anu
the woman who comes between them win re-
suIts totally different from those when Woulu
ordinar riIy be expected by the reader All three
stories are based on intensely squalid material
al three are examples Of that poEnantly grim
realism through which Gorky comes very near
to repelling us But at the bottom OF them all
is an insight into human nature that leaves US
almost breathIess. exciting a sympathy III winch
we willingly endure the painfunesS in which the
tales are saturated 1t is as though the author
took the very heartstrings of poor humanity
between his fingers making plain to Us the very
uuintessence of its deepest emotions He does
simplicity and over the forbidding fabric of his
drama he throws the glamour Of the sea. desCrib-
ing and interpreting it's beauty and its terror
with a poetic feeling wonderfully impressive.
This book like the others recently translated
from him. makes hard reading. but it is a book
which it is impossible not to admire.
Mr. Codv's volume "SeleCtions from the