New-York tribune., 1902-01-12

the tenth man arrives however he exhibits. not
mere literary imitativencss. but spiritual kim
ship; and so, to link his name with that of some
august predecessor is to pay him 4 tribute which
can give nothing but satisfaction to him and to
his reader. Mr.. George Douglas is the tenth
man. He reminds US OF Balzac, but simply as
one who Is worthy follower of the great
French novelist He follows at good distance,
1t Is true. There is a great difference between
"The House with the Green Shutters" and
'Pere Goriot." the book with which it is impos-
sible to avoid comparing it. Yet it must be re-
nembered that Balzac wrote his famous story
OF the French Lear and his daughters in the full
tide of his power, whereas if reports from across
the sea are to be credited, The House with the
Green Shutters" is a first book. Thus We are
readily inclined to delay examination into the
defects of the work and to look rather to the
remarkable merits by which ii is distinguished
to the element in it which justines our mention
OF MI Douglas with no less a creative genius
than the author Of the "Comedie Humane"
1t is the element of tragic power, imbued with
imagination. but spontaneously dedicated to
the commemoration of essentially human pas
sion that the author needs no heroic stage for
his drama, but can safely give it humble char
acters and humble scene Readers of 'Pere
Goriot" will recall that mastery description of
the Maison Vauquer, it's environments and its
inmates with which the book is opened THE
House with the Green Shutters begins on a
somewhat similar note. There Is no suualor
here; in fact, the little square of Barbie with
It's typical Scotch inn and dwellings. dominated
by John Gourlay's proud structure the house
which gives its name to the novel makes rather
a pleasing picture as Mr. Douglas paints it in
the still morning air. But in his first touches
the author tacitly apprises us of the nauseous
0Grsat Oft,
saturated. In place Of the fellow dodgers whose
contemplate, have the fellow villagers of
John GOurlay, and while whole world lies be-
tween the hateful egotism and sombre brutality
or that prosperous trader and the pathetic
feebeness Of the French father we soon see
that in depicting the malicious campaign against
his central figure Mr.. Douglas is using some
thing Of the poignant method of Balzac
1t is a profoundly painful spectacle that he
unfolds. The envious and narrow minded people
who fear Gourlay while they hate him follow
him through his career jackaIs follow some
mighty beast destined to be their prey; keeping
out of the reach of his paws but bounding him
with dreadful persistence and leaping on him
at the first sign of weakness. Gourlay is a man
OF IRON character. and therefore inevitably a
ruler. but there is fund of stupidity in him; If
he has the strength of lion he has the slow
ness or an OK, ana since brute force is of little
avail when once wit is pitted against it. the
craft of his enemies slowly but surely helms to
bring about his ruin. In other words his own
nature contains the seeds of his destruction
and Mr.. Douglas raises his story far above tho
petty lever of mere business rivalry and village
politics, by disclosing in John GOurlays whole
history the workings of those laws which are the
laws of character. GOurlay has lazy ineffect-
ual trollop for wife. cOwardly and conceited
fool for son. weak Wisp of a girl for n
daughter, and these figures play salient parts
in his tragedy. But the movement of that trag-
edy is started and accelerated by the traits in
his own soul; when the crash comes and the
whole family is wiped out in awful misery we
acquit the author of arbitrarily dipping his men
in earthquake and eclipse; we recognize the
grim triumph of Nemesis. the spirit which has
watched and waited for many years at John
Gourlay's side and presides with justice at his
bitter end.
OF the skill with which Mr.. Douglas has laid