The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-09-14

one or another of cur modern lady novel
lists works An equivalent might even be
found for the extraordinary French. What
excites slspieion, however. IS the perfect
combination OF all these faults; for as
Dr. Johnson said OF one Of his conten-
poraries, such an excess OF stupidity IS
not in nature. We are therefore per
suaded that the book is parodicaL
The heorine. Polly, is an American of a
very vulgar sort. In real life she and the
rest Of the characters would be intolera-
bic, and IN saying this We would not In
ply that they are anything else in fiction.
The women are devoid OF decency and re-
| fnement and the men are devoid Of sense.
The dialogue IS empty and vspid when il
is meant 70 be serious and yulgarly rude
| when it is meant 10 be bright: but
Where modesty's i'll manners. It's but fit
! That fmpucence and malice pass for Wit
| As 10 the Quest. the heorine herself ex-
plains it as follows:
First OF all and foremost. he Cshe is
describing her ideal" mani must be the
opposite exactly Of what [ have known.
There must be no trickery in him. no lev
ity, no guile. There must be no small
/ -----~----->l-F T.
There must be nobleness Of heart and Sc
renity. BE must be proud. but kind and
! gentle withal, and mercifuI He must De
self-effacing and trustworthy. He must
I be sympathetic and courteous and truth
| ful; yes, he must be truthful, 1t is this
| eternal deceit which goes more than any
/ other thing 10 wreck the lives OF women.
Are women over-grown children that they
can not bear 70 face the truth, TO know
mems nves7s There are others who are
strong and able 70 bear it. Yes. and will
! ing to forgive even unto seven times
seven, they are willing 10 forgive Other
wise they would not deserve the name Of
woman
And then? as she hesitated.
q" Above all she resumed.
g" And above all they repeated.
a. He must be ehaste.
"Hiving given this sample OF serious
colloquy. We shall now quote a specimen
Of Wit. This rally occurs between the fair
Polly and a perfect stranger:
Are you here tout seule [sicI2' he
asked, smilingly.
'Umph, hum answ cred Polly.
Why are you aIone2' he questioned,
with increased anxiety.
I think. rejected Polly, that it is be-
cause I have nobody with me
1T will be observed that Polly is apt at
the game of repartee. Moreover, she
never re- eats her good sayings. Here, for
instance, is a sprightly passage with two
other strangers who put the same ques-
ton:
Are you tout seule here?' they asked.
. Why's returned she.
Because it is so unusual 10 see a
young lady alone in Nice without, what is
it you call it, a chaperone tsicI2s
It seems TO be about as unusual as
man going through Germany without
drinking beer she unused, but do you
object to it?' brightly.
And here is one with yet another
stranger:
Are you alone?' he asked in French.
Tout seule?
lymph, hum, answered Polly.
Just travelling around, taking a look
at the country?
.' .Umph. hum answered Polly again
What for?'
Did you ever hear OF those two men
who went vests inquired Polly, and
grew Up with the country? How one sue
ceeded and the other didn't Cause why?
Cause one tended TO his own business I
and the other didn't
Her interlocutor confesses that he does
not understand her does not understand
English, in fact. To which she wittily re-
torts without a moments hesitation:
Never mind. its all the same in Dutch /
Every chapter of the book sparkles with I
dialogue of this kind.
The author shows great familiarity I
with the French Language, handling it, in /
deed. a triae freely Tout seule is one Of 1
the chief favorites. and there are others 1
like it: Arc de Triumph. Danes seule, bon /
guides. cafes musical. feInrnes des cham I
bre. r1aitresse des hotel are a few eX I
amples. and as a sentence we find this +
choice assembly of words ''Messieurs fat /
vous jeu"
THE English is almost as elegant 1t IS 4
of the familiar colIoquial kind, Astounding T
in such words and phrases as 'confab. I
.nobby.' he raved some more. neither (
one OF the three etc. Of the heOrine's 4
gift OF second sight We are told that it 4
was sometimes common TO her. but Oft
aner not. one one occasion she took OF
her gloves. pulling at first one finger and
then at the other: she lay them in her
lap etc. Never had Polly felt so thought
of. She stroked the arm Of the
chair with nstiess. nearly asleep fingers
Alone in the hotel those two. just him
am her They lost by too closeness:
..psllv was sort Of sick Of saints be
read with intense emotion lily sup
PRESSED and so on These specimens
In -,a-ra-s s,,H7ce 70 give an idea of
The Quest Of Polly Locke