The Washington times., 1903-07-26
JA1lES LANE ALIENS LATEST WORK
He of Keuhunky CaydFuqk

which must be settled anew in each
individual case. IL is the accepted con.
vention tina. a lover should not tell hii
lady OF his past relations with women
except in the most general way. He
may. and frequently does. tell her that
he is not worthy TO kiss her shoes. buf
she no more believes him than the
prayer meeting believes the venerable
deacon who arises 20 inform his lis
teners that he is the chief OF sinners.
Such hyperbole was pithiIy discussed by
a certain spinster in one OF Eggleston's
Western novels In this way:
Yes. that's very nice TO stand up side
Of Paul and say. See here. Paul and
me was both great sinners. But s'Dos'n'
somebody should go 10 him and say.
Brother Bonamy, you're the wust man
In town. You're wuss'n old Grimes that
was sent to penitench'ry. and you're
wuss'n Bob Cramps that was hung.
Do you s'Dose he'd say. Amen, that is
I fact?' Yet Il bein the chief OF sinners
means anythin'. that's Jest what Il docs
mean"
Brave, or Simply Foolish?
The case Which Mr.. Allen has chosen
for illustration is that OF a man who
| descends-or ascends-from the general
to the particular. and confesses the par
ticular sin which is most on his con-
/ science His virtue IS It's own and only
reward; his sweetheart casts him OF
and he loses his reputation He gets
/ no credit for his truthfulness. Was he
brave or was he merely foolish? Did
\ he owe a duty to the woman he loved.
or did be not? She would have been
! happier without knowing the truth; she
would have formed. all in all. more
Just estimate of him. since his was one
OF those sins which Tennyson had in
mind when he wrote:
And that he sinn'd is not believable.
For. look upon his face But If he sinnd.
The SIN that practice burns into the blood.
And not the one sharp hour which brings re-
/ morse.
Shall mark U.s. after Of what fold we be.
A young girls instincts are often truer
than her judgment or her training Isa-
bells instincts told her that Rowan
loved her. that he was the only man
who could win her heart: her training
was ali against accepting him after his
revelation; her judgment was at sea
between the two, and only came to an
Choir after time and thought had changed
her. Would he have done better 10
take the risk of marrying her and en-
deavoring to live uD 10 her belief in
him, assuming that when, in ripe ma
| tronhood, he should tell her his secret.
she would then pardon as freely as
| - e-.g- -.
! book and come to his own conclusions
Notice of this novel cannot be finished
without quotation. Mr. Aliens intro
duct0ry sketch Of Isabel IS perhaps as
good as any BIT OF work ne has ever
done. It Is a pen portrait not only OF e
woman's face and figure, but of herself.
He says:
AS she stroIIed around the garden
under the cloudy flush OF the evening
sky, dressed in white. & shawl OF white
lace over one arm, g rose on her breast,
she had the exquisiteness Of long past.
during which women have been chosen
IN marriage for health and beauty and
/ children and the power to charm The
very curve OF her neck implied genera
tions OF mothers who had valued grace
Generations of forefathers had impaired
to her walk and bearing their courage
and their pride. The precision OF the
/ eyebrow, lne CnlS+4t0 perfection u +A-S
nostrils the lovel!ness OF the short red
lip; the well-arched feet, small, but
sure OF themselves: the eyes that we're
kind and thoughtful; the sheen OF her
hair. the fneness of her skin. her nobly
cast fgure-all these were evidence or
descent from 8 people that had reached
in her the purity, without having lost
the vigor, of one OF its highest types.
New York: The Macmillan Company)