The sun., 1903-02-07
Mr. Philipotts's Excellent Story.

Mist know that Mr.. Eden Phillpo,ts il a
very capable workman. Unusual. vivid,
and keenly Interesting are his homely
pictures Of the land Of Devon. He Is q
realist fortified with the imaginative and
the dramatic habits and powers. When
two of his children Of the soil engage in a
strenuous encounter, tho reader has a good
right to hold his hrea,h Moreover, the
ioremaking in his books In something that
Overwhelmingly compes the readers ap-
probation. Grammar, learning, and the
fine accomplishments seem rather CON
temp'ible matters in the face Of the ele-
mental and larger concerns and springs
of thought and action of these people
Il is remarkable with what cordialty v
OF sent iment We may BE- made TO regard
n vo,IrC person who uses ",is- in the NOM
NATIVE and draws beer for people who
are expected to lay price for il.
There lies before W. a book by Mr. Phil
potts called The River" Frederick A.
Stokes Company. The river is the River
Dari, and the scene OF the story is Dart
moor. A wild place. Dartmoor. bare.
wnd-swert, loved Of rabbits and foxes
We notice that the lcCpe there speak OF
-hli77ards." and We resume hat they
spoke Of them before our own great and
stormy West was settled The reader
looking fer the exci'emer, of human drama
might he deferred bv the long descrip, ion
Of natural scenery with which this story
otens ill /. Is ren arkable and excellent
Gescrip, ion and we should hink thai he
rea Ter would bo Interested 70 cJmpare
il With The amhitIous descript ions hat
taTe been go welcomed in the late Nr
frank Norris's stories of The OCT upus'
a d The PIT. We NAV quo:e 4 little of
what NJ Thillpo.is says Of the Dart. We
~ al: "i'rum the wrap loneliness of her
pad'e. .roiu her secret fuun'sns. where
'ie red ~undew g,immsrs and cotton
gra.,e- wave uus"cn, Oar, comes wan
d,rirg southward with a song Her pools
aid sileu, places mirror thc Gavin; noon
t.'c -ursh'nc gltiers along The granite
a'r,ns ct hcr thousani falls; The wind
,a'olc~ ,er Volure ieaping downward,
aId f;ngS Il aloft into Ia,nbows by CAV
ami muunit wells 10y night Benoa' h
he echoing hills sle Passes. under The
gray ram or silver mis- she taxes her most
musical course; and presently, The richer
by many little sister river, grows INTO
adult beauty Of being. swells to he noblest
stream in all the West Country. descends
from her high places ard wind-. full fraught
with mystery and lovelress, into the lives
of men Thereupon legends arse from
her cry al dcptls; stories s'ns'tr enough
are y h s,'-red romance AWAKEN, 10
brood by her de'p reaches and hanging
woots r.ncefor,h humanity grow. CON
ccrned wih Darl. and, even az man poll
l., v.is
cretiors from caldrcn or va,. 70 by him is
her character couded, her fair name ma
igned"
For something like four pages we are
h"ll to a contemplation of the Dart
Younger than the Young noon, older than
,he whole life of man. she passes from
solitude TO solitude; slides onward in sheets
and twined threads Of CLASSY crystal; mir
rors the dark peat and shining gravel.
the rush and thistle and cushions Of pale
ling bloom: she dimples into laughter when
the trout rise: she smiles with tremor of
bubbles and shining wake a. the fiat -noeed
otter paddles up stream and leads her cubs
to their hidden nursery. ont Of the wilder
ness she passes outward and downward,
with many a pause and acoeleration. with
many a curve and sweep and soft. round
conflcxure, over marsh and peat 'ye and
hollow To the and Of ancient bridges. OF
forests, aud placid water meadows Here
red cattle come and little calves drink;
in sprin gt ime the sallows make a dawn Of
sudden pale gold gorse and broom fame
Lesido the Yrea, salmon pools, and blnebelis
bring down a IL am Of sky to the ver dant
earth.
Good a. sustained description may lie,
there are plenty who are impatient Of it.
The iu1patient ones will he glad to come
upon Nicholas Edgecombe spinning rah-
bit snares at the bottom Of page 5. Mich
bias was figure answering 70 his severe
and sincere environment, He was large.
loose jointed. His hair was red,
he wore rusty velveteer; as warrener he
earned pound a week. and he labored for
i, Light and day, There ~ picture OF
hi. house or cabin on the moor-a simple,
obvious, ugly contrivance OF mere shelter.
i'ui he was a strong nature. and his mind
supplied his poetry and his entertainment.
"pevout by instinct, he carried his faith
into the nightly watches. The invisible
winds utterance amid unseen things.
the shooting star, the summer lightning.
distant thundes, or the stealthy snow
falling out of darkness had once made his
God fearful to him. With closer inter-
course and better knowledge. these revela-
,ions were as good as the phenomena OF
daylight. He lived in the heart OF natural
things and read them simply and at first
hand. Similarly he read his Bible Beer
and tobacco were to him acquaintances.
with whom he kept at times pleasant and
inspiring company; but they were not his
familiars. and certainly not his masters
Amid the surroundings OF the moor he
d the sc mes Of the New Il sta
mcnt. He figured the Lord as tempted
Of Satan on Longaford Tor, imagined the
fend as swc, ping away in a purple cloud
shadow, fancied that tho Saviours robe
without a seam was shining afar on, wh'n
the sunlight touched some distant. up
,ta,.diny la, i,,.ir irto l;a;ntss OF q s.SIi.
Amid such hills as these, where the d. s'rt
-pr,ad, all sca,,,red with great stones
a. d lighted by desolato waters. Christ
ad prayed, tasted, suffered; und'r such
ancient tr,es az existed h, re- his Masters
-woat had rained in blood; beside such
liver the voice Of the Father had ono"
chocd like remote thunder, and the shining
Suirit had fall, n H. shape Of dove, ev'h
4 Ts..