The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24
Facts RefOuched
to Make Fiction

~ LAS! fine feathers do not make
II fine birds, nor rare bookbinder's
/ craft a good novel. Robert Cave
lier," a romance of Sieur de La
Sale by William Dana Orcutt, is per-
feet as to tasty illustrations, delicate
decorative headings and fine type upon
heavy watermarked paper, but the
story itself-that is not much. The au-
thor says that the life OF the famous
explorer is in itself a romance which
needs little establishment to become
narrative of the utmost fascination He
therefore proceeds to add here and
there a little of this unnecessary en-
bellishment, always with a careful eye
to the records of the historians-too
careful. indeed. to make for unity In his
story-with the result that he gives US
something which is neither good fiction
nor good history.
Mr.. Orcutt must have realized when
first he sat him down to his task that
even few years from the busy life
of La Sale contained so much Of Incl
dent and so varied a field of activity
that the narrow confines of one story
could scarce bring out of it all an un-
broken thread of unity. Either he must
take the heroic figure Of La Sale and
weave about it a romance which took
not too assiduous note Of historical
fact, or he must endeavor to build upon
facts a superstructure of romance
which should bend to the conformities
of story structure. Orcutt elected to
do the latter, and he has failed of max
ing good story by just the measure
of his inability to fit the rules Of f1c-
ton to the recountal of facts Of his
tory
The raison d'etre of a romance Of
La Sale must be the compelling in
terest in his explorations along the
Mississippi; that is what singles him
out from all the other worthless of New
France and not the fact that he was
at outs with the Jesuits or that he
was a commander Of troops under
Frontenac. The epic significance Of
his fearless journeyings through path
less wildernesses and down waters
which had known the keel Of no white
mans boat is what should be the key
note and the predominating strain
through all Of Orcutt's story: that Is
the story in any romance of La Salle's
life. Yet in this novel the French voy-
ayers journeys Of exploration into the
Mississippi country are treated only as
Incidents; the account Of his rather
colorless experiences at the court Of
Louis Quatorze is given more attention
than his second expedition into the
Illinois country and his final discovery
of the Father of Waters. Instead Of
devoting the whole Of the story to the
fascinating romance Of exploration, Of
bold advances into the darkness Of thu
unknown, and the graphing with grim
powers of nature, the author prefers 70
make those things incidental merely to
under difficulties
From his too earnest desire simply
TO embellish the marvelously romantic
annals of La 60 IS life, Orcutt has
sacrificed every canon of story telling
as has been hinted above. So closely
does he stick to the absolute chron-
ology of the events in the life Of his
hero that at times the thread Of his
story has to be suddenly dropped until
its central figure can go of and per-
form some deed which history says he
performed on that day and month He
goes to France and Versailles. not be-
cause his going develops any crucial
situation in the story. but evidently
because history declares that he did
so do.
After reading orcutt's Robert Cav
elier" one cannot but be sorely disap-
pointed, for he must feel that the
author has sadly overlooked opportu-
mites for really fine story.
CA c. McClurg & Co., Chicago; Illus
trated in color; price 81 5o.)