The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-11-20
Wctnef1 and Society

personal acquaintance or the medium of print, fully expected that an epoch making production would be added to Southern literature. That expectation has been more tha nrealized. An Am gel by Brevet" is a literary gem from every point of view. Intensely inter- esting from the curled black snake and burning candle on the cov- CT which indicates the "ghostly media ton of vondonism" which Is the rich bronze toned, wierd background for the story delved fro mthe unchronicled mysteries of the Creole famtlies-the most jealousy self defensive of all races" as she says in her foreword. 70 the end.
 The four star pares are Angelidue. her mother Mademe La MarQuise oe Marigny. Colonel Daniel Daony ana Rev. Martin Paradise, and at dinner- party at the home of Madame Maris- ny they present themselves to us. Helen PiIkin writes of her characters AS she finds them. not in preacny way. as she would either like them to ba. or abhor them to be. And they are wonderful, each strongly outlined, positive, individual and to the end true to themselves. Of her characters that" for these debutants on the stage of fiction are new. We well recognize them if we ever meet them in the fu- ture, but they are new. She treads no beaten path--does this original wo- man.
 Of Madame de Marigny she writes, Tn her prime lustrum of maidenhood she had been a famous beauty. There were still evidences of this though time had filched the pigments of hair, and cheek, and lips, which showed the nf acnanfAd not altogether ungraciously and known the sweetness of accomplishing the disagreeable duty; thorns in her crown whose imprints were far from unbeau- tiful.''
 Colonel Dabny Is an unrecon- structed war-horse" of whom we have met many, they are the last evidences of our Tate unpleasantness" to nang on and they are growing pitifully fewer but we have not met this one who was mortified that Madame Marigny should offer him codfish that was specially r-recommended to her in de Frens market" and who replies:
 You must excuse me Madame, but if I were in the throes of starvation I wouldn't touch fisn from those exc crable yankee waters. I am surprised nightly at your serving 1t in Con- 6ederate household" Of the colonel
  ty battles and he was fighting them over every day of his life-battles in which he had never capitulated; and he still worked upon maps and charts to prove to himself that nothing could have wrenched victory from his coun- try's forces had they not been outnum- bered. . Colon Dan would forgive everything save two-an aspersion on his war record and sta tistical refer ence to his age"
 Yes, we shall know unreconstructsd warhorses--but not this one. Till we have met him in Helen Pitkin's book: An Angel by Brevet.
 Angelique is the adored grand daughter of Madame and quite tho apring-shine on . life now grown win try"
 Rev. Martin Paradise the fourth member of the dinner party is presen ted thusly: His was one of those large natures that anticipate confes- sions, and are helpful and generous in judgment, so that, had 1t not been for his cloth. he might be unworthily ac- cused of committing all the errors he condoned. Dr. Paradise lived a gra- oious gospel out of his pulpit which he declared to be his shooting box"
 Mrs. Trezevant is a distinctly out lined modern New Orleans woman. not of the French quarter. She Is de- scribed in this: 'She is the most modern creature. She is so new her. self that she has taken to buying up all the old junk she can get out of the shops and ringing peoples door bell to ask if they won't sell things, with in- discriminate incaution. She has no patience with the sentiments of own CTS of the things she desired but continues to excuse her own plea of dillettantism." Dr. Paradise says: q inflamed her this morning by calling her vagaries. vulgaries."
 The beautiful love story which threads "An Angel by Brevet' would stand alone. It will not do to take a drop of pleasure from the reader by stepping on that sacred ground. Just a passage tells of the masterful way Helen Pitkin handles this subject.
 The air breathed love. the mountain ous sky, the edge of the world wonder where the green furz was margent to the sky, the susurrant boughs, the carillon curing of the birds, the pur- rette butterflies thieving from verdent altars the atlared sweets of a million chalices, bespoke the actuality and the lavishness of Love-"
 And again:
 Tt will be something to remember that you knew I was grateful at the last though 1t was only a little while that I knew that I really loved you. Ah. love to say 1t! love you!
 And again: You are the enchant- ress of my soul, you are the gold of my heart. the sweet torment of my life. the woman I love, of my hopes derived and destinate."
 And a kiss: Kissing her lover up- on his lips and meeting his great sob there. Then were they lips no longer, they were sensations"
 And now for the scenes of voudouism for the chronicling of which the book was written. the part that will make 1t live as a masterpiece of description, that preserves the history of the most unique condition in America
 Miss Pitkins' vivid portrayal of those frenzied orgies is wonderful Not since the chariot race in Ben Hur has any thing so wonderful in that line of writing appeared. The slow movement of the beginning of one of those even- ings of weird black superstitious hor- TOT increases, increases. increases to rapid swing. faster. faster. through the hideous rites up to this end: