New-York tribune., 1904-10-16


fiction one thinks naturally OF Mr.. Cra"lo'u
In quest of the material for his many hoVo'
he has wandered far and wide, and ne mas
s,o,vn such skill in commune ating to book
tho atuosnhcre of the place in which its scene
i laid that he has come to be recoBnlZeu rs
o,,a of the few cosmopolitan authors WfltihS
alxays with authority. But no man can range
abroad as he has ranged for the Inaterial Oh
fiction and preserve under all skies the saine
instinct OF sympathy. He may be aDnoTi'ahS
clever he may write, as we nave S'Iu' WIN
authority lending Unimpcachable VerlSlihlli'uue
to everything he produces, and yet II VIII Oe
plain TO the serious observer that on occasion
his heart is not in his work More than once
in recent years Mr.. Crawford has rouseu Suspi-
cion that he was relying upon his cleverness
rather than upon his innermost feeling IN the
fabrication of his stories. He has put forth
interesting work but he has left his old read
ers asking why he has not returned more often
To the Italy of ''Saracinesca," and of divers
other delightful books of his. These readers
have not been deceived by the fact that certain
Of his later stories have dealt with Italian ire
II has not been the Italian life with when ne
first made us acquainted. the old inspiration
has been lacking to him Now. however, he has
recovered it. and has written book which In
everything save its title is worthy Of the novel
The title OF this new book. "Whosoever Shall
Offend" IS not simply in itself uncharacteristc
of the author. II brings into the book. with
,he Scriptllral quotation on the title page,
sarautitious suggestion which, In truth the
roruancer does not need. He has told here
n good story Of love and crime Why drag IN
moral solemnities7 Especially as the moral
issues OF the novel arc such that no emphasis
is required to make the reader perfectly con-
scious Of them. This is the great merit OF the
hook. that Mr. Crawford does what fancied
he had forgotten the art OF doing, that he sets
his characters in action and allows them TO
work out their destinies with no more talk
than is really Indispensable The actors in his
drama are brought upon the scene with admira-
ble expedition when the widow of MARITIME
ConsaIu married young Corbario." runs the
opening sentence Of the first chapter. people
shook their heads and said that she max
ing a great mistake" At once the reader Is
interested, and in a few brief pages Mr.. Craw-
ford makes absolutely certain OF attention
He sketches this pair with a vivid touch. the
wife deeply In love with her husband, the two
devotng themselves with all possible affection
to the upbrnging Of Signora Corbaro's son by
her first husband and the young Marcelo fac
ing life with all things apparently made smooth
before him. But In the second chapter and
this heir 70 millions In q situation that Is the
more dramatic because he himself has no idea
OF what it involves. "If some one had told him
on that spring morning." says the author that
he was on the very verge OF a desperate struggle
for existence against overwhelming odds. he
would have turned his bright eyes wOnderingiy
10 the prophet of evil, asking whence danger
could come. and trying TO think what it might
be like" That passage warns the reader that
excitement Is to come and he is not disap-
pointed.
What makes us rejoice with Mr.. Crawford
Is that In providing the excitement he uses his
old gifts without the faintest loss OF vigor
freshness Where he has latterly seemed jaded
and mechanical. he IS spontaneous and
fun OF zest He gives us. his narrative pro-
ceeds, the hints to what Is coming from
which your practsed novelist never refrains,
and at the same time he does not discount for
a moment the value OF his plot. Though we
more than suspect the source OF the trouble in
which this seemingly happy family Is whelmed,
we are not thereby deprived of our interest in
the ultimate clearing UP OF the tangle. Tragic
events soon occur. but what they leave behind
them keeps our curiosity alive, and, moreover
the love motive IS so manipulated that It COM
plicates. in Just the right way what would seem
to be otherwise rather simple train of CTR
the seashoro talking with the girl Aurora
deIFArrni with whom II seems that he must
n . matter Of course. be united before very