New-York tribune., 1904-08-10

And she saw them fighting there
S1e cIssped her hands. and cried. Alas:
TnersI DC mair curlins the hair!
The latest volume of essays by Maurice Mae
terlinck TO appear in English, The Double Gar
den" CDodd. Mead & Coz has the special inter-
est OF showing the author not only In his charac-
terfsticalIy mystical vein. but as an eager COM
n1eutator on some OF the most familiar themes Of
our everyday life He gives us, for example,
in The Temple OF Chance" some admirable re-
marks on the gamblers frame OF mind, and
again, in an essay called "In an Automobile he
allows his mind TO play with poetic nimbleness
around a subject that at first blush seems to
have no poetry in it at ALL NJ Maeterlinck al
ways has q strain Of poetic feeling in his work,
and nowhere in the present collection of brief
papers does he disappoint the readers expecta-
tion OF something at least Of this quality. 1t
does not matter what he is talking about: it may
be sincerity" or "Old Fashioned Flowers"
News OF Spring or THE Wrath OF the Bee;
fn every case he has pretty and suggestive
touch But on the whole these dainty runina-
tons OF his fan 20 leave lasting impression
They savor too much OF the amateur Of sensa-
tons Of the author who fancies that because
he goes a little way beneath the surface he is
thinking profound thoughts. II. Maeterlincks
thoughts are, as o matter Of fact, often quite
commonplace, as when he says: THE good the
simple flowers are as happy ana as gorgeous III
she Door mans strip of garden as in the broad
lawn Of the great house, and they surround the
cottage with the supreme beauty Of the earth;
Cor the earth has TIL now produced nothing more
beautiful than the flowers" But when he does
not try too hard to be Oracular, contenting him
self with the recording Of some natural appeal
made % his sense OF beauty, he can. on OCCASION
give the reader genuine pleasure. Witness thls
massage from his News of Spring" a souvenir
cs rravel on the shores Of the Mediterranean:
have followed Il these past few days on the
banks Of the Borigo. from the torrent OF carer 10
The val De CoT5io Y . Sa9se 5'e ~ tbose curious
Sfllages pe-ched upon rocks. SAINT AgneSe, Csstsl-
lar Castillon. IN that adorable and alrea0y quite
Italian country which SURROUNDS Mentoh3 & aou
s,oDolIhsn and somewhat hateful life Of the RIVIERA,
9oI ienVe behind you the bandstand, win us ever
5zEffue town music, around which gather the con-
E1lnptive rank and fashion Of Mentone, and be
soid' At two STEPS from the crowd that breads it
as Il would g scou-ge from Heaven You mo me
admirable silence OF the trees. All the goooy IT
gillian realities OF sunk roads. clear springs sha1g
Tools that sleep on the mountainstdes, where Ihey
seem 10 await q goddess's reflection You clnlo
a nafh between two stone walls DllgAteneu oy
Sfoiets and crowned with the strange Drown cows
that one might believe Them 10 be created 10
svYntolize the cOolness OF the well, ana the ainpI
theatre OF a valley opens like a moist ana splenulo
flower. Through the blue veil OF the gIant s onHs
curtain Of scintillsting pearls CLEANS the ais
Greet and harmonious brilhancy ot all thdt men
imagine in their dreams and paint upon scenes
that are thought unreal and unreahZaDie Wntu
tbey wish to define the ideal gladness OF an i'm
mortal hour, OF some enchanted Island. OF lusI
paradise, or the dwelling Of the gods