The San Francisco call., 1905-06-18

u NilleES OF many lanQS are
gathered together in The first
number OF the new magazine
Tales in a way that makes d
sort Of international compari-
son possible. Il is more a chance 10
observe contrast in styles however.
than an opportunity Of measuring rela-
tive merits for so different in kind are
these exhibitions of storytelling tai
en- that the authors can regard any
statement Of special preference by
readers more as expressions Of indi-
vidual taste than as attempts TO de-
eide positively which are best and
worst and medium. Perhaps il a de-
eisiOn had TO be given of which one is
best, the prize would go TO the skilled
Frenchman, Anatole France. for his
'Craiouebille," the story which is the
foundation for the Partisan one-act
play OF that name. That exquisite tale
is something more than just an enter
tanning story. 1t is sort of veil-lift-
ing thing. which suggests TO us that
the finer literary artists are, as they
strive ever 10 better their work, ap-
preaching higher toward the compre-
hensive view Of those who watch like
God the rolling hours. with larger,
other eyes than ours. TO make allow
apce for US all"
In the collection there is a notable
quartet OF stories. each by the most
popular woman writer of the respective
countries, France, Italy, Germany and
Spain, which almost seem to have ar
ranged among themselves to come to-
gether here in friendly rivalry for the
prize of q verdict of best France is
represented by ~Gyp," which is the
pseuo Of the Comtesse de Martel. Her
story, called The Fairy" is the longest
In the magazine, and therein gets first
place II is Undeniably clever, and, al
though at the first blush II inclines the
reader TO think IL is going to be too
French, il clears up toward the end
as having had all through an artisti-
cally pure intention. The German
writer is the Baroness Won Heyking.
who. gives a strong story, called The
End" but II is such a short sketch the
effort can scarcely be considered as a
thing TO measure the authors talent in
comparison with the others. The
Spanish woman. Emilia Pardo Bazan,
little known outside of her own
lano, but holding in Spain the foremost
place among women writers of short
stories. tells a good tale of a strange
duel, called In the Name of the
Father" in which an old man. almost,
avenges wrong done to an idolized
daughter. If il were really a prize
contest the palm should be given TO the
Italian. Mathilde Serao, for the very
satisfying story, The Peacemaker."
She writes quite as cleverly as the
other women, and in the beauty of her
choice Of a theme 10 write about she
leads them q long way.
'Gyp," who is a delineator of Franch
- shiCrable life fs IN her element in de-
scribing 70 US the young wife of an old
Count, who is the charming girl called
The Fairy" The thing is somewhat
French in the way it handles the love
passion and keeps II so unmitigatediy
prominent. but as the end of the story
shows IL is done by a literary artist with
the effect Of making us wise about human 1
nature and teaching US TO beware of the |
subtleties Of pseudo-charm, a little |
French license may be allowed IT is not !
at all bad: the Fairy is charm |
ing girl. who does nothing i'm
moral, bat she was up to very adroit |
tricks in the love game, and she had one |
trump card Of apparently innocent con- |
duct. but used TO capture masculine ador- |
alton by too physical compulsion, |
which the Comtesse de Martel is deli /
cately French in the reserve of quite /
plainly explaining to US.
Gyps work is to give US some clever /
fashionable life, the entertainment of lis
tening TO talented woman talking about /
the frailties Of men in being willing vic 4
tins 10 the charms of a heartless wife, /
and above all an analysis of a woman's 1
charm whose dangerousness lay in the /
fact that though never grossly false she /
was never truly true. AS her grand |
mother said she has an extraordinary |
faculty Of biushing and weeping when /
ever she chooses. This accomplishment 1
and the allied capacities of deception
that go naturally with such a nature en-
abled her TO play with the hearts of many
men for her own amusement. while for
herself she remained safely virtuous and !
cold. Her grandmother, the Marquise de
Bra acieux, loved her dearly and believed
In her faithfully until far into the story /
the revelation comes that though her
favorite could inspire love she was in
capable Of feeling IL. When a youth
whom the old Marquise thinks a great
deal Of kills himself because of infatua-
ion for the fairy the old woman hard
Ems toward the girl In the last scene of
he story the grandmother witnesses how
ate gets in its revenge in a revolving
way upon the beautiful young woman,
1ut she will not interfere to save her.
With eyes as dry and hard as when she
saw the youths corpse who had killed
himself she said: 1T is justice-at last"
The sample Of Mathilde Serao's work,
The Peacemaker.'. shows how the re-
sOnciliation of man and wife who had
been years estranged was brought about
~ a sort of poetic justice. They were
angry with each other, but they both
owed the kindly old man who was the
Uife's father To spare him pain and
make him think his daughter was just as
happy as she expected TO be when she
insisted on his permission and blessing on
he marriage the man and wife try to
sonceal the estrangement from him. Thew !