Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-21

acteristic OF Mrs. Wharton or to the lido
syncrasies of the social life she embodies
No one would deny that the satirical bent
is more marked IN the American than In the
English writer. On the other hand We must
O Omit that our society lacks the reason for
being that is so marked feature of the So
cial organization of our English cousins.
Briefly told, the story of 1.-THE House of
Mirth" is the struggle Of Lily Bart, an in"
comparable beauty, against the conditions
OF her heredity and environment. all of
which attack the elements of greatness that
are In her. Born to companionship with
rich and idle people, but with no money;
cultivated into highly specialized product
which IS effective only in the career of So
oial activity to which she has been trained
she finds herself involved In host of hu-
initiating embarrasSments brought upon her
by her own extravaganza and the moral
turpitude of the men and women by whom
she Is surrounded. The general attitude Of
the book is that of comedy. but the trend
ct II is tragic. The reader watches Lily
enmeshed more and more In the tissue spun
by the furies with a sense of powerlessness
that in the end becomes a personal hurt.
Selden, the man who OF all the people in the
book keeps his perception of the real values
Of life. awakens her sense of right which is
10 struggle, unsatisfied, until, in a final eff
fort. her greatness is indicated. But SUI
perior as he is in many ways, Selden is not
great enough 10 dominate the conditions he
dcplores. He can give her the germ OF
progress, but he cannot trust her enough
TO snatch both himself and the woman he
loves into happiness. The sadness of the
story is that the happiness is so near. a
breath would have summoned it,
In Lily Bart Mrs Wharton has given her
public masterpiece of character Not the
least achievement is to have so created the
atmosphere of beauty. We are not only told
that Lily is beautiful: we feel it, Mrs
Wharton's is the magic touch which has
called into existence the aroma of a wom-
ans loneliness. Beyond this is the fact
< q is no f-a.lf rtra af tn I'll hot
produced her. All OF her habits of mind
her mannerisms. her evasions, her consum-
mate skill In charming the men of her
world into acquescence with her desires
and the quality of her very weaknesses are
OF her class. Nothing but the uncom fort
able nobility in her holds her back from
success.
n It were possible to find a flaw 1t might
be that the end fails in dramatic simplicity
Yet even there the metaphysical calm of
Seldens last moments with the beautiful
dead girl softens the shock and leaves one
only with sense of eternal values. AS a
whole the book is a bitter rebuke to So
clety which makes possible such tragedy
HOW TO STUDY PICTURES. BY Charles
Henry Caffin. New York: The Century
Company.
This Is a book for every lover of pic-
lures. and for every one who would look at
and enjoy pictures UNDERSTANDINGS Step
by step. so simply and clearly that the
veriest tyro in art can follow, MIR. CafHn
has recorded the evolution of modern paint
ing from the Byzantine traditions which
prevailed before Cimabue down to the lat
est possibilities introduced by the point
illste" method of Monet. Through these
pages the reader Is helped TO acquaintance
with majority OF the greatest artists. their
points of view, and their methods of render
Ing what they saw in the way they felt 1t;
and IS guided to a general insight into pic
torial methods and motives
Chapter by chapter the reader visits diff
ferent countries. according as the art of
painting hourished in them simulta neously
or as IL declined In one and reanpeared with
Vigor IN another There is interesting dis
cussion OF how the manifestations of art
have varied In response to the racial and
temporary conditions OF the country and
have Influenced genius; how one implilse of
movement followed another; all of them in
volvng truth but none monopoiizing the
whole truth; how the manifestations and
possibilities of painting are wide and va
riouS as human nature. And the student
IS urged to feel that the enjoyment to be
derived from pictures is not only the salts
faction OF his own production. OF what
appeals 10 him individually, but the inter-
est TO be gained from studying pictures as
the record OF the feelings and experience
of other minds.
II is the aim of the book to present a
fairly comprehensive bird's-eye view of the
whole field OF painting; sufficient. IL study
must stop there. to enable one to recognize
II further study In detail is possible. q con-