New-York tribune., 1905-06-17
NEW AMERICAN FICTION.
Books by Mr.. Hoscells, Mr.. T0rS'''g-
ton and Others.

THE 5EAnIEi I51no q5 Ia M 14s Mcclure. Phillips @
GO, lack London. with illustrations rs
THE n SAa adecora5ions BY Henry HUT aRd MRacI,la q N
Lawrence. l2no. pp. isz
r,yr eO-ri WsN s1TyDEN sAPPHIREs BY Charles
carey lamo, PIP. 3ss Dodd. Mead r,,-
PARTNERS OF THE TIDE a1s bT by Charlotte Weber.
Decorations BY John Rae l2rao' pp' 'OV'
S Barnes & Co. = r,or,-, Wells
md HARRY Persons Taber. ill1sIia'eU
Tp. 2S2. Houghton. Mifiin q ~
xr 8oweIls is never more engasiis
when he is writing as he has written IA -.
Richards Inspiration" he seems AZ -.
70 have recaptured something OF 'he
s,,.,io, he long ago exploited to such gooo pui
mi. q. a. ~anr;l Hopes" The plan OF
az nov. story is slightness itself; the thiHe -
- - than brief idyl, in the con-
-.., - which the author has mace scaieeiS
u ,,non his powers of invention = man
-, "a, ,,;fa who have sold one summer hoii'
sc. ,bev had got into the haolt Oh elile'
.o.,,,,, tbAir friends. and had finally 1ouiid nus
r,,a,it a burden receive into their second house'
IN another place. young kiiis" 0iii'Ai = ;.
-broes of A love affair. The happE ii-'ii' va"
.Ta,,.aa N rursue his courtship under the looi
o< che Crombies is soon made even happiel' ~
,rouble arises when another pair coiieS
tt,a scene and brings an atmosphere VI
,,,oniai infelicity to cloud the SKY. Inc P'''
nlainlv about as simple as II couio ue
Nevertheless. Miss Beliards INSPIRATION - .a-
,,,ore interesting than many an elaborately oe-
xised piece OF fiction :.
II Is interesting in the first place because II
-. 49,. ~ nature. and then because the stu
...on presented is delightfully."- piquant, for an
.ho+ = is On .sinple Lillias Bellard is an anus
TIC .,-na of girlish gravity. Her head is stulleu
,-itb Grand gloomy and peculiar ideas out Siie
has a naTyely sweet way with her wen e0i'
lated TO rob her seriousness OF all us 'eilo-.
Her lover is like her. capable at one Hoiiie"'
,ba most romantic enthusiasm ana at lile IeN'
Of most unloverlike reasonapiehess'
host and his wife are in perfect contrast 10 theSe
,r-o children a couple of happy souls Win 'iie-
most human foibles in the world 1heS al
rational where Lillias and her Edmund are a".
surd vet they have the gilt OF sylhp"ci'' an
Ar perfectIy into the picture Inc he' is'-1@'
,-bose failure TO hit off together has tenn
norarfIv disastrous effect upon Lilhas' are not
eo deftly introduced Indeed they have rather
the air of having been dragged in TO spin out
+ba action. and when they disappear they leave
like the puppets that they are, no memory pe-
hind them. But we are easily reconciled TO thelr
Righteousness because they, as well as the hs
,,res of flesh and blood in the tale. are enNeoPeo
in the gentle flow Of Mr.. HoWeliss oeiIuiei'
humorous dialogue. The book is fun OIL oelicd'e
.,,-or,-.+ion II is true that the things observed
Of q rather trivial nature but at least they
- nat 5,,Il ON the contrary, the four people
in the book who count are companlolieDie' e
tertaining creatures; we take nVely cOii0eih
IN them and in what they have TO say 10 one
another. and the general tone Of genlahty Whleh
the author preserves throughout makes co.'io
;s,ve the appeal of Miss Bellards Inspiration.
wit such lght tOucn, II
moves so suavely. that wish Mt Howehs
had denied himself the use of such pedanuc
words here and there as "plications' pre-
potent" and "impredicable'
1.-The Beautiful Lady" is charming little tale.
in which Mr. Harrington performs to admiration
the difficult task Of lifting man from gro
tesquey ridiculous position into one of un-
asailable dignity. On the very first page the
hero a well born Neapolitan. stranded in Paris,
describes himself as being reduced to the most
humiliating extremity; he is earning a few hun
dred francs living advertisement. His hair
has been shaved off. and theatrical advertise
ulent has been painted on his head! Let Sgnor
Ansolini himself describe his tragic situation:
My duties were not exhausting to the body I
was required only to sit without hat from 10 in
the morning TO midday, land from I until Z in the
5e Ia Psx at the O. Corner me- Of the Pace de TopeT
that is say, the centre Of the inhabited world.
In the afternoon 1 slipped it cold in the glass. 1
spoke TO no one; not a glance or gesture OF mine
Yet was the centre OF that centre of the world.
All day the crowds surrounded me. laughing loud
": ali the .'yoyous making those Jokes for which
] found repartee- The pavement was some
Hs a oS % ooS os PyeT n @ small Infants were
elevated shoulderssto behold me; not the gravest
or most sorrowful came by without stopping to
gaze at and go away with rejoicing races.
The boulevards rang to their laughter-eH Paris
laughed!
1e =. y,asdad audacitv IN take a man in such a
plight as this for hero, it needed also fine feel
ing and that Mr.. Harrington had reserves Of
both on which TO draw when he set about the
composition of THE Beautiful Lady" is proved
by the fact that grasp Ansolini's true signifi-
canoe at the outset, and do not laugh, but sym
pathetcally smile as we watch him in his pre-
dcament Even before the heroine of the tale
definitely strikes the note of compassion it has
been subtly proclaimed by the author. The
scene changes from France TO Italy, and the plot
thickens The latter is never made too porten-
tousIy dramatic Mr.. Harrington is faithful TO
the vein of comedy in which he launches his ro-
nance. But the developments are varied enough
10 satisfy the reader not too avid of incident
and the climax. especially, is carried off with
admirable zest. 1t is artistic story, artistic
in its humor and in It's pathos, and likewise in
its form. The style is commenda bly, free from
the cheap effects TO be gained by broken Eng
lish- Signor Ansolini is the supposititious mar
rator. and the language is therefore not that OF
an American But 1t is the language of an Ital-
San too well bred to use English without a cer-
tain carefulness
Jack London's latest production is short
story, swelled by thick paper and many illus
trations. 10 the bulk of a full blown novel The
hero of. THE Game is a young prize fighter
who has engaged himself to be married, and. ir
the glow Of the event. has agreed TO abandon the
hn-