New-York tribune., 1905-11-11

tons srrssaerick y A Stokes Company
p1.ac.K SPANIEL. and Other Stories. BY
sobeTf chens with %. sishI Soeg eg
Company.
.r,TSs ALL. BY ". W. Jacobs. With deco
tons and ten f m pegSe pSsra rssTaSns 0y sons Mh
-.R.s spy. The Mystery OF Silent Love
q sg.rt Set publishing Company.
CORNER N T0HES @ eSyea and eoan ohsF and IGs fTsns
Io.a , frorn drawings by Charles Dana Glpsol G;
The ilustraITohhS Th5 cecil CIav and Others. 12mo.
~ =, xviii ss2. Moffat. Yard & Co.
,s Mrs. Castle are at their best when
ore writing a story like THE Heart OF
- Anne" It is one OF those comedies OF
=. f..orrian era in which they can exercise
-, lifts for courtly vivacity, truly decorative
.1.r,noe and sparkling romance with perfect
,.,,eity. Their heroine this time is girl
.s.h,on.bly bred in France and then marfleo
roung English squire who is as charming
:. ,orld be desired, but cherishes an 1neraoI-
-. a,s.aste for the follies OF the town He
s.,ro, understand why his French Nan
ssorIs hs discontented with their home in the
ssneciauv since he has shown his love
-. ,,r sn all manner Of tendernesses, but IN
+,,aI vravs almost Transforming the inside
,,s ancestral mansion into the likeness OF a
.,..sn ecross the Channel His wife, for her
,s-t ,s at loss TO see why he cannot al least
~. her season IN London They quarrel
snd though her first flight from the houS0
,suses him TO follow in hot pursuit, ne tuInS
.hs second into a very different KIND OF ao-
y.nt1,re taking her 10 town and leaving her'
.,.h the eravest courtesy, in the care OF our
nld friend. the Incompatible Bellairs, now Lazy
Ei,tv Kilcroney. Such acquiescence IN her
rishex is more than Lady Anne has bargalneo
sor hut she proceeds to make the best OF her
,,s-+v and almost before she knows it she is
,n coil of misery. Matters go from bad TO
worse. and it does not take long for the foolish
little wife 10 see her husband in new perspec-
tive. We must not reveal the Developments
which of course. bring the two together again
II is enough to saw that the authors maintain
the interest Of their sprightly tale by expedl-
ents which are always ingenious and always
natural "The Heart of Lady Anne" is deft,
vivid piece of work, a thing of pleasure from
beginning TO end. 1t has been quantity Illus
.rated in color by Ethel F. Belts, and as Ell
s.ctiveiy decorated with chapter headings and
initials in black and white and tints by Fred
erick G. Hall.
The long story which fills a good third Of Mr..
Eichens's new book, nd gives il its title, is as
powerful bit Of writing as he has ever Iut to
hi. credit. 1t is a grim study in metempsychosls'
with sidelghts on the diabolical cruelty Of which
a man may be capable though he wears a
st.rched shirt front and carries himself among
his fellows with unimpeachable correctness
The man who tells the tale of THE Black
Spaniel brings together in Rome two men who
Ere both his friends, Of them successful
London doctor, and the other a rich dilettante.
The latter is fond Of animals and preserves In
morbid intensity the memory Of a black spaniel
which he had lost and traced, too late, TO an
establishment kept up for the benefit OF viVl-
sectors. Deening, the doctor rouses suspicious
IN the mind Of this animal lover that he would
not hesitate TO inflict pain upon a dumb beast
and the story is made up Of a conflict between
ths men. which in It's long drawn out and hor-
ribie character touches the imagination OF the
reader with something like tragic force. MI
Eichens has before this shown his ability to
dssI TO good purpose with soTnbre theme, but
nsyer has he produced a narrative more poig-
nsnt than this. It IS almost too painful, but,
though the reader may shudder, he cannot re-
Gnouish ''The Black Spaniel until he has gone
through 1t TO the bitter end.
The other tales in the book are Of less value
'The Mission of Mr.. Eustace Greyne." a skit
upon the ridiculous place in the economy Of the
universe played by the husband of a successful
novelist, IS funny enough farce, but it is not
quite worthy Of the author OF THE Londoners,"
snd it certainly has no place beside THE Black
Spaniel" The remaining ten stories are chiefly
tbs fruit of the authors interest in the desert,
and while they have intrinsic merit they seem
rather studies made preliminary to the COM
position Of that fine book "The Garden Of
Allah" than pieces made to stand upon their
own feet Mr. Hichens would have been better
advised If be had published ''The Black Spaniel
by itself or had waited until he had written
something the same level to be published
with It.
There is one story in the collection of ten
brought cut by Mr.. ". W. Jacobs under the
title OF Captains All" which we would wish
away. This is the one with a supernatural
motive, "Over the Side" which in the first place
has business in a book Of humor. and fur
therrnore is so inferior to earlier production
Of the authors in the same field, "The Monkeys
Paw" that we finish it IN a mood Of posi-
lively exasperated disappointment But every
thing else in the book is Of pure gold. Mr..
Jacobs is marvel among the humorists Of our
day. In that he seems to be able to go
on indefinitely doing the thing with
out losing any Of his freshness. His prac-
ucs is &c take a wooden headed sailorInan
IN love, villager with his cupidity aroused, or
some similar type and TO whelm the poor man
IN circumstances which you would call disas-
Uous II it were not that they happen to be
purely comic. His types and situations are
iAilhy' and even funnier is the demure way u
which he extracts absurdity out OF the talk in
winch his incidents are unfolded. We have
oitsn wanted TO quote Mr. Jacobs and have al
ways refrained from a conviction that 1t would
De unfair. Il is not the single passage that best
illustrates him. Il IS the sustained trickle Of
ofollery that makes every line Of one Of his
stories necessary to his essential effect We have
SAID that he does the same thing over and over
z1a 0f SIMPLICITY.