The San Francisco call., 1905-08-06

: velop from youth up with almost omnis
| cient, worldly-wise, critical, half-cynical
| eyes. She seems to just naturally know
! they are going TO get their sentiments
| TO flowing into cross-currents before the
parties most concerned suspect it them
selves. The complications verge close
TO getting spicy, too, but they
are almost miraculously saved from
! scandal, and the cynical old Lady
/ Midhurst is a large part of the miracle
! that preserves them to be in outward act
| what they are at heart. honorable, kindly
| people. As she watches with satiric wis
! dom these comparatively inexperienced
relatives of hers involuntarily slipping
so close TO risky scrapes, she expresses
| her soul thus: 81 wish to heaven there
were some surgical way to amputate
| sentiment"
OF the half-dozen younger people.
there are two married couples and ewu
unmarried men. Each bachelor is
/ brother to ono of the women: each of
these pairs is cousin to the other So
there is a triple combination of re1a-
uonships, and when they get into love
scrapes it's all in the family, SO TO
speak. and makes a more mutually
confidential complication than If out
sfders were involved. That rs one of
the reasons why the story can be so
thoroughly and entertainingly told b.
the letters which they write to each
other and to the old lady who is the
confdante and. to some extent, boss of
them all
Reginald is brother to Amy, and
Frank is brother to Clara Amy is mar
ried 10 Lord Cheyne. and Clara is mar
rico To Mr.. Radworth, man deeply i'm
merseo IN science. Reggy has been
rather wild and neglected his studies.
he Is frank sort of fellow. and wears
his admiration for his cousin Clara on
his sleeve. He had loved Clara before
she married and therefore it was less
like something he wilIfully did than
something he involuntarily found had
been done to him. He behaved chival-
rously fine about 1t until he took it
into his head that Clara was mismated
and did not love her lord. Then he got
sentimental and said silly things to
her. 1t was things like this that made
old lady Midhurst wish to heaven that
there was some surgical way to ampu-
tate sentiment. When he got too i'm
pulsive Clara took alarm. However. he
was her cousin, and, moreover he was
dear aunt Lady Midhursts very dearest
nephew.
These facts complicated the affair.
ana rendered the ordinary rules of the
game inapplicable. Thereupon is
evolved the occasion for one of tbosn.
highly entertaining letters. It's from
0-sAiH d " Lazy MldnurSt. 1t is a clever
one, and Aunt Midhurst thought # was
supersubtly so, and so told her favorita
Reggy, IN a subsequent epistIe. Clara's
letter is too long TO fully explain. but
II 1t had to be condensed into =
! Telegram 1t would have run somewhat
thus; Dear Aunt: Your beloved
nephew, Reggy, is making love to me-.
anu am a married lady. Whatever
shall / do about it?" Now il so han
pened that the satirical old lady Mid
hurst liked Reggy better than she liked
cara; and you should read the criticism
she wrote to Reegy about Clara's letter.
She wanted to cure Reggy of his infatu
/ atlon anyway, and this was her golden
opportunity.
rms is just an item to suggest the
quantity and quality of this mix up of
| loves cross currents which reouired
thirty letters to explain and strafRhten
out; and. remember, many of these are
! from the .Ioquacious Lady Midhurst-
she of the omniscient comprehensions
ana the satiric pen. She does not even
spare her favorite, Reggy, when she
criticises him for attempting to lift his
love for Clara to a high chivalric plane.
mat phase OF the affair makes her sa-
tlrlc sentences flow gallingly Consider
this good one: You are trying to pIav
Launcelot in a suit of Arthur's armour"
The most dramatic page in the book
is one not directly concerning the char
acters or the story, but is an anecdote
OF the long -since-dead member of
Reggys family after whom that ardent
youth was named. AS it is connected
with the one and only poem in this only
novel OF famous poet it will probably
be OF interest The tragi-comedy of the
love cross-currents of the letter writer's
is here set in sharp contrast to the
very real tragedy and terrible love
cross-current of that other Reginald
who let sentiment sink into sin. 1t is
quite likely that this little brief in
terJected contrast is high point in the
literary art Of this prose work of Swim
burnes At all events it is the only
incident he has adorned with his poet
ry. 1t is a little story tragic and inn
passioned enough to remind the reader
Of "One of Cleopatra's Nights" Mar
garet, lady Of Lord Cheyne, regarded
as the perfect Lady Margaret. is wooed
by Reginald Radsworth, a writer of
beautiful verses. He had a good
sword hand, too. and what between his
pen hand and his sword-hand she lost
her heart and wits. One visit only she
allowed her lover. Late that night she
reused Lord Cheyne, bidding him
come now and judge between her and
all the world" She showed him Regi-
nald. sleeping-his sword not to his
hand. If her lord believed her honest,
"Iet him strike a stroke for her and