New-York tribune., 1908-01-04
The Portrait of an Egotist, Con
summately Drascn.

GOTTY AND THE GCE-NoR. a True Narrative
Acceun; &c His Voyage of Discovery on d
i2r1o. PIP viii So Mitchell Kennerley.
LAID Up IN LAVENDER BY Stanley J Wey-
man l2Ino, pp. 329- Longmans. Green & Co
The diabolically good woman is a difficult
model for the literary artist. She incites
TO satire, and unless the painter knows just
when TO pull himself UP It is odds that the
resultant portrait will be kind of caricature
and therefore ineffective. Humor is the indis-
pensable resource of the student of human nat
ure who would succeed in deliueatng the type
in question. Miss Sedgwick has this precious
gift-along with a handful of others-and she
has written in A Fountain Sealed a book so
brilliant and true that she fills the reader
with a delightful sense Of gratitude. She has
10 begin with. what can only be described as
1he art Of approach. Her heroine is not intro
duced with all her traits badly exposed or
clearly foreshadowed Imogen Upton is a subtle
creature and her character is subty unfolded
Though with the skill Of the perfect craftsman,
Miss Sedgwick al once family rouses our sus-
picions about this young woman of hers, she
leads gradually and in the most delicate fash
ion into a better and better understanding of
the egotism which provides the central inter-
est in The book. In other words, "A Fountain
Sealed" is really page from life. a study as
charming TO observe the ease and suppleness
with which this author executes her task The
portrait is We'll balanced because the painter
not only knows her model but sees that model
IN Just the right light and draws ii with the
touch that only comes from mature thought
There is nothing here Of the morbidity which
has sometimes seemed inseparabe from the
theme. and. in some hands. has been exploited
so crudely and unpleasantIy. The canvas is full
and rich-the canvas Of an artist
II presents. in I.nogen Upton. the kind of ego
tist who is nothing if not miracle of rectitude,
unseIfshness and good Judgment Valerie Up
ton the mother OF this marvel, is a woman OF
normal goodness and sweetness who has been
driven TO expatriate herself by the uncomfortable
boredom which her husband creates in their
home. She goes abroad, leaving him TO engage
IN all the philanthrOpic schemes and Utopian
agitation dear 20 his honest but mediocre nature.
and their daughter. sitting at his feet. grows up
l. be physically beautiful and spiritually a very
1rig Of prigs When Mr. Upton dies his widow
returns 70 America. and. with the best will in
the world, tries TO pick UP old threads But in
returning she reckons without Imogen's peculiar
goodness Though she learns 10 see through
her daughter. that ineffable egotist never even
begins 70 understand her character and the two
are drawn further and further apart. \ touch
Of sardonic comedy goes TO the final arrange
rnent II their respective careers. but it is not,
indeed. with Developments OF plot. in the con-
ventionaI sense. that Miss Sedgwick is chiefly
concerned Her purpose is psychological. her
leading motive is just the evolution Of Imogen's
selfish soul and on this she spends all her care.
following the subject persistently. closely, we
had almost said lovingly. It is a merciIess por-
trait. when ali is said. yet it could hardly be
called q cruel one That IS because il is so
veracious- There is nothing set down in malice
Tho note IS never forced This ruthless heroine
pursuing her way with the demeanor Of a saint
and self-satisfaction SO profound that it be-
comes almost innocent lives and breathes and
makes Us feel that in every word and deed she
Is hut following the law Of her being. We vince
at the pain she inficts, but we are wengh
resigned 70 the contemplation Of so human a
girl one word more of tribute must be paid
70 this striking book Il holds the attention
with power equal 10 that Of story of breath
less adventure
The seven stories collected in Mr. Howeus's
latest volume. Between the Dark and the Day
light. are written around incidents in which
elements mora OF less pathological are tinged
with a psychic significance They are somewhat
ambiguous in effect. perhaps because this all-
th0r-s method does rot readily lend itself 70 the
creation Of that earie atmosphere in which his
themes cry out TO be enveloped In the first and
longest Of the tales. A Sleep and Forgetting
we have To do with 2 girl who has seen her
mother killed al a grade crossing. and. on awaI-
ing from the swoon into which the shock threw
her. has preserved all her faculties save mem
ory- When we meet her she is travelling with
her father and AZ san Reno falls in with a doc
Tor VINO at once takes an interest in her case"
There. for the reader, comes the rub. He is
bound. IS the story goes. 10 expect curious psy-
Geological developments, but presently he is
obliged to admit that he is only looking on at
an illness The crisis when il comes, leaves
him cold. Mr.. Howells has better luck in his
shorter pieces notably in THE EidIons of
Brooks Afford" and "A Memory That Worked
Overtime the latter a most amusing little
sketch with a vivid point. II is in the matter
q point that these stories are uneven. Mr.
Hovells touches synpathetically and sometimes
suggeztively on certain picturesque ideas. but
he shows less than his wonted art in framing
his narrative
There is no art about That Affair at Eliza
beth" but there is plenty Of the ingenious mech
anism which keeps mystery mysterious until
the author has made UP his mind to reveal
everything. AIr. Stevenson starts with capital
situation 4 wedding Is about take place
AL things are apparently in favor Of the hap
piness Of the lovers. They are on the very verge
q marriage when the bride to be. fully dressed
for the auspicious moment and seemingly in
blissfuI mood. disappears though the earth
had opened ard swallowed her- Thenceforth
The reader is utterly unable TO guess at the Sc
cret posed by Mr.. Stevenson He asks one
question after another, but asks in vain Has
Marcia Lawrence been abducted? Has she been
murdered? Has she already been married 10
another man. who has come at the last moment
20 claim her or has she found her love for her