New-York tribune., 1908-02-15
Another Delightful Book by the
Author of Joseph Vance."

There is nothing more amusing to the OBJ
server of literary affairs than the manner in
xybtch an author with genuine gift viii Shout
sar aside all the conventions of the moment and
zriu success by the simple process ot making his
Nun laws. This is embarrassing to the
,heo-ists who like to assign every writer TO his
rrorp and explain him by reference TO this
hat movement" They have childlil1e belief
IN the subjection of literature TO certain in
eyences at a given period. and If you ask them
~ nrove tie point they will direct your atten-
ZION 10 the usually incontrovertible fact that
most OF the writer's in question are clearly
working along much the lines. demon
s,ya.ion Of this sort is known among the wise
scres as a demonstration Of the dependence of
en author upon his time. But then. as we
have more than once had occasion remark.
your man of genius arises and disposes of the
whole bag Of academic tricks. MIR. De Morgan
thus confounded the pedants when he published
.1oseph Vance" Evidently the literary fash
inns Of our day die rot interest him. In far
&C he was sympathetic TO any movement at
ell Re went back 10 the great novelists CT the
Victorian age. and they. Of course. offered no
sa- formula for his emulation. What they did,
- they 6id anything for him. was to snow him
that Il IS a good thing in fiction to so for the
si-nrle virtues. 10 keep in mind the things that
srveeten life TO look man and his ways at
q
= tenderness for the simple. everyday traits and
incidents that mean much in the develop
-nenr and revelation OF character. But
while he was cultivating qualities that. as they
crop out IN his work. make you think of his in
Irritable predecessors, he was. with all the art
lessress in the world, enveloping that work in
an atmosphere Of his
NJ De Morgan's is intensely personal.
which Is perhaps reason why it is not al
wavs exercised with the same absolute sureness
Of touch. The mood him. as the saying
goes zlaen he wrote Joseph Vance" and so he
rroduced in that enthralling story something
ike masterpiece. His next novel. "Alice-for
Short" vas obviously written with less in
sriratior and was not held together with
ANYTHING like the skill that marked the con-
4 struction Of its predecessor It had much Of the
authors charm II was the kind of book which
only Mr.. De Morgan could have written. But
IN IL he failed to reach the standard he had set
for himself In certain respects Somehow
Good" falls beneath that standard, but in others
the author RECEIVERS lost ground The differ
snce between Joseph Vance and this book is
the difference between a work full of variety
and one pitched throughout in a single key. In
the earlier novel Mr.. De Morgan gave with both
hands framing his mimic world within wide
boundaries and investing it with air Of
swarming life. Now his actors are fewer his
outlook is more crcumscribed. Quite aside
from the question Of creative power-which. of
course may be as effective on a small canvas
as on a large one-there is question involved
Of keeping the reader interested Joseph
Vance" made a richer appeal than is made by
Somehow Good The point is necessarily to
be roted but there follows the more pressing
question as to Just what Mr.. De Morgan has
done with his sparser material
He set out. in the first place, to illustrate the
idea embodied by Tennyson IN two well renem-
bered lines Of In Menoriam':
oh vet re trust that somehow good
VIII be the final goal Of Ill.
To work out his commentary these lines
he devised plot, the drift of which is early
prefgured in his narrative that in sketchng its
outlines we Go nothing TO spoil the readers pleas
ure in The book. young English girl goes out
TO India TO meet her lover and be married to
him. Tntoward Circumstance keeps them apart
for time and in this brief period the wife-to
be falls into the hands of scoundrel, and suf-
fers through him the worst possible of wrongs.
In her weakness and unworldiness however. she
rnarries her lover without warning him of what
has occurred. and when. almost Immediately
after the wedding the situation is made plain
u HIN. they have a tragic parting. We next
10 imagine this unfortunate woman living quiet
ly in England, with q daughter growing up by
her side who IS not her husbands child Kind
friends who know all about her trouble and her
essential innocence have Strengthened out life
for her and she faces the world apparently
prosperous and contented widow, finding all her
happiness in her daughter Sally. The husband,
meanwhile, has disappeared, but when the book
opens he comes upon the scene in the oldest
imaginable fashion. Recovering from the first
shock ot his wife's disclosure he has started
wandering round the world and. after many ad-
Ventures, has made fortune. He revisits Eng
lane and on his arrival happens, through or
tSo rnisa dveatures to part company with every
article. such a visiting card, would
To reveal his identity. In the ''Twopenny Tube
his hand comes in contact with the electric cur
rent and his memory of everything that has
hitherto occurred TO him is instantly blotted out
Who befriends him at this thrilling moment?
Tie girl who sits beside him. with whom he has
already exchanged a few words. She is his
Nlfes daughter, and she takes him to his wife's
nome II may be noted I'm passing that the
FAMILIAR long arm Of coincidence" never
used more audacfously than in this meeting but
II is z detail which is easily overlooked. since
us significance rather feeble expedient of
literary craftsmanship is fairly swamped by the
slrangeness Of the ensuing situation.
The stricken mans wife recognizes him the
moment he Is brought to her door, and as fate
Presently makes it natural for him TO remain
nnder her roof she definitely resolves TO If she
CT Ein hack his love. He. totally unconscious
o. her true relation 10 him. in due falls
ih lore with her and they married Thence
iorta the author finds his account in exhibiting
ule slow return OF memory TO the twice-wedded
husband. and the harmonious adjustment of