Evening star., 1909-03-13
BOOK REVIEWS.
MY STORY. BY Hall Caine. Illustrated

MY STORY. BY Hall Caine Illustrated.
New York: d. Appleton & Co.
MY Story" is so interviewer with the
story OF others that the book is less an
autobiography of Mr. Caine than a remi-
niscence OF his friends There Is an open
ing glimpse of the Isle of Man anu OF
the small boy who was to endear 1t 10
the entire world And there are other
glimpscs of the boy as an architects ap-
prentice in Liverpool; as struggling
Young writer In London: as foremost
novelist of the day. Interest centers. how
ever as enc feels that the author intended
il should center. in Dante Gabriel Ros-
setti the poet-painter whose genius made
him famous, whose ecCcbtricitiese made
him enemies and whose sUfferings made
him great The world already knew. to
the very last detail, of the pubic trl-
lImphs and tragedies that frightened and
hlackcned RoSSettiS career, but II mas
remained for Mr. Caine to sketch in the
lights and shadows OF a private person
aiity only to he obtained by one VINO was
d housemate and confidential friend
Through RoSsetti the interest OF lhe
book reaches out in every direction to
take i'm the brilliant men and women VINO
made up the art and literary circles oI
the London of his day. 1t is Rossetu him
self who tells young caine. IN WORDS as
realistic a snapshot. OF George Eilot'
with her long. weird, hOrsey face, a good
woman; of Mrs. Carlyle. "a clever but
rather bitter little woman with the one
redeeming quality of unostentatious char-
ity'': OF Browning. who was spruce, al
most dapper, wearing gloves that seemed
TO have grown on his shapely hands ; OF
Elizabeth Barrett Browning. OF Ienny-
son. who loved the simple things OF life;
of Longfellow. the old bard or Rus-
kin. Burne-Jones and Oscar Wilde. The
author, too has delightful personal recol-
lectons of a visit TO Blackmore. and he
gives also an account of other visits 10
Wilkie Collins. one of which is not so
pleasant, as il reveals the noVe1stS
weakness for drugs. That Collins was
addicted to laudanum and that Rossetti
had a line weakness for choral were
doubtless open secrets. but despite the
fact that Mr. Caine refers TO both with
greatest delicacy and as if he disliked TO
touch upon them, he will doubtless be
criticised for so doing. There are at least
two sides to this question. And. like
every other question, it depends upon the
point of view. In reference to his four
visits to this country. Mr.. Caine says,
among other nice things: Il love America
because il is big, and because its bigness
is constantly impressing the imagination
and stimulating the heart. | love It's peo-
pie. because they are free with freedom
which the rest of the world takes as by
stealth: | love them because they are the
most industrious. earnest. active and in
senious people on earth-because they are
the most moral. religious, and, above all.
the most sober people in the world.
In a good natured fling at the ire
pressible interviewer of the Space-rate
type he RECALLS the audacious statement
published. a s coming from him. that MIR.
Hall Laine considered that the upper
part of ms face was like Shakespeare's
and that the lower part resembled the
Christ.