New-York tribune., 1909-06-27

Is there a period in the life Of a man, roman
ti,ally welded and. 10 all intents and purposes,
ineIrabIy harry, in which his wife becomes
merely an incident 10 him? Is there i time at
which the normal man finds less Joy in his part
nor than he finds in his work or his children,
his friends or his dogs? Mr.. Allen plays with
this question in The Pride Of the Mistletoe"
Producing q curious little book which is nom
I-al'y q work of fiction but at bottom has more
the character Of an allegory or tract The
husband and wife he portrays dwell in a Ken
lucky farmhouse He Is q professor Of forestry.
The two have led q life full Of spiritual happi-
1"~s. a life rich in the things Of the heart and
rle mind At last a change comes. and in ex-
l.hitirg lis approach and more or less dramatic
manifestation Mr.. Allen brings in the ideas
that centuries Of civilization have associated
with the forest It is a though the author of
The Golden Bough" had stood at his elbow and
made him free OF great quantity OF recondite
lore. easily to be turned TO the purpose of a
reflective ronlancer. The result is a mildly in
teresting, though rather obscure disquisition on
married life. interesting because II probes hui
nature with an insight that is intermittent
ly Illuminating and obscure because the
thors conclusion is somewhat fine-drawn- The
effect is that Of a theme taken up with sincerity
and courage but developed with q touch that
one feels that the authors thought has not
kept pace with his aspiration. that a thing
inaginatively and emotionally felt has eluded
his power Of clear philosophical analysis and
statement. This rather foggy impression is
partly deepened through Mr.. Aliens indulgence
III what Is evidently meant TO be subtly figura-
TIVE prose but what looks suspiciously like mere
fine writing Perhaps il is only a slip that the
brook which is described on one page as "a
band Of jewelled sarnite" should be described
saa-ain a few pages further on as "a band of
samite. jewel-crusted-" The repetition might be
purely accidental But it is for the dealer in
literary ingenuities that we know Mr., Allen
when the chopping down Of tree is described
in THIS fashion:
The fir. as he drew the axe out made its
:,aehed throat sound like that of a butchered,
blood strangled creature trying 10 cry out too late
:lasinst d treachery. A horror ran through the
iruefs the thousands Of leaves Jared by
The death strokes, and the TOP q" II rocked IKE a
Il feH over its side, bridging biackly the white
Ice Of The brook
In this oyerwrougft passage you have the
key TO a certain unreal character Distinguishing
the entire book Mr. Aliens gravey measured
1iction does not, after ALL convey any very
peighty meaning. He has way of stating very
modest reflections in somewhat solemn form,
as. for example: 1t is the destiny of a portion
nobility from winning low battles; these always
GO against them: the only victories for them are
won when they are leading the higher forces of
human nature in Iife's upward conflicts Some
how we are not at all impressed.
The stuff Of this book. in fact, is far less NOV
ing than II is obviously intended 10 be. II
savors Of sentimentality rather than OF genuine
md poignant feeling. In a PREDATORY note the
author indicates that second story involving
The same family viii appear within a twelve
month, and that third book not fiction, is also
20 F,e ex.3ected the three works serving TO com
7.7.te each other and to complete - cycle Of the
theme There Is something about this pro-
r,arncaTnent. and, indeed, about the whole tone
q ..T,he Bride Of the Mistletoe," which we find
l..,,r,arl.ss and disconcertinG- Despite our re
s-e.t f.r the authors good faith and with the
r--r VIII IN the world TO meet half way so well
.....,.fra- q student of human life, We find our
selves wondering if he has not taken hiInSell
,arilaIs = shade too seriously
The author 4 'IVaylaid ly Wireless begins
lis story Fv rutting the hero Of il in an amazing
-.-.s5caraent and he keeps him there 10 the be
,.I5erment O. the reader, until the end OF the
i...t is reached. Young Mr Preston has sailed
,r . holiday in England with a firm resolution
20 ..,-oid The cathedral towns since all tourists
,-.-f- them and he wants To enjoy himself in the
t..v..vs. OF course, as the heroine proceeds 10