New-York tribune., 1910-10-22
Literary Nes,S and Criticism

pletely upset the suburban household
from which she takes French leave Al
the same time Mora. too. somehow fans
to enforce herself with any sort of really
human vitality. and as for the people oil
A Round OF Visits" and "Crapy Cor
nelia,' we dimly glimpse them rather
than firmly realize them. and end by
goOdhumoredly speculating as 10 whether
Mr. James himself has grasped them in
their quiddity.' Only in the last of
these stories. The Bench OF Desolation.
does he blend oddity with absolute truth.
and make us see his foolish lover and
the woman who understood him as
though they were living and breathing
creatures.
That the result is thus uneven, that
but one story out Of the five should
carry conviction. is an indictment not
90 much OF Mr.. James as of the poten-
tialitv Of the case" as a source OF in
spiration. On the whole il would seem
to foster the dangerous practice of work
ing over a motive from the outside
rather than from within 1t is char
acter as we have said. that concerns
this author. and when he finds it he can
safely put the development of the story
in its hands. as in THE Bench OF Desc
lation" Herbert Dodd and Kate Cook
ham. the actors in this bit Of tragic
comedy, stand on their own legs and so
take care Of their case in such nat
ural fashion and 10 such good purpose,
! that they triumph over even the manner
isrns which now seem TO have fastened
like deadly barnacles upon the authors
style Tho rest Of the folk in the book
suggest fhst they have been pat together
bit. by bit. 40 accommodate themselves
10 an arbitrary exercise in analytical
ingenuity. Is IT possible that where Mr..
James succeeded II Was because ne had
forgotten his everlasting ease, ' and had
merelv got absorbed in an honestly
poignant situation We hazard the
guess and in doing SO are oenFcious Of
: feeling Of renewed dUbIetv as 70 the
efficacy Of the case" ss an artiEttc prin-
ciple
In Mrs Wharton book 81 embraces
also tbs PLAY Of character, but her pur-
E,Iif OF oddttT- Is directed by = far more
terz-id fancv Her opening narrative
The Bolted Door" takes 2 fairly melo
dramatic turn Her hero is 2 murderer
who through force Of circumstances. is
denied the ll1r11rv Of expistion. Il is not
character that counts here, nor can Ne
say that II IS life n the strict sense.
though tbs WAYS Of life are not neglect
ed This Is the case" handled wholly
for its own sake. the odditv, the curious
incident. raised 70 the nth power. AS
We 90 on W. perceive that this hypothesis
has steadily commended Itself 70 the
author Of Tales OF Men and Ghosts"
In His Fathers Son" commonplace
individual with imaginative yearnings
practises z fantastic deception. The
1 collector portrayed in The Daunt
Diana sells the masterpieces which
. possession Of a fortune had enabled him
70 buy at one stroke. in order that he
may find q greater happiness in slowly
hunting down and repurchasing the self
same treasures. In The Debt d
scientist prefers the truth 10 sentimen-
tality. and instantly We warm 10 him, for
4 his case is compatible with human ex-
4 perience and does not smack merely of
/ strained invention; but with Full Cir
Gle and The Legend" We begin TO
breathe too thin air again and are CRATE
fUl for the ghost stories The Eyes
and "Afterward.' IN which. since any
thing is legitimately possible. the actual
eerie effects achieved are appreciated
without qualification. Character, We re
peat. raises its head nearly everywhere
in this book and il gives a t0lera bly, sug-
gesJiVe account Of itself in one more
story. The Blond Beast" but in this
collection. Is in M James's there is
; just one sole performance that seizes
tie imagination and thoroughly salts
hes H. This, by q quaint coincidence,
comes also at the END OF the book. IT is
the story Of The Letters"
: Observing Mrs. Wharton's impec-
! ca BILE sensitiveness and her Rureness in
this rather bleak little romance, one
notes also its vivid revelation OF her true
scope The whole force and charm Of
The Letters may be traced to the .au-
thoT's understanding Of a woman's char
acter The failure Of the bulk of her
book To yield the same interest may be
assigned TO her excess Of confidence in
the mere case" her substitution Of
oddity for the simpler and broader truth
of life but it is due alsos We fear. To d
mistaken notion Of what IS truly mas
cuIine. These are not in any really per
suasiYe sense Tales of Men" but tales
Of rather specious figures. cieverly de-
yised and not unamusing. but very
doubtful denizens OF the actual male
world The touch IN The Letters has
the accuracy Of instinct. That in
story like The Daunt Diana. OF in one
ike His Fathers Son" reyives again
that impression as Of something external
and Insecure which we have mentioned
IN traversing The Finer Grain" To
explain why these two novclists. one
carrying his search for character hither
and Won in the domain of feminine
gubtleties the other seeking bizarre Incl
dents in the paths OF men, should both
emerge with spoils not quite in proper
tion 10 the labor expended, we need not
enlarge the inquiry beyond the point al
ready indicated. II is the case" that
has betrayed them.
IN INDIA