New-York tribune., 1910-06-25
FICTION.
Some Clever Studies Of Gharac
ter by John Galsworthy.

PIP. ii, "a. Charles scribners s Sons,
DEAD LETTERS. BY Maurice Barring.
12mo, PIP. xiii 245. The Houghten Miffin
Company
THE DEvOURERs, BY 4. yivanti Char
THE PRUsUIT By Frank savile. Illus
trations by Herman Pfeifer. i2Tno PIP.
317- Boston: Little Brown & Co.
THE GARDEN AT IS. By Edgar Jepson.
With four illustrations by H. r. Boehm,
1enlo, PIP css. The Vessels & Bissell
Company
ANNE OF TREBOUL. BY Marie Louise
Goetchus. l2mo. pp. 2Ss. The Century
Company
! Mr. Galsworthy's new book comes just
/ in the nick of time. correcting the rather
unfortunate impression, developed by his
recent publication. He had begun to-
suggest that his work. for all its clever
ness, had got itself produced out of a
formula. He had seemed to be a man
Of one idea, embittered by contempla-
tton Of the British philistine, and SO
bent on satirizing that type as to have
forgotten that too much of a COED thing
may become a bore. In the present vol
! Ume he is the same critic of humanity
that we have known before, but the
twenty-five or thirty short pieces here
gathered together have been well chosen
from the mass of the authors work in
the last ten years-they illustrate. not
ratural spontaneous operation of his
mind. Some of these studies are very
short indeed. covering only two or three
pages. Evidently they were not written
with the rather nagging and somewhat
superior" purpose which has warped
some of his writings. but with the
artists delight in setting forth the truth.
In one sketch after another Mr.. Gals
wprthy analyzes character, or, perhaps
we should say, wildly portrays it, leav-
ing analysis 10 take care of itself. Here
and there the reforma tory vein crops
out, as in The Prisoner" and all
through the book the author makes plain
his compassionate feeling toward the
poor and worse than poor The hard
case of forlorn humanity in the grip Of
fate is exhibited with positive power in
such stories as Compensation" "A
Miller of Dee The Neighbors' and
"A Woman The gentler note. lightly
or quizzically touched, sounds only at
longer intervals. But alike with the
tragic motive or in the sphere of COM
edy. Mr.. Gslsv-1rthy maintains. on this
occasion. Wnolesomer and sweeter tone
than we have hitherto observed in anv
of his books. The volume is neatly
named. a Motley we'll expresses the
varied, richly colored succession of
poigna ntly human episodes that he un-
folds No doubt The Man of Property
and The Country House cost him
greater and more sustained effort than
went to the making of these shreds and
patches but a Motley" is nevertheless
q more engaging souvenir of his talent.
In his Landmarks in Russian Lftera-
ture, published month or SO ago, Mr..
Maurice Barring disclosed uncommon
ability. He knew his subject, inter
preted it's spirit with complete sympathy
and altogether presented the spectacle
OF a writer at ease with his task In
Dead Letters" one scarcely recognizes
the same man of judgment and adroit-
ness, and least of all does one identify
here the lover Of literature. the sensitive
artist. Mr.. Barring has had the not very
original idea Of reViving old, unhappy,
far off things and battles of long ago in
the form of imaginary correspondence.
and has tried TO freshen a worn conven-
ton by giving 10 his epistles an essen
tally modern turn He causes Clyten-
nestra, writing 10 4Egisthus about
Helen's departure from Troy in the COM
uapy Of Paris, to close her letter in this
fashion. Electra has got whooping
cough. but she is going or as well as
can be expected. / have no patience
with Helen. She always was utterly
thoughtless." Helen. in her turn. winds
ap a brief note saying: Please have
scme patterns for hle to choose from.
hope To be back in month Clytem-
neetEa. again writing To 142gisthus, ter