New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-10-07
A cuRlOus PROBLEM.

- ~ nv ~ ~ - -''f
TIE FRUITFUL VINE. BY Robert
Hichens. With a Fronuspiece f. Color
by Jules Guertn. Emo, pp. 0lf. me
Frederick a. Stokes Company.
There is d probably not altogethe- acoi-
dental element Of umeliness IN Nh
Hichen's new novel whose main theme is
the desire for parenthood and the in
dueuce which the lack OF children exerts
upon the lives Of e man and woman
who. devotedIy Loving each other, yet drift
apart because Of Il. AIr. Hichens revels
in tragedy. and. If perhaps he does not
always see life as It IS. ne at least never
attempts TO twist 1t as 1t should be
Didacticism is the last Of his concerns as
an artist. Therefore, at the end Of this
story the tragedy does not punish the
wicked or spare the innocent. II is the
woman who pays the price. but the sin
ner triumphs over the husband and
brushes him.
Morbid studies OF the emotional life
are beginning 70 be as much Of a fic-
tional convention as the primmest Of
moral tales, and are as little near the
truth as they. The silence preserved
through ten long years by this united
couple on their one supreme desire is
one Of those conventions which cause
the sober minded reader 10 doubt. Mr..
Hichens makes it quite plausible In his
irgeniously psychological way, but II
remains a convention none the less,
which the reader must accept lest the
whole structure fall 10 the ground. IN
stead. the woman. driven TO desperation
by her husbands growing alienation
from her judges that the end hallows
the means Of which she avails herself %
solve her problem. But the love she re-
gains by fraud loses its Importance for
her. now wrapt in wonder at the mys-
terry Of life. IN alteration before the tiny
flame that through her VIII ldndle the
torch Of life for still another generation.
Then she dies. AL this Is yelled in the
meshes Of a psychology as intricate as
that OF the Paul Bourget Of an earlier
dav IL is capital work, but both the
woman and the man remain al0of from
Us. We observe them. but our sympa-
4bies are not enlisted. And the book is
certainly overlong.
The setting is Rome, the cosmopolitan
Rome OF the present dag, and the scene
is peoDled with masses OF minor charac-
-ers. no less minutely studied. There is
a charming English couple here, with
their three children; but tragedy over
takes them, too. As for the Italians,
they became very much Of a bore. with
their scandal mongering, their exclusive
ureoceupatiOn with love and marital In
fidelity. Not the least interesting Of
Nr. Hichauss cbaracters-and all oi
them are interesting at one moment or
anothor-is an Irish trained nurse, a
woman with the sound, frank view Of
life that her profession brings. She has
ultra-modern theories on many matters.
bat she IS thoroughly well balanced, and
she. one infers, expresses the authors
own opinion of the situation with which
she deals An unpleasant book Of
which. Notwithstanding the admirable
quality Of its technique. ole cannot Soy
that il IS powerful as we'll
CONAN DOYLE m q NEW VEIN
TIE LAST GALLEY Impressions and
Tales lty arthur Conan DOYLE With
iilstI4uona l-mo. Dp. s-l boubi dag,
Page g. Go.
The inventor of Sherlock Holmes long
ago proved that the detective story was
not by any means the only literary form
within his scope. "The White Conn
pany" alone would serve TO correct the