New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-21
IN BYRON'S PLUMES
A New Song Not Unworthy Of
an Old Model.

ONE, OF Us 4 Novel in
JAN n. Gilbert Frankau. limo. PIP
,st George II. Doran. Company 49, d..
>. = customary to look askance at
,o,,r dc force. The critic who be-"
'.ous that phrase upon some current
.rrormaucc in art or letters is wont
!, 60 with an sir-of disparagemen''
-, roSerying his right TO distin-
1.isb between cleyerness and the rear
- Now and tlicn, however, there
,i,ro if anv difference between the
~ ching and the toRr dc force. We
20 ouite willing to believe that Mr.
rrankau could not repeat the eHecss
Lio,cd I'm this olume. that his dNou
~,n;,,, is q bit Of foohng such IS falls
49,, once from writer's pen, and then
orry bv good luck. Eut fooling as good
- This ig unqucstionably worth while.
when cleycrncss in rhyme can hold YOU
through nearly two hundred pages the
,uslitv commands respect
Tho story Of Mr.. Frankau's modern
non Juan has not, as a story any
,rn,t weight. Il is the way in which
tbc thing is done that counts. Perhaps
q good many of the local illusions '
will sound little obscure 10. American
oars. but there is nothing here that Is
really dark, and most readers, we dare
cav will easily make out the conditions
in London and elsewhere which point
the moral and sdorn the tale. For eN-
annie. the libel saits which have en-
barrsssed divers hapless noVelists in
England have surely been widely
enough reported in the American press
for every one 10 grasp the little joke
made at the outset on the concealment
Of the heros name
bis patronymic dare not disclose
For and I called MIN Smith. or Jones,
And his mia antics caused the wrath OF
who rule their lives by Mrs. Grundys
The awful laws OF England would impose
scale-costs and damages for half the
To compensate the Joneses. Browns, OF
Smiths.
" nose Il4elQS ndu IdLtu AAfAl lbA bAsN
the Muses. myths
Neatly turned, indeed, are these
sprightly lines. and from beginning to
end Mr.. Frankau's deftness never fails
him. Letting himself goin sheer mirth.
treating the Soibles Of our time with
riotous Indulgence in the SLANG We all
know, he does not take either himself
or his model too seriously. He neither
parodies Byron nor pretends for mo-
ment 10 deal in
The magic Of that metre
Which thou, combining Gti'e cum du!ci.
Didst bone from my lamentcd confrerc
Puici-
but like a schoolboy out for holiday,
he rattles on. using the poets method
with careless sudacity. simply because
he likes it and because to tell the
truth, he can manage it fairly Wen
without any effort
1t IS al Eton that the, philsndering
Jack has his first adventure. lie is
happy for q moment. sitting Under the
trees at night with bis Amy. nut their
bliss is cut short
For 10, the awful moon reveals the
charners
Brother in dressing gown ana pink
Dv.amas.
Follows expulsion. though. for once,
the young hero is truly heroic, re-
fusing TO save himself by disclosing
the identity OF his inamorata. Thence
forth be is anything but faithful
lover. In Germany he forsakes Elsa
for three bewitching American girls.
Susie. Name and Marion. and when he
comes over here TO VISIT them and their
parents II IS only 10 cast sleeps cyes
at Prudence Swift. Then he returns 60
England, and even makes an excursion
10 Paris, always falling In love with
the wrong damsel. until az last he sits
alone with his debts and takes Q lethal
weapon in his HANDS, facing a decision
from which his rescue seems impossible
when Mr.. Franksu shows once more
how prodigious clever he can te.
Nowhere does the authors Wit strike
deep. That, 10 be sure. would hardly
suit his scheme. il is enough that
with his verbal quips and his elastic