The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-05-30

It Is an extraordinary book that wnl
Lexington Comfort has written In Mid
stream" George II. Doran Company,
a confession as outspoken as that OF
lean jacques Rousseau. and one, we are
inclined TO think, that should never have
been made in print. Having reached
that middle point In the Biblical three
score years and ten, when Dante started
10 investigate his He'll. Mr. Comfort
turns to look back on the He'll he has
passed through. That he is sincere In
his self-analysis there can be no doubt;
neither can Il be doubted that he hopes
to DO good by It, even II 1t be only In
explaining himself Most men have
made confessions of this sort TO them
selves In time OF detection, and most
men have seen the unfairness OF these
self-accusations when their normal con-
dltion returned. II may be regretted
that the woman who made a lasting i'm
preston on Mr.. Comfort by telling him
10 stop lying TO himself did not 20
further and tell him TO stop thinking
about himself.
We prefer not TO touch on his boy
hood. for we feel on unsafe ground there.
Mr.. Comfort looks on II from the judy
ment seat OF mature years and consid-
ers his iniquities only. with no heed OF
the brighter side. He seems harsh too
in his judgments on his relatives, telling
only OF the points of friction He tells
Us that the craving for drink was hered-
starry in him. that he was brought UP in
a drunkard's home and that he himself
was a habitual drunkard till he was 80.
Then he was subjected 10 a cure which
has preserved him so far. He was en-
gagged in newspaper work and was I'M
able TO hold positions long, partly on &C
count OF his falling and partly too, II
seems. from incompetence. That In a
pitifully common story not only among
newspaper men but In every profession
and in every business. We cannot see
that Mr. Comforts experience throws
much light on the matter. Neither does
his success as story writer prove any
thing as to his being q good or q bad
reporter.
He values individuality highly and
Justly. bat there are places where II IL
IN the way He enlisted in the United
States army In the war with Spain and
apparently glories In his characterization.
He fairly whimpers about the treatment
of the men before they were sent to the
front. and Is evidently proud of his dis
creditable conduct in Porto Rico. where
his American spirit would not allow him
to obey his superior officers. Later ir
the Philippines he did q brilliant piece
of work in getting TO Manila first with
the news of Gen. Lawton's death. but
he certainly failed as a newspaper mar
in sending his story in such a shape
that It could not be understood at the
office
Mr.. Comfort finally found place ant
n mode OF expression for the experience.
he had had in the stories no wrote. Ir
these what he saw and understood stanc
out clearly and wildly: that is wha
makes people read them The philos
ophy OF life he has drawn from them I!
his own; We have been unable to under
stand II in this book. 1t accounts fol
the weak places in his novels. Tn,
process OF introspection Is not good fo
Mr.. Comfort artistically. 1t detract
from the value OF this confession.
makes the last chapters read like tn,
talk OF patient who cannot stop harp
ing on his symptoms. There Is the les
son Of pluck fighting against odds to b,
drawn from the confession, but tina
hardly warrants it's publication It 1.
an amazing indiscretion.