The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-12-12
FEASTS AND FIGHTS
OF "SMALL SOULS"
Cautious Lives Of the van
,.0wes Recorded by a Dutch
Scnsitiyist.
NOVEL on OLLENDORF PLAN

Louis Couperus's story OF Small
Souls" translated from the Dutch by
Alexander Teixeira De Mattos CDodd.
Mead and Company, cannot he called
thrilling. II Is true. Of course. that souls
which are small should not be expected
10 furnish extravagant manifestations
Dorine van Lowe called TO see her
brother. She carried her wet umbrella
Other things that she carried are men
toned. on her way upstairs she used
her pocket handkerchief. Her brother
Karel was sleek and pink and calm. He
dyed his mustache. Noticing her UNI
brella he asked her to put 1t outside In
the passage Its so wet" he said. She
put it outside Not that the members Of
the Van Lowe family were particularly
amiablc or disposed to he nice to one
another. ON the contrary, it was their
habit to he at odds. They felt antipa-
thies among themselves. They were
watchful. cautious. not arectonate.
"Dorine. please. would you mind leaving
the paperwcight alone" Dorine was of
a nervous habit. She had been Kidding
with the papcrweisht. 1t is not indi-
Gated that She was obstinate or per-
verse. She seems to have refra!ncd
from her thoughtless lingering OF the
paperwelght at her brothers request.
Karel asked her to stay to dinner He
put it in this way when the gong
sounded: 81 suppose you won't stay.
Dorine? I don't think there's much
Cateau and | Away. dine So simply"
Dorine did not stay. She went back to
her boarding house. Really it was q
very good dinner To which Karel and his
wife. Cateau. sat down. Queer name.
Cateau. Karera wife was 40 She was
a heavy woman with round eyes. Ifrr
face too was round. They had no chl-
dren
Yes, good dinner. II the reader
wishes for proof here is a brief passage.
With the conscientious realism that
marks all the story it is related: They
both Toasted daily And at their meals
they would exchange glance OF intel
ligence. as though relishns some
voluptuous moment of mutual gratifica-
tion because everything was SO good
Softly smacking their lips they drank Il
good glass of good red wine. And then
al dessert karel's face beamed fiery red
and Cateau blinked her eyes as though
tickled 10 her marrow. Then they went
into the sitting room and sat down at
the round table with their hands folded
IN their laps to digest in silence. kdr"l,
for appearances sake, would undo the
parcel from the circulating library. Now
and again they looked at each other.
rejecting complrcently that Anna had
a T,,tI,
they considered that this enjoyment was
sinful and. above all, Dutch, they
never spoke of their enjoyment and en-
loyed in silence. This evening they
reckoned out that they had quite an
hour left in which TO digest their dinner
by the big stove" They were not eager
TO go to the family gathering at the
house Of old Mrs. van Lowe. Karel =
mother. II was So pleasant I, sit
quietly and digest This is all in tho
first chapter. In the other chapters We
have other characters and scenes.
II is hard to p.ck out salient things
in this story. Perhaps We should have
said that Dorlne when she tripped
across puddles wore goloshes. that her
long fur cloak was cd fashioned, that
she talked 10 herself, that she had no
hips. that her mud colorsd hair was
done in a knot at the back, that her
age was 81. Constance, another daugh-
o. ter of the family, was different, she
must have been. she was under a
cloud owing 10 matrimonial irregular.
ties. There il a scene in which the
men gel red ~ he face and buster on
account of Constance, and there Is q
chapter in which Constance replies &c
one OF her sisters, Adolphine, a nagging
patronizing. particularly offensive mem
her of the family, very cuttng.y. This
may be called rather notable par
of the story, for the dialogue as a rule
is calm, quite uncXciting.
Shall We listen for a moment to Pau
and Adolphine COnvers nE? They We're
quite plain and natural do not appear
20 have been striving for brilliant eff
fects. Paul begins. 'Adolphine. tina
velvet on the collar Of Saetzoma's coat
yes" That's good velvet" Yes
they're his new dress clothes from
Teuissen's" And that satin OF Floort
les dress" "Yes?" That's good sa tin :
"Oh what do you know about sax n -
Every ones saving so" Really? p
Yes I heard them saving so all owe
the room mot really?' yes, as
moved about among the people | hearC
II whispered on every side, like a RI
NOR: Have you noticed the satin o
Floortie's dress! ! say, did you notic'
the satin OF Floortie's dless"" Wa
this Paul an honest fellow, or was h
q satirist shooting his little pointed ar
rows? We shall not tell Whicheve
he was. there Is the dialogue to which
he contributed. and there IS a good dea
more like Il,
Let it rot be thought that We hav
picked out an uncharacteris'ic passage
Let the reader look az page 296 an
the three following pages. Here is
single inch of text from page 29S. Fac
quoted remark makes a paragraph. SO
Getty al The Hague Is ConVersng.
IL to he read: "Shc wants 10 go TO court.
mo, It's he who wants 10 go 20 court,
YES, they both want to go TO court.
"She vans 10 go to court" "She want
to g to court" she wants to gc I
court" CThrce timcs) But what
piece Of impudcnCe'" This ia Oner
dorian, but undoubtedly II is also rea'
istc. It might he the work ~ "A stcnop
raphcr, aud il has the ring Of truth
Al TN" very last. at the painful Culm