New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-06-17
RUSSIAN FICTION.


THE RIVER OF LIFE. AND OTHER sroRiEs.
nv py Alexander Kuprin Translated from the
Russian By $. Koteliansh and J. NJ MUTT, i-"o'
% VI 2is Boston: John ". Luce Co.
THE LITTLE DEMON. by fsodor so ir n,ct hp
thorized translation by Jonn Cournos ana hohaIr
Aldington i2mo. 10. wi sis Alfred a. hhopi'
The flood of current Russian fiction
which is flowing from the pens Of Eng
lish translators continues TO be. on tne
whole. decidedly disappointing. It's
quality Is generally infinitely far be
low the standards Of the Masters. Az
the best, these later novelists are only
weak echoes Of their voices copyists.
An exception to this Indifferent aver
age is Kuprin. lie is an artist, regard
less of his nationality, worthy OF IN
PRODUCTION to the students OF lnterna-
tional literature.
This new volume OF his contains
three short stories, and satire, "Ihe
Outrage" in which band of thieves
and cutthroats protests Indignantly 10
the court against the accusation OF
having taken part in pogrom. nc
River of Life" is n variant OF Gorkis
"Nachtasyl"; the other two stories are
gems, notably Captain Rlbnlkoy.
This is the tale of the detection and
death Of a Japanese spy, Samurai, IN
st. Petersburg at the time OF the Man
churian war. The man IS masquefad-
ing as a captain of Russian infantry
invalidcd from the front. lie - clam
oring for back pay, which enables him
to penetrate the Offices Of the war de-
partment. He always plumbers into
the wrong office. A man OF Tartar or
Mongol blood, evidently. mus at
least, he is regarded by the journalist
with whom he scrapes acquaintance
But that trained observer ends by sus-
pecting him. and amuses himself, IN
a purely artistic spirit without pa
triOtic resentment. with efforts TO make
him betray himself. Only when he
comes under the influence OF a white
woman does the Japanese lose his
mask. The episode is a fine piece OF
work, 70 which any master of the snort
story might we'll be proud to sign ms
name. The one Enthusiastically Rus
sian touch is the journalist. His whim-
steal attitude in the matter enhances
the picturesqueness Of the tale.
The fourth story, "The Witch" Is in
reality a novelette,, its scene laid in
a remote village in Little Russia, full
Of the ignorance, the sloth, prejudices
and superstitions of the peasantry. It's
motive is love, the love of gentle
man for an outcast who, in her ostra-
cism, develops a character and soul so
high and beautiful that, for the mo-
ment, the story really grips one. kup-
rim knows how TO produce an atmos-
phere.
"The Little Demon" is merely still
another picture of the Russian Bedlam.
Its protagonist is Peredonov, school
teacher, who lives with a woman not
hi- wife. The superintendent OF schools
knows il. his pupils know 1t, their par
ents know it, but, though there is much
gossip. he is allowed 10 continue as an
educator of youth. Every girl in the
little town knows of his liaison, yet all
OF them are more than ready to marry
him. Marta. the Polish farmers daugn-
ter, for instance, and the three Routl-
low sisters. The oldest of them has "a
pagan love of beauty" This, be 1t
Understood. has nothing to do with her
willingness 10 marry the schoolmaster.
Sologub is a contemporary of Artzi-
basheff. The youngest sister gets tud-
dled on cherry brandy. when she lifts
IN her Slav soul in folksong that is as
Varvara, Peredonov's mistress, and his
friend Volodin, who teaches carpentry
in the manual training department OF
the school They, too, get fuddled !;
"manners none, habits beastly." And
their landlady habitually gets fuddled'
So. indeed. does nearly everybody else
in the book Peredonov goes mad. He
suffers from megalomania and the
mania Of persecution. Finally his Tit,
tie demon" who haunts him day and
night, drives him to murder his friend
II is a doleful, repulsive mess. =.
The translation of this masterpiece
is provided with no less than five
prefaces translators', the authors
introductions to the second, seventh
and tenth Russian editions. and a spe-
cial foreword to this English version, IN
which he practically warns his foreign
readers that they must not accept. his
delectable novel as "a precise and char,
acteristic portrayal of Russian life" II
il is not that, then what is 1t?
The English publishers efforts TO ad-
vance their country's pro-Russian
propaganda in the West is laudaole.
But one wishes that they would exer-
else a little more judgment in their
selection of masterpieces" Of modern
Russian literature for translation.