New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-02-05
WITHIN TIE TIDES.

v1THIN TIRE TIDES Tales Pos Joseph Conrad
limo ~ COO polheia,. Page & g..
Conrad Is always doubly worth our
while There is, first Of all, the sheer
delight Of his virtuosity, his amazing
mastery Of technique; and then the
quality Of the material with which he
deals. These four tales offer variety
of both manner and subject-matter.
"The Inn of the Two Witches Is the
least important one Of them, tale OF
terror not altogether worthy 20 be
ranked with the best we have IN our
literature. II is chiefly of historic m
terest- belated revival OF the uaoI-
lions Of inns where travellers were
numbered bv ingenious contrivances in
the GOOD old times. The period is mat
Of tie Nanoleonic wars; the scene, the
coast of SPAN: the narrative, that OF
british naval officer who goes IN
search Of one OF his vanished sailors.
The uncanny atmosphere OF the night
IN The sinister cardinals room az the
inn. tho solitude, the darkness. the
whisperinC warning voice 1t ls all
there. but somewhat mechanical no
doubt because this material can never
again hold for US quite the thrill OF
long ago. But the remaining three
stories more than satisfy us. in Inc
Planter of Malata' we have the woman
who ncses. covering her shallowness
and selfshness with A false halo OF
emotional depth and sacrifice. And a
strong man j. her dupe and her victim
the purveyor Of new and stu more
impressive pose. In "The Partner we
lave a most deXtrous presentation OF
the unlettered man, who gives 70 an
author story Of which he can pos
siblv make use. The man rambles on.
retraces his steps, DIVORCES, hesltates
what does he know of telling story
but with it all he produces an effect
Of tragedy In his own wandering way
that is d triumph Of the story-tel Ter %
art. Finally, we have Because OF inc
Dollars" in which Mr. Conrad takes us
hack 10 the remote places OF the IA
cinc. MARROW might be telling the
story, but another, more direct' taxes
his place. A tale of a crime which
failed. but which yet ruined a good
mans life. One lifts from this tale the
story. so briefly told, Of Laughing
Anne:
A fellow | just remember
brought her out first in these parts
from Australia, | believe. He
brought her out, and then dropped
her. and she remained knocking
about here and there. known to
most Of US, by sight, az any rate.
Everybody in the Archipelago had
heard Of Laughing Anne. She
really had pleasant, silvery laugh,
always at her disposal, bUt II wasn't
enough. apparently. to make her
~
ready TO stick 20 any half-decent
man if he would only let her, but
She always got dropped, as 1t might
have been expected.
She had been left In Saigon by
German skipper With whom she had
been going up and down the China
coast for near upon two years The
German said 10 her: This is all
over, mein Taubchen ! am going
home now TO get married And
Anne said: "All right. | am ready
TO 20. We part friends. don't we ~
She was always anxious TO part
friends. The German told her that,
Of course. they were parting friends.
He looked rather glum at the mo
ment Of parting. She laughed and
went ashore.
But il was ~ laughing matter
for her she had some hOtlon lNab
this would be her last chance.
What frightened her most was the
future Of her child. That
wa the situation when she and
Rant got acquainted casually. To
-,ick up with Bantz was coming
down pretty low in the world.
She was no longer young,
you know.
What was said Of Conrad's "Victory'
i'm these columns at the time Of its sp-
pearance may also be said OF these
short stories Of his. The approach 70
his earlier books il best made by those
who ind him difficult through the
SIMMER manner of his later work. which
vet. in the simplfcation, loses nothing
Of his essential qualities.