New-York tribune., 1918-07-28
Two American Books Rated Among Best by Leading
Critic, While MIR. Brtng Is Called Finest War Novel;
Poetry Has Gained and Drama Has Not Suffered Seriously

of spiritual values which is the core
OF the book. The other works came
from his head. This came from his
heart. The religious consciousness,
which is after all the foundation Of
the Anglo-Saxon temperament-as
shown in the instant response awak-
ened years ago by Kipling's Ere
cessional"-was stirred in thou
sands Of readers by the experiences
and reflections Of Mr.. Britling.
And Then Came
The Invisible King
Personally regard it as unfort-
unate that Mr.. Wells felt it neces-
sary to follow up the triumph of
this tale with q treatise on theology
called "God the Invisible King"
and with propagandist, scctarian
novel called "Thc Soul of
Bishop" The Invisible King of Kings
seemed so similar to the founder
of the Christian religion that it
needed a specific disclaimer from
MIR. Wells to convince us otherwise.
He said his last word on religion in
"Mr. Britling," when he made the
point that Jesus Christ and not Je-
hovah was the true God of Christian
people. He assuredly is; and it is
worth noting that the German EN-
peror, who is forever talking about
the Lord Of Hosts, whom he calls
Gott, has so far as I know made no
reference to the Christian God, who
is as unlike Gott as charity is un-
like cruelty. The effect on ag-
nostics made by "God the Invisible
King" is shown in William Archer's
ironical yet reverent rejoinder; while
as for Christians, why on earth
should they go about trying to dis
cover an Invisible King when they
have One who was visible?
The latest work by Mr.. Wells
dealing with the war is "In the
Fourth Year." published in May,
1918. Many pages in it will arouse
sharp dissent, yet no one, I think,
can fail to be touched by the last
paragraph, in which he bears re-
newed and eloquent testimony to
his religious faith and to his opti-
mistic belief that after German
militarism is crushed the Kingdom
of God will rule the earth. "I am
man who looks now toward the
end of life; fifty-one years have
! scratched off from my calendar, an
other slips by, and ! cannot tell how
many more of the sparse remainder
of possible years are really mine.
l live in days of hardship and priva-
ton, when it seems more natural to
feel i'll than we'll; without holidays
or rest or peace; friends and the
sons of my friends have been killed
the newspapers that come in to my
house tell mostly Of blood and dis
aster, of drownings and slaughter
ings or Of Scruelties and base in
trlgues. Yet never have I been so
sure that there is divinity in man
and that a great order of human
life, reign Of justice and world
wide happiness, of plenty, power,
hope and gigantic creative effort, |
| n OF
have the science and the ability
available for a universal welfare.
though it is scattered about the
world like a handful of money
cropped by a child; even now there
exists all the knowledge that is
needed to make mankind univer-
sally free and human life sweet and
noble. We need but the faith for
it, and it is at hand; we need but
the courage to lay our hands upon
it, and in a little space of years it
can be ours"
"Changing Wind" and
The Tree of Heaven
No other English-written novel
produced by the war is so deeply
impressive as "Mr. Britling"; but
number Of important works of
fiction have appeared from other
authors, all Of whom, however, were
writers of reputation before 1914.
l know of no book by a previously
unknown novelist that has COM
manded the attention of the pub
lie, which seems rather strange. st.
John Ervine, who had produced one
sombre and one hilarious story,
achieved something we'll above the
general average in "Changing
Winds,' which showed how group
Of quite different young men were
affected by the war, and incidental
ly threw strong light on the Sim
Fein rebellion. May Sinclair was
forced to give an unnatural twist
to her story, "The Belfry," to make
it come within the category of war