New-York tribune., 1918-07-28


Among the mass of books that are
neither novels nor poems two stand
out conspicuously for their artistic
quality. A deep impression was made
by "The Pentecost of Calamity"
which came from one of the ablest
writer's in America, Owen Wister.
The contrast between the first and
second half of this tiny book is amaz-
ingly dramatic. Mr.. Wister's expert
skill in composition was reinforced
by inspiration when he wrote that
little masterpiece. The other is "Thc
Martial Adventures of Henry and
Me-" which appeared in 1918 from
the hand of William Allen White. 1t
is remarkable tragi-comedy, real
istic, farcical and spiritual, the most
original Of all reports from the scene
of battle. 1t is glorified journalism,
and something more.
The finest work of fction-if fic-
tion it can be called-produced
from an American by the war is
a book of short stories from our
justly distinguished novelist, Dorothy
Garfield. This collection is about to
appear, for I have read the whole
thing in proof. The publishers have
given it the title "Fires." Dorothy
Garfield, whose husband is at the
front, went with him to France a
year before America entered the war,
her work being among the blind sur
vivors Of the fight. Her absolute
command Of French and her woman
ly qualities make her almost an ideal
helper. These wonderful short sto-
ries, written while her little daughter
was convalescing from a serious ILL
ness, are an attempt to make Ameri-
cans understand French people, mot
just think them heroic and lyric, as
in our generous American fervor we
are now doing with a reac-
ton, I fear" They are also intended
to help Americans in America to un-
derstand Americans in France. AL
though she does not say so, they are
still further intended to make French
men understand this latter class. I
call all three attempts successful;
and I await with confidence the con-
firmation of this judgment both by
critics and public, when the book
shall have appeared.
The Position of
"Mr. Britling
The best novel in the English
language thus far produced by the
war is "Mr. Britling Sees 1t
Through" by H. G. Wells. Here is
a book that owes its plot, char
acters, style and spirit to the war.
To see the profound change that
has come over our author one has
only to remember Marriage"
"Ann Veronica" "Tono-Bungay,"
"The New Machiavelli, and others.
These stories had almost every
quality except charm. They were
busy, noisy, talkative, restless; they
indicated clearly enough a desire to
reform society, but the reforms
were to come through quasi-scien-
tific or quasi-socialistic legislation,
rather than through the religious
regeneration of the individual man.
Despite his zeal for radical improve
ment all along the line, I should
never have applied to him or to his
books the adjective spiritual.
The war was the means of his
conversion, as an orthodox evangel-
ist might put it. Without losing
any Of his zeal for Parliamentary
and social reform, and fortunately
without losing any of his great liter
ary ability, religion moved up from
last to first place in his heart. In
"Mr. Britling" we have a powerful
realistic novel, one Of the best of our
time; the social life in England, as
affected by the war, is reported with
extraordinary skill; even the
hockey game is indelibly impressed
on the readers memory. The Eng
lishman, the American, and the
German characters are all presented
truthfully and sympathetically, ex-
cept that Mr.. Wells makes his Amer
lean use un-American language; and
some of the scenes in the latter part
Of the story, like the return of one
who had been given up as dead, are
dramatic in the extreme. But the su-
periority of "Mr. Britling" over all
the other novels by it's author con-
sists not in brilliant descriptions or
dramatic incidents, but in the sense