The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-11
Some Stories in
the May Magazines
By DOROTHY SCARBOROUGH.

:
committee for awarding the o. Henry
prizes may not pick the winners from
among them, but the person reading for
pleasure will find enjoyment in number
of them.
There is an elemental bigness about A
LOUD Story, by Mary Brecht Pulver, in
the Saturday Erening Post, BETTING the
woman who is the central character. The
story is told simply, with an effect of act
uality and rouses sense Of sympathy by
its revelation of nobility and sacrifice on
the part of the mother, FOR her sons sake.
Lor6s Labor, by Agnes Mary Brow
nell, in the Pictorial ReuieU, has similar
theme in maternal love for daughter.
There is good impression Of atmosphere
here and realistic characterization, though
the plot is slight, rather too slight
The Monkey acith the Green Pea Jacket,
BY Laura Spencer Portor, in Harper's, Is
a quaint, appealing little tale, symbolic of
humanity rather than of mans simian
relatives. It has delicate suggestiveneSs
of stvle and subtle satire on social customs
and preiudices.
The Choice, by Charles Caldwell Dobie,
also in HarperS, shows admirably worked
out psychology, though is less original in
material than Mr.. Dobie's previous
stories The German spy has been too
mulch with us, though here the emphasis
is on the wife's emotions rather than in
pure detective work.
The TrdfickerS, by A. Carrier Goodloe,
in lScriGHer's, is a rather impressive story
of the sea- and of STORMY passions in mems
hearts The beginning seems somewhat
studied and the story would probably have
been more effective if told from the
authors angle, rather than rehcarsed in
the first person.
The Return, by Helen r. Hull, in the
Tombstone, shows a natural introduction
of the supernatural. The character values
are good and the phrasing is fresh and
unllackreyed.
A less successful use Of the ghostly is
found in The Wrists OH the Door, by
. Horace Fish, in Euerybody's, where over
wrought adjectives picture the spirit of
man who would have liked TO be born, but
wasn't The story is hysterical, more like
sensational propaganda against birth con-
troll than regular magazine fiction.
Theodore Dresser has an impressive
ghost story in MunSey's called The Hand.
The title is not wisely chosen, since De
Maupassant has a ghostly tale bearing
the same name. Here, as not infrequently
in Mr.. Dreisers stories, the method of
narration is vexing, but the final effect is
one to he remembered. The disconnected
entries make for jerkiness of style, but
the cumulative force Of the supernatural
manifestations is good-though the ma
terialist may explain all on the ground of
hallucination if he likes.
Ralph Henry Barbour has yarn in
pleasant contrast to the depressing psy-
chic manifestations of the last men
toned stories. 1t is in Golfers and is a
chuckleful tale about funerals, using the
limerick motif of the man who went to a
funeral "just for the ride This story
has brisk and logical plot structure and
Is really amusing (The funerals Of Non
Sieur Dpdinot).
One of the distinctive stories of tie
month is Lieutenant DGacRe, by Georges
S. Duhamel, in the Century. This is 50
sincerely and poignantly told, and the
feeling back of it is so real, that it is i'm
possible TO read it without deep emotion.
This is included in the book of war studies
entitled Civilization, which won for its
author, who is French surgeon and has
seen war in IFS naked horrors, the Con
court prize for fiction in 1918. This is
the only story in Century for the month.
Century seems TO be publishing fiction by
foreign writers in preference TO that of