New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-09
C1enenceau as a
Novelist

been brought about by mutual misrepre-
sentation of the two families financial
status, and that the couple spent their lives
in impotcnt hate and small prosecutions,
such oversaltcd meats, slyly opened win
dows, bits of glass on the floor, traps and
tricks of every description, the setting of
child against another, eliminating in a
touch of something from the apothecary's
shop in the old mans sassafras tea, and a
paroXysm of fright on the part of the muir
deress, which carried her off before her hus-
bands body was cold How they loved each
other. sighed the neighbors. What per-
feet match'
"Clemenceau always writes with pur-
pose He is always didactic-though Heaven
help us if we accept the moral of any one
of his fables!-and we must be satisfied
to find romance and pathos relcgated to
the parentheses. There are tears and
beauty in the story of the young priest
who is buldozed into the Church by an
eX-Magdaene with means, who plays the
accompaniment for the beautiful young
sister in charge of the little hospital, and
who mounts his pulpit one morning to find
that slanderous tongues have been at work
and have secured the substitution of a
hunch backed tcrmagant for his friend Not
all the bitterness at the Church and mali
clous society can quite kill the charm of
the innocent liason. Clemenceau is poet,
now and then, in spite of himself.
And he loves a joke and tells it we'll
Any reader with desire for fair play must
feel inclined to resent his contempt for the
Polish Jews of 'Gedeon dams sa Tombe,'
Simon, fills de Simon and 'Au pied de la
croix; but the first two at least are roll
lckingly we'll told Old Gideon, the mer-
chant prince, warns his coming sons that
if after his death they allow their craving
for social advancement to lure them to
Christianity, he will turn over in his grave.
Daniel is the first to violate the paternal
Introduction and disturb the repose of the
deceased; but some months later Nathan
restores him to his original position by the
simple eXpedient of repeating Daniels Of
fence. Simon, son of Simon plays the lot
terry and prays to Jehovah for success.
promising him fifth part of the gain, but
he wins nothing Then he invokes the Sa-
viour of the Christians, making the same
promise, and is awarded the Grand Prize
But the Golfers of the Church grow no
richer for his good fortune The proof
he reasons that Jahveh is superior to the
Christian God is that he knew that could
never bring myself to part with q hundred
thousand forms He knoweta our hearts.
tie does not expect the impossible from us.
The other was deceived by my good faith.
of which | was for time the dupe myself.
Jahveh alone is great my SON.
ut is a comfort to find the collection end
ing with the Italian sketch, 'Giambolo.'
This time Clemenceau is abusing the tourist
and his scoundrelly guides. On the cam
panile of Torcello, at Venice, the cicerone
draws out his dirty field glass and shows
an enraptured group of visitors the vague
and distant Giambolo. On the roof of the
Duomo of Milan another rascal eicits
harvest of silver by pointing out to his
group Of innocents a far, flmy Giambolo
On the exterior rotunda of the convent of
Assist still another foolish company are
certain that they catch on the horizon
glimpse of the guides much heralded Gil
ambolo. And if any of you should ever
doubt, friend reader, even from your easv
chair, follow the counsel cleaned at the
Venetian lagoon: CLOSE your eyes little
and you will see Giambolo."' 1t is comfort
ing because, for all this broadside of mis-
anthropy, and even through it here and
there, have discovered that the old
Premier is not above closing his eyes a
little and then, and that when he does
so he himself catches a glimpse of Clam
bolo.'