The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1921-10-03

"A Chair on the Boulevard py Lew"
ard Merriek. published by f. F. button
and company. Ia volume or shot
stories which show Merrlck In his llsht.
or mood. There 10 always a pleasant
uncertainty attached to Merricks writ
ings. He IL ambidextrous, as II were.
Tho reverse side OF his gayety IL som
Der. yet he seems able TO maintain sep
arate sides TO his soul In perfect har-
mony. tho one never encroaching on the
| other. The stories in this latest VOL
ume are among the gayest and most
charming which he has written
There Is Tho Suicides in tho Rue
Sombre," which savors Of q. Henry In
construction. but differs in treatment
! Like O. Henry. Merr!ck hnds material
for his plots in tho whims OF circum-
stance and tho cul-de-sac OF coincidence
! but the similarity stops there. Where
o. Henry takes refuge in ironic laugh
ter Merrick smiles good-humoredly. The
| characters who people his writings are
| constantly In turmoil and while they
never yield an inch. their attitude Is
always ono Of Eood-natured tolerance
toward tho fate which buffets them.
Tho Tragedy OF a Comic Song" and
Tho Suicides in the Rue Sombre" ars
! probably the most humorous Of the COL
lection, cxemplifylns as they do the
| humor OF coincidence. Then there is
Tho Doll In the Pink Silk Dress the
story Of An actress who declined world
wide fame to be dlvinely happy" Tho
| theme has been hackneyed by innumer-
able repeutions, yet Merrick can write
| something new into 1t. Indeed. / be-
| lieve that that Is his chief charm. Like
| his creation, tho poet Triootrin. he Is
| possessed OF q freshness a zest for lite
| which will not down.
There are in this latest volume OF
| stories only two which show the other
side Of hi, genius. Tho Last Effect
approaches THE Fall OF the House OF
Usher" as q study in sheer horror. Per-
haps the finest story Of tho collection.
and the most typical OF Merrick. Is
"Little-F1ower-of-th e-Wood.' tho story
| Of an actress, who. In tho days OF her
| affluence had established the reputation
| of . certain cafe by her patronage ana
| some years later 10 unable to pay Tor a
dinner at this same cafe. Hero again
he 10 ambidextrouE Tho story as told by
tho poet Janiaud. . typtcally MerTickian
character. has the restraint, the sure
feeling for pathos and tho delicate hu-
NOR which mark Merrick at his best:
but tho denoument has the graceful
| gibs which may Be- taken for humor or
sadness according TO the predispositton
| Of tho reader.
"rair 70 AaddI.nS."
| In reviewing Ealbto Bartlsy'S latest
novel, Fair to MiddlinE." published by
| Doubleday, Page and company. / am re-
minded Of the critic who told the aspir-
ing author who had taken the precau-
ton Of pasting several sheets OF her
manuscript together. that he didn't need
to eat all Of an egE In order to find out
that II was bad. have read only three
fourths Of tho chapters OF this novel,
but am content to let It 80 at that
! Il Is I believe. worse than "Ths Cor
Eeous Girl" which delighted the more
than four million last year In the Sat
| urdly Evening Post. When Miss bart-
ley do not know whether IT Ia MISS
or Mrs-frst began to appear In print
she achieved some interesting effects by
the exercise Of = vivid imagination and
an aptness Of phrase making. She Is
still able TO make tho phrases but the
maEination Is running a bit thin, and
worst Of all. sho has turned moralist.
This story concerns tho struggles OF
Dare Larkin in making man OF her
husband, Amos. When Dare and Amo,
first meet he Is Z radical. a man whose
mental bent has boon determined by un-
happy childhood experiences Dare Is
attracted by his extremisn. what the
author calls his splendid flashes" AZ
ter they are married tho flashes are
mostly Of temper. II 10 uncertain
whether the author wishes the reader
to infer that Amos a. shown hsre IL
merely the logical development Of the
Amos whom she presents In her nrst
chapters, or whether she herself has
suffered a change Of heart In mid-novel
At any rate. there Is much discrepancy
between tho two. Amos whom we hrsi
meet him. 10 - drea mar, an extremist
strong in that he 10 willing to sacrihcs
everything TO his ideal. After his mar
r!aSs to Dare he 10 consistently shown
a. weak. ouerulous and selhsh. just
what works the change 10 a puzzlins
question. II Miss BARLEY were satirtcal-
minded ono might suspect her Of settinS
forth tho effects Of soap and other civ
Liking influences on tho soap box ora
tor. II such 10 her intention. however
she has left II befogged. It cannot be
Dare's money which Is responsible foI
Amos degeneration. Dare has only ten
thousand dollars. In fiction. It takes
at least half = million to make con-
servauve.
what Docs Shs 1RsAnf
To return to tho story. however
Amos goes from bad TO worse. He
squanders Dare's money on various ven.
lures, all Of which are unsuccessful
Finally, Dare leaves him and takes q
position in q department store She
becomes self-supporting and even
achieves como degree Of prosperity
Amos Is inspired by her success and
gets a Job and stays with It Then his
eyes give out and Dare resigns her po-
sition TO take care Of him. This after
all may be Miss Blrtley's final credo-
woman as the silent partner In mar.
riage and content with her lot"
There IL another married couple who
are presumably created 70 point the
moral to the story Of Amos and Dare
Martin, Dare's cousin, marries Funny
Doyla a pretty stenoErapher. who had