The New York herald., 1921-10-16

\ THIRD OF LIFE BY Perriton Max
we'll Small. Maynard & Co.
NEW of us realize that a third Of
= our lives are passed in a fan
tastic empire of dreams--a
great psychologist has asserted that
we dream every minute that we
sleep-and fewer still realize that the
waking two-thirds are profoundly in
fluenced by the dreams OF the fam
tastic third May not this account for
the evident absurdity. ilogicality and
topsy-turviness of life?
Mr.. Maxwell in his fascinating ro-
nance of our underworld life answers
IN the affirmative. Life is at every
moment influenced by our dreams.
He has applied the methods of psyche
analysis 10 the acts of his characters
and studies them in their actions and
interactions through the microscope
Of their dreams.
"a Third of Life" is at once "A novel
and a philosophy. II deals with every
day people, but deals with them in an
original manner. They have the ap-
pearance of somnamhulists-str
afloat ON the great subconscious seas
of the soul; imps of perversity made
so by inherited memories and phan-
tasms of sleep.
AS the story-brilliant and clear In
itself-runs along the theory OF
dreams as the most potent influence
in life is eXpounded by the hero of the
book. who is dream doctor with
an enormous clientele. He himself
was the victim Of friGhtful dream.
From his fifth year onward he went
through the horrible experience every
night OF falling from a balloon at a
great height. He was born with this
dream. for his mother had attended a
circus while she was pregnant with
him, and while in that condition she
saw an acrobat fan from a balloon at
dizzy height
This led him 20 study dreams with
an attempt To discover whether
dreams could not be regulated by the
will. II this once became possible one
third of mans life could be turned into
an adventure which would outdo al
fairy tales and the dreams of poets
To will a marvellous dream until j
comes TO pass exactly as willed and 50
influence the conduct Of the watkins
subject that life itself gradually Is
changed to a fairy tale, Could there
be a more fascinating theme worked
| out in fiction
| "Why. since we all dream" asks tn
dream doctor Of Adrian. his sceptica
friend. Shouldn't we make some effor
| TO dream entertainingly. perhaps use
| fully? Why not try before going t
| sleep to marshal our thoughts on tn
playCround OF suggestion, so that In
stead of an assortment of tangled
footloose ideas shaping our dream
we NAV enjoy our whimsies In SOM
sort of sequence"
The most remarkable of the patient
| of this dream detective was Amo
Mordick, who had q great desire Z
communicate by any means with hi
| lost wife. How Mordick's thought
and dreams under the direction OF III
| dream therapeutist finally bring abou
| this miracle constitute one Of the mos
original and thrilling bits of fact tha
! ever appeared in the guise OF psyche
| logical fiction
So precise il Mr. Maxwell in eX
pounding his theories through hii
! characters that I would not be sur
p,.ised II ~ Third Of Life" should star
! q fiIror and q cult like that which wa
/ begun by George du Maurier's Pete
! Ibbetson" and his theory of 'dreamni
true"
There are some extraordinary an'
J grotesoue photographs in "A Thir'
/ OF Life" ri real dreams the first tina
have ever hcen made. the autho
| claims
An amazing, original and thrillin'
\ work OF dream fiction.
RENJAAIIN DE CASSERES.