New-York tribune., 1922-11-26
Tribunes News and Reviews Of Books and Authors
Morley as a Fantasist
BY Charlotte Dean

WHERE THE BLrE BEGINS. Bs
Christopher Morley. Doubleday Page &
Co.
EFT is a question that / think should
b never be asked--not where the
II blue beginA for that seems to be
M we'll worth asking, but the ques~
tion which have heard at least
| five people, otherwise intelligent, ask
They want to know what 1t all means
what it is all about, what the hidden,
inner current signifies. And when
they ask, / feel like picking up Mr.
Morley's little book, tucking it inside
such pestifcrous vivisectors.
Gissing is the most charming hero
have met since the White Rabbit ex-
claimed ooh, my fur and whissers. y
His theology may be all wrong, his
deserton Of his three foster children
may not have been truly kind, he is be-
ing accused Of all the idealistic crimes
and blundcrs in the calendar. but he
has charm. With deftly jugg1ed tea
cup and meringue plate he wt3n Mr..
Beagle, senior, president OF the great,
beautiful department store. His mas
culine frsnkness delighted the Bishop
so deeply that he made him lay reader
in chapel. His naivete actually
brought smile to Captain Scottie' IS
unaccustomed lips, though Gissing
was fortunate in meeting the Captain
at o'clock, and no Briton is wholly
implacable at tea time.
These matters sound like trifes; in.
deed, they are triAes, not uncommon
either, but in Gissing they become
has q gift, so that his most insignif-
cant action seems weighted with i'm
portance and lightened by native grace.
The little thing that first drew me to
Gissing occurred early in our acquaint.
ance, in fact, on Page 4. He had been
uneasy, restless, melancholy. Like q
sensible person, he thought that com
fort might be found in food, and he
knew that there was a bowl of beef
broth in the icebox. But Fuii, the
butler, was rather correct, so Gissing
was ashamed to do what he wanted to
do while Fuji was. around. Fuji was a
very efficient butler, and Gissing had
no desire to lose him by gratifying
his desire to drink the beef broth out
Of the bowl. He pretended that he
had come out to see that the ice box pan
had been emptied properly.
AS if that were not enough to cap
ture me completely, a m oment later he
admitted, privately, so that Fuji knew
nothing of it, that the ice-box pan was
his test of good servant. Of course,
that might not mean 80 much to some
one else, but to me it was very i'm
portant. 1t was a bond. After that I
liked Gissing 80 much that did him
the injustice to talk about his charms.
The people l talked to met him, agreed
that he was an extraordinary creature
and then asked that shocking question
about an allegory, Stuff and nonsense.
What more does one want than Giss-
ing and his story? Gissing and the
three urchins! Gissing and the big
Charge Customer! Gissing and Cap
tain Scottie and the unconscious mindl
Gissing and anything! Where the
Blue Begins" is the only book l have
read more than once since a certain
publication last year.
Gissing took his responsibilities
seriously. When Fuji, heartless SER
want, left him because Of the extra
work the three puppies made, Gissing
gave up pursuing blue horizons. He
had Mrs. Spaniel. the charwoman, come