Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-17

| There, one may submit, the reader
has a reasonably good portrait of Mas
ter Loriot, quite as well done as any
one could do 1t, with good f1avoring
of the jolly disposition of Alexandra
Dumas. 1t is Dickensese, but different.
"A long, pointed nose served him for
| face" How could a big-nosed man be
better described? HE was a paren-
| thesis, always open"-another felicitous
bit of description in the best manner of
! the best French masters
One seems to know the Baron Mi
chefs mother, too, after meeting her:
| Her face was insignificant, and with
out other distinguishing characteristic
than an expression of borrowed haugh-
tinesS, which was in sharp contrast
with her very ordinary appearance.
How many people there are in the
world who might answer to that de-
scription! True enough, but this one
is individualized:
"She was short and stout; she wore
silk dress absurdly out of place in
the fields, and a hat with brown stream
ers falling down over her face and neck.
Baronne Michel was one of those
women with all the negative virtues,
who are so common in the world. OF
vices she did not possess the shadow of
a single one Madame la Saronne
Michel believed herself to be a saint.
pure and simple; she was regular in her
attendance at all services, kept all the
fasts, and obeyed all the injunctions of
the church, and he who would have
told her that she Sinned seven times
every day would have astonished her
beyond expression. And yet nothing
was more true, for without aSsailing
her on any point except humility, it was
possible, at any moment in the day. to
surprise her in the very act of dis
obedience to the precepts of the Saviour
of mankind; for, although she had lit
tie claim to superiority, she carried her
aristocratic arrogance to the point of
madness"
One can scarcely be in any doubt as
to either the appearance or character
of the worthy Madame Michel.
Courtin, an evil peasant OF the tale,
who spies on his neighbors and drives
shrewd bargains, is set forth as follows:
I'm this field a peasant was driving q
pillow.
"He was a man of some forty years.
who was distinguished from his fellow
Poiteirns by the crafty cast of counte-
nance which is peculiarly characteristic
of the Norman; he was high-colored,
and his eye was bright and piercing. His
constant endeavor seemed to be to di-
minish, or perhaps it would be better to
say. to cloak the boldness of the last
named feature by incessant winking.
He hoped, without doubt, by this means
to achieve an expression of foolishneSs,
or at least of good nature, which would
paralyZe the diStrust of an interlocutor;
but his sneering mouth, sharply drawn
up at the corners, somewhat after the
style of the god Pan. revealed in him, in
spite Of his pains, one of the most re-
markable products of a cross between
the breeds of Marine and Normandy"
And there Is your crafty peasant, to
the life. unacceptable in his crafty, leer-
ing guile, marked out as an individual
yet plainly one of breed-and a breed
Of course, as much in evidence today, in
any part of the world as in the Nor
mandy of 1882
These characterizations are of the old
school, minute yet broad, definitely
painting the actual appearance of the
man or woman. yet mixing in with
enough generalization to give the char
acter standing among universal hui
mainly 1t seems to one reader at least
that this method is infinitely better
than the slapstick way many modern
authors have of carefully allowing their
| characters to paint their own portraits,
as they say Can any man paint his
own picture? 1t Is extremely doubtful
Surely he will miss some def touches.
Certainly no Master Loriot would play
up his nose in such fashion. He I'M
doubtedly would favor that feature, I'M
til the reader got no proper idea Of it
of ALL