In Varying Moods. By Beatrice Harraden. (Blackwood and Sons.)—The title
which Miss Harraden gives to one of her stories might be extended to others. They are "allegories." Hier- onymus Howard and the philosophic umbrella-mender are not creatures of real life, but there is a good deal of meaning in what they do and say. Hieronymus is a delightful being in whom we would most willingly believe if we could. In the story called The Umbrella-Mender," every one seems to be a lunatic, but there is not a little ingenious method in their m sdness. Never, surely, out of Bedlam, did a couple agree to part and then agree to live together in the fashion of "The Clock maker and his Wife." "A Bird on its Journey" is the most like life of the
stories, but even here there is a suspicion of farce. There is a great charm in everything that Miss Harraden writes, but in In Varying Moods she is scarcely equal to herself.
Previous page
