Welsh Journals

Opinions stir la Belgique I. Italic. By Jules Destree and Richard Dupierreux. Brussels and Paris G. Van Oest & Co. Pp.98. This booklet is the first of a series giving the opinions of various countries upon Belgium and her role in the European War. Three salutary results are hoped for to keep the Allies in mind of the tragic Belgian drama, to encourage the justi- fiable self-respect of the Belgians themselves and to treasure for humanity the glorious deeds of its own evolution. M. Destree, the Deputy of Char- leroi, who is as well known in Italy as he is in Belgium, has gathered from Italy a rare and fragrant posy of tribute offered by such eminent writers and statesmen as Luigi Barzini, Luigi Campolonghi, Luzzatti and Ferrero. We look forward to the remainder of the series. A. F. The Tales of Anton Tchehov." Vols. and I I. Translated by Constance Garnett. Chatto & Wmdus. 2s. nett per vol. The appearance of this delightful edition of 1 chehov tales is a real event for English readers, for Tchehov is undoubtedly one of the foremost masters of the short story. Hitherto his work has been very little known in this country. Two or three of his plays have been acted, but his plays do not seem to suit the genius of our too robust stage, and the effect has been rather irritating and be- wildering. The plays seemed formless, meaningless, or rather suggested mistily some form and meaning which perpetually mocked and eluded the mind. Now that we can become familiar with the stories, no doubt we shall find the plays easier, for the method and spirit of both is the same-but through the medium of print the spirit speaks more directly to us and the purpose of the whole becomes clearer. Yet even in the stories one's first impression is one of formlessness. There is no sense of construction or climax, no massing or co-ordination of material. The tales seem to have no beginning and no ending and very little movement. They seem to be just sections of life cut off at random by a spectator who has no more interest or sympathy with the individual actors in his stories than has the operator set down to take a moving picture of Picadilly or Cheapside. Yet after reading two or three of the tales one begins to realise the extraordinary effectiveness of Tchehov's method. The reader's mind is never hampered or annoyed by any sense of artifice. The characters of each story seems just as much alive, just as truly personal, on the first page as on the last, and the reader is conscious all the time (and influenced by the consciousness) that each of them has had a real life before the story began and will have a real life REVIEWS when it is ended. Thus the author by his very form- lessness gives us a sense of certainty which the artifice of climax and conclusion would inevitably impair. His impartiality, too, though adding to the first impression of aimlessness, is a vital part of his method. Other authors interpose their personalities and sympathies, as well as their art, between the reader and their work. Tchehov never does. He never seems to like or dislike his characters. He is content to create them. The result is that though the stories seem a little monotonous, a little unim- pressive, one is never tired of reading them, and one lays them down with an extraordinary impression of reality. Indeed, Tchehov's work has, by reason of its directness, an impression which seems curiously at variance with the lightness of his touch. The pressure of emotion and vitality are low, but every point makes its effect. The two volumes now published illustrate only a small part of the field which Tchehov's stories cover. There are one or two of the humorous tales, which he wrote mostly early in his career, and which have something of the French irony and even here and there a hint of the French logic of construction. Then there are a number of the brief slender sketches covering only six or seven small pages, of which he wrote many hundreds. These will probably prove less interesting to most readers than the longer stories, of which these two short volumes contain five examples, The Duel, The Artist's Life, Three Years, The Destiny and Ariadne. In its own way each of these is a masterpiece and in Mrs. Garnett's admirable translation the collection should appeal strongly to English readers. We all of us want now to gain some knowledge of Russian life, and every one of Tchehov's pages is instinct with life and with Russia. True, the life seems at times rather faint and far away, but it is none the less real. And the sense of distance even seems to add to the reality. Here it seems, as in the theatre, that the furthest spectators see least of the unrealities of the stage. No writer has ever employed a more truthful method than Tchehov, or written more honestly. Some, who lack his impartiality, may establish a stronger hold on our affections others. who pay more heed to the artifice of form, may wield a weapon of larger power. But few have achieved an art so delicate, spontaneous, and sincere. C. T. "Practical Singing." By Clifton Cooke. Crown in Bvo., 2s. 6d. Kegan Paul, Trench Trubner & Co., Ltd. Many a time have singers longed for a good book on singing, which should not omit anything of what is essential in the training of the voice. The