A Nest of Simple Fiends

The Devil and All. By John Collier. (Nonesuch Press. 12s. 6d.) EACH of the six stories in this elegantly produced volume is

concerned with an pmbassade from Hell: Either the Devil himself or a subordinate demon is introduced on each occasion

to tempt, visit, or possess an inhabitant of this planet—

altogether it is a very comprehensive set of fiends that we find assembled. The demons operate in widely diverse ways, and also with widely varying success. Indeed in only two instances out of the six can it be said that the visit to Earth culminates in a success—and the one only after an unusual amount of effort and trouble, the other by the most spendthrift and uneconomic means. The case of the meek Mr. Dickinson provides the nearest approach to perfection from the diabolic point of view. Mr. Dickinson was clearly material for possession that would put any ambitious young demon on his mettle :

" Dickinson, a bachelor in the best sense of that much abused term, had led a stainless life. Surrounded' by luxury, for he was a cashier in one of our largest stores, he had never allowed luxury to lead him astray. ' His Stamps tallied ; his books, best nutriment of commerce, were uncooked. The racecourse knew him not, the bar and billiard saloon had offered their allure unavailingly."

DiSmissed from his position owing to a minor indiscretion, he is exposed to temptation by an accommodating fiend who provides him with everything he wants. Unfortunately the man preserves his moral' sense even in sudden wealth and in the face of every gratification, and the fiend is _put to considerable pains and ultimately has to employ the most conventionally hunian of ruses before he manages to: secure his soul: What a falling-off is here ; -it is barely a shadow of possession in the old and grand.manner. But it is appar- ently the best that Can be done; for the Other victory is still less skilfully gained. Miss Angela Bradshaw, a sedate and commonplace young woman, " resident in one - of London's most select suburbs," is possessed by a demon who,. among other domestic nuisances, makes her set fire to the curtains of her Ether's house, break off her engagement to a prosperous solicitor; and kick, bite, and swear in most indelicate manner : he is only placated by permission to marry Miss Bradshaw and a promise of support for life. In this case the victory

is certainly with the_ demon; but there is a shocking element of waste in his triumph. When he emerges from his strategic po.sition. inside Miss Bradshaw,- he- proves to be a poet, and shortly afterwards, like many of his species, turns novelist and proceeds to provide handsomely for himself and his wife

through his own efforts—thus rendering quite supererogatory the financial condition he had made.

Diabolic technique, indeed, has clearly not been brought into line with modern requirements. These -two are the only successes which the Devil gains from what must otherwise appear an extravagantly moral generation. On every other occasion

he is worsted. Philip Westwick is given a personally con- ducted tour round Hell, and being flirtatious in character but fastidious in taste is allowed to find something lacking in the feminine charms available-

(" He manoeuvred his unresponsive partner into a corner, where he clutched her waist rather more tightly than was necessary for dancing. He felt a chilly moisture penetrate the sleeve of his jacket, and a faint but unmistakable smell of river-mud became perceptible. He looked at her closely and observed something' extremely pearly about her oyes.")

and to be restrained by the experience from committing suicide.

Louis Thurlow, having failed in the attempt to dispose of his own life, succeeds in intoxicating the fiend who has been hopefully lurking to escort him to the lower regions, saddles hiin with a rival lover, and packs him off .home—himself surviving to spend a delicious autumn in Paris. A minor female fiend, evicted from one of the less exclusive infernos owing to a housing-shortage, migrates to London and tries to secure the soul of a personable young architect, but fails and has to put up with the almost valueless soul of a hideous dago. And in another case even a prolonged visit to Hell tself is not enough to gain the souls of a prim and misogynistic young student and a beautiful girl with whom he is con- fronted in dramatic and propitious circumstances. This is the most surprising lapse : whatever misadventures he might have elsewhere, one would have expected the Devil to triumph on his own ground.

But whatever should be said on the other side, it must be put to the Devil's credit that he has provided Mr. Collier with material for one of the most amusing collections of short stories that has appeared for some time. There is surely no other living writer who could have brought to the same theme such a faculty of invention, such an exquisite detachment, or suchan appropriate wit. It is a comparatively simple thing to

create a successful demon, it is extremely difficult to create at the same time other non-demonic characters credibly -within the same convention. It is Mr. Collier's ability to

do so which raises his stories above the level of the fantastic anecdote to a higher category of achievement. His stories will give no little pleasure to anyone who values a clear and lucid prose, which combines the vigour of the best con- temporary writing with the refinement of the eighteenth cantury, and is not offended by an intermittent preciousness and an almost continuous wit. The book has been produced by the Nonesuch Press with extremely appropriate elegance, and Mr: Blair Hughes-Stanton's wood-engravings have some-

thing more than a decoratiVe success. -

DF-BER VERSCHOYLE.