CURRENT LITERATURE.
Orgeas and Miradou. By Frederick Wedmore. (James Bowden.) —Mr. Wedmore is one of the few English writers of to-day of whom it may be said without exaggeration that he could not write other than agreeably although he tried. In point of style, therefore," Orgeas and Miradou " is quite as good as anything that has come from its author's pen. But it is not so full of genuine simplicity and the charm which simplicity involves as " Pastorals of France." Indeed the stories in this book suggest that Mr. Wedmore has not been left untouched by the wave of "deca- dence" which has engulphed so many. This is especially true of the second sketch in the collection. It is entitled " To Nancy," and, in the form of letters, tells the story by a disinterested observer, of the career of a fascinating young actress till it reaches what it is to be feared must be considered the moral down-grade. It is all clever, but rather hard, and the " psychology " in it does not bear the appearance of originality. " The Poet on the Wolds" is rather fragmentary, and here and there even almost pretentious. The first story in the volume, " Orgeas and Miradou," is one of Provencal brightness and sadness, death and madness, and, in spite of its tragic close, is admirably written.
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