Denzil Quarrier. By George Gissing. (Lawrence and Sullen.) —We suppose
the motive of Denzil Quarrier to be contained in the cry wrung from the hero—the last sentence in the book—" Now I understand the necessity for social law ! " Denzil Quarrier, a vigorous, active-brained man, whose wife has another husband living, becomes a candidate for Parliament, and, in the moment of triumph, is stricken by the treachery of his best friend, the meaningless treachery of a clever, bored man, whose amour propre was hurt, and who felt that insane desire to upset a coach that comes over men of unsettled determination, fading hopes, and deep-rooted bitterness. One knows the type, not energetic enough to be ambitious, but desirous of power, irreligious, intel- lectually scornful, and capable of any baseness,—the type finally produced by the Middle Ages in Italy, though we affect to believe it essentially fin de siscle. In his description of election politics and provincial vulgarity, Mr. Gissing is at his best, and he puts into the mouths of the Polterham ladies many good and trenchant sayings. But it is Eustace Glazzard that we are to regard as the character that Mr. Gissing has taken pains with. He is, of course, but the instrument of social law, of the law, which makes him observe, anent some vulgar bitter gossip, "these people think themselves the pillars of society, and the joke of it is, they really are ! " Mrs. Wade, the clever and also unscrupulous widow, is not exactly a good character, she just misses being natural. The story is sometimes brilliant and incisive, but in parts it is below the average, and almost weak.
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