For God and Humanity : a Romance of Mount Carmel.
By Haskett Smith, M.A. (William Blackwood and Sons.)—If Mr. Haskett Smith had not told us that Cyril Gordon was in- tended to portray Laurence Oliphant, it is possible that wo might have read " The Romance of Mount Carmel" with some interest. But as ho has not only disclosed the secret at once, but egregiously failed to produce anything like a vital conception of the peculiar personality of the original, For God and Humanity falls sadly flat. Something should have told Mr. Smith that the delineation of a character so complex was a task far beyond his ability, even when reinforced by sympathy and a certain amount of personal knowledge. It is obvious that Cyril Gordon is meant to be a philanthropic and self-sacrificing individual, nay, even a man above the average ; but the brilliant, the puzzling side of his character is not there at all ; there is nothing resembling the peculiar method and madness of the original. Mr. Haskett Smith's hero is a little above the commonplace, perhaps, and somewhat of a bore ; but that is all. Of the other side of his character we see nothing. Mr. Smith has either not dared, or, what is probably more likely, not been able to give us the chiaro-oscuro of the picture. Cyril Gordon, we may as well say, is a bachelor. Now, the traits and the personality of the man as revealed to his friends are, no doubt, recorded ; but this, of course, will not satisfy everybody. Cyril Gordon is a charcoal- drawing, not a portrait in oils As to the background, it becomes after a time decidedly dull ; it consists of the usual commonplace description and the usual commonplace dialogue, teeming with cut-and-dried arguments, facts, and theories.
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