Criticism of Current Advocate

The last number of the Advocate is disappointing, both in quality and quantity. Of the five short stories which fill the greater part of its sixteen pages, not one is particularly original in conception or remarkable in treatment. The most original, so far as there is any distinction to be made, is an unsigned contribution called "The Dream Lady," in which, though the theme is an ancient one, the manner of presenting it goes far to redeem the commonplaceness of the subject. Mr. W. G. Tinckom-Fernandez's "Fleshings and a White Pony" contains the elements of a good story, but the setting is badly chosen. It seems hardly likely that even a circus rider would pour out the secrets of her heart to an utter stranger with the freedom with which the lady of the pink tights and the white pony is made to tell her story; and the insistence upon the setting by references to the passing crowds of trippers and the sights and sounds of a seaside resort seems forced and mechanical. Mr. Schenck's "Psychical Research" is rather well told, but the conclusion is obxions almost from the start. "The Conciliator," by H. Edgell, a fish story in New England dialect, and "McVane's Retirement." by R. E. Andrews, the story of a railroad wreck, are decidedly conventional both in style and plot. Mr. Wheclock's poem. "A Work of Art," is a dignified bit of verse, characterized, like all his work, by serious purpose and marked excellence of form.