The Bookshelf

MR. BENET'S first volume of short stories, "Thirteen O'Clock," established his reputation as a master of the fantastic short story and as a chronicler of civilization in decline. While "Tales Before Midnight" does not have another Daniel Webster story or a "King of the Cats" to offer, it nevertheless gives excellent proof of Mr. Benet's ability in the short form.

His two most successful stories both deal with cultures in decay. "Into Egypt" describes a new exodus of the Jews from Germany, as seen by a young officer on the frontier; and "The Last of the Legions" is the account by a Roman centurion of the departure of the last legion from Britain. Five stories make use, to good advantage, of themes from folklore; and still another five, tales of a college reunion, young love, and the speak-easy era, have, unfortunately, little to recommend them.

Mr. Benet is at his best when he describes, with deft irony, the twilight of a civilization. His Roman centurion, hard-headed soldier that he is, finally is made to realize that the end of Rome is at hand. He is one with the terrified dreamer of Mr. Benet's "Nightmares" in "Burning City," who sees the termites come, the machines revolt, the race grow sterile. Another observer of chaos is the young Nazi of "Into Egypt," who realizes too late that he has watched Christ pass out of his land, with the rest of the "Accursed People."

Mr. Benet's peculiar and remarkable objectivity deserves a more complete study. He finds no difficulty in writing in an equally detached and ironical manner of Romans of the fifth century A.D. and of his own time and people. He is a keen and sensitive spectator and a gifted story-teller. "Tales Before Midnight" adds new and good chapters to his history of destruction and decay.