CLASSIFICATION. This is one of a series of stories centering around the
life of Ferdinand Taillandy, a lovable hero akin to William J. Locke’s
“Beloved Vagabond” and “Aristide Pujol.” In such a series it is not
necessary or even desirable that the short-story type be sought. All
the narratives, from start to finish, as a complete series, are more
likely to reveal a general structure culminating in a climax (which
will probably require a whole story) than any one of them is likely to
possess definite and clear-cut mechanism.
The three necessary stages of narrative, according to Aristotle, are
beginning, middle and end. These stages, as to action, are well-defined
in the present story. But one feels at the beginning that here is a
hero brought over from a preceding adventure, as one knows at the end
that he is off for new experiences. Is the action in regard to Diane
complete?