Mrs. Katharine Fullerton Gerould, distinguished as a writer of essays
and stories and novels, is the wife of Gordon Hall Gerould, Professor at
Princeton.
Aside from the unusually strong and flowing style here so impressively
revealed, we have a story marked by a sympathetic penetration into the
atmosphere of Andecy--an atmosphere, when first felt, richly laden with
the languor of a lonely and pervading provincial peace. This peace is
suddenly broken by the rumors and processes of war, and we feel the
dread of the impending German attack and the personal solicitude of Miss
Stanley, the American heroine lovingly anxious for the fate of her
English fiance. Nearer and nearer comes the threatened danger. Finally
the heroine goes out to meet the troop of enemy soldiers without the
gates--whether to meet a tragic end, the author does not say.
There is little dialogue and little haste in the action. The narrative
is continuously guided by the controlling spirit of Miss Stanley, who
grimly triumphs over the fear and dread of the perilous situation. Her
body may have suffered defeat; her soul is splendidly victorious. The
author's skill at the end is finely revealed in the graphic portrayal of
the psychology of the situation.