ing,
there is perhaps a reminiscence of Zola in this book, not in the manner
of treatment, but in the subject, which is the corrupting influence of
the higher classes upon the lower. There is no denying that in spite
of the ability, which it betrays in every line, _Laboring People_ is
unpleasant reading. It frightened away a host of the author's early
admirers by the uncompromising vigor and the glaring realism with
which it depicted the consequences of vicious indulgence. It showed
no consideration for delicate nerves, but was for all that a clean and
wholesome book.

Kielland's third novel, _Skipper Worse_, marked a distinct step in his
development. It was less of a social satire and more of a social study.
It was not merely a series of brilliant, exquisitely-finished scenes,
loosely strung together on a slender thread of narrative, but it was
a concise, and well constructed story, full of beautiful scenes
and admirable portraits. The theme is akin to that of Daudet's
_L'Evangeliste_; but Kielland, as it appears to me, has in this instance
outdone his French _confrere_ as regards insight into the peculiar
character and poetry of the pietistic movement. He has dealt with it
as a psychological and not primarily as a pathological phenomenon. A
comparison with Daudet suggests itself constantly in reading Kielland.
Their methods of workmanship and their attitude towards life have many
points in common. The charm of style, the delicacy of touch and felicity
of phrase, is in both cases pre-eminent. Daudet has, however, the
advantage (or, as he himself asserts, the disadvantage) of working in
a flexible and highly-finished language, which bears the impress of the
labors of a hundred masters; while Kielland has to produce his effects
of style in a poorer and less pliable language, which often pants and
groans in its efforts to render a subtle thought. To have polished this
tongue and sharpened its capacity for refined and incisive utterance is
one--and not the least--of his merits.

Though he has by nature no more sympathy with the pietistic movement
than Daudet, Kielland yet manages to get, psychologically, closer to his
problem. His pietists are more humanly interesting than those of
Daudet, and the little drama which they set in motion is more genuinely
pathetic. Two superb figures--the lay preacher, Hans Nilsen, and Skipper
Worse--surpass all that the author had hitherto produced, in depth of
conception and brilliancy of