Fourteen stories which a group of Reverend Fathers told, one tale each evening. They are largely gathered from their professional experiences and concern incidents which cannot be explained without recourse to the supernatural. The evil spirit which was exorcised, the man who offered himself for his brother’s unbelief, the artist whose art founded on corruption was lost when he regained his faith, these and the others have the charm of the unusual.
“There is one that suggests a better capacity on Mr. Benson’s part as a writer than anything else we have read from his pen.”
| + | Ath. 1907, 1: 789. Je. 29. 310w. | |
| Cath. World. 86: 257. N. ’07. 210w. |
“In truth, qualities that are admirable elsewhere rather prevent Mr. Benson from telling his tales so as to excite the feelings which people, whatever their faith, cherish for the supernatural. He is too surefooted, too painstaking. His method is too robust to deal with such intricate and at the same time poignant emotions; he sets everything in order, tells you how the basket chair clicked, and what happened next, and works out the situation methodically with the desire clearly to get at the truth. But it is a great matter that every story makes an impression of sincerity and intelligence.”
| + − | Lond. Times. 6: 189. Je. 14, ’07. 500w. |
“Father Benson, like the other brilliant sons of the late archbishop, is a fluent and spirited writer.”
| + | Nation. 85: 167. Ag. 22, ’07. 730w. |
“The author displays in the narration a skill as subtle and as charming as his imagination has been subtle and weird in the conjuring up of incidents. Each narrator is distinctly individualized by the character of his experience and his manner of telling it.”
| + | N. Y. Times. 12: 457. Jl. 20, ’07. 460w. |