All of the stories are romantic and pathetic. _The
Kentucky Cardinal_ (1894) and _Aftermath_ (1895) are poetic idyls, whose
scenes are practically confined within one small Kentucky garden, where the
strawberries grow, the cardinal sings, and the maiden watches across the
fence her lover at his weeding. The compass of the garden is not too small
to embody the very spirit of out-of-doors, which is continuously present in
these two delightful stories.
From the human point of view, _The Choir Invisible_ (1897) is Allen's
strongest book. John Gray, Mrs. Falconer, and Amy are convincingly alive.
No better proof of the vital interest they arouse is needed than the
impatience felt by the reader at John's mistaken act of chivalry, which
causes the bitterest sorrow to him and Mrs. Falconer. Allen's later works,
_The Reign of Law_ (1900), _The Mettle of the Pasture_ (1903), _The Bride
of the Mistletoe_ (1909), lose in charm and grace what they gain as studies
of moral problems. The hardness and incompleteness of outline of the
character portrayals and the grimness of spirit in the telling of the tales
make these novels uninviting after the luxuriance of the earlier books.
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