THE FIRST great local news for Hub art lovers since John Singer Sargent last walked off Beacon Hill happened this week when Francis W. Dahl, the idol of Twentieth Century Brookline, published his first book. But alas and alack, it doesn't measure up to what the artist is worth. Dahl chose for his first little volume his worst representative works, the "Left Handed Compliments" that greeted Harvard's Herald readers when they returned from their Christmas vacations, written after he had broken his right arm in an auto accident.

Even though the sketches are drawn with the author's powerless member, some of them still are meritorious. Unfortunately, though, they lack the finesse and the draftsmanship that has marked some of the artist's earlier work. The vitality is there, but in subdued form. Dahl's Botticellian touch with the chiaroscuro and his treatment of perspective seem to have suffered during his incapacity. His sure touch at drawing out his subjects' characters with deft touches of his pen stayed with him, it is true, but his sense of color seemed to leave him entirely.

The little volume is designed for male convalescents. The prints are suitable for framing and will be a joy to the hearts of all sick men. But all connoisseurs of fine works of art will be hoping for the day when Dahl brings out a book more representative of the talent that has produced "The Bicycle Boys."