The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-07-04
RECENT PUBLICATIONS.
The Reign of Law.

me NEIGH % Inv.
James Lane Allen has gwen this story a
title which does not easily associate itself
with Kentucky-the land it celebrates-so
IL may be as well to say at once that ii
has to do with the moral and spiritual, not
The civil law. 1t is a story Of the develop
ment Of a soul, the growth Of a religious
life; a record Of the encounter Of a simple
minded young believer in God and Chris
tan teachings as he has found them in the
Bible with a man-made creed. He is not
able to accept the creed, and his rejection
Of il, with the consequent ending OF his
cherished hope Of becoming a minister OF
the gospel and the disappointment Of his
parents. is a tragedy. The theme IS not
new In fiction. Variations Of II are the
burden OF Robert Ellsmere," "John Ward,
Preacher" and The Story OF an African
Farm" 1t is not an especially attractive
theme. either. to those who look only for
light f~iction-thls illustration of the inev-
liable conflict between men who think for
themselves and those who permit others to
think for them about serious things. But
IL any one turns away from The Reign OF
Law" fancying IL to be merely a theology
cal treatise, he makes a great mistake. III
IS a book in which are poetry and romance,
as well as the struggles of a soul into lib
erty and light. Accompanying the history
OF the boy In the Bible school are wonder
fully realistic p~ortrayals of life and CHAR
acter, but some of the most lasting Inn
pressiOns are likely TO be created by the
vivid pictures OF out-of-door life. the work
OF David on his little farm and among the
farm animals. A great deal has been said
.n praise of Thomas Hardy's description of
Wessex, but Kentucky owes quite as mucn
TO Allen as England does TO Hardy. he
loves the-land he celebrates; he knows It's
--0ndC ffo RoIHe ffG birds and flowers and
very weeds. 1t is a fair land, and he sees
all its varied beauty and makes others see
IT. The scene is laid in the hemp region.
and a beautiful description or the complex
processes of cultivating and harvesting
this Kentucky staple and of the crop itself
Is given In a prologue.
The story opens with David. the hero. a
raw country boy working in a hempield
and looking forward with eagerness TO the
time when he shall enter the Bible School
just established at Lexington. The time is
Just after the close of the civil war. David
IS an only child OF parents who are en-
feebled scions of a good stock. The boy
fnherits strength or body and brain from
an earlier ancestor, and though he has a
natural affection for his parents and is
obedient and dutiful, there is little congo
niality or cOmpanionship between himself
and them, and he leads a lonely existence.
They regard him as a dullard, and when
he expresses a wish TO go to the scnool and
to become a minister they are astonished
and overjoyed. Being narrow sectarians
A0u lEUOIdIls THEY QO ~ ull1C SlQDd A1Ao
scruples or his position when he finally de-
clares his disbelief in the sectarian theology
taught and is dismissed from the college. His
life at home for a time afterward is a pain
full experience. and in this interval are set
down some striking pictures or sordid, com
fortress home conditions. His father is
poor and wanting in energy, his mother
lacking in the instincts and habits of a
homemaker, and poor David tolls thank
lessly for them. But at this time the wom-
an OF the story comes on the scene she
had belonged TO an aristocratic family now
scattered and impoverished by the war, and
she was driven to teaching for s~eIf-support.
thus coming 10 a social level with the
young farmer. She had the simple. unqueS-
tioning faith that David had once pos
sessed, and that is so distinctive or women,
yet she was intelligent enough TO under
stand David's doubts and TO believe that he
would eventually solve them and accept all
the essentials of true religion. The wooing
OF Gabrielle is a curious mixture OF the
ology and love. and though 1t is doubtless
in character, the conversation eliminating
in the blowing out of the candles would
probably have been modified somewhat had
the author possessed a due sense OF humor.
1t is likely that Mr.. Allen will De criticised
by rigid Sectarians for his assault on an
orthodox creed, for though life has broad
ened since the period named in the story
and evolution is no longer such an incen-
diary doctrine as formerly, recent events
show that the day of complete freedom OF
religious thought has not yet arrived for
those who would remain in the orthodox
church.
But whether one has an interest in the
central thought or not, the book Is one to
read for more than one reason-the charm
of its literary style, for Instance, the
rhythm and cadences of its prose, its de-
Fcriptions of nature, its genuine poetry. 1t
Is a book TO leave critics nc cause to ask
why Americans do not write great novels.
THE Reign of Law" is great fiction. Pub
lished by the Macmillan Company, New
York.