Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-09-05

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"a days that = !, not Tar past the
rambler may have seemed to have been
too severe upon the books which have
recently been published and which have
been In various hours the rage. hut
all the unplsasant things will BE- taken
back, IL the new book that has been
read is The Reign OF Law by Jamesj
Lane Allen. It 10 enc Of the books
which. Il you have not read, you should
read at once. Since the days when that
idyll Il. prose. "a Kentucky CARDINAL
was put on the market and lovers Of
books began to wonder who the writer
was. whose knowledge OF nature In all
Its forms was equalled only by his
purity Of diction and dellcacy Of ex
preston. down thru the seasons whenl
Aftermath. Flute and Violin . s
Summer In Already" and The Choir
Invisible appeared, the discerning
could see that Allen. was destined to he
one OF the greatest OF American men Of
letters. Nor was this fact Less patent.
because Of certain disappointment
which one always experienced on clos
ing his books, q feeling Of regret that
with all the beauty, perhaps be-.
cause OF 1t, there was Ger
tain weakness, scarcely describe.
BILE, yet a weakness Misunderstanding.
The Choir Invisible was perhaps the
most disappoint ting oiSall, because II es-'
sayed more than did the books which
had gone before and by its very excel
lencies its failures were made the more
pronounced. Such feeling one does not
have when the last page OF this latest
book Is read. The development of the
character of the Kentucky boy. who
works 80 faithfully that he may preach
the gospel. only to find when he has
lhtted himself that he can not believe
what orthodoxy forces him to say II he
were 20 preach, is 30 strong that un,ess
one studies 1t with the minuteress
which destroys all effect it can not be
seen how 1t could be bettered. The
common sense with which the lovers
own to their desirability to agree and
their proof that such things have no
power to destroy or even to affect love
should be read by the author OF that
morbid tale. John Ward. Preacher
which you all read a few years ago and
which did as much towards making.
men and women narrow in their beliefs
as this newer novel will do towards
making them liberal. You will have
spent a profitable half day II you have
read THE Reign OF Law" for 1t ~ the.
flrst strong work OF it's author and it;
lacks nothing of the beauty Of those
which went before. The Introduction,
which tells OF the hemp fields, may be-
come one OF the classics Of the English
language.
We older people. who seldom work
more than is absolutely necessary and.
who look forward from one vacation
period to the next one. should not be
too severe nor feel too superior to the
children who after spending a happy
summer out OF doors mourn when 1t ID
forced upon them to return to the dull
school rooms and pore over the books
which are not half so Interesting as
they should be to hold the attention OF
the little minds. But little girl was
seen this summer who could scarcely
wait for school to begin, 80 anxious was
she to be back among the schoolmates
and bending over the books which held
for her so many tales OF interest. In
her there Is the making If scholar.
for there can be no great 'e..rning with
out there Is love with It, All people
can not have this love, but all people
can not be scholars either.