The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-07-19
Frank Donley's "Pigsin Clio
yer" is the Book Of the
Season, so say The Crit.
les Who Have Al
ready Read it and
Enjoyed it.
"ROUND ANVIL ROCK
A Romance by Nancy Hudson
Banks Who Tells Of Country
Life in Kentucky in the Early
Days Of Last Century When
Some of the Feuds OF
To-day Had Their
Beginning,
"ROUND ANVIL ROCK"


PIGS IN CLOVER. Written by Franz
no,bv published by j. B. Lippncott q
Company. Philadelphia
Most Of the reviewers agree that TINS IS
The strangest book Of the season ana we
fully concur. pigs in Clover Is term
to denote plain, rich people in good So
cie,y and the hero of this story and
his adopted brother are pigs" who come
on, of the slums, root In the gold fields
of South Africa, strike it rich ana then
break into high society in London. >ari
IS a Jew, rough, audacious and not al'o-
Cether scrupuous in his schemes, put
generous and heroic. and III spite OF MS
faults, character one cannot heip au-
miring He was a hero from the start. as
n lad taking care of his mother who
had married worthless scamp. ana
when disease strikes her down the son
becomes father to the mother and gives
her food, protection and sympathetic love.
The husband brings another woman into
the family and another child is born,
both the women die and the upshot OF II
is that Karl adopts Louis. the illigiti-
mate son Of his step-fatler and rears and
educates him Louis grows up to be
sort of woman killer. but is a scoundrel
less.
Karl finds in South Africa rich vein
of ore the richest part of which dips
under the farm of Pet de Groot. a Boer.
who refuses to have his crops spoiled or
the bones Of his ancestors jostled for
the sake of gold, and Karl is baked IN
his scheme.
At this point the woman in the case is
introduced She is Joan. the wife OF De
Groot. pretty. refined, cultured and the
author of a famous book She leaves
her husband. but is not divorced and
Karl hopes to win the husband through
the wife. He meets Joan de Groot ana
falls desperately in love with her lie
talks TO her of his schemes and OF his
love. but fails to interest her. He talks
to her Of his religion, and suggests to
her a. plot and hero for new hook.
1t may be said just here that Frank
Donby' is woman of Jewish origin.
This is not the first book says the
Bookrnan. Sin which she has analyzed the
English Jew with merciless frankness
that verges upon malice.
Karl is pictured as half-hearted sort
of a Jew, preferring Christianity to his
own religion vet caring little for either
In one place she makes Karl say that
Judaism is not a religion at all, bur a
thing of form and food. race habit.
There is no religion in It. When you
have said they would not accept the
Christ you have summed up their faith
Joan took his meaning quickly
mot religion, only a mega ton: "a great
negation?
yes. I've stood by more than one
deathbed, where there's been q priest,
Catholic or Protestant Quaker or Cal
whist and they all had religion. We have
only symbols. II emember"-Karl began
to walk up and down. to become remin-
iscent consciously--I remember my own
mothers deathbed. but there was no re-
ligon there. nor faith, nothing to hold
on to, nothing about the hereafter; no
word | understood at all. And ] was
such wretched little fellow, so heart
broken over III They. mumbled over her
in Hebrew. land" T. didn't understand one
word. saw an Italian organ grinder die
once when ! was a boy, down in n news
in Houndsditch. Just when he drew his
last berath and half opened his dying
eyes, priest came in hurriedly flung
himself on his knee by the bed-a filthy
truckle- bed-the whole place was filthy
and held up a crucifiX. You should have
seen the look in the glazing eyes of that
dying man, I've never forgotten 1t, tho
hope the life that came into them It's the
dream of my life to see such a LOOK in
the eyes of dying Jew. All. you've got
a religion. we've only got tradition, an
obstinacy. and even that our priests tell
us of In Hebrew"
Failing TO win the love of Joan, he
sends Louis to see her Louis captures
her at first sight. and the woman runs
away with him, giving up everything and
seeming to be happy In her sacrifice until
she finds that Louis only wants her for
the farm containing the gold mine. Then
with singular inconsistency she not only
refuses to yield to his demands. but when
she finds that De Groot has died leaving
the farm 10 her. relinquishes all claim
thereto and VOWS that she will not be
a beneficiary under the will OF husband
whom she had wifuly deserted and dis
honored Louis then leaves her 10 her
fate, Karl finds her In a hospital and
learning of the treachery of his adopted
brother, marries her to save her from
Shame, And after all she returns to Louis
But not for long She had dlshonored
Karl her friend and protector the mar
whose name She bore, and 1t is not easS
10 guess that she found in poison the
only charm that could "sooth her mel
Il ancholy."
incidentally there are several English
characters, but the plot reNolyes around
these three. 1t IS great book, 1t is
more than novel; II dabbles into re.
ligion, politics oand psychology and 1t
gives some Interesting scraps OF history
In South Africa. beginning with tho
book Is that 1t contains much that seems
TO be dragged into the narrative by,the
hair: Yet no man can say that 1t is
the book will rank with the classics, From
every point of view, Pigs In Clover" is a
book that is worth while and viii bear
a second reading.
HOUND ANVIL ROCK. Romance h.
Nancy Huston Banks. author of "old
Field" l2 mo. M. 1855, Price. $50
The Macmillan Company. London ant
New York.
This is a very Interesting romance d
life in Kentucky IN the early decades q
the last century. and is apparently baset
upon veritabe traditions, At that tim'
the country was thinly settled and IN
reign OF law and order inchoate not les
from the hazard of Indian !ncurson
than from the presence OF adventurer
with very CONVENIENT IDEAS OF mhum e
turu who always hover around the Dor
der line OF civilization.
The heroine OF the book is an attrac