The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-09-12
hooks OLE TIE WEEK

Misery assailed her. though no tears
came to her eyes, no word Of woe from
her lips. For q long time she sat notion
less. Nothing remained but to cling with
blind instinct to that dim law which upon
the forest road she had found herself
poweTless to define to him. The chimes
began to ring. She raised her head from
her hands, looking now toward the valley.
but in the direction whore. at the summit
of a hill. steep and difficult. the towers
of rose against the sky
So ends a fairly strong and somewhat
melancholy story by Il new writer. Miss
Anna lecture ShOll. 1t is entitled The
Law of Life 1t might we'll he called the
morbid hardness OF life. for the author
his e~ndeayOTed to show that observance
of strict duties brings a happiness not
unmiXed with sadness.
Barbara Dale. %, pretty. PuritaniC and
learned by contact with an uncle, a her
init. seeker of knowledge, IS the heroine
of the story. University life. a new sub
jeCt for serious work. affords the back
ground for Miss Sholl's study. Professors
and the faculty wife are the FREEDOM
inant figures.
Richard WarinC, a postgraduate, re-
turned for his decorate after a FIVE years
absence as a newspaper reporter. IS the
young dreaming idealist. who falls in love
with Barbara, The two find their hearts
and souls united by the bond whIch
passes all barriers. They fan in love, and,
for the most part. inuocently.
And here the story begins. For barbara
ait JNlIlldlh ~ laOA 'AA-1'~' A-a' 'H'N We
their hearts until after she has become
the wife of her professor guardian; a
kindly old soul. immured in mathematics
VIII was l trapped by fate?" she asks
herself, and finds no answer, except the
mocking desires Of her lonesome heart
for Richard.
The author has done well IN depicting
the struggles Of the two young lovers.
An air of culture running through the
pages is rather refreshing. There are; BE
sides the lovers problem, minor prooIens
touched IN interesting manner
"The outrageous John Rebbor.' a NIL
lionaire. who wishes to give S,eVt,pcV 10
Hallworth University, is the SUBJECT OF a
study in philanthropic ethics. Warlng pro
tests against the squeezed profits of a
brazen trusts being made the foundation
of a university's existence. In the emo
Waring leaves the university for his
Miss sholl has struck a clear note. Her
book Is of the sort that appeals 10 the
better Judgment Of the reader. though at
the same time it brings little joy. Reallsin
IS here, of a kind that does not oNchH-
Dramatic situations there are. ana tR"E
are not meloiramatic. The Law Of Lie.
Is among the better books OF the nouI'
Published by the Appletons.
"Hearts Afame' is the lurid and some
what deceptive title of Louise Winter
novel Of ultrasmart life in New YORK
not one Of her Gothamites. as . matter OF
fact. has anything like a confagration in
the cardiac region. There are n rev
p~seudo-fres burning here and there tor
other peoples wives and husbands. ana
several Of the women possess a pipinF-hot
passion for diamonds: but the fires OF love
appear to have burnt out Mt some period
prior to the story's opening. The author
AYERS that Hearts Afame" Is Intended as
a gentle satire. Possibly the title is sa-
tirlcal or i~ronical. But a reading or the
story doesn't Justify the prospectus. The
foibIes we expected to have ridiculed are
not treated with any great lack or serious
ness. and the fun we expected to see
poked at the idolaters of MammOn some
how doesn't make itself felt. Miss Win
tiers does not aim a salient blow at the
particular smart set of which she treats
unless the blow consists in showing 1t as
it is. Satire consists in at least a mild
ex-aggeration. Hearts Afame'' IS a pic
ture Of overly smart life. but real life.
1t IS a picture of the tea-phase, the din
n~er-phase. or the gossip-phase of some
rather stupid but withal naughty people,
most of whom are disgustingly rich. and
ali of whom have landed" socially.
Theirs is not too carefully yelled naughti-
ness-screened all together. it would pos
sess insufficient interest for the partici-
pants-HleFe mlraCtlOnS against mordhty
are not enough of themselves; they must
be touched with gossip. The difficulty IN
this case is that they are hardly touched
with sufficient piquancy to arouse the
readers interest. The people In Hearts
Afame' are just a tritie coarse. They UNI
doubtedly exist. in a little coterte within
the wider circle of smart society, but what
is the use of exhibiting them? AS a pic
ture, Hearts Atlame' is valuable neither
for itself nor for what il portrays. Pub
lished by Smart Set Publishing Company.
Lillian Bell at her best is a shade bet
ter than Lillian Bell in The Interference
of Patricia her latest story. The real.
indeed, the only, trouble is that Lillian
takes for the skeleton of her tale a COM
mercial transaction, which 1t would take
O Philadelphia lawyer to penetrate. Old