The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-07-03
THE SINGULAR MISS SMITH, by
Florence Morse Kingsley. illustrate
ed by Will Crete. Price $1.5O.
Publishers: The Macmillan COmpa-
In The
uOO0


Publishers: The Macmillan Compa-
ny, New York.
Mrs. kingsley long ago won high
place in her remarkable Titus" and
other stories. 1t is not too much to
say that The Singular Miss Smith"
is the best story of the year. 1t is a
social study but you hardly realize 1t
as you devour its pages. The story
opens in q woman's club where So
Geological questions are discussed by
women who tell fiuently about spin
itual entities" centres of energy,
'individualized mind" rays of truth, ;"
"the sentient beauty of the eternal
macrocosni," and other like things
about which nobody knows anything.
The question that these subliminated
women We're discussing that particu-
lar afternoon was why do Amer1-
can women Of the laboring class de-
cline, as a rule, to enter domestic
service?" and the speaker agreed that
it was because they do not realize
their primal relationship to cosmos"
whatever that means, and were then
ready to turn to the discussion OF
the refreshments and the latest fash
ions when the Singular Miss Smith
surprised herself and the club by
making some sensible and practical
remarks to the effect that perhaps
classes had good reasons for prefer
ring needful meat-shops to domestic
service, and suggesting that the
trouble could be remedied by max
ing our homes pleasant places IN
which to ork. This speech almost
broke up the meeting. In all its his
tory no member had before made
practical remark and few had used
language that could be understood,
ell nv
I'VE who have become individualiZed
centres of power-suns-in the
mighty mazes of the Cosmos must not
only illumine but control the blind
atoms which circle about us in
aconian darkness OF course after
ages of evolution gained through
countless reincarnationS the unintel-
ligent beings who compose the masses
may gain the heights we now occupy.
But at present it is really mistake
indeed L may say an ignorant kind
ness-if such a contradiction in terms
may be permitted in metaphysics-to
attempt to elevate the masses. linen
the clu badjourned and The Singular
Miss Smith returned home to think.
She was very rich and had no object
in life. She did not care for society,
she had few friends, she was differ
ent from other people" She deter
mined to learn for herself why
American women who earn their liv-
ing preferred factory life to domestic
service and she took a heroic way to
get at the truth. She left her luxuri-
Gus home--and went out to service.
She took no money but became her
self a working girl and cooked ana
washed and scrubbed and for twelve
dollars a month did the hundred and
one things expected of q woman in
domestic service. Her first employer
was a termisant. Two situations, one
in which she was overworked and
abused, and one where she was well
treated, gave her more accurate
knowledge than she could have learn
ed in ten thousand club meetings.
And she learned something else in
her novel experience. She learned
10 love. and love had not shone into
her life hitherto. In a cheap board
ing house in which she served, there
was a boarder known as "a foundry
man." not handsome but a man of
genuine worth who won her heart.
He believed in man, he belleVed IN
the Bible, he sought to help his fell
lows. Her admiration of this foundry
man rioened into love. and 1t domi-
mated her life even when she had re-
turned to her rich home and given up
domestic service They both looked
above and beyond self and their kim
dred souls became as one in thought
and in aspiration. Then, marriage
comes about strangely enough. when
if develops that her husband sup
posed to be a foundryman, is pro
lessor of economics in Harvard, who
had been studying the life of laborlng
men by becoming as one OF them IL
is strong, virile, healthy study OF
sociology without any frills or fads
and is sane and full of uplift. What
adds to the interest of the love story
is that the heroine is neither young
nor pretty. 1t is easy enough TO tell
q delightful love story about beau
tiful young girl and romantic
Young man. but to make love story
OF absorbing interest between TWEEN
ty seven years old woman who was
never called pretty and an intensely
practical and sober minded foundry
man-why it takes genius-nothing
less-to do that. And Mrs. Kingsley
has shown herself to be Il genius.