New-York tribune., 1904-08-07

I l.
Agnes Surbridee. Win four iluStr3tiolls h5-
=. J. Keller limo. pp. "a Doubleday, Page
TIE PIIILANTHRoPIST BY John +. Caus;on
LIMO, PIP ia John Lane
The Confessions of a CIabv.onoar., i = ,o,e,
with a purpose. Its aim is to show that " mons
clubs are a good thing if taken in moderation
but q bad thing if taken in excess There is
ho'A-AS new or startling in this. The same
statement might be made, and indeed has been
made, in regard to a great many other things
But Mrs. SurbTidge goes further She shows the
particularly pcrnicious effects Of club life when
II Is taken up by women for purely selfish ends
ioT The purpose Of furthering social ambitions or
Tor the mere excitement il provides. instead Of
Tor the good it may accomplish for the race or
even for the individual Agnes Surbridge' is
sad 10 be the pen name Of a prominent club
woman. Wei known through her club activities
and published works who seeks to conceal her
Identity IN view Of the plain speaking in which
Ehe INDUCES This is perhaps wise if she desires
10 maintain her influence in clubdorn: for the
book dwells but little on the advantages Of club
life and bears very heavily on its disadvantages
In fact, almost the only good word that is spoken
for the woman's club is contained in the last two
pages, very much if added as an after
thought The heroine is a pretty young woman
from country town who goes to live in Chicago
as the wife Of a retail grocer. She has no CON
genial society. and joins a club as an entering
wedge TO social life II takes the place of the
real thing at first but in the end serves her pur-
pose admirably well, and the novel is quite as
likely TO serve as a guide to socially ambitious
women as il is 10 be considered in the light of a
warning, except in so far as il points out the
rocks On which Mrs. Jack Henning was nearly
wrecked II Mrs Jack had had such book as
this TO which 10 refer she could have gained her
desires without making the mistakes into which
she all too blindly fell Says the repentant lady:
II was only the froth and excitement 7 wanted.
1s S ooa ~ i%r Ine 8ffGal m @ 91
opinion. neither do nine-tenths OF the clubwomen
In this country.
II would be difficult TO get together In real life
as dreary. commonplace and uninteresting a set
OF people as that Of which Mr.. Causton writes
IN his novel, '"The Phianthropist" Readily
granting that such a society does exist that
which composed the membership Of the Stroud
Street Methodist Chapel, it is difficult to see why
any one should desire 10 perpetuate in print its
trivial and futile doings and sayings and think
ings." The man who poses as the philanthropst
IS a kind but careless London "City man." who
befriends few orphans. and who. finding that IL
gains him the approval OF his fellow church
members enlarges his enterprise into an asylum.
and then uses the funds TO support himself and
his family when he is in business difficulties
He is only saved from prison by his prospective
eon-in-IaW, who advances him the money in time
for him to issue the balance sheet which has
been demanded by his suspicious neighbors and
the other contributors 20 his charity" The
story seems to be in part an attack on the mar
rowncss Of 4 certain class OF English Noncon-
foTnists for the real phIlanthrOpist is shown to
be the would be son-In-law. who. although de-
rider Of conventional religion. like Abou ben
Adhem. loves his fellow man. and at least one Of
his fellow women. There IS not one wholly SYM
pathetic character in the book The heroine Is a
conscientious little prig. who IS continually get
ting engaged and disengaged: the hero is a
clever but disagreeable scofTer and an the rest
OF the characters are middle class British
founders" OF various types II tho purpose OF
the novel Is % mirror contemporary LIE. MI.
Causton has undoubtedly been Euccessful In re-