Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1904-09-23

nor has 1t been heralded by sensation
al advertising, but II remains one of the
strongest novels of the year notwith.
standing Ii Is a book the conscien
tious reviewer can recommend because
| II is true writing; comprehensive
picture of American life which imparts
to the reader the sensation Of an exper
ience, and he recognizes in the pro
tagonist real American man-in his
wife a type of woman all too common
, In our country.
The author, who writes under her
good. She knows the West as well as
the East and her local coloring" IL
as true as all the rest of her writing
which is without false note, or any
striving after effect.
Indeed, II there is such thing as
the American novel, "The Forerunner'
deserves the title, for II portrays tho
soul of q country-its home.life, includ
ing naturally besides the two leading
figures, other persons quite as typical:
localities, conditions, the large. free
swing OF the West as well as the eau
tons with capitalists in New York and
The boom in Los Angeles, mining
schemes in Wyoming, business rela.
tons with capitalists in New York and
Boston, Dan Devin undertakes them
all, and with an inextinguishable faith
In his own success: with a character
istic inability to be discouraged by fail
ure which Is not Jared by his wife
he works on.
| After his marriage and failure In
business in Los Angeles, the threads OF
the story become more tense, and the
author shows her very unusual skill
In handling them.
| Her delineation of character, anal.
ysis of motives: her almost masculine
insight into and treatment Of the mind
Of a man, together with a rare judg
ment in deciding what detail and hum
drum Is best left out. show her to be 0
novelist of the first rank.
Nor does her touch, which is strong
but in this respect peculiarly feminine.
grow less familiar towards the last.
On through the loss of Dams fortune.
the heartless indifference Of his wife,
I who becomes infatuated with New
J. York acquaintance. and the final III
ness and death of the man who never
ceased to love with all the intensity
Of his emotional nature the woman
that never loved him, is evidence of q
commendable sense of proportion.
The ending is unconventional-it Is
high art and as true as life itself. The
residual effect of the book will be felt
by most readers and can not easily be
dispelled.
A very thoughtful, scholarly work
on the marriage institution by George
Elliott Howard, Phi. D., in three vol.
umes, issued by the University of Chi
cago Press, deserves careful reading.
The author traces marriage from the
earliest period down to the present
day. The church had nothing to do
with or to say about marriage In the
very earliest times: II was a natural
| oti'tliDH, anu tHt NiiDitC was ptIsOu-
al, private one. In the middle ages
priests began to NEEDLE with the mat
ter, and by the thirteenth century
marriage had become sacrament"
With the New England Puritans
marriage was purely civil institu.
ton, and Professor Howard sensibly
argues that it should be so regarded
now. There is a great deal of false
sentiment In regard to this subject,
and people who deserve to go to the
penitentiary for their crimes will
stand up for ecclesiastical marriage.
and cringe at lawful and righteous
divorce.
While the latter Is always to be re-
GREETED. OF course, as an unfortunate
termination of a very hopeful out
look, II Is as natural as marriage, and
may reflect to neither party any dis.
grace.
| 4 I. I.
A few copies of l.. c. Page & Co. s
handsomely illustrated catalogue of
books may be had at The Bulletin of.
fee for the asking.