The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-03-19
NEWS OF THE BOOK WORLD
Romance for Nature-Lovers-Book OF Ex-
ceptIonai Qualities by HIIdegarde Haw-
thorne-one Of the Very Best OF the
Books OF Fiction That Has Appeared
Thus Far This Spring.

Springs promises in yesterdays air may
have put me in Just the proper frame of
mind for A Country Interlude by Hide,
garde Hawthorne, or the enchantnent may
have lain wholly In the book itself. Wher-
ever 1t lay, it was marked and Will not
soon be forgotten. The effect was that or
some master artists picture Of an upland
pasture In spring, looking upon which one
not only sees the new mantle Of grass COW
ering the ground, the touches of green
upon the trees scattered here and there
and the gray-blue Of the shadows and sky,
south wind upon his cheek and hears the
robins song and the piping of the meadow
lark. This put me in fullest ympathy
with the following, come upon early in the
tale:
"There is something wicked in the way
we shut out nature-hide from the sun
shine and the moonlight, the growing
green things, the birds, the fragrance.
Poor bat things that most Of us are
seeing nothing, hearing nothing, hidden
away in our premature tombs, being
busy"
The story is that Of how Imogen Grant
found herself. Her early youth had been
out Of trains, boarding and DISSEMINATING
from steamers and greeting and bidding
farewell to friends. Now she goes into
the country where she is thrown back upon
herself and nature, and there she finds
herself, and, as a result, a lover, but that
| is really incidental, the great thing is
that by getting close to nature she finds
herself and her kinship with nature. That
! is the way to find oneself-go out to ma
1 ture, leaving behind the life you have
lived before, the old self, the old habits of
thought, being assured that all that was
good In the life you have left will be yours
still and the worthless will drop away as
an old garment. =
1 But, to come back to Imogen, you will
find her good deal Of a philosopher
She has known the life Of the wealthy, anc
under: the spell of her first days in the
country she says: "But there is a Ger.
| tain clash of cymbals connected with mil
lions that won't be silenced. And fea1
this clashing browns some of the sweetel
and finer sounds Of earth and heaven
But life is not all loneliness in the coun
4 try. Imogen is with ''Mumsie'' in thei
country nome. A girl friend comes to visi
her. also a young man of millions to whom
she became engaged before she began II
discover herself, preacher Of the neigh
borhood and an artist who lives near max
ing UP a group, in the authors hands, o
more than ordinary. interest.
What is life? he (the preacher) de
, manded, apparently in accord with some
thing Alicia had said. :Ah, yes-what
indeed? 80 80.
: kA11Cld WdS u1lulS111dyeQ.
"It's doing what you most want to d
with the people you like best" she replied
: '''OhH exclaimed the parson. 'Tha
seems at least a pleasant view of it.
life murmured my mother, is mem
ory and hope - p. f..
: life said T.. in my turn, lis the win
in the trees the lightning in the cloud
It's a bully thing, anyhow said Bel
(the milliofaire).
> 1--WE looked at Mr. Mason, who laughe
and shook his head. -s '-s's r'rt
sI've still to live he said. Don't as
me. It's the other side of the moon a
, yet 49, ;.-....5 =. =. -: ".Tz..-
= $50 We each had a knock at the sui
ject and each thought him or herse
pretty laundering smart as our vegetahI
;. man. said the other day apropos of h
small boy 80. $780, -
!, The character drawing has been s1lar
= up to this conversation and the, adn1irab
. fitness of the answer of each to his or he
: character as drawn is a work of art. 17%
r AS for the romance Of the story Whic
: have SO sadly neglected, I venture it
a bit different from anything you have me
before. It has distinction and qualities <
2 permanence. y The Uneasy Chair.