The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-11-18
THE CONQUEST or CANAAN. : :, BY E3
Booth Harrington. PIP. 3ss. % s1}
Iarne, aud J3rothers New York; Bell,

THE CONQUEST or CANAAN. :. by E
Booth Harrington. Pp. Sss. ALL anli
Harper and Brothers, New ork' 'e''
Richmond. ,,,
'"rhe Conquest Of Canaan" ineyllu y ~
| suggests Il comparison with "T1e SehM u e.
! man from Indiana" Both deal WITH =, - u ),
in an Indiana town and n YOU'VE n ,..t,, and
shoulders his way through ady venaI d tr
misfortune to splendid persona. ~, =,
umph. Canaan is bigger than the ei ga i
tlcman's' town, and its young man ~, iihr !.
TO combat with opposition OF a a ma Inv Nm
and less adventurous sort than ui.l oo ~, -
HAIRLESS. Both books tell fine, vigorous ~.
, and wholly interesting story. Inc ~ =
one has more finish. greater e,,se, nn #
surer and DIETER touch. But IL uog no, 10, ~
of the two. Indeed ii has iinpre;s ,sG ,H %s
as being rather a slghter story IMAM ., t,,t
earlier one, done With more ~ Pc las 9
art on more circumscribed c "a , ,sss
deeply grounded on the bedrock OF A''ie :,
lean life and American charnclel. III;
opining that this last book VIII sea, scatc ,,,s
Dust Mr.. Tarkington's first one iio..a '. no
first in his readers esteem we mis, ~
Canaan" merely expressing OUT our hi r.
regard for The Gentleman from II u
diana." ,,.x
The growing strength of Mr.. Tarking
hibited in the conception 81 ms Nv" hos '. m
Ing characters. MIR. Tarkington nus an
Imagination and he uses it, Ncilher Sp ~,
London nor Ariel Tabor arc within speak,
Ing distance OF the conventional. cut and
dried novel hero and heroine. boln IVY
and Ariel, in their earlier youth, occupieo
social positions that were DECIDED aho ,,nn,
lous. For one thing, both were dead poor.
Then again their behaviour was not su ,l
as to find favor with the Canaan couel
Joe Travelled with low sorts, o.. pecu a,S
they alone treated nm ueeent ~ ~ Nm n
tonl-boy, and In addition was Ia p ~
Mt the disadvantage which an in.eri ,o,
wardrobe always puts one slrl ~ aIi,ou ,s
others. The night she wen. vent, " ,> nao
pixies party, dressed rdiculo4sly because IS.
she didn't know. was one OF those nm nM
full occasions which women break ti ,',.
hearts over as Ions rs M laS SIS 10 ,i,,e
was a long nightmare, however. Joe DC,
Ing an acknowledged outrast, was nul
even invited to the Pike MANSION, pu. VI.
ing also exceptionally keen on MISS naiii'e
hiding where he could catch an occasional I,i.
glimpse OF his loved one In the Whlrllns
valse. Unfortunately. Joe was olscoSertsui ~,
and before he could make an ESCAPE, mo
head had been badly broken by pohcr
in the hands Of the iratc Judge PiRe.
That was a marked night for both JOG
and Ariel. Joe's head Is oouhu up Y
some of his low but true friends and, WI" WIN
dust of Canaan off his feet Ariel Learns
that wealthy and misery old Jonas TABOR
was dead and that she has become, IN
the winkings of an eye, great heiress..
rather a sad affair. Nobody was glad
to see him, and nearly everybody cut hli,.:
Joe was good lawyer now, but iloo y9!l,',
who called himself respectapie, e nea
thought Of giving him case his ille
was not happy business. ana mere
were indications that he might be losing
his grip on things generally. u Was Va.
two years more before Ariel came ,,,t pu en-.
=, = NOT thn1nlt
very much, did not know her. she was
seven years older, and meanwhile ma,
ture and the dressnaker mad iil1lhseu
to glorfy her vastly me scene . ,, Q. .ne..
ton and delicacy OF feeling. Later Ariel
walked with Joe down Main Street IN
the face of all Canaan, church. return
Ing and no less taken anack EpS hear De ea -
ionship But her promenade, with zoe,
the outcast. was not ascribable, as ga
naan chartably thought, to the tact that
she was wa sa as yer .nre isn s.a ne
Joe looked at life whimsically, and bore
Its buffets calmly and without ON. n.
plants His struggle upward TOOK root
from his own manhood. and it9would nave
been a strange thing # 1t had not come
triumphant His final success is COM
plete enough to satisfy the most exact
ing. From the viewpoint OF the artist.
it is perhaps doubtful expedient that
that success is particularly assisted BY
a circumstance with$whch Joe had noth-
Ing to do. We refer to the errant nonesIy
OF that arch enemy OF his, Judge Martin
Pike That the vociferous Judge was
defaulting trustee was a mere chance,
and your true hero's victories should al
ways be due, not to chance, but to his
own intrinsic merit. However. the point
is q small one, and lesser man than
Joe, even with this help, could scarce!y3
have succeeded.
This is a fine story which few people
can read without ken interest and pleas
ure. 1t has strong and Well-worked out
plot, both humor and pathos. q deft tell
ing, feeling and fancy. MIR. Harrington
has long been considered one of the
most promising of the younger writer's Of
America This book, his first r. long ono
tains his reputation. If 1t shows no adj
vance over his first remarkably good
book, except in an improved and more
finished craftsmanship, 1t yet remains true
should some day contriye to go much
further.
TRATFIcs AND 4 DISCOVERIES. BY
1ady D. kIpling, PIP; sSs. vs sl5o' Dou-
time ago, but by aa5,nischance not yet
reviewed in the Times Dspa teh, forms
an interest contrast t9 pr. h Hpn1 in 1
Kipling Is possibly the most wilful writer,
some might even say the most pig. head
ed in the world. He shows an inherent
and marked disposition to write what
he jolly well pleases, In lieu Of what hi.
readers want and what they expect Of
him. So far as he & Is concerned, the
public arc at liberty to 60 and hang them
selves AS for trucking. to the literary
preferences Of a host OF, admirers, who
are more than half ready to turn him
into a, god and q cult, he viii none OF It.
He writes a poem that instantly passes
into the limited personal authollogies Of
story. that makes an army OF alert critics
rise up and call him blessed; and then
stolidly drops out OF View for q year
or 50, to rise again with bagfull or
Imping political doggeral or OF cryptic
short lc'on. sonnanbnistie /, or lug quasi and
scientific, thit few people can ike q, , lna
Observations are trlte enough. and every
body knows them Why It Is 80; h1w
is Kiplng and the king. to rcgender
favorltc sentiment OF his DICK Isldar'