Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-03
TIE DREAM AND THE BUSINESS. By

Vineyard, me Flute OF ran, &C.
New York: d. Appleton s. Co.
For dream cometh through the multi
tude of business" Eccles., v:3.
1t is necessary to read the theme which
Bhe herself gave 1t to understand what 1t
was that Mrs. Craigie meant this, her latest
book, to express to the world. The world
will read It, it's interest heightened by the
fact that this is her last book, published
after her untimely death 1t Is curiously fit
ting that THE Dreams and the Business
should be John Oliver Hobbies " interpre
tatlon OF the meaning of the eternal war be-
tween dreams and realities
The book is the record of the lives Of
little group of people in the busy life Of
London. These people are the embodiments
of many diverse influences in our mod
ern social and religious life. Each one is.
in his way, high and fine. Each one In his
own way. struggled with the clash between
the world he has expected and the world he
finds. They struggle with each other also
and meet at Cross-purposes. In the struggle
some lives broken some are merely
Inarred, but none escape the grief of shat
tered ideals. one finds his happiness In an
eustere life OF social and religious service,
two find 1t in each other-"although they
will never know unearthly happiness. they
will never know anything else in this world
except the utmost possibility of earthly
contentment." Another finds his pleasure
In the indulgence of his passion for the
beautiful.
In it's religious elements The Dream and
the Business is also study of diverse ten
denotes. Its men and women are influenced
by the Non-ConformiSt movement and its
modern phase, Congregationalism, by epicu-
Teanism by Catholicism. 1t is fitting, con-
sidering Mrs Carnegie's own adoption OF
the Catholic faith, she should make that
the religion of Tessa. Yet even there
Catholicism is 1.-The one religion for such
TeSSl A IL
tected and enveloped her in a world
not ruled by the candid or inhabited
by the tender" Catholicism is not consd-
cred to be necessarily the religion for ALL
In fact, religion, in its different sects, IS
the expression of different individualities
Divergence is a necessary thing
The characterization is keen. as in all
Mrs. Craigies work; in fact. 1t is SO subtle
to be at times intangible. Her men and
women are rather analyses of modern ten
denotes than men and women. 1t is curious
that the one character which stands out
with concrete. human yividness is the
wretched little cockney half-soul, with half
world tendencies, Mamie Cloots.
1t is pathetic that Mrs. Craigles last word
Should be earnest and seeking as 1t $50
uncertain message based upon so con-
fused and joyless a world The pitiful
remnant OF joy in living Is picked up by
those who content with compromises.
Possibly 1t may be the verdict of many
rross-sections of the modern world, but it
Is a pitiful conclusion to embody In so liv-
Ing thing as book.
PRISONERS, Fast Bound in Misery and
Iron. BY Mary Cholmondeley, author
OF Red Pottage.'' Illustrated New
York: Dodd, Mead & Co.
Since Miss Cholmondeley produced Red
Pottage" several years ago, and gained
high rank by what was Immediately rated
as a novel of great force. she has sent forth
nothing to meet the wishes of her admirers
until now, with novel that Is easily to be
and to be classed with the remarkable per-
formances of the period. Prisoners" Is
likely to become. indeed, one OF the most
discussed books of the season. 1t presents
novel situation and affords a mastery
study in selfshness. Through peculiar cir
cumstances, which In themselves involve no
improperly on his part, young English
man of excellent family and great promise
Is thrust into an Italian prison as the muir
derer of a member of the Roman nobility.
He confesses to a crime of which he is not
guilty in order to shield the woman he loves.
She, terrified by the possibility of a dis
closure of her own sinful Intentions and the
compromising circumstances which her folly
has yielded. stands mute when word might
have caused his release She suffers him to
ianguish in a loathsome cell for two
years even though the death of her husband
opens way to comparatively easy con-
fession. Returning to England she falls in
love with the prisoners halfbrother, who
loves her In turn These two we'll
matched in their selfshness. She 10 terrified
at last by her memories and driven to a
confession. Just she makes 1t to the
bishop word comes that the real murderer
OF the dead italian has confessed. The pris
oner is released, but when he returns to find
her engaged to his brother he demands that
she tell him the full story. She does SO, and
the story ends with tremendously dramat
&c climax, powerful and convincing as
anything that has been achieved in English
fiction in years. In these closing scenes
Miss Cholmondeley rises to high pitch of
effectiveness. She has written a book OF
great power The somberness OF her theme
IN the main she relieves by many delightful
touches OF humor. as In the maneuvers of
Col Bellairs and his sister and the Insult
ferabie priggishness of Wentworth Maine.
In Magdalen. patient, loving, thoughtful
Magdalen, the author scores a notable
achievement.
HOLLAND. Exclusive Authorized Trans
lation of "Hilliegenlei." By Gustave
Frenssen, author of "Jorn Uhl." Trans
lated from the German by Mary Agnes
Hamilton. Boston: Dana Estes A Co.
The naive and primitive force Of this
novel of the seafaring folk who live on the
borders of the German ocean Is admir-
able antidote to the more or less decadent
note in much of modern literature. While
'Holyland" expresses the prevalent spiritual
unrest, while II Is also a record of the
search after the IDEAL 1t sounds a note at
once positive and hopeful and its solution
Is inspiring.
Kai Jams, who lie born a seeker after
"holyland," Is the central figure. In all
things material, in achievement, In human
love- he fails, but he gains spiritual insight
which makes him the prophet of the high
est The community of peasants among
whom he lives. primitive in loves and hates.
flaming with elemental passion yet pervaded
by scepticism, mystical yet earthly. is
psychological study which places Gustav
Frenssen among the great modern artists
The men and women are sharply Individual
ized. but bound together by racial charac-
teristics. They could have belonged to no
other country than Germany. to no other
time than the present. and to no other class
than peasant fishermen and sailors. The
marriage of Anna Boje and of Pc Ontjes
Lau is heroic. like the mating Of viking
and his bride. Heinke. while she is dis
tinctly Bo1e, is of gentler, finer strain
and Tjark Dusenschon Is conceived in a
spirit OF farce and OF subtle satire. Holy
land" is to be read both a human docu-
Inent and as a story full of humor and Of
pathos and poetry.