The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-22
VIEW K
Waking the World Retter.

Mr.. Richard WhitelnRs story ot ring
in the New The Century Company deals
With the hardness OF social conditions. IL
has a reformer hero and a heroine who
suffers. Prue Meryon stood a heggar In
the world at 20 years OF age with little
more than as many pounds sterling between
her and the deeps." In plenty of novels,
Of course, we have had heroines in the
same disagreeable fix. Not ~infrequently,
and az "A rule with much prophetic sorrow,
hey have become "oompan ions" Prue
went az companion to her Aunt Edom.
The association proved to he CALLING, 40
she went 10 / ondon To make her own in
dependent way in the world.
Her hopes received some chill when she
made application at the Cent? eel Employ
ment Bureau. At the same time her under
standing was improved. She learned that
special knowledge was desirable for persons
in her case. She studied shorthand, learned
il imperSectly and earned by its exercise
in the employ OF a distinctly generous
literary gentleman a single guinea. She
had a modest fiat and a fox terrier. At the
end Of three months she had very little
money left. Walking over London Bridge
one clear autumn night she Confided softly
TO her dog Misses wants to cry" just at
this point the hero first appears. Ii must
hp that what she said TO her dog was over
heard by George Leonard, editor OF the
Brondipg Iron. At all events there was a
paragraph about her in that curious news
paper. 1t SAID: Too many nobody wants
mes still about, in spite of the slight i'm
provement in trade. The other night I
overheard a little one Of the order on Lon
don Bridge rat her too smart to he con-
vincing at first sight hut she'll o o get over
that. She was ap~ologizing to her dog for
a bad time coming when she might not be
able TO keep even him. Note the female
unemployed never get a show in the pro-
cessions, AMI theirs is the worst case. The
poor little dot wound up with a misses
wants to cry and she looked dow at the
tyke."
The story tells just what a curious news
paper the Branding Iron was. A subtitle
described it as "a journal of the back
streets" Its first issues we're in the editors
own handwriting, duplicated by the copy
ing process. After a time it was printed
and achieved an enormous circulation and
influence. Prue was offended by the para
graph and felt a desire TO cowhide George
Leonard, but happily 90 rude an activity
never befell. II the editor was Extensively
personal, it is still true that his prophetic
sight was clear. Prue counted her money
one day and found that she had only nine
shillings. 1t was at this period of stress
that she became a window pane'-that is,
she sat in a shop window all day manipulate
ing some small invention for the purpose
Of advertising IL. THE operator, as she
was called, lived in a glare Of publicity,
beside which that OF an actor or the occu-
pant Of a throne was monastic se~clusion."
II nav be thought how painful such an
occupation was for a modest young lady.
She stuck to it, and did very well. The
shopkeeper valued her and hated to give her
up. He used to 60 out himself among
the crowd and watch her with considerable
approval. IF now M then he wished that
che had a trihe more dash, and blamed him.
self for not having engaged an e~x-barmaid,
he generously dismissed the thought" But
the invention itself was not successful.
Nothing could make 1t go, and the window
pane was presently discharged.
At one time Prue took TO faith-that
form Of faith which assumes that suffering
and evil are illusions, and that there are no
such things really. She got hold of a book
from America, and presently, when she
was down 10 her last shilling, We find her
trumphantly saying TO herself: Il am not
half starving. / am not going to be turned
out of house and home at the end Of the
week. 1 am faring as kings would fare il
they knew what was good for them. l
am going to stay on here-here in my dear
old lodging, the only place hat was ever
mine. am going to have work and plenty
Of it. Amen,- She did get work finally.
The editor OF the Branding Iron knew a
rich and lovely lady of charitable DISPOSE
ton. He directed her attention to Prue,
and she provided our heroine at once with
respectable and pleasant employment.
Gertrude Holl is one of the characters
Sn the story. She was an heiress. She
ran her factories on the altruistic principle,
getting her ideas from reports of what had
been lone in that way by the distinguished
American, Golden Rule" Jones. why"
says Gertrude in one place, even in bound
less America, with all its opportunities,
they've contrived in one century to start
a pauper breedl It's all done by the wretched
turn of the hand, as cheap a thing as a con-
jurer's trick, that enable a few smart
fellows 10 fob the riches of the world"
The editor Of the Branding Iron started
the Great Conspiracy. which proved sue
cessful and resulted in the secure establish
ment Of the Iron Law of Brotherhood.
lie proposed 10 Prue and was accepted.
The style of the story il somewhat inn
pressionistic and difficult, but the reader
will be interested and entertained.