The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-02-17
BYsTIIls LIGHT or, THE sou, by
Mary IL. wilkins Freeman lar-
ipcr & BROTHERS. of New York, pub

x Mary u. wilkins Freeman flar-
per & brothers. of New York, pub
fishers; PIP. 49S; sl.so.
Mrs. Freeman is regarded as one of
tho most finished delineators of Ne%
England characters and types. Tho
scene of this, her latest sustained CT
fort, Is lnid IN n New ENGLAND village,
but the girl who ! sthe centre of IN
torcst in the book, is thoroughly New
England with the hypersensitivc New
England conscience, with all the natu- 4
raj reserve and nsceticsm which had
n,,obably come to her " heredity,
The hook Is written with the insight
into human nature, the power of pre-
sonting everyday situations power
fully aud graphcauy, which are spe-
cinlly apparent in all Of Mrs Free
mans work
The tragic note is struck lnsistchtlN
throughout the story from beginning.
to end, dwnrfing the little human vani-
ties and Weaknesses that crop out
every now and then half -ashanedly
The heroine of the novel is Maria
Edgeham Her rather is a good-look-
ing rather ordinary type of man, light
hearted and inclined to optimism. HIS
wife is his opposite. In reading about
her. one easily understands where Ma
ria's uncompromisng New England
traits come from. Her death and the
manner OF It is the first real tragedy
OF the heroine's life Her tathcr's see
ond marriage within bricf space OF
time Is the second.
Marla's life has u good mary crum-
pied rose leaves III it after her step
mother comes to take her moth
er's place. and only strong at
lection she feels for lpr little baby
sister Evelyn, and or her father, make
her happy in any way. AS she grows
older, she goes away from home to
school In neighboring village. Ono
day While she Is gone, little Evelyn
wanders off from home, gets on the
train at the station and goes to New
York, Wen Maria comes home at
night Ahe is confronted by me news
3 that this dearly loved baby sister is
probably lost in the great metropolis.
Almost beside herself, the girl rushes
home, arraigns her stepmothcr for fall
ing to look after Evelyn and caring
for no one but herself. Then she de-
cides that she VIII take the train and
try to find the lost child in New York
herself. At the last moment boy
sweetheart. seeing her at the station
boards the train and accompanies her
a useless hunt. boy and girl awake
to the realization that probably the
i last train from New York to their VIII
lRge has left and that they are strang-
ers and alone in the big city.
a young Clergyman with whom they
are thrown, under mistaken desire tc
right what he believes to be a wrong
situation marries them in the presence
of witnesses. Then, after all, they tint
has St,r,, Ia,
ton in time and that their train has
not yet gone
The enforced marriage is the second
tragedy of Maria's life, and it is sucl
useless tragedy, for when she get
back home, sne finds that the baby CIR
has been found and brought back un
harmed. She 1icrcely resents her posi-
ton. and imposes absolute secrecy upol
Wallaston Lee, her partner in the cpl
sode- The secret is kept. but 1t over
shadows Maria's whole life. When sh
graduates from school. her father
health, has begun to fail perceptibl!
She hegins to teach in order that sh
may be independent. y mans homes
lcve and chance of happiness are of
Tered her in vain. because of the secrt
marriage that binds her.
Then comes her fathers death. an
her stepmother goes to Europe lea,
Ing Evelyn in her charge. Time passe
" and Evelyn's graduation day draws an
brings with it the complication tht
fl finishes the wreck of Maria's life. A
unexpected chain of circumstance
Ei3s makes Wallaston Lee principal of tt
school in which Maria is a teacher an
Evelyn a pupil. There is every pros
pect Of The old trouble being rooted O,
and q new attachment being formt
between teacher and principal whe
feaH-f. I,NclNn EuHHpnlV falls nj Nv "a,
unreasoningly in love With Wallast(
5is Lee,
Marin realizes that she cannot bui
her hopes of happiness on Evclyr
se misery. She takes the Gordan Sn
therefore, into her own hands and GU
IT, She disappears, leaving no ira
behind her. and has notice OF h
death printed in the papers, where J,
home people cannot fail to see It.
She U.s.. uGontei' by an eccentric q
lady, who takes fancy to her. i
once after her return from a yea
stay IN Europe, she goes back, a,
M like q pale ghost, looks into the light
windows OF her old home She sees D
tnre Of happy married life, with w
laston Lee, as the husband of Evel,
Then she creeps away, and goes ba
to her adopted mother, feeling that
has made no mistake in sacrificing h
self, and 1t seems to her that her o
soul must from henceforth light
's3