The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-03-31

novel without a hero," but it certainly doo5 not lack a heroine, for in the person of Becky Sharp it has a character drawn with such skill an power that it will live as long any creature that ever sprang from the imagination of a nov elst.
 rhackeray claimed that in "Vanity Ia '' he represented people as they were; but the verdict of the world has been that in his story he did not give human na- ture square deal. He himself vas never so merciless again. But the story is a great one by great author, and though the medicine administered to our follies in 4. is unpleasant, it is doubtless whole some.
 A MELIA SEDLEY, arriving home
 "A after being graduated, brought to 4 A her fathers house for brief visit her dear, dear school friend, Rebecca Sharp Rebecca had been educated at the admirable establishment of Miss Pinker- ton in consideration of making herself useful in many ways to the learned pre- ceptress. especially in teaching the French language, in which Becky was most proficient.
 She had green eyes, a slight figure, no principles and more than the ordinary amount of brains. Her father had been a 1issolute and impecunious artist, and
 
 dancer. But both were dead, and Re- becca being thrown entirely upon her own resources determined to take the world by the throat and make it stand and de- liver The world had not used her so kindly that she should spare it, she told herself
 Amelia Sedley was a simple clinging little pink and white thing, all kindness of heart and sentiment. She had been quite overpowered and led captive by the intellectually brilliant Rebecca, who also appealed to her sympathies because of the lonely and penniless state in which it has pleased fate to place her.
 The two young ladies having been grad uated from Miss Pinl1erton's academy, Rebecea had obtained a position as gov erness in the family of Sir Pitt Crawley, bart. to whose country house of Queens Crawley she was to repair as soon as her visit to the Sedleys should be over. But Rebecca, who believed in making hay while the sun shone, Improved the time of her visit by making eyes at and sing ing songs to Amelia's brother Joseph collector of Boggley Wollah. in the service of the Honorable East India Com- pany, home on furlough.
 Joe was very fat and very bashful in women's society, but Rebecca's green eyes and her plaintive little songs made a conquest of him at once. Unfortunately for Becky's plans, the stout civilian took |, where he drank too much punch, and in the delirium of his affections put his arm around Rebeccas waist while he sang in a bacchanal voice, Hey my tiddle, fiddle darling," to the scandal and amusement of the company there assembled. The next morning, terrified at the thought of his exploits of the night before, he fled from the house and soon afterward re- turned to his lucrative post in India, leaving Rebecca to the consideration of the fact that even the seemingly most securely hooked fish sometimes gets away.
 However, no whit discouraged by the failure of her first venture in the world. Rebecca proceeded to Queens Crawley, as resolved as ever to conquer fortune. Shc found the old baronet, Sir Pitt Crawley, a most disreputable rake, with the manners and speech of a rustic clo n ard q taste for low life and low , company that vastly scandalized both his eldest son Pitt and his second son Cap tain Rawdon Crawley of the Guards, d tremendous swell" who had little to do with Queens Crawley or any of it's occu- pants
 Rawdon was not mentally brilliant, but he was a typical Life Guardsman very much in the fashion. very fond of cards, boxing and other gentlemanly diversions huge or statue and heir presumptive of his aunt Miss CrawleY. Sir Pitts sister lHOuSn ne WAS Dedu over heels In deDt he got along extremely well in life and was nightly looked up to by the young men of his set. His brother, Pitt Craw- ley, was his exact opposite-a correct young gentleman with political aspra- tions, who had been called Miss Craw- ley at school, and was now prominent in ''serious" society. He was engaged to his cousin Lady Jane Sheepshanks, daughter of the dowager Lady South down, well known for her persistent dis semnation of quack medicine and quack theology
 At Queens Crawley Reoecca found her self governess to the two young ladies daughters of the second and present Lady Crawley, whose father had been an iron monger of the neighboring village of Mudbury. She, poor woman, was fading gradually to her grave, crushed under the weight of Sir Pitts brutality and the burdens of the high Itation into which she had married
 Rebecca, the little adventures had not been two weeks at Queens Crawey be- fore she dominated the whole establish ment. She found way to manage even the tough old baronet, and when Raw don and Pitt came down for a family gathering the green eyes looked cacu- latingly at the real work of the cam paign. Rebecca would have preferred old Sir Pitt, with the prospect of being comfortably established in life as his widow at no distant date but Lady Craw- ley still had some feeble life left in her. S Pitt was a tough customer, and the little woman could take no chances MT Pitt would nave suited admirably but his arrangement 10 the gentle Lady Jane was an obstacle; and, after all she did haze a little personal liking for tho C;uardsman and more than little for the fortune his aunt was going to leave him when that worldly old person should overeat and overdrink herself for the last time.
 So the soldier, as was fitting, was the object of most of Rebeccas grand and minor strategy. The aunt, Miss Craw- ley, who had joined the house party, came ir for so much of it that she de- clared Becky to be the cleverest. slyest