The Washington herald., 1907-06-02
The Long Rnnh.

'Tha Long Road, by John OXenham, IS
one Of those terrible pictures Of the Un-
derside Of life I'm Russia. which. taking
no account Of what is good in the king
dom Of the Car. leaves thesreader with
the belief that Russia IS land of the
most frightful and horrible depression.
BY "The Long Road" the author means
that road that stretches its dreary waste
from Kazau i'm Russia. % Irlutsk IN ST.
IBERIA. that tragic road along which so
many companies of staggering eNiles have
trad their way, hv the side of which so
many of the weak. So many women and
ltue children have laid down 10 die. And
the author makes the stretches Of this
fearful road very vivid to his readers, as
DE follows the fortunes Of Ivan lliue, who
with his wife. Marya, and his little son,
Stepau. are condemned 90 exile. 1t was
at time when Irkutsk needed lmmi-
grants and the sentence of exile was
passed for a most trivial 0GeUse. II was
am enormous hardship, for the road was
long and the way was hard Little
Stapar was nine years old when be be
gan the journey at his fathers side' me
was eleven before the company Of eNiies
had reached their goal
But even i'm exile "a man can work, and
Ivan Iline established his forge i'm lrk-
utsk and did well, and Stepan helped him
8t the work and grew to fine, young man
hood and avoided trouble with the au-
thorities But the governor Of lrkutsk
died. and Patschkin that devil of man,
was appointed in his stead. lie WAS a
man known 10 wiring province dry,
life meant nothing 10 him, uaugat was
allowed to stand i1 the way of his viii,
no man could escape his notice. So II was
that Ivan Iliuc was appointed O. the gov
eru0r's council. that dangerous and doubt
ful honor. and when the Nerkinsk salt ta;
was overdue. Ivan was sent 10 collect IT,
He never returned
Then for time StCpan sought 10 avoid
Pa=chku's notice but he. too. was APP
nofuted To the council. after he had been
selected. first. TO travel To Sclemsinsk 90
purchase horses for the governor. Il was
here that Stepau fell in love and after
being appointed 10 the council. ne mar
ricd. and in the little green-shuttered
house at Irkutsk there was great JOY and
happiness. Again did the tax at Yer
/ ]ziusk fall due. and this time Stepan was
/ tlt us NtlatiI'fla llf t.t lll~ t''TlF hN'
he failed. and for punishment the gov
/ eruor issued a decree that henceforward
[ STEFAN was 90 be a wandorer i'm Siberia
From Irkutsb he must so at once, and
thereafter must never stop more than ten
/ DAYS in the same place
I This is the beginning of The end. Stepan s
wife Joins him. an old Siberian Jew ped
dlsr is kind to them and soon Stepan has
built himself "a wagon and bought stock
of goods with which he travels steadily
/ and monot0uously from place 90 place
] But still the cruel orders Of PaschRin fol
/ low him. His wife sickened, and because
/ he had to move on he had 10 leave her
50 that she died and then Step3n'S son
/ the apple Of his eve. followed her. Il
came about that PasChldu was 10 leave
. Siberia and i'm furious speed Stcpan foi
/ lowed him. lie catches him AZ timi
/ when the governor is beset by wolves
and he would have killed him for ven
/ roauce. but the governors little son
whose voice is like that of Stepans los
boy. stays his hand, and the governor
goes free.
Forth into the wilderness he goes an'
the novel tells of his dreary life there; i
tells how he picked mp the thread of hH
broken life-happiness had fled from him
and he spends his years in trying to MAKE
others happy.
This is a very pathetic, grim story. bu
It rings true. 1t is told with great ar
and skin. in simple, terse English, tha
adds to its value. It is the story of q
strong mans struggle against fate, anr
il brings a message Of hope-for the enc
is victory. lNew York: The Macmillan
] Company