The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-07-28
ALICE FOR SHORT. BY william
pc Morgan. Published BY Henry,
Holt & Company, Of New York,

PIP 56S
"Alice for Short" has been mentioned
vsriously as the novel of the day. us
being without plot, as being an In.
torsely humorous, as we'll as all IN.
tensely human work In fiction.' So
various are the standpoints from
which an authors work Is approached.
Certainly book that is SO strong.
ly pathetic and dramatic. must OF
necessity contain tumor, for the source
Of tears and laughter lie too near to-
gether for one to be exploited without
an infusion Of tie other. As TO the pot.
It is tho very centre around which
everything else rovolves, and untll it's
fun revelation is finally brought about
there can be no abatement OF the in
tense interest that begins TO grow In
the mind Of the reader. from the mo-
nert that Alice for Short" in the
s,rst chapter, breaks a beer mug that
hes an. Intimate association with o.
harksons tragedy, to the last chapter.
in which, the dreadful mystery toward
which all incidants and happenings
fit, like links In q. chain. Is fully and
clearly explained.
i5 The story takes ts!s reader back
several generations N picking UP
clue that completes the cycle Of rala-
tionship IN persons actions and re-
cults between the early eighteenth
End tho latter nine teenth centuries.
The clue is worked thus backward In
lsisurely. unhurrisd fashion, the style
period that is altogether apart from
me hustle and stress OF to-day. Bit
by ttt. one piece Of evidence fits In
With anc Their, unfil the climax crowns
and IGunds out the whole.
The reginning concerns. itself with
Tho heroine VI the book. Alicia Eav.
anohgfl. or as she Is whims!caily called
by Cl!arieg Heath. ar artist wto he-
f.!erls her. "Ai!cs ,ot Snort. In m
extensive basement with cellarage" n
No more pathetic instance Of
neglected Childhood can be Imagined
than Alice for Short" She is six
70 the acquaintance of his reader, the
child being this daughter Of Samuel
Kavanarg,, and Hannah, his wife. oc-
cupyirg the basement Of No. 40 al X
Street. near Soho, In London These
people had originally belonged TO the.
Well-to-do tradesrnan's class. Mistcr-
tune had reduced the father from be-
ipE the proprietor OF 9. shop. to such
work as q journeyman tailor could
pick up. and had developed in the
mother an inherited tendency to drink.
saualor and the grind Of ever narrow
ing daily poverty and vice, the child,
delicate. Imaginative. sensitive and re )
fined, springs lip like a. trail, flower
that one sometimes sees blooming in
the midst Of the most uptoward sur
roundings.
Being sent one afternoon By her
mother to neighboring shop for beer.
nhe IS surrounded on. her return by
crowd OF boys, and frightened into
dropping the jug she is carrying,
breaking It. and losing the beer. Know
Ing her mothers temper and the pun
isiiInent she is to expect. the. child
bursts into tears and weeps bitterly
An artist. occupying the first floor 81.
the house that Is her home comes up,
questions the child, and. finding out
what has happened. offers to take her
home. explain the cause OF her trouble,
and pay her mother for the broken
TUG. All goes well. and the artist
finally departs with his fra gments,
leaving q clear atmosphere behind him.
As he surveys the fragments OF the
broken jug the wonder grows In his
mind as to where Hannah Kayauar gh
could have obtained SO valuable a.
piece OF Crown Derby as the bits
originally represented. and. If having
obtained it. why she should hava been
willing to risk It in the hands Of SO
small child as Alice for Short.
a few nights later Hannah Kavan.
aigh gets very drunk and very quar-
relsome. Alice for Short is sent this
time TO bed. but the quarrel continues
until Samuel Kavanaugh. exasperated
beyond endurance by his wife,s taunts.
strikes her on the head wi.i, a heavy
coal hammer and almost kills her.
Alice is walked by the excitement and
rliEhes in her bare feet to the kitchen.
to hnd her mother lying on the floor
and her father kneeling beside her
body. Policemen and Charles Heath
are In the room. The child begs to be
allowed to kiss her father. Afterward
the father asks and obtains permis-
sion to go for a@few moments to an
inner room or workshop, while the
doctor makes n examination OF, his
injured wife. The Wife is taken away
at once to an infirmary. Her husband
during his short absence in the inner
room. commits suicide by swallowing
: 80