The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-06

ceived, in street parlance, the icy stare and had cracked ice put in the chairs" To further inconvenience the young cou- pie, old Thorne sent Christopher on a business trip to Russia and right after the marriage, too-in fact, before the honeymoon had had chance at all. Aw- full old creature was old Thornel Left alone and harrassed by Chris family, Pat goes back to her own people, where she becomes mixed up with experiences in- nocent in themselves, but capable of creating scandal for Chris family to re- late to the absent husband-which was quickly used of course. When Pat took trip over Europe with her sister, old Thorne put detective on Pats trail, and even followed her himself to get "evl- dence" with which to injure Pat and sep arate her from her husband
 But, of course. in the end, nothing was done Pat is vindicated, as she should have been; the husband and wife are brought together, only arter many trying experiences on both sides and they start life anew in London, away from the old Thorne family
 The book is really high-class. And even better than that to some readers-not all 1t Is very interesting.
 '""rhe Island Pharisees," by John Gals
 worthy. e. P. Putnams Sons).
 Reviewed in The Age-Herald on August 30 was Villa Rubein,' one of the first successful books written by MT. Gals worthy. "'Fhe Island Pharisees" Is other very superior book from MT. Gals worthy's gifted pen, which was written and published in England some time ago and now rewritten and published in this country by the Putnams.
 There are few writers using the Eng fish language today that excel MT. Gals worthy fin his books. "The Country House." "Villa Rubein' and "The Island Pharisees' are notable productions, and If 1t Is permissible repetition made here would be in order, namely, simply to call attention to the method of the foreign novel-writer in contradictinction to the American novelist, in the treatment of character delineation. In the latters books we are told in many words with lot of unnecessary verboslty what kind of people we are introduced to. The for eign writer tells us in a few words just what sort of people his people may be, then, by their action and speech, we quickly see what kind of people the char acters really are, a great and distinctive differencei
 Speaking to his English audience, MT Galsworthy says in his preface: Tn the matter of the title of this book we are all Pharisees, and we certainly do live upon an island"
 Shelton" was a young Englishman with plenty of money, who was by tenn perament at outs with his strata of so- ciety. He fell in love with and expected to marry a pretty young girl of his own "set" Antonia Dormant. The book cov- CTS the experiences of the courtship. The plot Is slight in this book, as 1t is in everything that MT. Galsworthy writes. It is not so much the plot of MT. Galsworth's books as it Is the people and the things in his stories that stand out; for that reason alone it is difficult to explain in a review how really great "The Island Pharisees' as a present-day novel Is.
 Shelton has socialistic learnings; he does not understand many things that happen. and in his struggles against the walls of caste or "society' he causes to himself and those who care for him much discom- fort yea displeasure. The reader can see as he progresses in the story that Antonia Is the last woman in England to make shelton happy, and will be delightea to know at the end that the eyes of both the engaged young people were opened in time to prevent a life of welded un- happiness The reader can but agree with all that Shelton fights for, and he fights for many strange things, too, as society views them now, but with 1t all we all know that Shelton was right in his the ories at last.
 He had been to a play one night with a friend of his, where the theme and plot of the drama was laid around the wish of a husband to hold to him wife who was utterly weary of living with him, the pressure being brought to bear upon the unhappy wife in this way: What will people say; let's admit you are unhappy, and that you will be unhappy until you die if you continue to live with me--but can you stand up under what people will say?" or words to that effect. Shelton, In discussing the play afterward with his friend, said: Hal, look here what would you do if your wife got tired of you? I don't mean anything personal of course but apply the situation the play's) to yourself" "I shouldn't stand any hum bug" said Hal, take her travelling, shake her mind up; shed soon come around
 But suppose she really loathed you?' Qike the people in the play) said Shel- ton.
 "There are a great many things to be taken into consideration Hal said.
 Tt appears to me- said Shelton, "to be question of common pride. How can you ask anything of a woman who doesn't want to give it?' Hal's voice be- came Judicial. "A man ought not to suf fer" he said. because woman gets hys- teria You have to think of society, your q thousand things It's all very well to talk" These friends fought out this ques- ton of what one should do, simply to placate society, and Shelton had his last 13-inch center shot which does seem tell ing-now does it not, listen:
 q simply can't understand any man wanting to live with a woman who doesn't want him." Then Shelton went home and to bed.
 There is another character, an ire sponsible creature Ferrand, who appears by contrast with shelton in the book.
 Get "The Island Pharisees" and read it. Don't miss such a good thing or you'll regret it.
 British Highways and Byways from
 a Motor Car" by Thomas D. Murphy.
 G. c. Page Co)
 This book is the record of a 5O00-mie tour in a motor car through England, Wales and Scotland The book has 16 il- lustrations in color and 32 duogravures from photographs; also two descriptive maps.
 This book is a chronicle of summers motoring in Britain, and is not intended as a guide book In any sense, yet the maps, together with the comments on highways, towns and country, would be of some value even in that capacity. The book, however, with its many illustra- tions and its records of visits to out-of- way places, will be acceptable to those who may desire to tour Britain by rail or cycle, as well as by motor car Nor will 1t be entirely uninteresting, on the con trary, to those who may not expect to visit the country in person but desire to learn more of 1t and It's people. Although