The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-18
Literary Llghts and ShadOhs
BY S. MAYS BALL.


 Humphry Ward. (Harper & Bros).
 Mrs. Wards new book Is as interesting as anything which she has ever before written, and that Is saying great deal. The publication of a new novel from this distinguished author Is more than an or- dinary literary event. Even when this latest delightful story was running in Harper's Monthly the interest in its pe- rusal was intense. When Mrs. Ward was in Massachusetts this summer, while the installments of the novel were appearing in the Monthly, young woman very much interested as to the result of Diana Mallory's Test" begged that she be told CT won't say anything about it') in ad- vance, what that result would be, would Diana win, be happy and all that sort of thing? Be assured" replied Mrs. Ward, 'it will come out all right in the end" It came out all right in the end. as 1t was bound to, under the skillful handling of the author-couldn't well have come out any other way, still there will be many in this country at least, admirers of Mrs. Ward, who will reget that ending-but wait minute
 Mrs. Ward belongs to the conservative social class of England and her stories almost exclusively are devoted to that strata of society, but with her clear vision, sincerity of zeal and honesty of thought, she displays for her readers the souls of her characters with great im- partiality and fairness added to but not .obscured by a literary style and finish not excelled or reached by many now en- gagged in writing novels in her or any other country One can hardly make mistake in reading anything written by Mrs. Ward. She stands in this day and generation almost alone in her field Then, too, in reading Mrs. Wards novels we always have the pleasure of believing, correctly, that we are in mighty good company. In this new book we visit a splendid country house or two in England, meander through the House Of Parlia- ment. but even so we know that the peo- pie in the story as in all the others from this gifted author, are just ordinary folks' nothing wonderful about them, just like everybody else, nor removed by social scales above or beyond the people we know in similar stratas. The ordinary. would-be author of the society novel seems to think that he or she must con struct, or as they would put 1t create something in the way of human machlnes that never happened (thank goodnesso any where at any time. Mrs. Ward writes of people as they are, as we must recog- nize them without lot of unnecessary verbosity employed in their delineation
 "Diana Mallory" was the daughter of an English gentlemen, who for some req son or other had left London to live In Italy, when Diana was or years olo.
 HAG 4afh himself from his native land, to travel and wander about. Diana did not know, and upon this ignorance on her part hangs the thread of the theme or this de- lightful story. When the book opens Diana's father had recently died, telling her nothing of her mother, Of his Wlsh {. and reason for living away from home, ! and Diana. with a good inherita ce in the way of funds, had returned to Eng land to live at the age of g years, lovely, charming. wonderfully well-read. native of her native land. Diana had taken a country home, "Beechcote," not far from London, and engaged to live with her' as a companion, Mrs. Colwood, widow. "Oliver Marsham," member or par 1iament. son but not the heir of dead rich man, lived near Diana's new nome. The love affair in the story is between Diana and Marsham.
 Now. it must be understood that for some reason or other Marsham's father had left only a small income to his son and the major portion of the estate, with income of quite an $100,000 year to his widow, Divers mother, Wltn the proyiso that the widow should pe- queath the estate to whom she saw ht, tn erefore Oliver was to great extent under the control, great control or ms moth er-thereby hangs the tale in the story. Oliver needed money in his income did not furnish the necessary where withal but it was made clear to Oli- yer that should he marry in line with his mothers ideas all Of the estate would go to him at her death and good income would be given him when he did marry. Lady Lucy was de- lighted with Olivers choice in Diana Mallory, she intimated to her son that all was well, making everybody con- cerned happy except cousin Alicia, who wished to marry Oliver's expec- tancies her own self. Diana was alone in the world. In the Barbadoes lived the sister of Diana's mother who sent her daughter Fannie to England to se- cure from Diana a lot of money, if nossible--no matter how. Fannie turns up at Diana's house, a course, common creature and it is through Fannie that Diana learns in a most heartrending way of her own mother. NOW the secret of Diana's mothers life had been that she had through accident so to aneak committed murder of a dis reputable woman who had fnvefgled her into a fast life during Dfana's fathers absence off exploring. Diana's mother had been the star performer of q famous murder case in London, she had been convicted of both murder and theiyery of her sisters trust funds, but had been allowed to return to her hus- bands home to die, only few days after sentence had been passed by the Enelish court Fannie, through pique and resentment of Diana's charm tells this to Diana. Diana's father had Kept her in ignorance of all this scandal in her mothers life, In fact this was the cause of his determination to live abroad. even going so far as to change his name from his real one of "Sprat- ling" to Mallory"
 Oliver Marsham learns of this secret also, his mother Is told, and the latter positively declines to allow her son to marry Diana. Upon this hangs the story. Upon Oliver Marsham's pluper- feet cad-like but judging by real life, happenings every day, perfectly na- tural disgusting performance much de- pended Oliver gives Diana up, at least she compels him to show his hand you see he loved his "career" with a capital c Gin fact all the letters) mucn better than his little 2x4 heart could love any good, pure. sweet woman as was Diana.
 Webster's dictionary says that a cad means a Tow, presuming, vulgar fel-