The San Francisco call., 1908-10-11
'1he Testing of Diana Mallory

By Mrs. Humphry Ward. author Of The
History Of David Grieve," etc. Publisher
10y Harper & Brothers, New York and Lon
don. Price Sl-5o.
TT WAS a clever woman who once
said. Mrs. Humphry Ward is the
Laura Jean Libbey Of the refined
how clever and how accurate one
must have read The Testing OF Diana
Mallory" in order TO realize. This new
story illustrates strikingly the Ward
Libbey literary method by which it is
designed to keep the sympathetic read
er on the rack, to make pain as painful
as may be, to spare no detail OF dis
tress
Diana Mallory is an English girl who
has been taken TO the continent when
little more than a babe and has lived a
nomadic life with her father. That he
could never bear to speak of her mother
Diana attributed to this great grief.
His name had not always been Mallory.
Diana has vaguely understood that this
name was acquired with an Inheritance
from a member of his family. She has
often lOnged for England. but her
father would never go back home. Upon
his death Diana returns to England to
live. and the novel opens.
She takes a country place and rapidly
becomes acquainted with her neighbors.
The love affair develops early. One
knows almost from the beginning that
some sort OF tragedy will come; there
! Is hint from OneG character, a fore
boding from another, a gloomy look
from another, a depressing sigh at the
sight of Diana from another-all warn
ings Of disaster to come. Diana's lover
is built Of poor stuff-needlessly poor
and weak. His father, a wealthy man.
has left his entire fortune TO his widow
so that the son, Oliver. is dependent on
his mother, and always liable to be dis
Inherited. divers mother, however is
charmed with Diana and well pleased
with the prospect Of his being settled In
life
At this point a girl cousin of Di-
snas. common and vulgar. comes
from Barbados and in the course of
her visit tells her cousin the story of
Dianas mother, who, ii is related. sold
some jewelry that was not hers, gam
bled the money away and then killed
the wife Of a man supposed to be her
lover. The true story Of the dreadful
affair was bad enough, but as told by
the vulgar cousin it nearly kills Di-
ana The evening before hearing the
hideous tale she has become engaged
to Oliver, and he is too weak to assert
himself and tell her he cares nothing
Tor MS mothers money. He begs
Diana to wait. His mother and sister
write TO Diana and tell her how i'm
possible ii is now for a marriage to
be arranged between them. Diana
promptly releases Oliver. He is in
parliament and very ambitious. Not
only is he too weak TO refuse to give
up Diana, but he allows an unscrupu-
lous cousin to get him into her tolls
OF course she wants his money-and.
worst Of all. he is false to his politi-
cal friends and causes the death of
one who had been his guide. almost
his father At turbulent political
meeting he is struck by stone. his
spine is injured and he is threatened
with blindness. After weeks of suffer-
ing his mother lets Diana see him.
His cousin throws him over for a
richer man and Diana marries him
manned, broken, defeated politically
and generally pitiable.
Diana is an exceptional woman.
She is not advanced" in the usual
acceptance. She is much better edu-
Gated than the majority of women.
She does not believe in suffrage. She
has decided political opinions and
knows how to argue in their defense.
but she is modest and feminine and
conventional. With all the detail
given In developing her character. it
IS neNplicable that she should so
madly and blindly love Oliver.
The book is well written. of course.
ihe character draw ing is faultless and
the social and political problems
handled !nimitably. Like all of Mrs.
Wards work. it is always leisurely.
but never dull.