The San Francisco call., 1909-01-31
"The Missioner"

BE- H. Phillips Oppenheim. author Of "A Lost
Leader The Great Secret" etc. Published
by Little, Brown Co., Boston Price $780,
Mr.. Oppenheim is so very popular
In the widest and best sense of that
overworked word that one perhaps ex-
poets more of him than were possible
had he made any distinct failures.
Therefore it is with real regret that
a failure must be laid at his door. He
had a new idea. but was not content
with it and has dragged in several
others which he perhaps thought would
add to the interest and they spoil the
whole thing
The heroine is OF course a rarely
beautiful English girl and the first
Words of the book introduce her: THE
lady of Thorpe was bored" To be sure
she is being bored by her estate agent
just then, who has a dreary lot of
leases and repairs to tell her about,
but she is bored by everything else
too. The circle in which she moves is
composed of others as bored as she is
herself. but while they are frivolous,
self-seeking and rather fast, they seem
a rather decent set. Mr.. Oppenheim
has not descended To problems-yet.
The hero Is a young man of high
ideals and much personal magnetism,
with no patience for the shallowness
and insincerities of fashionable society.
He is "a missioner" who goes about
the country preaching to people who
need ii. lie does not belong to any
Established church and has no narrow
creed. lie has taken what he thinks
is the best and made it all into ii re-
ligion With 1t all some of the best
In socialism is mixed up. and quite
Il little society or cult has started in
London. ,rhe missioner" Victor
Macheson. is not the head of the So
cicty: one of his college friends has
httt MaphpCnr to .-ar
much in earnest and a hard worker.
He is sent down to the village of
Thorpe to lecture and it's mistress, VIII
helminn Thorpe -Hatton. who owns
everything around, decides that she
does not want the missioner to lecture
her people The young man appeals
in pc son, but is almost insulted for
his pains. So much for their introduce
tion. The lady of Thorpe has him
turned out Of the villagers cottage
wi. ere he has roo as. thinking she will
get rid OF him. but he goes to sleep
In a gane he per's shelter and will not
he diiseu away The romantic part of
the book begins there when the lady
cones homc IRON dinner in the
neighho hood AID sees light in the
woods and investigates. 1t proves to
be the IN ssioner asleep, and she drops
some ioses beside him and almost
kisses linn. IL doesn't sound much like
Oppenheim, does II? The next thing we
know she goes out for a seemingly
aiulless walk one evening while ner
friends ale Ilaying bridge and walks
deliberately 10 the place he has chosen
for lis hiding ana as he opens the
gate IN tae hedge near by sac walks
straight into his arms and kisses him.
That soul / s business is pretty hard
to accept from Oppenheim. but as the
book so on that part of 1t is we'll
done. Iae trouble with the author is
that he tries 10 crowd too many kinds
OF things into his story.
The he ONE has gotten herself into
the cheapest kind of a melodramatic
situation several years before the story
opens 1t is most unnecessary and un-
convincing and leads to a crime. fndi-
rectly, thoroughly out of harmony with
the rest of the story.
Also there are too many chapters
devoted TO the missioner's mission and
his ideas and beliefs and those of his
friend are too minutely given. Several
very interesting chapters are in the
last half of the book They describe
the missioners attempts to amuse him
self and forget his troubles and vain
hopes. He goes to Paris and an even
ing at the Rat Mort and one at Maxim's
are most graphically described.
With so many elements in the book
to make a good story ii is a pity 1t Is
not much better 1t is not worthy of
Oppenheim.