The San Francisco call., 1909-11-21

bleday. Page 6 Co.. New York. Price $l.5o
Meredith Nicholson is one of the most
interesting figures among the writer's
of today. He keeps his readers in a con-
tinual state Of wonder. for poems. short
stories and novels of various sorts,
are among his accomplishments. His
last few books have been fine. interest
ing tales; light, clean, amusing and
thoroughly satisfying. Now comes the
moment or two one wonders if our
Mr.. Nicholson really did it. It's so diff
ferent and so much stronger than any
thing he has offered us before. This
story has almost all of it's setting in
Pittsburg; but Mr.. Nicholson does not
muckrake that much muckraked town.
In an interview he stated that TO him
Pittsburg is a genuinely typical Amerl-
can city Coming from Mr.. Nicholson,
this idea of Pittsburg has its force Tor
he has long been student of cities.
He knows Pennsylvania, he knows coal
mines and he knows America.
Briefly sketched the story tells of
a few years in the life of Wayne Craig
hill. a typical young American of
typical American city. His father, Roger
Craighill, was perhaps the first citizen
of Pittsburg, and while the movers hrst
object is to tell of the son, the father
fills the picture for a good half of the
500 pages. Slowly and subtly is the
character of Roger Craighill spread out
before us and the clay feet of the idol
exposed to view
The character is the biggest piece of
work yet attempted by the author and
the most successful. We have a picture
of a fine. honorable businessman who
has been very successful and whose
bump of conceit has enlarged to such
an extent that now his own goodness
philanthropy and Importance fill all his
horizon. His only pleasure in life is
to see his name in the papers as having
delivered a speech somewhere the night
before on some public question or re-
Hgion or refOrm-anything so he can
be in print. One kind of notoriety he
receives which does not please him.
His son, Wayne, goes on periodical
sprees and invariably does something
TO disgrace his family. The father
treats his son as if he were fool in
business and the son, who fully realizes
his own shortcomings, feels that no one
cares and he has no incentive to reform.
When the story opens the father
takes his son and q married daughter
into his confidence and tells them he is
going to marry again. The blow falls
when he shows the picture of the lady.
Mrs Blair, Craighills daughter, never
heard of her, but Wayne has hard
time hiding his feelings. She proves TO
be a girl whom he loved, but whose
mother is an adventures. When Wayne
discovered that the mother was rail-
roadine him into marriage with the
daughter he had fed, thinking the
daughter equally designing. 1t is a
shock to find that this same girl will
be his stepmother, but the immediate
effect of the announcement is to make
him swear off.
He next meets Jean Morley, a new
type OF American girl--a worker. Born
and brought up in the anthracite coun-
try she is OF the people and some of her
pictures of them Sre strong and force
full
Wayne Craighill is attracted by this
girl for her beauty and the fact that
she doesn't want him. In his pursuit
of her he has strange experiences and
some splendid characters are intro
duced into the tale. Paddock, the min
lister, who understands how to reach his
people; Joe Denny, the former baseball
player, who constitutes himself the
keeper of Wayne And right here 1t
may be well to quote a description
from the book of a baseball game, not
only for its interest, but TO show that
the Meredith we have grown to look
for is as strong as ever and that his
powers of graphic description are even
brighter:
And Is there in the history of
sport another game so exacting in its
demands on skill, Judgment and
strength, so prolific OF surprise as our
national game? Or did ever Greek
athlete bend his 1.-THE body into forms
half so graceful as those seen a hum
dred times on the diamond in every
contest? The shortstop at his nimble
pickup and throw has no points to
yield to the Discobolus of Myron. Be
hold Joe Denny, a master of the pitch