The San Francisco call., 1909-12-12
THE Concentration of Bee

By lillian Bel. author Of Abroad with the
etc. Published BY L. c. Page & Co, Boston.
Luiap Bells niche in that part of
the hall Of fame reserved for makers
OF light literature is cut in for keeps
and no one yet has come along to dis
pute her ownership. She can always be
depended upon for q bright story. full
OF gayety, plenty of hum6r, ltHe
dash OF quiet satire, a pretty little
romance. and. above all, il can with
safety be offered 10 the young per-
SON" Nor does that mean that II IS
mushy and won't interest the young
persons father and mother.
We are well acquainted with num-
Der OF the members Of the happy
family"-the Jimnies. the Jardines,
Hope Loring and others-so IL is like
finding old friends 10 meet them in
this new book.
Bee. the perfect widow" has just
returned from abroad She is the sis
ter OF Faith Jardine, who tells the
story, and like most story tellers be-
Titles her own sweet self too much
Bee. however, could never tell her own
story. We should never see half so
Tar behind the scenes If she did. Bee
has been a widow for a year, and in
telling US about ii her sister, Faith
has q few interesting things TO say
on the subject Of mourning:
When you come TO think OF II,
mourning clothes are supremeiy vul-
gar They are a mental speedometer.
BY them you can gauge the flight OF
time and the pace of your grief The
first few months your deep bands Of
Grape say: I am feeling very miserable,
indeed; my grief is poignant; ! suffer.
Then as your note paper gives you
more room TO write, II seems TO say:
I am feeling better; / do not grieve
as much; ] am beginning TO forget
Then you leave on Grape and appear
only in dull black, with no Jewels and
your speedometer registers; Many miles
have been traversed from that open
grave; we are nearing the frontier of
q new country Then finally you leave
OF black and blossom forth ia pastel
Hhades and Io,-you are over the bor-
der You indicate to the world that
your dead is forgotten. Is this not
vulgar as well as cruel and often un-
true?"
Poor Bee made no pretenses to her
intimate friends, the happy family.
Her marriage had not been happy and
she could not sincerely grieve when
her husband had the good taste to die.
lie was ugly and mean and parsimo-
nious and his awful meanness was
shown when he died 1t was found
that he had given before his death
all his interest bearing. income pro-
ducing effects to his spinster sister.
and that he was land poor at the time
Of his death. A huge unproductive
tract Of land was all that remained,
and Bee could get her Widows third
from that when II was sold, and the
old maid sister being executriX didn' [
care 10 sell. Bee was practically at
the old maids lLid6y) mercy. The
concentration" are just another way
Of putting the diplomacy of Bee.
She found a tremendous field for her
cleverness, for each and every member
Of that little group Of near -Bohemi-
ans needed a keeper-some one to
slightly regulate his or her affairs,
and Bee proved 10 be equal to the oc-
casion more than once.
The author takes quiet little fling
ct the bad judgment and improvidence
OF artists in one place in her story
that is worth quotingl
had the Munsong been
ordinary people. but being artists and
q particularly wild species at that they
had sunk the entire proceeds OF their