The Washington herald., 1909-08-08
THE WORLD OF BOOKS
LITERARY GLEANINGS AND GOSSIP.

needles cye than for rich man to enter into the
Kingdom % God"
Ard they that heard it. said: "who. then. can
90 savedg'
And Hs said: "The things which are impossible
with men are possible with God. Luke. xviii
The above passages Of Scripture Will
lam Allen White probably had in mind
Tor the text OF his new novel. "A Ger
tain Rich Man. for It Is hardly possible
that he could have written such a power
ful sermon IN novel form. illustrating this
particular part OF the Nazarenes teach
ings without thorough knowledge and un-
derstanding OF them as given I'm the Cos
pels. But this is not all that Mr. White
knows lie knows how to bring out the
perfect truth OF these doctrines as ap-
piled TO conditions OF modern life. main
taining that they are Just as applicable
now as they were al the time when that
certain ruler" interrogatcd Christ.
Mr.. Aliens Sits as a preacher Casking
his pardon for the use Of that per
functory terms are quite eQualed by his
talents as story-teller. First OF all. he
has the power OF creating interest at the
very inslpiency OF his tale. then OF sus-
talning the interest throughout the narra-
ton. and being poet as well as phlloso-
pher. he Is able 10 emAelllsh the tale
with a wealth OF quantity told incidents.
character portrayal true 10 the time and
place. and that rare charm OF retrospec-
ton which has distinguished all OF the
successful Engnsh-writing novellsts,
sometimes pertaining TO historical hap
pehinSs and sometimes to the episodes OF
home, friends. and family In the first
respect, his relation OF the scenes in
Kansas, just before and during the civil
war. and along the Old Santa Fe trail
during the great sweep westward Of civ
iliZation, showing the old customs. show
ing the rugged characters and recalling
the old songs, bring 10 mind. with the
same conviction OF truth. the stories we
have heard from the lips OF old men.
cronies OF our fathers. who had partici-
pated IN these same scenes, and retailed
the tales at first hand. As regard the
second, what could be more expressive
than the following. Sometimes as she
(the hero's mother) iroAed she told him
stories Of his father, or when the child
was sick and nervous, as a special favor
on his promise TO take the medicine and
not ask for a drink. she would bring
her guitar from under the bed and tune
It UP and play with a curious little
mOuse-like touch. And on rare occasions
she would sing % her own sly maldenly
accompaniment. her voice rising scarcely
higher than the wind in the sycamore
at the spring outside The boy remen-
bered only one line Of the old song she
sometimes tried 20 sing: Sleeping. 7
Dream. Love. Dream. Love. Of Thee.
but what the rest of IL was. and what
II was oil about. he never knew. for
when she got that far. she always stop
ped and came TO the bed and lay beside
him, and they both cried, though as a
child he did not know why" There are
many charming Dickens-like touches Ike
this throughout the book.
To outline the plot OF a new story often
destroys one OF its best charms. and we
Will therefore make this brief Mr.. Allen
gives the life history OF a poor boy. the
son OF washerwoman. although descend
ing in both paternal and maternal lines
from more elevated stock. beginning un-
der humble and somewhat poetic sur
rOundlngs IN Kansas just before the civil
war. and showing his rise 20 be tlle most
powerful financial figure in the country by
means Of an utter unscTupuousness He
sacrifices his friends, innocent women, and
even his own self-respect on the altar
Of his material ambition. the only soft
ening influence being that Of his sainted
mother, which indeed Is the direct means
of bringing him 20 a realization Of his
life, hastened somewhat by the disgrace
Of the indictment which the Federal au-
thorities are at lass able 70 bring against
him. He comes 70 see the imminent peril
OF his soul, becomes "as a little child. 4"
and finally gives his life for that OF
miserable woman Of low repute The
character reminds one forcibly Of Daven-
port Dunn, the hero of Charles Levers
famous novel Of the same name. yet the
subject IS treated differently. and the
denouement is entirely different
Aside from the interest and the moral
Of the story. Mr.. Aliens way Of telling
it lends a strong charm. especially the
descriptive passages pertaining TO the re-
sistIess movement OF the Americans to-
ward the West. "The woods were as the
Indians had left them. but the boys who
were playing there did not realize. untu
many years afterward. that they had
moved IN AS the Indians moved out.
The endless worm OF wagons that was
wrlggling through the town carrying
movers 20 the West was sloughing many
OF its scales IN Sycamore Ridge and
others like are expressive figures. while
the flashes of characteristic humor from
the somewhat lengthy array Of charac-
ters have In every instance the ring OF
truth. II IS the humOr accru!ng 10 the
ordinary run OF human life. without re-
course to hOrseplay or complications Of
events Mr. Allen Is thoroughly at home
with his subject and characters. He
has evidently read q great deal. pondered
a great deal. and listened a great deal
with retentive memory TO the tales Of
men who have participated honestly IN
succession of the most stirring and cru
cial events IN American history. His
book viii be widely read, and will nat
urally take its place among the fore
most OF this decades novels.