The San Francisco call., 1910-11-06
First Love"

By Marie Van Worst. Published by the
Bobbs Merrill Co., indianapolis. Price 81 So
The theme of this story-a young
mans worship of a woman many years
older than he-would not be distasteful
at all, for the woman is so very youth
full in looks and feelings, if 1t were not
for the fact that she is married. Her
husband is beast, and one can scarce
ly see any excuse, even in religion, why
she should continue to live with him.
The story, too, is a mass of contradic-
toriness. One just makes UP ones mind
to say 1t is a sweet, pretty love story,
when something comes in that makes
1t unpleasant and precludes its recon-
mendation to the girl who wants a real
love story.
The love is real enough and comes
near to wrecking the life of John Ben
nett, the perfect young hero. When
John is suddenly left an orphan, lit
tie boy of about Il, he has one dread
full terror, which is that his fathers
gun must be sold at auction with all
the rest of the personal property to pay
the debts. His fears are realized and
the gun is bought by Mrs Peter
Bathurst. the lovely young wife of old
Peter Bathurst, father of Johns chums
at school. After the auction Mrs.
Peter comes up to Johns room and
takes him home with her and gives him
the gun, and so wins his boyish love
and gratitude.
Years elapse before the next chapter
and John is a young man. He has fin-
ished college and is comfortably well
off with this worlds goods through the
sale of somee stock of his fathers
which had lain valueless for years He
comes to the country home of the
Bathursts on the invitation of Peter
Bathurst, who wishes him to ride a
fine horse he has in a show. john ar
rives and rides and at the end of the
race turns and sees Mrs Peter in a
trap looking on. He is so dazzled by
her beauty that he loses control of him
self and his horse and they land in a
smashup over the hurdle Poor John
is suffering quite as much in mind as
in body, and it helps very little when
he learns that he won the race, but at
the expense of his bones and the life of
the horse. Mrs. Peter takes care of
him. nurses him back to health. and he
loves her more each day.
John finally tells her his love and
goes west the next day. He sticks out
his exile two years, then goes back to
her. The clever part of the book is
the authors picture of Mrs Peter She
has grown to love this manly young
chap and it is hard indeed not to give
him hope. but she realizes that he will
be happier with a young woman. Her
husband dies and John thinks he can
have his answer now. Her answer is to
marry another man for whom she has
had quiet affection for years John
is crushed TO the earth, but after spend
ing two years in Europe he meets a
girl he had loved when a boy and all
ends happily. 1t is pretty terrible, this
first love of Johns, and we are sorry
for Mrs. Peter. too, for she has more
feeling for him than for any one else
in the world. 1t is for love of him
really that she gives him up, and the
noble thing is that she never lets him
know.
The book is fairly we'll written, but
contains few love scenes not quite in
keeping with the rest Of the well or
dered story, but probably true to ma
ture. The Illustrations by F. Graham
Cootes are unusually good.