New-York tribune., 1910-10-05
A Mans Idea of a Woman'S way
of Life.

of Life.
LADY GooD-FoR-NoTHING a Mans Man,
Portrait of a Woman. BY a l. Jul az
Ier-C-ouch COZ. l2mo, PIP. TX, soi'
Charles Scribner's Sons
THE yARMTNT BY owen Johnson. IL
lastrated. I2mc. PIP. S96. The Baker d
Taylor Company.
THE HOLLOW NEEDLE Further % ,er ,,;ec,- aoe
ventures OF Arsene ~ l.9pih, tIv Alexander
TeiNefra De Mattos. ILLUSTRATED, bE .
" Robson. l2mo, PIP. 30 A'ouOi0"'''
Page Co
THE HOUSE OF WHISPERS. BY, VIII an
lam lie .oueux- lzmo' PIP N"''
,rp ,o0r.Ey SAYS. BY the author OF
s.Nfr. Dooley in Peace and IN ln,o1a,s N a.;
12rno. PIP. VI, 2SS Charles Scih'''''
Sons.
In reviewing Rest Harrow" the otheI
day we noted how Mr. Hewlett hao
tackled motive akin to that OF Iess-
Now comes 90 in his turn, with booh
70 nrove that a woman may reject con
xention and still carry her head hish'
.,onscious Of a stainless soul. We are
glad he has written it. For the dlscIl'n-
mating reader there is something spe-
c,ous and irritating about that mack
1eved phrase the best thing ne "0'
ever done" vet we cannot think OF any
other that more accurately hts LauY
od-for-Nothing." The author calls IL
"A Mans Portrait Of a Woman ana Ii
there is lust q hint here Of a conIession
Of weakness IL is borne out by certain
aeuelonments in the plot There Is d
,,oint where Ruth Josselin is clearly por-
-ra,,ed with the blundering touch Oh
shall we say?-the stupid sex he'
somehow this only makes "Q's story
che more levahle. and Lady Good-1or-
Nothing" is above all things loNaoie-
II is the tale OF a poor girl in New
Fnsland some years before the heNolu-
-;or. Who is whipped through the streets
and mt fn the stocks for an innocent
3ransgression of the Sabbath. This piece
of unspeakahle cruelty stirs the heart OF
Cartain Oliver NyelL the Kings Col
lector of Customs for the Port o. bos-
ton. and before he has got through WIN
the amazing episode in which has chiV-
airy involves him he has made the nero
inc his ward, for at least three years
and has undertaken TO give her nopIe
character and exquisite beauty the peace
they deserve Thenceforth this sweet
romance flows in limpid stream, and
%" works his will upon the reader Win
his huraor and tenderness. until, s>we
have indicated. he plays the man ralher
than the impersonal novelist. Then ne
gives the narrative a turn that shakes
.o,,r confidence a little and leads to
transactions not altogether SATISFACTORY
though. by the way, il is in the latter
mart Of the book that he uses his art to
fine purpose in a description of the Lis
hon earthquake. How potent is that art
and how powerful. too. is the influence
Of 4. wholesome nature, an honest imasl-
nation, %" makes his mistake about
Ruth. bat so true is he to the insplra-
rion al the bottom Of this figure of his
that. in spite Of himself. he leaves her
nnhurt. We amiably blame him, not
Ruth for the flaw in her portrait. she
is. IN fact an adorable girl, fine grained
and superbly faithful, a heroine cne is
hound to remember with affection She
gives the book its atmosphere. She
wakes our sympathies and she is anus
ing DeElutukN- = Has AtNN u NiJAhS ~
ter. We congratulate him on this book
and we congratulate the many readers
who viii turn its pages.
The comparison Of Mr. Owen John
sons The Earmint' with Kipling' S
-.Stallv &, Co" Is unavoidable. and so is
the contrasting Of il with such books of
school life as Tom Brown" or "St.
Winifred's" It is a book about boys
rather than for them. and certainly viii
vividly recall 70 grOwn-up readers the
savages they themselves lived among
when young, and in part, perhaps, were.
one enjoys almost every page Of this
chronicle of school life. Of the nigh
spirits. the untamed deviltry. the un-
fathomable ways and motives Of acting
and reasoning Of boyhood and its de-
scriptions Of the sports. Mr.. johnson is
a realist who. writing for grown-ups, is
Tot hampered by pTeoccupation with
ethical tendency, much less didactic pur-
pose. 1t was said ina the not far distant
past by captiOus foreign critic that
* was a miracle that American young
sters grew up to be such pleasant. well
behaved American men. This generali-
zation, like most others, was too sweep
ing at the time it was formulated,
as well as now, but Mr.. johnson gives it
standing in the doings of some Of the
bovs in his book Stin, the picture is
lndeniab1y lifelike and hugely enter
tanning. the author having the good taste
and the good art of ending with a fine,
manly note.
''The Hollow Needle IS the story CT a
long drawn out duel between that com
panionable scamp, Arsene Lupin, and
Isidore Beautrelet, a schoolboy with a
gift for the detection of crime. The
story opens with a mysterious burglary
at a French chateau. A murder is COM
rnitted and the fugitive is wounded by