The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-06-19

'.rrhe--rVid Olive" Published anony-
 mously by Harper & Brothers
 Mr. Basil King of Boston and his pub fishers may have had good reasons for disturbing us generally and more than worrying some of us when they issued last year Mr. Kings "The Inner Shrine anonymously. But it does seem the hihlt of all sorts to send forth MT King s new book, The Wild Olive" anonymously, too It seems too much: rather hard to understand, and, none of our business? Oh. yes. it is-if YOU buy the book. Oh, well
 The hero of "The Wild Olive,' when the book opens, was in bad way; ne couldn't even be himself, because after being sentenced to death for murder which he did not commit. Norrle Ford has fled from the law. The book opens with a scene in the Adirondack wilder ness. Norris Ford has broken prison and is running through the woods at night By chance he comes to the house of the judge who had condemned him, though he believes him innocent. The meeting between the two men, dramatically states the probem-on one side, the man rep resentative of society who has done his official duty in sentencing an innocent man on the other, the supposed crim- inal outraged and rebellious. As these
 
 outside a girls form beckoning to him, and he follows , The girl is Miriam Strange, the judges ward There is stain upon her birth, and she knows how to sympathize with outcasts. She shel- ters Ford in a little shack with almost the whole community in pursuit; she se- cretes him until it is safe for him to set forth once more, clad in the garments and name of her dead father and with the way made smooth before him. She furnished him with money with which to 20 to South America. Ford Is very grate- full to Miriam; from her he has taken the name of Herbert Strange; through her he is virtually transformed into another person. She reminded him of something he had read-or heard-of the wild olive being grafted into the olive of the or chard." It is the name by which he thinks of her through the eight or nine years until they meet again.
 The new man, Herbert Strange, IS much stronger, more capable than was Norre Ford, but there was that feeling in his inner soul that as society had cast him out, it can no longer hold him to its strictest rules. Strange also feels that he has a right to take what has been de- nied Ford In South America, and in time, Strange wins success and through the family of his employer is brought in contact with his own class. His false po- sition pursues him; he falls in love with his employers niece, Evie Colfax, com pletey knocked over by her beauty and superficial charm. Strange doesn't know whether he has a moral right to marry Miss Cofax. This question of moral right is made more difficult when he finds out that Evie Colfax is the stepdaughter of the judge who condemned him. Anyhow he goes ahead with his love-making, wins her consent to marry him and her uncle (who is also her guardian) gives a quail fled approval to the match.
 Strange is sent to New York on busi- ness, where he meets "the wild olive, Miriam, again Then comes the tug of war between the two strong characters, for Miriam is convinced that Stranges ma rriage to Evie would only result in un- happiness and does everything she can to prevent it. It becomes necessary for Mi ram, the wild olive, to remind Strange of his promise to her of long ago. namely, that his life is at her service. The eff feet is startling; he declares that he will reveal himself as Norrie Ford give him. self up, and so on.
 Then the fight between Norrie and Miriam continues. Just how it turns out one should read the book to discover-a book of many years. Few like "The Wild Olive have been published; few like 1t or in it's class will come forth for some time The book Is a delight a gem, a ray serene in present day literature. MT. King makes you live with his people, who are people, not puppets MT. King is able to throw about us that much abused term atmosphere" and make us remain therein all the time we delight with his pages The character drawing is fine; the whole book is great. There may not be on earth any such person as Miss Queenie Jarrott still, what's the differ ence?
 Don't miss "The Wild Olive"
 "The Master Girl" by Ashton Hilliers. e. P. Putnams Sons)
 This is a story of prehistoric ages which