Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-11-04
The Evening Star Weekly Review Of Books
In Common Law Robert Chambers Safely Crosses Thin Ice on
Skates; Kitchens in The Fruitful Vine, Breaks Through.
BY WILLIAM HAMILTON OSBORNE

lily to the four winds. He would marry
Valerie West.
OF course Valerie declines-she won't
let him marry her. What she Is will
ing to do eager admirers of Mr.. Cham
bers may find out. There is a fine
situation. Neville is determined to
marry her-she declines. She is will
ing to sacrifice herself, but she will lot
sacrifice him. 1t is almost a question
of the lady or the tiger, Sc much at a
deadlock do Mr.. Chambers's characters
seem to be. Will his hero yield to his
heroine or vice versa? That is the
question. 1t takes page after page to
solve this problem. At length Neville
is so desperate that he yields to her
conditions. Then there is a sudden
turn-a melodramatic twist-and the
book end beautifully. 1t Is said that
many of Louis Neville's distant male
relatives are focking to the big build
ing and the art galleries, getting a line
on Valerie before they are introduced
to her as Mrs. Louis Neville.
Such is the skeleton of a story writ
ten evidently to show how expert Mr..
Chambers is in skating on thin ice.
He is y thin ice expert-has been such
for a number of years. Between the
things that are quite fit to print and
those that are quite unfit, there is a
straight chalk line drawn. Mr.. Cham
bers walks it beautifully. He insists
on walking it. He doesn't care to re-
main at all on the safe side. Neither
will he make a misstep on the other
side. He hugs the line and hugs it
hard. He wrote "The Fighting Chance"
1.-The Firing Line" 1.-THE Danger
Mark" in much the same way. There
is no living author who can SO com
bine the spirit and the flesh in n per-
son, in one story, and u out the elu-
sive. tantalizing product that he does.
And yet perchance Mr.. Chambers's
readers would give the last three books,
and THE Common Law" to boot, for
just one chance to read another Gar
digan.'
CO
THE FRUITFUL VINE. BY
Robert Kitchens (Stokes, n. "
Dolores Cannynge, wife of Sir Fred
erick Cannynge, is the heroine Of 'The
Fruitful Vine" She had marked per-
sonal characteristics, physical, mental.
emotional. Owing to her grace and
slenderness, particularly as to neck,
she was known as 1.-THE Gazelle." She
loved her husband intensely.
After ten years of marriage they
found themselves still without chill
dren. This fact annoyed Sir Frederick
exceedingly. He believed in family.
His thoughts were on posterity. He
became somewhat harsh about it. He
had no reason to be, however, as events
ultimately shaped themselves.
Sir Frederick, and incidentally his
Wife, came finally to know the auburn
haired Boccara, who was by no means
a gazelle. Her type of beauty differed
from that of Dolores. She, like Valerie
West, of 1.-THE Common Law" had fig
ure, outlines, pose. She had many pc
culiarities. She did many things. With
malice aforethought, she took up the
role of matchmaker. She. brought the
married Dolores Cannynge into close
and closer friendship with Cesare Co
relli, an amorous gentleman of Rome.
The action of the story takes place in
Rome, with it's dangerous suggestive
ness. Cesare Corelli believed in falling
i'll love with the woman that he
wanted to, believed in making love to
her, regardless of her previous con-