The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-05-31
BY ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.

BY ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.
Everybody writes nowadays.
At least that is the impression gain
cd from the out-pouring of the publish
ing houses.
Good stories and surprisingly well
written are turned out of the mill by
writer's little known.
And in a continuous stream.
Those better known to the public
evidently find sale for their literary
wares since they keep on.
Among the latter Marie Van Worst
who has just put out through the
Bobbs-Merrill Company The Broken
Bell"
There is a certain class of novel
which has Italy for it's mise en- scene,
an expatriated American or two, gen.
orally thoroughly Europeanized, de-
generate Count perhaps, an unhappy
wife, a more or less consoling lover,
tea on terraces overlooking the Bay
of Naples, blue and melancholy dis
tances, much sophisticated converse
ton, a crumbling ruin from which the
unhappy wife and the lover, hands
Eciasped, systematically view the
distances, an olive tree hardly and al
ways priest in the offing.
The Broken Bell" symbolizes the
life of the heroine, an American girl
with an European training married off
to an Italian OF rank who proves I'M
faithful although having a certain fond
mess and great respect for his wife.
Her ennui disgust and emptiness of
life lead her into love affair with an
old friend of her husband when taking
a trip through an unfrequented Sec
ition to visit an old nurse, the man be-
ing marooned in this spot through an
unfortunate marriage to girl of in
ferior social status. Later the heroine
returns to her husband.
The story has charm of presentation
but the finale is hardly convincing. 1t
DIS definite in character drawing, how
ever, and has the merit of artistic res
traint. There are some good things in
the reading one Of them this
He was grateful to her. If gratitude
ds ever awakened in another it re-
suits in one of two things according to
the nature of the person; the wish to
escape from the benefactor forever or
a rooted devotion y
In contrast the same publishing
house serves up "The Melting of Mol
w." by Marie Thomson Daviess, au-
thor Of the popular Miss Selma Lue."
Molly is seductive young widow,
of dizzy income and undeniable avoir
dupois, who seeks to compress her
lovely curves within the dimensions
of straight front" and implores die
tary advice of a fascinating doctor
across the garden-who by chance is
widower with an adorable infant
with whom Molly effectively frolics on
the lawn-when she Is informed that
a certain early lover, now in the diplo-
matte service, is about to return and
wishes to see her in the blue muslin
gown in which she babe him a fearful
adieu some eight years before.
The melting of Molly to the blue
muslin state is accomplished, but not
before she has rushed into the arms of
the doctor in terror after seeing the
diplomat coming up the walk-hugely
overpoweringly and undisguisedly fat.
The tale is amusing, after fashion.
The author indeed, might be said to
have sort of kittenish style One
feels that she. not Molly, is Utterly
cute, and quite, quite funny, to say
nothing of being entirely fascinating.
Some people like sea stories.
These should read 1.-THE Marriage
OF Captain Kettle, (Bobbs-Merrill Com
:pany), by Cutcliffe Hyne, an English
writer, which "abounds' in marine
thrills.
A schooner-maybe that isn't the
name since the reviewer is not versed
In the technique of ship nomenclature
finds itself in mid-ocean without en-
hough coal to fire it's engines, and the
FIRST mate, one Kettle and the hero of
the tale, starts out in search of grimy
isustenance, running afoul German
merchantmen which refuses help
How the valiant Kettle boards her and