The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-06

1t is charmingly written, admirably
conceived and vital with the vitality
that counts from beginning to end.
The story of "V. VS. Eyes" centers
around one V. Vivian c'Mr. "V. "" for
shorDa slum doctor, but 1t is not a
story of the slums, nor primarily is it
the story of Mr.. W "" 1t is the
story of the regeneration of Carlisle
Heth, beautiful, selfish young world
ling. Carlsle's father was the head of
the Heth Cheroot works. 1t was not
exctly an easy nor a popular position,
but Carlisle did not realize that. She
thought of the works as a magic store
house from which poured a steady
stream of coin for her to spend, to
transform into exquisite clothes which
should enhance her beauty, to give her
ease and luxury that her beauty might
he kept fresh, alluring, irresistible
That was what Callie saw-Herself,
her beautiful self with the works ike
beneficent beast in the back ground.
To Y. Vivian, also, the works appeared
a beast, but not beneficent. V. " saw
monster gorged with humanity-men.
women and children whom it devoured
under pretense of providing them with
living. V. V. wrote articles about it.
He stirred up the lawmakers and both
cred Mr.. Heth's ingenuity to find new
Heth and men like him shameless
homicides;" he called their daughters
"horse-leech's" daughters always cry
ing give, give but this was before
he had seen Callie " " never in
weighed against the people he knew
they were all just "folks"-and when
he saw Callie he knew that he had been
wrong that she could not be heartless;
that it must be she did not know such
perfection of 1oveliness could not mean
an unovely character. SO he believed
in her. Accident threw them together
in circumstances decidedly unfavorable
to Callie. but V. V. believed in her.
He believed her truthful when she was
false, brave when she was cowardly,
generous when she was selfish. And
gradually she became what he believed
her to be, sometimes condescendingly,
not always ungrudgingly, but, never
theless. surely. All unconsciously, "
" wrought the transformation. He
made her dissatisfied with Hugo Can
ming, her perfect lover" he made her
love her impecunious, unworldly cous-
ms; he made her despise her father, till
she learned truth and despised herself
instead. Then, when she came to see her.
self, not the sole image in the shallow mir
ror of her admirers covetous glances
put an unsignifying atom against the
crowded background of living, toilng
humanity--then she began to attain her
womanhood, really to amount to some
thing. and to give promise of becoming
eventually the vision idealized in v. VS.
eyes.
The book has as many aspects as the
society 1t portrays. Whatever may be
the final impression it leaves one
closes 1t with the feeling of stirred con-
tent which only good story can pro-
duce. The character drawing is COM
elling and remarkable. The unwordly
" ", with his confiding, insistent eyes
and Callie, the exquisite, are no more
distinct than domineering, ultra world,
Mrs. Heth; Hugo Canning, the fairy
prince of worldly dreams: Kern Gar.
land, the little mill girl who wanted tc
become lady; the happy, but impecu-
nious Cooneys. and all the minor char.
acters Inevitably one is reminded OF
Dickens, but there are many who will
regard Mr. Ha arris0n'e worl,oo q chit,
as superior even to Dickens's, for while
his purpose Is evident, he nowhere re-
sorts to exaggeration to accomplish it
His types are as true and simple as they
are characteristic.