Evening star., 1914-11-21


rent life. Modern political issues. and
policies. labor problems and influences.
the flux of the church this way and
that among its own sects as well as to,
| ward secular concerns, all these and
more stand alive and urgent around the
central figure. And this is but the au-
thor's material. His real work has
been to expand Maurice Sangster. his
hero, to the full dimensions of the DEM
| agogue as type. And this he has done
SO evenly, SO proportionateiy, that,
while filling the measure of this poltt-
ical type. the man himself remains po-
| tently and magnetically the individual.
| vivid and characteristic as such. Mau-
! rice Sangster. the center of this adven-
| ture, came up to London to set the
Thames on hre. as he himself admits.
The interesting details of the conflagra-
! tion make up the substance of the
! story. The compelling part Of the mat
ter is the drama set up in Maurice
! pocrisy and honesty are forever trying
to have 1t out with each other. Here
| low dealings rub elbows with good In
tent. Unalloyed selnshness leers wick
edly at the noble front: and lying
thoughts seek cover at the music of
| the persuasive tongue. And in this tur-
| moil of personality Maurice Sangster is
self to be the fine fellow OF his outside
appeal. This is a strong story as well as
virile and dauntless summary of mod
ern drifts and movements.
| THE ENCOUNTER. BY Anne Douglas
Sedgwick, author of "Tante," etc.
New York: The Century Company.
As groundwork for this novel Miss
Sedgwick has set herself conditions of ex-
| ceptional difficulty. Here is situation
from which there appear to be no reason
able means Of egress. Here are prob
| lens that. so far as one can see. offer
no logical methods Of solution. And one
comes to wonder what even so gifted
writer as this one will do with COM
pleX that from every point of view may
be declared impossible. What Miss
Sedgwick does do is to give novel
length of brilliantly discriminating
wipes her pen. The story is over.
Nothing conclusive happens. as one
has learned to expect of novels. No
body gets married, nobody dies. nobody
for his virtues. The members of the
highly interesting group simply sep
arate and go their respective ways. Bat
the reader has had fine entertainment
by way of their stayings and doines
during their chance association In this
little corner of Europe. A beautiful,
serious. self-assured American girl is
the center of this group. Around her
are three Germans, all of philosophic
bent. One is genius, an impossible
fellow for anything else-say, as
friend, or lover, or husband. All of
them are in loye m with the CIR, H.. On n, the
mother and an Italian lady of niddio
age whose mission it Is to save the
genius from the corroding cares of life.
There is a great deal of serious talk
going among these folks. and some
equally serious love making. The
tantrums OF the young genius anu the
shrewdly comfortable quality of the
American mother furnish about the
only let-down places that the sto-y
holds. Indeed. that mother is the
readers retreat. She is a Joy. But
all of the people are wonderfully welt
substantial talk and shines with brill
liant thoughts. Much. very much, above
the average novel Is this one. even II
one does not concede it the nota bly,
high place occupied by Miss Sedg-
THE BALI. OF FIRE. By George Ran
dolph Chester and Lillian Chester.
New York: Hearsts International
Library Company.
Everybody knows what happens, and
always has happened, when a new girl
comes to town. And this happens. all
the same. whether the town be Jake
ways Four Corners or New York, and
whether the girl be truly beautiful or
only newly beautiful. All the young
men of her own grade in either place
hail the fresh divinity and hasten to
the new shrine. And this time-honored
romantic fact, with it's sequence of
wooings and winning. is about all that
one is able to extract from ''The Ball
of Fire" But most obviously this is
meant for a serious story, for a pic
ture Of the reforming currents that are
setting in toward the social life The
romance is set in New York. And to
this town comes pretty Gail Sargent to
visit rich "Uncle Jim" James Sargent
is pillar and vestryman to an enor-
mously rich church that is yearly grow
ing richer through the returns from its
tumbling tenements. And no one ever
appeared to see any Christian incon-
gruity about this till Gail Sargent
points it out. Uncle Jim's house is the
meeting place for all sorts of gay rich
young folks, idlers and workers alike.
Among them is a phenomenal captain
of industry, young man who is q
complete human vortex for drawing
railroads together into systems and
sucking these huge combinations down ,,
into his Unsuitable financial NAV. The
rector of the big church and the man
who gormandfzes on railroads, with no .
end or lesser men in between, all fall
irretrievabiy In love with Gail Sargent.
Her business, despite her pretty, in
consequential way. appears to be to
spiritualize the ideals of the people.
one and all. What one feels about this ,,
distinctly stirring book is that 1t might
oSeeSA hoSS -occH tWo StOIleS llS light
ness and its seriousness never reach a
perfect blend. but, like Oil and water,
stand apart, refusing to mingle
JEAN GILES, SchoOlboy. BY Andre
Lafon. Translated by Lady Theo-
dora Davidson. New York: G. p,
Putnam's Sons.
This is an autobiographio tale, con.
structed out of the thousand-and-one
details OF schoelboy's life. Conspicu-
ously realistic in effect. the story
serves double purpose. Like a photo
graph, 1t pictures school In its COM
mon blend of boy life. As clear lake
reflects the trees beside 1t and the
shadow OF the passing bird above 1t, SO
does this story reflect the feelings and
thoughts and attitudes of the boy. Jean
GILES. toward one and another of the
nomely happenings of the daily life
about him. Here, on the one hand, is
d little world. made up Of boy friend
ships and enmities, boy heroisms and
meannesses, kindnesses and cruelties
And here. on the other hand, Is one boy
revealing himself in utter freedom and
fullness. The schooldays of Andre
Lafon himself are not SO far away as to
rob his recollections OF freshness nor
his interpretations Of truth. He 10 not
oVerlaid with SO many coatings Of ma
.urity as are too many who have al
.eady essayed along this line. 1t is a
simple story. worked out. in the French
manner. to perfection of form and COM
plete clarity Of vision.
The French Academy, to encourage
Il o.