Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-04-25
. . .
AT THE LIBRARY.

AT THE LIBRARY.
There Is O midland city in the heart
Of fair, open country, "A dirty and won
| derful city resting In the fog Of It's
own smoke. What Is the name Of
this city? Well. readers of "The Tur-
mol" from which this opening sem
tence IL taken probably will believe
than Mr.. Booth Harrington had In
! dlannpols in mind when he wrote his
/ latest and best novel But the city
I Of which he writes Is q type rather
than a place; 1t Is not indianapolis,
/ nor Pittsburgh. nor Chicago, II is all
these cities; II Is, Il may be said, the
great manufacturing city Of the mid
die west, a composite picture. And
Mr.. Harrington subjects II 10 relent-
less and devastating criticism. II Is
a place, he tells US where wealth IL
loved better than cleanliness, where
the citizens have lost their old neigh
borliness and simplicity In their rush
for money, whore Bigness Is the only
god known. II Is place where hon
or, poetry, truth and beauty are al
most forgotten, where law Is q Joke,
the rulers venial. and the citizens
heartless. From this II may be gath
cred that II was not In q burst of civic
the chronicle of young Penrod TO
write OF less engaging adults. He
had-as he usually has-a story to
tell, and he has as usual told Il well.
Bibbs sheridan, the poetic. humorous.
iikable. youngest son Of the biggest"
business man OF the City OF Turmoil,
is the hero OF the novel 70 the su-
perficial reader il may appear that
the elder Sheridan is the william he
Is merely one OF the Williams victims
he IL man essentially simple and
honest. but rendered selfish. cold, and
artificial by the false standards OF
conduct 70 which he has been accus-
TONED. This makes the book sort Of
Morality, with It's characters who are
symbols. The great smoky city Is
the william, but IL is typifed and
made. SO TO speak presentable IN the
person OF the elder Sheridan Bibbs
is more than Sheridan's son; he is
II may be, the Soul of Man. And the
story Is OF the conflict between the
city and the Soul, the city striving TO
crush the Soul or else to mold IL into
Its own hideous image. The Soul tri-
umphs by the aid of-well what IS
Mary Nertrees? Beauty. or truth or
love.
Anyway, she Is one Of the most at
iraotiNe Young women In modern fic-
ton. a Diana Vernon with a sense of
humor. II is a splendid story, strong.
well-wrlttcn. Read IT,
Patsy MacCann ana his daughter,
Mary, tramps, the both OF them ever
pressing on along the roads of Ire |
land In search of nothing except the !
next days food sit in the dusk, pull |
ing potatoes from the red ashes. To |
Join their party come three angels. |
Did, middle aged and youth Unlike |
he angels In Frances book "rhe Re- |
volt of The Angels" who turned an |
rchist these angels IN James Ste |
lhen'a novel "The Deml-gods" who |
Joined Patsy, were Irish, and cannot |
De expected TO follow such a course !
Patsy took them under his guidance |
md the donkey caravan went on its
iimless way. the only change being |
hat Patsy had 20 filch food for three I
In Whimsical fashion their |
are described; long dis |
iertatons, always flooded with hu- |
nor, the laughable cataloguing Of |
hlngs good TO eat. the strange men |
and women who viii slip into the |
pages, tell their story and fit away
he happy careless freedom of it--all |
nave a part In the story.
The latest Of Harold Bindloss' nov
is THE Secret of the Reef" is con-
'erned with the search of three young /
men for the treasure in a sunken ship !
lff the Alaskan coast. The vessel
lad been one of the unseaworthy
steamers rushed into the passenger
trade IN the days OF tho