Evening star., 1915-11-14

national Library Company.
n FULL century has gone by
"a since Lord Holland ran away
IA with his neigh5or's wife. 1t
Il ~ was, too, as you remember,
long after the eloDenient that
the two by court permission. became
lawful man and wife. This formality
finally accomplished. however. the pair
returned to London, where Lady Hol-
land in course of time achieved 4 salon
of such brilliance and distinction as to
give historic Holland house its crown
ing touch of glory. The significant
point of this old story rs it bears upon
Mrs. Wards new novel is that while
Lady Holland was forever limited to
the companionship of the men of Lon
don high life. Lord Holland, on the
other hand, came and went at WILL un-
challenged by either society or OIL
cial life. For the purposes OF ETHAN
House" Mrs. Ward creates a like sit
ua,iou, setting it down in the present.
Clearly the aim of the story is to mark
the changes that have taken place with
in these hundred years in the attitude
of society toward a similar violation
of it's rules and regulations Ana, quite
as one expects. Lady Caroline wing OIL
Ell
among the great ladies of London as
was Lady Holland q hundred years: pc,
fore her The change, such as 1T is,
presses directly also upon Lord Wing,
who, despite wealth and popularity ana
the political tradition OF his mouse,
finds himself repeatedly and finally
balked in his political ambitions ana
plans. Upon the surface this looks
like what the reiormers call Sociai
pIus.ress-a single standard of morality
for men and women. The full detail OF
the story, however, hardly bears out
ti:iS hopeful and optimistic theory.
Rather does ii appear to demonstrate
more thorough and efectual way OF DO
in: for Lady Caroline Wing than tie
good women of the century before had
at their command for the slnitlng OIL
Lady Holland. The same fundamental
personal fear in which jealousy lies
rooted seems to have been at the
source of both crusades, shaping ana
pointing them Now, under attack,
Lord Wing was no slower than Adam
himself was in turning against the
woman as the source of the evil days
come upon him. This personal domestic
story of Ethan House, of Lord and
Lady Wing. is a poignant one, setting
down in rigid accounting the toll ex-
acted of the woman. by the public, by
tne partner of her offense and by her
own nature. Lovely Caroline Wing is
rich evidence of how winning and pit
iful and good a bad woman can be.
artistry at her ready command, Mrs.
Ward shows. too, how wicked and
guilty people must, for the good of the
world. be killed by the unkindness OF
the world. So sweet Caroline Wing
dies. as she will doubtless continue to
de for millions of years yet Mrs.
Ward has written many fine ronances.
1t looks like daring to name this as
probably the finest one But SO it is, or
so il appears at this moment.
LOT 4 COMPANY. BY Will Lexington
Comfort, author of "Routledge Rides
Alone" etc. New York: George IL.
Doran Company.
The much esteemed house of Lot 6,
Company holds q subordinate place in
the real concerns of this matter. To be
sure it supplies a background for the
revolt Of young Bellair against the
general hypocrisy of commercialism,
and gives occasion for his personal re-
bellion against the binding routine and
meaGer promise of his own clerkly ac-
counting to Lot d Company Further
than this the great business house is of
small interest here. The real adventure
begins when Bellair, sick of the lick
splitting demands of his clerkship.
tnroas over the job and boards the
Jade. an old sailing craft bound for
tho south seas. The Jade is a cargo
vessel, a queer exotic relic of earlier
cruising days y handful OF passengers,
bound lot this or that far port, animate
the Jade with human interests and the
intimacies of this necessarily close and
free intercourse. So equipped, the Jade
sets out upon her long cruise. The tiny
craft, the little world of people aboard
her. the wide waters. the spacious
canopy Of the sky, the sun by day, the
brilliant pageantry of the southern
ho.lS ems by night, the lure of long days
on c1iet seas. the monstrous menace of
its POSSIBLE powers. the play OF the
these give TO this writer full play for
his great gift of imagination and in
vention. Far the voyage a coral
final accounting. Then follow many
days of drifting in an open boat for
Beilair and three others 1t is here
that Comfort reaches the height of his
power. And this summit is not achieved
by the genius OF description brought to
bear upon the mere physical aspects of
this eXigency. With rare feeling and
Intuition Mr.. Comfort does give vivid
transcript Of these eXternals, but. being
himself, he passes beneath these to
bring into view the spirit and soul of
each of these waits OF the sea. And SO
1t is that these ten days are comparable
only to a sef-searching forty days and
nights in the wilderness. testing the
body, proving the soul and arriving at
a new evolution Of life in the con-
crete. The story moves on to rescue
= az
One may read this story and find in
IL a thrilling adventure. Another will
ind not only this but also the larger
Significance that lies in all the work of
this writer. This new story goes back
TO the clean structure. the single line
of movement, the focus. the sheer art
istry of "Routledge Rides Alone" But
it possesses. too. the richness OF
thought, the seriousness of cast, the
wisdom Of attitude that have marked
Comforts novels between "Routledge
Rides Alone" and Lot & Company.
THE STAR ROVER. BY Jack London.
author of THE Valley OF the Mcon."
etc. New York: The Macmillan
Company.
This is the story Of Darrell Standing.
prisoner of San Quentin, condemned to
death. In its most obvious aspect 1t is
painfully realistic record of prison
life. a record of brute power and
shameful punishments and besotted
ignorance OF prison management 1t
is doubtful IL there is anywhere a more
graphic description OF the inquisitorial
method than London has put into the
punishments of Darrell Standing and a
couple of '.lifers'' of the prison. In its
other aspect. the one that supplies this
novel with its name. -his is the story
OF Darrell Standing in one and another
Of the many existences through which
ne has already passed Prior to the one
that IL so soon 10 end ut San Quentin
Ard III this phase of the story London