The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-08-21

The inability OF human beings TO
understand or even to apprehend
feelings and ideas OF others or to see
things except as they are colored by
their own prejudices and conventions
IL the theme of John Galsworthy In
1.-THE Freelands" Charles Scribner's
Bons). The specific instance he Sc
lects is the effort to aInelioratc agri-
cultural conditions in England. and
his story is of a slight incident which.
owing to blindness and MISUNDERSTANDING
ing, turns into disaster with the IN
evitablencss OF Greek tragedy. "A Ia
borer who has lost his wife and is
left with three small children wishes
his wife's sister to live in his cottage.
His masters wife. a pious N benevo-
lent improver OF the lower classes.
will not permit this BECAUSE II he
marries the woman her conscientious
scruples regarding union with a de-
ceased wife's sister will be offended
and II he does not she Is sure the re-
lation will be immoral. The man IL
eyicted, he commits a petty act OF
violence, is sem to Jail and kills him
self. The needlessness of all this Is
demonstrated clearly. but the story is
kept In the background while the au-
thor describes the actions and
thoughts of a we'll TO do family that
IL drawn into the affair. This con-
sists OF four brothers: an author with
q wife who writes poetry. a success
full manufacturer whose wife has So
cial ambitious. a Government official
and a dreamer who has turned to
nature and has a wife and two chill
dren with revolutionary ideas: also
their kind and conventional mother
and the authors daughter. an impul-
sive young girl with a yearning for
truth and experience. All OF these
comment on events as they happen.
all fail to grasp Fac others point
of view. Here Mr.. Galsworthy shows
great cleyerness, a good deal of humor
and rather bitter satire and a strong
sense Of the hopelessness of all Efforts
at reform and Improvement until
there is a general u%pheaval. His an
alysis OF the young girls feelings
both as regards life and love is deli
cate and sympathetic: he seems to
have a fellow feeling for h author
too, who sees what is going on n
has not enough energy or power to in
terfere. Even IL Mr.. Galsworthy has
sacrificed his story to his sermon he
has told the truth frankly and SO
clearly that II cannot be m~isunder-
stood. His sermon applies to all OF
u, but Il helps also TO explain the
amazing inability of the English mind
TO grasp the essential facts in the
present crisis. Through the whole
book the reader Is not allowed to for
get that Mr.. Galsworthy can write
poetry.
Scenery luckily predominates In Zane
Grey's 1.-The Rainbow Trail CHarpers),
and every foot OF the Arizona desert
through which the hero travels is de-
scribed infinitely. The kind fate that
watches over children looks after him
too, for the things he does would be
disastrous to others. There is no ex-
PLANTATION for his repining at having
given UP the ministry, o Is there
any for his persistence in a wild goose
chase after an unknown girl n a
secret valley. However. he succeeds
with the aid OF an Indian II OF
O Mormon friend, in finding the girl
winning her and returning 20 civiliza'
ton with her. The author shows grea'
sympathy for the Indians; IL would bt
easier to share this II the behavior
OF the Indian girl were less contra
dictory. The feelings about the Nor
mons seem divided. but we ind her,
again the omniscience and mysteriou:
power attributed to them in fiction
The hidden settlement of illegal plura
wives is interesting; We should have
liked to learn more about how
the ONE got along together ant
how they lived. There are dramati,
and poetical passages in the story
but some sense OF rational behaviol
on the part of the hero and heroin,
and a little less scenery would maxi
It more readable.
There Is n freshness which makes
VI for many crudities in Ethel Hues
toms prudence of the Parsonage
(The Bobbs- Merrill Company, India
napolis) and causes regret that IN
author has not improved her oppor
tunity. Life in a Methodist parson
age in a small town in Iowa offers
chance for original work. as the au
thor seems occasionally to understand
The interview OF the small girl wit
the bank president. for instance, 1
capital. The author. however, is car
ried away by her girls. who resembl
very much the hsroines Of Juvenil
fiction. There is a pair of mischievou
twins, whose funmaking often get
the better Of their and who's
treatment OF their little sister is prett
harsh. The heroine is OF the Joy
Ous sort now popular. but We imagin
that even IN Iowa country maidens q
twenty are not so frankly outspokel
TO young men they meet for the frs
time. II the author will forget tn
fiction she has rea and will try 10 de
scribe the people about her she Shout
be able TO write a good story.
WAR BOOKS.