The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-12-11
OOKS OF THE WEEK SEEN IN REVIEW AND COMMENT
The POET AND THE
RECTOR'S DAUGHTER
Compton Mackenzie's Story Of
English Rural Life-A Tale
Of War and Peace.
ROCKS on MANY THEMES

Compton Macksnzie's story Of
.pashers Need" Harper and
Rrothers) tells OF a poet who with
arev into a beautiful piece Of coun-
,rv for the purpose Of making him
.s,, immortal with his pen, and there
met the ~rcctor's daughter. With her
rsserye and her pale gold hair she
.s-med as she greeted him TO be in
deed A wrath Of the moon'-that,
however, was only a sister OF the
heroine. -.
The rector had three daughters. all
handsome, and only n was dark;
bu, TO be fam enough to resemble q
~raith of the moon was the fortune OF
Monica only. Margaret was the dark
one. She was more substantial than
Pauline, more obviously rooted in the
Earth: We think she laughed oftener,
and We attach TO her the merit Of
being considerably more r~eassuring.
The three sisters were gathering
mushrooms when Guy. the poet. with
a considerable professional objective
s,,ll before him. informally made their
acquaintance. He loved Pauline.
The novelist develops his characters
deliberately and entertaining.y. The
rector has a calm and ~trustful nature.
He is not disturbed by the intimacy
between his youngest daughter and
q poet. His wife watches. but not he.
A yery shrewd wisdom hides behind
his quiet smile. His %unconcern when
the young people acQuaint him with
the news OF their engagement has .
distinctly provoking quality. He per-
mits It to be seen that he considers
the matter unlmportant. He loses
himself promptly in q book about
garden seed. He does not seem to
understand at all what should be the
plain attitude Of q father whom Q
poet approaches with a proposal to
enter the family. He leaves the busi-
ness 10 time. He does this confidently
almost impolitely.
Guys father is an Intelligent man, .
~schoolmaster. Firmly. though not
angrily. he objects to his sons selec-
ton Of poetry as a chief calling In life
and as a good Of earning a
living. He objects too to the engage
ment OF Guy and Pauline before the
poet has proved himself In his maya
zine pieces and his books. The argu-
ment here between father and son is
an excellent illustration of two con-
ficting views. Guys efforts with the
publishers are testimony to the clear
vision Of the parent. OF both parents,
Tor unquestionably the recto had seer
quite clearly.
Happily neither the poet nor Pauline
Vas fitted to suffer desperately. There
Ore Indications at the last that both OF
them will get over it. A comedy OF
tod.
John OXenham,s story Of Broken
shackles' John Lane Company tells
o. what may be called the two lives
Q. a Young French aristocrat. The
'rst part of the tale pictures the disas-
tees and suffe,ings Of the French army
In the a of 1870. II reminds the
reader Of Zola's doleful story. Here
sgain are the dreadful mistakes. the
N@A'NN ~ I'Nlai atAoAAs RAo W ucAcb
the WEAKNESS and hunger. Capt. dc
Vale was an item Of this unhappy
army. At the last he was one Of those
who slipped over the border into
Switzerland.
Here was instant and wonderful
change and relief. There were rea-
sons why the Captain should not caro-
10 return 10 France. He was u~nhappily
married, His rich wife had no need Of
HIM. He had no duties toward her.
She would he happier without him. In
the changed France he did nOt value
his social rank. He had money in his
pocket. II was a wonderfully kind
Young woman who gave him milk and
bread and cheese. He had an adven-
trre with n company Of franc tireurs.
He received in his own breast q bullet
meant for a young Swiss oficer who