Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-08-25

In her course She would say, as Helena
Richie said to Doctor Lavendar. that she
had done no harm to any one, but Gals.
worthy does not perceive, as Mrs. De.
land does, that to live a lie is to do vio-
lence to society in general"
Mrs. Deland is right in that" said De-.
tor McFabre.
"Of course she is" said I. And Gals.
worthy is wrong. His book has hardly a
pleasant character in 1t. Gyp, the heroine,
Is the child of a married woman by her
lover. The husband however is de-
ceived into thinking that he is the father.
Both lover and wife live a lie for q
year. The lover is proud of his passion,
and few years after the mother had died
In giving birth to the child, the husband
also dies and makes the lover his trustee
and guardian OF the child. If the lover
had been as false in money matters as he
was in his social obligations he would
have known that he was a thief but he
goes through the book with hardly a
twinge of conscience. The daughter when
she becomes a woman marries a Swedish
violinist, fascinated by his music and his
fiattery, but without loving him. A child
is born to them. She condones his un.
faithfulness until he abuses the baby.
Then she leaves him. Within a few
months she is the mistress of a young
Englishman Her father, remembering
his own experience with her mother and
her inheritance, countenances the new
relation and regrets that he cannot fight
duels with the neighbors who speak dis
paragingly of her. as though the field OF
honor were a place on which to wipe
out stains of dishonor. 1t is suggested
that love is nothing but passion anyway
and that it excuses everything"
Even violation of the marital con
tract?' This from the clergyman.
"Of course" said l. when passion
burns nothing can stand in its way. A
| nice philosophy this, isn't it? According
| to it, a man may be the soul of honor ir
! everything else. but he may stoop to the
| lowest and most despicable acts in his
social relations with men and women
Passion excuses and justifes violating 6
| neighbor's wife and foisting upon hin
| an heir of which he is not the father
and it iustifes woman who has made
an ill-advised marriage in being false t.
| the husband whom she has deprived o
the most precious possession on eartl
| by marrying him without love. But
| cannot stomach this sort of doctrine"
"But Irregularities of this kind are al
about u.s." said Doctor McFabre sadly
"Yes, and we wink at them as though
they were petty faults, or, as Mrs
Wharton has said, the custom of th'
country do not believe, however, tina
they are so prevalent as a certain clas
Of novelists would have us believe.
| hold that there is some honor among mel
and some virtue among women. Their
must be or society would go to pieces"
II was going to read Galsworthy'
| book, but think l will pass it by If 4
is like this"
81 would not do that" said l. Gals
worthy Is literary artist of parts. HI
knows how to write. He can enter int
the mind of a woman and turn it wron;
side out His analysis of the mind o
| Gyp is masterful. We are made to per
forces which she has conjured into action
her acceptance of the theory that th
manner of her birth makes her a sort o
an outlaw and her Drawing of the conse
| quences of her actions with perfect In
difference. If you carry your own philo
sophy with you when reading the bool
| you can supply what Galsworthy has lef
|
novel that would stand comparison
with Mrs. Deland's great book. Th
characters are real men and women, but
Of course. that is to be expected from
so experienced novelist. But you vii
not get the impression that he like
them. The touch Of sympathy is lack
ing"
Just then The Lady Joined us.
IT see you are talking about Gals
worthy" she said. II read The Darl
Flower a while ago and l was sorry 70
it. The book had such disastrous effec
on my confidence in men in general tina
it has taken me a long time to regain
part of what l lost"
"If / did not feel that Gyp and he
| mother were eXceptons, thls pook Woui
destroy my faith in women" said.
1T would take more than one book Z
shake my confidence in women" said tn
clergyman. II know too many who ar
so true to the highest human instinct
that they would never surrender to tn
lowest under the impression that the,
were actors in a great romance"
GEORGE w. DOUGLAS.
BEYOND. By John Galsworthy. New York