Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-11-03

that a man has been found in a hospital,
deaf and dumb and suffering from shell
shock who is supposed to be the bride
groom. She will sacrifice her sisters
happiness and her love and her loyalty
for the sake of bringing about a new
marriage which will improve the financial
condition of both sisters"
Can there be such creatures in the
world?" Miss Ames askel /. dignantly.
There are altogeth9" too many of
them, not only in England but IN Amer
ica," I replied. They do not do exactly
what Bridget Cookson Mrs Wards char
acter, did but they are equally callous to
all the finer human feelings and to all the
splendid loyalties that make one proud
of his fellow men. Bridget Cookson is
the only character Of consequence in the
whole story that is not refined and made
better because of tho great war. They
are all brought to their senses, and the
fine qualities of their characters assert
themselves. For example, Cicely Farrell,
sister of the man who has given his
house for a hospital. is apparently a
careless, indifferent social butterfly, lit
tie embittered by the emptiness % her
life. She darkens her eyebrows and red.
dens her lips and puts color on her
cheeks. She dresses in the extreme Of
fashion. When she puts on nurses
costume, It Is made Of the finest lawn, and
she wears pearls about her neck. To all
appearances she welcomes it as n new
form of personal adornment but as the
months pass we discover that she is a
woman of great executive ability, and
that. in spite of an apparently flippant
manner, she is seriously doing her bit.
At the end she is transformed into a
woman with whom the most critical
patriot could find no fault. Her brother,
an artistic dilettante, at the beginning
is earnestly working with all his might
and all his fortune to save the lives Of
the wounded in his hospital before the
story ends And the bereaved bride
she finally finds her husband and spends
the last five days of his life at his bed
side-is broadened and strengthened by
her terrible experience until she becomes
self.reliant and goes about her work In
a hospital with n vigorous energy that
surprises every one"
THAT is what one would expect" said
Doctor McFabre. II have always had
enough faith in human nature to believe
that when we are brought face to face
with a great crisis we would all meet
the issue bravely."
81 should think that It must be an
awfully preachy novel" Miss Ames said.
1T is not pr2achy at ALL" said l. 1T
have merely barred the skeleton so that
you might see what holds it together.
But Mrs. Ward has clothed the boneA
most attractively. The bride is a de-
lightfully appealing young moman, hon
est and true. Mrs. Ward has confessed
that she was greatly moved while writing
it. You will be moved when you read it.
You will hope with Mrs. Ward that her
most pathetic little heroine may recover
from the blow that has stricken her and
find happiness with the good man who
has been attracted by er since his first
acquaintance. The book is the kind of
war novel that was bound TO be written
some time. My only wonder is that ii
was not written earlier"
GEORGE w. DOUGLAS.
MISSING" BY Mrs. Humphry Ward With
frontispieee color by G. Allan Gilbert. New
York; Dodd Mead Co. sl.5O.