New-York tribune., 1917-10-07
IN THE first place. a great deal Of

TN THE first place, a great deal Of
curiosity has naturally been aroused
- as TO the identity Of this new writer
who mysteriously wells herself behind the
curious pSeudonyme AN EX-Mill Girl
She has told her story to one reviewer:
"I went 70 the mill as a hslf-timer when
7 was eleven years old. | was a reacher,'
which means that / sat on a stool six and
a half hours a day staring at the dazzling
white threads and picking two by two TO
go upon the drawers hook, which is like
a double crochet needle and pokes in and
cut goodness knows how many, many times
"a minute, TO receive the threads from the
Teacher Your legs feel very long when
you are only eleven. your eyes get very
tired, and the pain Of sitting still so long
Is nothing short Of purgatory 20 child. !
WAS always in a panic for fear ! would not
reach the average output.
"Whcn I was twelve ] read Trilby' and
Il made a great impression on me. used
to think Of them all at their work-and
presently awoke 10 find the bobbins too full,
one rubbing against the other, so that IT
would take hours 20 right them again. Every
morning ionged for the night 20 come again,
worry now 20 separate the night me from
the Gay me. For nine years l was
'windcr' and al the time the difficulty Of
keeoirc from thinking IN the Gay while at
work about what read at night grew worse.
I read and read Dickens Thackeray, Scott,
Georce Eliot, Iola and lot OF miscellaneous
stuf. For while took lessons on Satur-
day afternoons in sketching and painting.
but oui, because l found ] got beyond the
teache- and because ] was sick Of just
copying
1For years ! had been scribbling verse, and
at last l got small writing connection. BY
working az that at night helped out the
snail wage earned in the cotton mill Then
after a while my mother set Up a small shop,
and, with some money saved, ! went for a
while 20 the university in Manchester. After
ward | went back 20 Lancashire and did
shop assisting for almost year, writing
Helen Of -Four Gates az odd moments, and
sometimes at night falling asleep over it,
was so tired
And now-what manner of book is this
"Helen Of Four Gates" written by the girl
who spent twenty weary years toiling
among eternal bobbins and "reachers'?
The reviews, both American and English
(for the book came out on the other side
about two months prior 70 its emergence in
the hands of the Dutton company here), are
practically unanimous in pronouncing 1t,
primarily, a work Of extraordinary power.
elemental" is a word which, 10 many Of
the reviewers, seems best to cover its
sheer, naked emotion.
Phrases in which the word power"
occurs spring out hashingly as one scans
the reviews: The remarkable thing about
this novel is its power; "an extraordi-
narily powerful book; there is no get
ting away from the sheer power Of the
book; "a powerful picture from the in
side Of life; mo question about the
story's dominating poweT'-al from
thoughtful publications like "The London
Times" THE Westminster Gazette" and
''The Daily Chronicle
"The Weekly Despatch" a British
paper, sums it up thus: In brief, a book
full Of woe and terror-with the soul Of
the woman ever in It's keeping"