Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-06-09

lish village and the daily tragedies Of the
young girl who has come into the world
without a father. The element of sus-
pense that curious mystery sustains
Is handled with more than average skill,
and the whole story-apart from its
strange orfgin-stands an example Of
skillful dramatic invention.
THE GAMBLER. And Other Stories.
BY Fyodor Dostoevsky. From the
Russian by Constance Garrett
New York: The Macmillan Com
pany.
1.-THE Landlady" are the three Dos
toevsky stories that Constance GAR
nett includes in this, the ninth volume
Of her TRANSACTIONS Of the work Of
the great Russian writer. The titles
Of these three tales indicate the fields
Of investigation spread by the writer
In producing them For these are in
vestigatfons. In. the western sense
the Russian never does write a story.
Rather does he dive down into the
human nature takes form in one or
another individual. or type, or group.
Long does he stay submerged there,
exploring the floors and recesses OF
that nature. And when he comes to
the surface hands and eyes and ears
and pores and heart are packed with
his discoveries. These, just as he
found them and seized upon them, he
throws down at ones feet. And out
Of the unwieldy mass of human stuff
feelings, desires, impulses. actions,
reactions. repeated in endless success
sion-the reader finds himself in his
most secret moments declared from
the housetops. That IL the amaze
ment Of the Russian writer. How has
he found us out! How can he know
what we are thinking and feeling
when our lips are shaping words con-
making false trails! But this is what
he does do, and among all of them
Dostoevsky stands surprisingly as
sured in his hold on the secrets Of the
human heart These three stories
have not the poignant depth Of others
House 's Of the Dead" The Brothers
Karamazov"-but this fact rests upon
the inherency Of the subject itself
and not upon any departure from the
sincere and profound method OF the
writer.
THE THRESHOLD. By Marjorie
Benton Cooke. author Of "Bambf,"
etc. New York: Doubleday, Page
& Co.
A modern story in which a quite up
to-date young woman Jumps into the
industrial field on mission Of right
eousness. The young woman is college
bred. Like the rest Of this class, she Is
simply overlooking with zeal and self
confidence. coupled with the conviction
that the world. in q very bad way. Is
simply waiting for her to set It straight.
The field for her crusade IL q factory
town, where nothing could be worse
than it appears to be there. The owner
of the factory II a boy. His guardian
and present manager Of the concern ia
aloof. aristocratic, unmindful Of the
welIbeing Of his workers-the accepted
type Of overload. The young woman
sails into the situation. In no time at
all she has won the youthful heart of
the boy and the too early displeasure Of
his guardian. More than this, she has
fired the factory hands with the divine
flame Of discomfort. Agitation, union,
a strike, and SO on and SO on, move the
matter along till the guardian himself
becomes a convert to the advanced ideas
of the young woman and a slave to her
personal charms as well. So-in quite
no time at all-there 10 an industrial re-
generation In that town and a wedding
besides The only discordant note In this