The sun., 1919-09-21
"Glory of Going On"

~ who does not loiter nv tho wav
when she has theme to present. In the
case OF her latest novel, The Glory Of
Going On, 1t was her purpose to describe
the career of the heroine between the ages
OF 10 and somewhere beyond 40. The
author takes just 3O6 pages to do it in.
This displays signal brevity in modern
writer. One has but to remember the Jacob
Stahl books and consider the lengths to
which j. ID. Beresford went or Compton
Mackenzie's Sylvia Scarlet tones or-or,
well, any English writer of prominence.
Fashions in fiction are popular, and like
fashions in clothes continually dip into
the past for something old and then call
1t new. The three decker novel was no
curiosity in ages agone. One has but to
pore through Samuel Richardson's Clar-
issa HdrtosDe or Sir Charles Grandson or
Pamela. There started fashion that Time
has never eradicated from the world of
books, although the practice in certain
eras sank into desuetude. The early Vic
torian period knew it. And with certain
group Of English writers it returned
again. 1t has its virtues and it has its
faults.
Miss Pahlow, however, ambitiously re-
strains herself from too great prodi-
gality Of space. Because Of the theme she
has undertaken it could not but make her
treatment of it episode. But she has done
this gracefully enough, slurring over the
undramatic years of Hilda Vincent's life
with a nice skill aud selecting those
browning moments, some glad, some tragic,
that best enlarge her subject. The title Of
the book plainly labels its contents.
Hilda Vincent first appears as a child
Of Is going to her first dance. She passes
through the religious phase with celebrity,
develops her butterfly attitude and finally
dedicates herself to her art, in this case
music. Peter Cabot Lane, he of the old
New England antecedents and the bril-
liant literary gifts, loves her, but she will
have nothing to do with love, and finally
sends the too importunate Peter away.
When Hilda's failure as a singer comes,
principally, we gather, through faulty
teaching, her powers of resistance weaken.
She is attacked by man and promptly
saved by an utter stranger. Ten days
later she has promised to marry this
stranger.
Then follow unhappy years Of married
life, the rise of Peter to fame and Hilda's
realization that she loves him alone, the
return of Peter and the confession of this
love but not before child is born, Hilda's
divorce from her unfaithful husband
shortly after a second child is born, her
eventual marriage with Peter Impatient
ly awaited by the reader through many
chapter), the war and Peters death in
France, and final settling down as a
teacher of singing in school.
The action moves with extreme rapidity,
as indeed it must in such circumscribed
space, but it covers the ground with some
degree of completeness. Just what the
author has tried to prove remains in
doubt. Hilda certainly made her mis-
takes, and some Of them were quite grave
and obviously fraught with disaster. Her
uRcalled for marriage is never quite ex-
planned satisfactorily. The character that
the author leads the reader to believe
Hilda is does not warrant it. Then there
is the literary note. For the most part
Miss Pahlow is admittedly good, but there
are certain lapses into bald truisms and
oversaccharinity that could well be re-
moved with no damage to the theme. The
light, playful conversations between Peter
and Hilda, for instance, get banal after
while. Sentiment sways Miss Pahlow's
reason more than once.
THE GLORY OF GOING ON. BY GER
1RI1nE PLHInW Dnfield 4 Co