The New York herald., 1921-10-02
Stake Your World
All on One Woman
COBwEB. BY George Agnew Cham
berlaln. Harper & Brothers.

COBwEB. BY George Agnew Cham
berlaln. Harper & Brothers.
HO you like those delightfully."-
light and beautiful stories
which have the reality of life
interviewer through their structure? :?
Stories which have just enough phi
losophy of life to explain the varying
moods Of man and woman? This is
one Of that kind.
In this book real father fulflls his
duties in the highest sense and leaves
the reader loving every page on which
hrs name is even mentioned. Here
two opposite types Of women and their
men work out their problems, and
make the reader work them out, too
Do you like such q "clean" book that
it may always lie on the living room
table and the children may read it as
soon as they are old enough to under
stand print? Then you have it in
"Cobweb."
1t will fit your every mood; it will
hold you like chains until you have
finished. and then you will urge the
rest of the family to read 1t, promising
yourself that when they have finished
you will read 1t again. And you will.
There is an intangible something about
the book which will make you.
The first time Rittenhouse Bourne
saw Alloway was in hotel elevator.
He was in brown study and noticed
nothing until the operator said, "Your
floor Mr.. Bourne. unless you wish to
ride to the roof sir" After alighting
Bourne wished he had ridden to the
roof for the girl in the elevator had
caught his imagination and held him.
all because of "a single great tear"
which had squeezed over the tender
barrier that opposed 1t. raced slow.
then fast down the oval of her cheek
and leaped to destruction. 1t
was a rogue tear, broken away from
the herd. complete in itself and busy
with an individual mission
And Rittenhouse, the worldwid
traveller, was enmeshed in her web
The next time he saw her-oh. but we
must not tell you the story! You
would never forgive us. And our duty
is to lead you to the kind of book you
would like and allow you to wander
alone in the world of it's making
But just spare us "A moment more.
Don't you like old Bourne? When
Ritt comes to tell him of his love for
this girl the old father says: "To put
your mind at rest I'll tell you now out
of faith in what I've tried to make of
you, that whatever you ask I'll give,
and give freely. If that proves to be
q mistake, why let 1t fall on both our
heads. You are my SON." Then in
their talk of plans the old father goes
on:
Tomorrow, after the visit to the
office, you shall bring her here to your
mothers rooms. They are just as she
left them, except that last spring I
had fresh chintzes put in her sitting
room-the dearest, brightest room in
the house. hate half givers.
Either your girl is everything that you
say or we all go down in a single
great wreck. Tomorrow she becomes
the mistress of this house of all its
traditions and memories. She can
make of it a plaything or a shrine.
but you and I, we have cast our die.
It's great thing, Ritt. it always has
been a great thing, to gamble your
whole world on the turn of woman"
Forgive us for telling you that much
of the story. but. now really. don't
you think you are going to love old
Bourne? We know you will love the
others. too. You can't help it. They
are real people, and when we see into
the hearts and souls of real people
we always love them.