The Washington herald., 1921-07-17
ORPHAN DINAH.
By EDEN PHILLPoTTs.
(The Macmillan Coz

Readers of Eden Phillpotts know
that he does not confne himself to
one type of novel. He has written
delightfully."- and amusingly of the
English schoolboy; he has written
superior mystery stories which
make your hair curl and he has
written rather grim realistic tales
of the humble folk of Dartmoor.
Orphan Dinah" belongs to this lat
ter class. 1t is a leisurely tale,
without complications or plot, bu,
moving slowly and surely with Gu
mulative interest to its climax. Mr..
Phillpotts pictures the Dartmoor
background with rich colors and
with Characteristic insight he gives
US the atmosphere of the little COM
mupity in which the story is laid.
The characters are country folk,
but they are delineated with such
care and developed so fully that in
the case of the two chief characters
one feels that they are a little too
complex for persons of their po-
sition and environment. There is
however. no question but that these
characters are completely revealed.
Early in the story we learn tina,
Dinah Waycott, an innocent. mex
perienced clear thinking and out
spoken girl, is tokened to her fos-
ter brother. a resolute youth but
egotistical and merciless. In spite
of Johns insistence Dinah finds II
impossible to bring herself to name
the day of her wedding and finally
after much searching OF her heart,
comes to the conclusion that she
does not love him and cannot marry
him. Shortly afterwards she meet,
and falls in love with Lawrence
Maynard. a laborer on Joe Stock
mans farm. When Dinah learns
that Maynard returns her love but
cannot marry her because he is ar
ready married to a woman from
whom he parted on his wedding day
she thinks this matter through as
she had her engagement to her fos-
ter brother. Her conclusion is char
acterfstic. Maynard, she argues. Is
married only in name and no such
artificial barrier should stand be-
tween them. With the same cour-
age with which she went agains,
public opinion in breaking her en-
gagement with John Bamsey she is
prepared to ignore the fact of May
nard's marriage and proceed as
though that fact did not exist
Maynard's story is known. however,
to certain members of the commu-
nifty. and when it is learned that
he and Dinah are preparing to go
I together to Australia plans are
made to prevent their going and to
punish Maynard for what is re-
| garded as a bare attempt to deceive
an innocent girl. Those who we.
| prepared to take justice into their
| own hands were actuated by differ
ent motives but all were determ,r-
/ ed that Maynard should be chas-
tened. How this Chastfsement wz-
carried out at Shepherds Cross is
the dramatic climax of the story.
There are many excellent charac-
/ terizations of whom Joe Stockman,
the master OF Falcon Farm and
Lawrence Maynard's employer. is
the best. Joe is an extraordinarily
selfish man. more clever than his
neighbors and by no means reluct-
ant to use his talents unscrupu-
| lously to advance his own ends and
potts does not make Joe merely a
colossal egotist. He is generous un-
der compulsion. He is shrewd and
calculating. but when he is forced
| by circumstances to sacrifice his own
interests. he does it with such IN air
of virtue that his neighbors cannot
but be impressed. His daughter,
"Soosie- -Toosie" who is his abject
slave, Palk, the slow-minded horse
man who sees through Joe NOR.
clearly than the more intelligen,
Maynard, Mr. Chaffe, the carpenter
and Melinda Honeysett. who finally
| gives Joe the greatest jolt of hi,
| life, are all subordinate figures, but
very acutely revealed. As for Law
renee Maynard and Orphan Dinar-
the ideas. the emotions, and the
sentiments which Mr.. PhiIIpotts at
tributes to them make it difficult a,
times to remember that the one is
the cowman of Falcon Farm and
the other the daughter of a servant
OF the lord of the manor.