New-York tribune., 1922-02-12

THE SEVENTH WAVE. BY Eugene L.
rearce; Published by Moffat. Yard &
",HE dreamy boy who grows be-
yond the comprehension of a
conscientious but severe father
is often encountered in fiction.
The life Of the small town also has
come in for a good deal of comment in
American novels during the last two
years. But it is seldom that these two
themes arc handled with MS much psy-
Geological sympathy and literary
tincsse as Mr. Duffus displays in "Roads
Going South.'
Joe Chaplin is an uncommon and
anomalous figure in present day Amer
1oa. young man without any apprc-
ciablc or definite scheme for getting on
in life. At his fathers desire he takes
UP the study Of medicine. but soon finds
that the life Of a country doctor is not
FOR him. He leaves college and goes to
New York, where he loafs. dreams and
falls in love. Apparently out of sheer
pervcrsity. he turns down an casv and
respectable job. prcferring to so to sea
as a stokcr
The authors sympathies, one feels.
arc all with Joe. But he is more than
fair to Joc's father, the doctor in
small New England town, whose stern
and consistent philosophy of service
makes him perhaps the most heroic
also comes of better than small towns
usually do in the works Of METROPOLITAN
novclists. The author seems to regard
the simple comedy OF village lifc AS
something to be laughed with rather
than laughed at
Mr.. Duffus differs from some con-
temporary novelists in knowing how to
write the English language. A note
of thoughtful beauty always prcdomi-
mates in his style. In the f1oodtidc of
everyday transient fiction "Roads Go
ing South" stands out as work of
genuine and enduring merit
Harold MacGrath relies on strong
contrasts for many Of his effects in
"Thc Ragged Edge" There is the con-
trast Of East and West, of a mans
sophistication and a girls simplicity,
of a conscience tormented with the
consciousness Of sin and a conscience
that is quite free from all thoughts of
evil.
To put the plot Of the story in more
concrete terms, young American who
has run away with some money starts
to 20 to perdition as rapidly as posi-
Bile in Canton. He is pulled up at the
very edge of the precipice by the love
of beautiful and innocent girl. who
nurses him through long illness, mar
ries him and goes off with him to live
on South Sea island. How the mans
redemption is completed is told by Mr..
MacGrath in the climax Of a story that
will attract many readers bv its dra-
matte theme and vigorous style.
The Elwell case. one of the murders
which the New York police force never
cleared up is used by Hannah Garland
as the basis Of detective story The
original circumstances of the Elwcll
case are faithfully reconstructed. A
we'll known sportsman ard card expert
is found shot in his home There are
iumors Of mysterious women passing
IN and out OF the house during the
night before the murder. A bootlcr
ging episode suggests another motive
for the crime
in short, the police. just as in the
hl~ell case, are embarrassed by
multiplicity Of inadequate clews In the
novel, however, reporter, turned de-
tectlvc, stumbles upon the decisive bits
OF evidence. 1t isn't likely that Miss
'artland's solution corresponds with
the facts OF the case, but at least it
the curiosity of readers Of
aer absorbing story. Incidentally. the
author is to lie congratulated upon her
perception in taking for the raw ma
-erlal of her novel an actual happening.
which possessed far more exciting and i
oewildering features than could be
.ound in dozen ordinary detective
romances
"The Seventh Wave" in the virile
'ernacular affected in some circles,
night be called herman story. The
zero rises above the buffets Of business
misfortune to conduct a successful
light against the corporations which
are trying to despoil Florida of its
lmber resources. The most striking
scene in the novel occurs near the end.
'hen the hero quells an incipient riot
~ killing the leader Of the mob sinc]o
landed
Business Lessons
'LERlCAL PRACTICE. By william Lin