The New York herald., 1922-08-13
Continued From Preceding Page.

the African farm her father had
built up out of the concession of,bare
weld and bush that he had obtained
when he was a mere youngster.
Now it was a beautiful place, thriv-
ing and rich lands surrounding the
charming house in it's circle of gar
dens and tennis court with the great
barns and outhouses lying near, cat
foot of the cliffs the ocean laundering
on beautiful shore. Cecil loves it,
and rejoices to be back again in the
fair and free life she has never for
gotten. Her younger sister, now six
teen, is eager to hear all about Eng
land and the marvels of life there,
but Cecil cannot answer one-half of
the younger girls questions. She
has been secluded in the most re-
served of schools, surrounded by a
hundred rules and inhibitions, al
lowed to see only a bit of London,
educational London, kept away from
the natural emotional development of
her wears. Gwen seems TO her in
many ways older than herself-Gwen
frightens Cecil a bit, with her strange
questions and her frank avowals.
Ceci, marries before she has been
home six months, marries a good,
attractive man with whom she has
nothing in common but the urge of
sex and the longing TO be mated.
Hugh is well bred, simple and deeply
in love Cecil, unstirred but curious
and somewhat wrought upon by the
African fervor of climate and by the
romantic situation, is easily fooled
into thinking herself as deeply in
love-
The coming of the man who really
does awaken her, and for whom she
soon feels that the world will be well
lost. and her son and her husband
with it, and of what comes after, and
of how fate has its way with the
whole of them, is the story. Mr.
Keable poses the ever vexing prob
lem. is life for the sake of the indi-
vidual or the race, and answers it ac-
cording to his convictions. II is
frankly put, and frankly met. 1t
seems under the conditions given, to
be fairly answered.
But the enchanting atmosphere OF
the book cannot be conveyed by any
such outline as the above. 1t has
singular freshness, it is like door
opening on a fair morning with a
splendid prospect meeting the gaze.
The delight in nature and what II
gives is most winning. The walk OF
the two sisters the first morning of
the reunion, their swim in the ocean,
where, naked as two nymphs, they
revel in the salt splendor of the water
and the keen rays of the sun, the
joy of an early ride, sleep under the
stars among mountains, these things
are written about as only one who
loves such fine and simple pleasures
COulu WTltt VI liiCiii. hC iooh saAh
the fragrance of flowers. the great
shapes of the cliffs and peaks, the
long day on the trek, the camp at
night, these things are presented
with just the telling detail that
makes them real. Story and scene
are closely woven. the native life
enters it as it would enter, fitting in
with the whole, giving its richness
to the pattern.
Mr.. Keable has managed, in Pa
mela Urfurd, to draw an interesting
and unusual girl. She is the product
of a life hardly to me met out of Az
rica, but both she and her father are
individuals who would stand out any
where He has trained the girl to
meet life on her own feet, to be mis- |
tress of herself without the aid of
conventions or the thousand props |
of civilization. Yet both he and she
are highly bred. cultured, fine, men,
bers of an old race that has not lost
its vigor. Pamela plays a great part |
in the story and walks a difficult |
road. and it is she who most inter |
mysteries. too. She can hypnotize,
and works strange spells on the ma
tives, The long trek she and Chris |
take together in Basutoland is pre-