The New York herald., 1922-04-23
New Fiction
Continued f-.vs preceding page.

come o prima donna and a dozen
minor instances of such much used
material But Mr. Brighouse always
manages TO give them fresh, newly
alive incarnation.
The real hero of the piece, how
ever, IS not the Hepplestall family
so much as the modern manufactur-
ing industry-Steam, from its birth.
the triumph of machinery, and the
development to its present colossal
: stature OF the Manchester cotton
business. 1t Is an epic affair, un-
promising. perhaps. at first sight,
but really tremendous. az it covers
the changing life not only OF a few
families but of a whole society. 1t
touches in its long course nearly
every level OF the people-a most
difficult thing TO handle without be-
ing either vague and too diffused,
or inauequate because Of too much
omission.
The founder Of the business. Reu-
ben Hepplesstall. was a member OF
the gentry. Of county family; am
bilious, and bent upon marrying the
county beauty. Dorothy yerners, not,
at first. because he loved her, but
IN order to triumph over others who
held him in small esteem. He is
also determined to make his mark,
somehow. and impose himself as a
master in the county. He is intelli-
gent enough to foresee something of
the coming industrial revolution, and
some OF the possibilities Of steam,
which was then regarded as a toy,
or an ahsurdity. or. sometimes, an
invention Of the devil. He boldly
breaks away from his order, sells
his land and builds the first steam
factory in his district. Social os-
tracism follows. He becomes en-
tangled with pretty Phoebe, the
daughter of a small. old fashioned
hand mill owner. and she bears him
a son. But now his fortunes turn
and circumstances favor his court
ship of the naughty Dorothy, with
whom he also falls deeply in love.
He 1narries her and the stage Is set
Tor the first acts of the drama
Naturally the coming or steam
destroys the old life. The weayers
and spinners are forced into the
mills. and we are given a striking
picture OF the evils, hardships and
horrors OF the first stages of that
crude industrialism- Phoebe. aban-
doned, and her father ruined. is
forced into Reuben's mill. So Is his
hiegitimate son. John. at the age
or hve. ALI this part Of the story
Is handled simply. with fun restraint
ana absence OF Mysteries, bur il
makes a terrible 81 wing. That of
course. has been done before nv
many competent writer's. but this
version ranks high among the ac-
counts OF that period Labor
troubles follow. and when John has
reached manhood his young wife is
Killed. victim OF the factory svs-
tenn. and John. seeking vengeance.
tries TO kill Reuben, not knowing
that he Is himself Rueben,s SON but
his bullet instead kills Dorothy.
John Is hanged. In spite OF Phoebe.s
Ffea and thus the foundation is laid
Tor succeeding acts OF the play: in
the hatred OF the Bradshaws
descendants OF John. for all the
Hepplestalls. a hatred that Is to last
Tor generations. taking into itself
the natural hostility between the ex-
plotted workman and the employer.
Inis part also Is admirably man
aged. never overplayed or allowed
to degenerate into mere meIodrama
indeed. some Of it rises. especially in
It's dramatic irony. almost to the
level OF the Greek tragedy. The
murder OF Dorothy serves to drive
her Oldest son. Edward. into the fac
tory. from which he had hoped 70
escape He had quarreled with his
1atner. Reuben. about it, and Dor
othy had tried to reconcile them
though she agreed with the son in
his desire to quit the business which
shs regarded as beneath their family
ievel- But Edward IS now moved bv
desire for revenge. Drive or be
driven. sir Won sai1m - ~,