The Washington times., 1922-04-16
Selma Lagerloff'S
'OutcaSt," is Story
of Heroic Sacrifice
Great War Is Intro
duced to Point Moral
and Adorn Tale.

and AdOrn Tale.
TT Is easy to understand why
Selma Lageriof's new novel.
''The outcast." Doubleday, Page
and Coz won the Nobel prize of
1919. because we are frank to say
that from It we derived more
pleasure than from any book which
we have read in many weeks of
strenuous effort to keep up with
the output of the presses Of the
land.
We are not greatly concerned
with the purpose and intent of the
author. Whether she Intended to
demonstrate the sanctity of life.
or that all human endeavor is
useless, is OF little concern. The
story's the thing. and q powerful
and dramatic story II is that un-
folds itself on the bleak Swedish
coast, among the simple peasants
and fishermen.
The story is that of Sven
Elevrsson. young man of peasant
parentase who has been adopted
by a wealthy English family and
brought up by them in foreign
lands. Arriving at the ago Of
manhood. he Joined an Arctic ex-
pedition. which met with disaster.
Their food exhausted. one of their
number committed suicide, and
the survivors ate his body. The
tale Of Elversson's part N this
terrible ofSense against humanity
spreads rapidly in his native viii
lage, and on all sides he Is treated
as one beyond the pale.
The first chapters Of the book
are saturated with this loathing
for the young Elversson, so that
the reader is filled, too. with hor-
ror at his cann,balism. Elversson
devotes himself to charity. He
lives a life OF sanity rectituds.
doing all manner Of good deeds,
for which he is rewarded by blows
and curses. The superstitious VII
layers will have none of his atone
ment. Though this ioathing grows
as the story progresses. Sven El-
versson In the end emerxes q
triumphant and vindicated char
acter. Gradually his good deeds
and his humility bring conviction
of his inability to have committed
SO grave an offense against the
dead, and by degrees his inno-
cense is established.
As an aftermath Of the battle
Of Jutland, many corpses of
drowned sailors are washed up
upon the coast OF Sweden. FL
versson heads a band OF fishermen
to rescue these bodies 10 the end
that they may have interment In
the village churchyard, and in the
clothing of one are found papers
proving his innocence of the charge
Of cannibaiim. Then the villag-
ers understand the injustice they
have done Elversson. and they
hasten to make amends. But Il
is too late. Worn out by his ef-
forts in behalf of living and dead
alike, he dies even as the very
minister who drove him from the
church praises him to the people
as one who has devoted himself
to the service OF humanity.
E1T'HF Isolation Plan.- by wn-
liam H. Blymsr (Cornhir Pub
fishing Company is theoretically g
scheme for avertins future war
among the nations, but IL seems to
us not only highly improbable that
the great powers will ever agree
to such a plan, but that the policy
of non-intercourse with a nation
that refuses to abide by the decree
OF all the other nations will have
the smallest chance for success.
As we recall II, this plan of non-
intercourse was tried out in the
case of Russia, but when the Rus
sian government offered real
money for the products of the FAC
tories of the blockading nations
there ensued an undignified scram.
BILE TO furnish the goods and take
the profferd gold. And unless hu-
man nature undergo vast change
we fear IL viii ever be thus.
HERE'S chance for all readers
who think they can outguess
the author to demonstrate their
ability to do SO. 20. r. D." by Lee
Thayer Doubleday, Page and Com
pany) is a mystery story which re-
mains a mystery right up to the
finale. We, usually clever at find
ing the villain before II is the au-
thor's intention that we do SO, were
baffled at every turn. so many and