Evening star., 1922-12-19
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
iTNDIsCRETIONs" or LADY SUSAN.
LADY Susan Townley. tAppleton)

'TNDIsCRETIoxs" or LADY SUSAN.
lady Susan Townley. tAppleton.)
Who is the Lady Susan. And what
has she been doing? The title looks
inviting, since nothing else in the
wide world SO seasons one up to the
exact taste Of public appetite as per-
sonal indiscretions. Now, a crime is
raw and coarse-clearly. in the kale
and cabbage class. mere food rough
age. which the delicate palate prompt
ly rejects. But an indis iscretion-single
or in series-that is something differ
ent. 1t is OF an epicurean cast, fra
grant with blended havors of temper
ment. spiced with daring. saited with
adventure. Before, 1t the little cells
and nerves Of taste set up an auto
matte activity i'm moist anticiba tion
OF the tidbit. Discretion. even. has no
chance beside indiscretion. If this
title had been-well, say, THE Piety
Of Susan" it would have been met.
generally. with the dry mouth Of dis
taste that Is produced on a chilly
morning by All Island Of cold oatmeal
In q sea of blue milk.
!: X i x
A first casual glance at the title
failed. with us. to register an i'm
portant fact about it's foundatio
word. The second look showed that
"indiscretions" is borrowed. 1t is not
the authors word. Disappointing!
For under the first impression We had
promptly slipped into it the notion Of
confession-a first-hand treatment Of
{y,1
slould nave know, better than that
Tor women do .iot confess Thus. they
talk @ndlessiy and openly about
everything under the sun--e1cept.
That when ii comes 20 guarding their
own deeply personal secrets the
! sphinx is chatterbox beside any
average woman. go the meaning Of
the title finally Strengthened out. it
becomes plain that somebody has been
ms King accusations against the Lady
Susan.
And. again. who is the Lady Susan:
She is the Lady Susan Townley, who.
something like twenty-five years ago,
married Walter Townley ef the Erl.ish
diplomatic service. and this is. upon
IT'S face. Lady susan's story of her
part in an official pilgrimage that in
cluded China. Persia. Turkey. Argen-
tina. the United States and half a
dozen countries Of Europe.
To set off in step with this whole
; ; matter it is good plan to read the
last chapter Of the book first That
is the chapter over which the Lady
whiting at all. Without it, the story
would have stood merely as a lively
ard entertaining account Of the cream
! or social happenings in various dip
| !oniatic centers OF the world. With
II. tie narrative takes on a special
! direction to the attention OF the
reader. For this chapter uncovers
the fac: that. in the judgment Of his
superiora. the diplomatic career Of
wafer Toun!ey ought not to be ex-
pan9ed further. either through pro-
! motion or important assignment, be-
cause OF the fndiscrctions Of the Lady
F; Susan. Mr.. Townley resigned We
are now living in the country" SAYS
Lady Susan soherly. breeding large
black pigs. which. If not quite so in
! teresting. is at least more remuner-
! lomacy."
Lady Susan. diplomat, is now to the
fore. Berlin makes good stopping
place in the story The Townleys
were there during the period Of the
! Boer war. And lady Susan-frankly
and amusinely critical-tells of the
daily problems Of attitude and con.
duct imposed upon them through
violen. German sympathy for the
/ Beers on the one hand. and hatred Of
has
good -dea! to say, too. about Wilhelm
H.. from an apparently free aud
friendly standpoint where he is at
no pains TO conceal his bitter ieal-
cusly of England in general and of
the British navy In particular. a
! specially Susanesaue episotie. the fol-
/ lowing. What does that ugly stout
| lady represent" said Susan tThis.
! the victory. AT the end OF tho Tier
garten. with her finger pointing to-
va, wa,d Paris; Ugly Stout" WHY.
our r. great at trump triumph in "s The sefFesenss Frannes
! Prussian war" We'll. think she's
down her frock." And probably be-
cause the f,ippant Susan was Young
and pretty. the Kaiser. smiled
but he was not smiling. rcslly-no,
/ ridlcnic. The Town!eys were glad to
leave the Boer-laden air OF Berlin.
i + \ * y
! Feking proves to he interesting
| perhaps the most interesting point oi
| aii--from the hand Of Lady Susan
!; Her pictures OF II are vivid and ou,
standing. gorgeous pictures. She
makes here a solid reality out of tha,
clever old woman. the enprcss-dow
i agcr-autocrat, tyrant and secret TO-
menter OF. the Boxer uprising. She
, colors with oriental dyes one cere.
/; nonial after another. She stages
,vfvtdly. the huge pageant OF Li-Hung
Chang's burial-two years after h
had died. lit appears that in Chirs
celebrities have to be good and aeat
before burial is allowed them under
the permission OF great astrologer'
| who have searched the heavens fol
the asserting sign, An interesting
view of Peking. this. along the roa,
that the Lady Susan elected to fol
low. Then. by and by. the open pref
erence Of the empires SIS -dowaecr fol
the amusing Lady Susan worked dis
, tress in the minds of the other lega
ton women and Walter" had to "in
sis'. In the interest OF Diplomatic
, peace" that Susan should corfine her.
self to the more usual forms Of inter
course with this fascinating female
Machiavelli. Another item OF trouble
stewing in waters" diplomatic
brew.
washington is the Mecca Of al
diploma matists who cannot be appointed
to London" Susan and Walter have
arrived And the press men are fine