Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-14

N be put on exhibition at the fair
~ the ten which receive the highes,
nmbsr Of votes from visitors to the
II will bc acclaimed a. worthy Of q
Ice on what is called, with fine dis.
1eard for anti German sentiment, q
Wanderlust Shelf"
There doubtless are other books as
pod, but I would suggest az worthy
& q place on tho shelf; Hakluyt'e
Ths Principal Navigations, Voiages
Ind Discoveries Of the English Ma
ton," Thoreau's "Cape Cod," and H.
Y. Tomlinson's '"The Sea and the Jun.
gle." These cover a wide range in
tone, and are so different from one an.
other In subject and manner of treat.
msnt 40 to have that variety which is
PIE condiment necessary to keep the
interest alive. If any reader Of this
celumn is interested enough to send in
n favorite list Of not more than ten
tvel books, I shall be glad to for.
lrd It to the committee.
4 Thoreau said he had travelled much
Concord. There are others ,cho
1ope Travelled much in tho hunon
1cart.
nNE of these explorers of that
" mysterious region is Frances Hodg-
tn Burnett. She has reported the
Dscoveries Of her most recent voyage in
The Head Of the House Of Coombe"
Frederick A. Stokes Company. 1t is
novel Of English life covering a Pc
od of about nineteen years, ending
ith the assassinations at Sarajevo in
14. 1t is devoted chiefly to the study
the development of girl from in.
lncy to the age of eighteen. In plot.
70 story is melodramatic, with n villain
tho seems to be the good angel of those
distress. a frivolous and selfish
mother, who ignores the existence Of
Per child, kidnapping of the heroine
pander. and her rescue in the nick
time. And there is a benevolent
luchess, and faithful nurse, and n
pandsome youth who loved the heroine
childhood and is fascinated bv ber
eauty and charm when he meets her
'''n after many years.
oo'D 'S WeOuTdmdttC IN blot.
1f it IS told Tith the quietness and
1000 taste OF an English society
somedv. 9
IHE little girl around whom the story
revolves is one Of the most pathcti.
ally appealing figures in modern fiction.
rs. Burnett knows the heart of a child.
md from the first description of the
error OF the year.old baby, finding it.
eif alone in the dark, and finally sob.
ing Itself back to sleep, to tho descrip.
on OF the grief Of the six year old
irl when the first child who had ever
iayed with her fails to appear where
. had promised to be, there ia re-
ealed sympathetic insi ght that ia al.
ost uncanny. The playmate who did
3ot come is an eight year. .old boy,
estined to become in time the heir to
10 head Of the house Of the Coombe.
place held by the man who is the vii.
pm OF the piece. lie and the little girl
q made friends In the London PARK.
ne girl tells her pathetic story to him.
re Is the daughter of the frivolous
|soman, whose bills are paid by the
|leod OF the house of Coombe. The
|eaild does not know what a mother is.
lnd she has no playthings and no play.
nates, but lives with her nurse at the
!ep OF the house. The little boy tells
sr about mothers while he plays with
ssr' and she is rapturously happy. with
@e nrst happiness that she ever knew.
anen the boys mother discovers who
!se little girl is and takes him back to
tne country at once. He can't UNDER
kand 1t and suffers with the sufferings
g the little girl who would go to the
Yark to meet him. "She has nobody
sut me" he exclaims TO his own
rosher. Of course, he cannot forget
ge girl and she cannot forget him. And
ley meet again after twelve years. The
Sery OF their meeting In the last chap.
or the novel is idyllic. There is the
pnd OF romance In 1t of which young
Prls dream. and there is that nearness
tragedy III it which grips the hearts
tue old and the experienced. What
"opens afterward, it is announced,
y'h DC told in a sequel. As the sequel
really part of the novel as written,
q hnnl judgment on 1t Gun be passed
! this time. But the book demon.
rates once more that Mrs. Burnett
IN tell a story in a way to stir the
motions.
a novel Which leaves the reader
snmoped is as unsatisfying a. A
NJ. ' '"' ~ 0'"' 70
w
'hE question whether women can
write more uuderstandingly about
yVmen than men can will probably
ver DO finally answered. But what.
~ the truth about 1t may be, most
Will conclude that Sheila Kay
tn knew what she was about when
urew the portrait Of the heroine Of
sysnna Golden" (E. p. Dutton 4
- = Joanna is q capable young woman
y runs her farm on the marshes on
y so9theast coast OF England after
T. msasr dies. The nslshboring farm.