Evening star., 1922-08-27
Reviews of New Books

houseful of incspables to keep in line;
On the side she has her hands full
shooinE off fool men. And so. IN
line Of quite beiieVable circum. IN.
modern girl turned to business. One
is captivated by fier-and then. at the
last. one Is simply compelled to turn
his back on Goldie. You see. the girl
lived and throve on hard luck. on
taking care of incapables, on stinen.
ing weak knees-and so. atsthe point
when one is expecting her to do just
what he wants her to do. she perpetu-
ates her bondage by marrying q nice
fellow-artist. dreamer. idealist. all
the rest OF 1t. Had to have something
to look after in the off moments of a
very hourishing business. This is a
true story-true in essence. and in
fact, too. Besides, 1t Is a clever and
sincere drama of one OF the latest
moments In social development
THE CITY OF FIRE. By Grace Liv-
ingston Hill, author of Marcia
Schuyler" etc. Frontispiece by
Ralph Coleman. Philadelphia: ].
B. Lippincott Company.
Sabbath Valley" the name Of the
hamlet supporting this story. indi-
Gates the Sunday calm of the back
ground. And the romance as q whole
Is intended to point the beauty and
power of a kindly human plety. New
ertheless, the line of action leading to
this effect is calculated to make Will
liam Hart bestir himself against a
triumphant rivalry. Motor wrecking.
with death as It's most likely issue;
kidnapping, robbery, murder - these
are the means by which one reaches,
finally, the satisfactions Of religion.
A fine girl-daughter OF Sabbath VAL
man are the two with whose ultimate
happiness this strenuous matter con-
Germs itself. Under the stressful ac-
ton set down here. religion-even OF
the 100 per cent quality-cannot az
ford to refuse help from the outside.
This outside help Is Billy CASTOR
rough-scuff kid OF the village. ador-
ing slave Of Mark Carter and Marilyn
Severn. the two who. somehow. have
to be herded into happiness. AS a
matter Of fact, Billy pretty nearly
runs away with the story. Certainly
he captures the reader who comes to
look upon the other people as mere
material around which Billy performs
astonishing feats of youthful devo-
tion and loyalty. 1t looks much as If
Billy kidnapped the author herself, for
upon him her most sympathetic and
understanding work centers. The boy
Is triumph. one who takes his place
beside a few other boys Of fiction. The
rest of the romance fulfills its mission
in an acceptable manner, though ones
enthusiasm goes, spontaneously, OUT
toward this natural bit Of boy.
THE GHOST GIRL. BY Edgar Saltus
author of Imperial Purple" etc
New York: Boni & Liveright.
The girl died and was buried. leav-
ing desolate two men-her lover and
the man whom. within the hour, she
| was to have married. Immediately
subsequent to this, under circum-
stances sufficiently real on the one
hand to be convincing. and sufficient
lly ilIusive on the other. to be per-
picking and distressful. the girl was
seen by one or the other of these two
men. This is the situation that makes
the groundwork Of this clever ghost
story. The reader. for the greater
{part of the way, is as-much in the
dark as are the men themselves-or
rather, as one of the men. since the
lover Is not deceived. The solution
Of the mystery drains of the super
natural atmosphere. which has been
skilifully used to sustain the ghostly
character of the matter in its earlier
] ma nifestations. Indeed. the solution
a plausible one. turns the tale at the
last moment from a ghost story into
| q romance.