The Washington times., 1923-04-15
Mr., AND MRS. SEM
TRAGEDY OF EAST
AND WEST
Much of the Action of Louise
Jordan Minis Novel of Dip
lomatic Life Takes Place in
Washington.
MIR. AND MRS. SEN" BY
Louise Jordan Min. New York:
r. A, Stokes e. Co.


to protect or punish her
children with haunting accuracy
that is difficult for the western
mind to grasp or understand. An
English lord dies as II in punish
ment for the opening of the. tomb
of Pharaoh, the lovely daughter
of a grasping Chinese merchant
suddenly dies on the eve of her
marriage to a white man of
neither honor or valour.
With this idea in mind Louise
Jordan Min has written an inter
esting novel proving that ''the
East is East and the West is
West and never the twain shall
meet" East in the form of the
handsome and English-speaking
and educated Mr.. Sen meets the
English girl, Ivy and seemingly
the mind of the Orient approves
and all Is well, but with the failure
of the English girl to accustom
herself to Chinese life and the
birth of a child with Chinese
appearance and an English mind.
the punishment begins to take
place, and terminates in the death
OF the young husband.
1t was inevitable that the girl. @
member of the household OF an
English ambassador to the States.
and the man, connected with the
Chinese legation, should meet.
Having many things in common
and mutual likes and dislikes,
their friendship soon ripened into
love and eliminated In q marriage
frowned upon by all except the
principals.
Their life in England was happy
and uneventful and East seemed
to have met West In d manner
pleasing to the gods that be. The
summons by the Chinese grand.
mother. the trip to China. the
scorning of the wife by Chinese
and the refusal Of an American
friend to extend her friendship,
SO willing given before marriage,
and the irksome and repulsive
life in the ancestral palace, move
the story to swift conclusion. A
conclusion where the Hand metes
out punishment In the form Of
girl-child, unlike her typica1ly
English brother with his Chinese
mind. who is Oriental in appear
ance and ultra western in her
thoughts and prejudices; and re-
ward to the honorable and loyal
husband by allowing him an early
death.
Diplomatic Washington is pic
tured in manner that will in
terest many and gives the book
local color and appeal. It is not
the novel of Washington that
critics await so eagerly. It merely
paints a picture Of the life and
what might happen in perhaps too
melodramatic and even at times
overly sentimental chapters.
The loyal and grief torn China.
man, the loving and beloved Eng.
lish wife. the eccentric, blue blood
ed Julia Townsend and the Chinese
grandmother are characters drawn
with careful delineation.
An entertaining book full of life
and its problems and a new way
to prove the folly of trying to
join the ancient East with the new
West.
SSTHE NERVE-CENTER OF
CHILE" is Frank G. Car
penter's description Of Santiago,
the South American capital where
President Harding's representa-
tives are now attending the Pan
American Congress. The scene
of this assembly, sort of League
of Nations of all the American
republics, is one of the most
beautiful capitals of the world,
Mr.. Carpenter says in 1.-THE Tail
of the Hemisphere" the latest
volume of his World Travels"
which has just come from the
press.
Mr.. Carpenter tells an amusing
story of the Moneda, or Chilean
White House. where all the dele
gates to the Congress were re-
ceived when it convened. This
building Is much larger than the
residence the United States pro-
vides for its Presidents, and is a
three-story structure covering
three acres built around patios,
or courts, filled with flowers,
fountains and trees. The plans
for 1t were drawn in Madrid and
sent out from Spain to Santiago.
At the same time the architect
designed a palace to be built in
Mexico, which Spain then consid-
cred much the more important
possession.
The two sets of plans became
mixed and Chile received those
for the building intended for
Mexico instead of the ones calling
for the modest official residence