Evening star., 1925-03-14
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY THE BoOKLOVER.

Let strong woman marry strong
man, If she would have a successful
life and a fighting chance of happi
ness; let a weak man seek weak
woman for wife and, though they
will never be successful, they Will be
likely to be happy, Such are the
opinions of Eden Phillpotts in his
novel, THE Beacon" What is the
common sense course for the strong
man and for the weak woman he does
not say. Perhaps he believes that
the strong man can look out for his
own interests whatever the type of
his wife, and that the weak woman
will do as well with one husband as
another. Elizabeth Densham comes
from London to be barmaid at the
Oxenham Arms at South Zeal in the
Dartmoor hills. Almost Immediately
she has two suitors, Reynold Dun
ming a bachelor of 40, featured like
northern Indian, with rather high
cheek bones, bright, hard eyes and
straight dark hair" is firm. unbend-
ing, tenacious of purpose, rugged in
character as in physique. He seems
to Elizabeth to possess kinship with
the heath and rock covered mass of
Cosdon Beacon, which lifts its mist
encircled top above the little village
Charlie Trevail is a man more like the
smiling valley at the foot or the
beacon. He loves the sunlight Of
life, takes the easiest way and to
Elizabeth seems cowardly and lacking
in self-respect because he submits to
the mastery Of his rich uncle, Iron"
Mortimore, who has brought him up
and as a return to himself has en-
shaved him.
With the stage thus set, the drama
of Elizabeth's life begins She soon
becomes aware that both men love
her With Dunning love is like the
lightning; YOU can't tell where 1t
comes from" He at first looks upon
love as a force to be combated; then
hs Yields to it and ii mellows his
harsh character. With Charlie Tre-
vail love is a joyous thing and he
willingly gives himself up to his ao-
sorption in Elizabeth. Between her
two lovers, Elizabeth Is involved in
a prolonged mental conflict. From the
beginning her admiration has gone
out to Dunning. His rugged nature
appeals to her strength. she Knows
that she is a woman with brains ana
character far above the average but
she knows that he is even stronger
than she. He was tonic-sautary
perhaps in small doses, suffocating in
large ones" Charlie Trevail, on the
other hand, quickly wins her affec-
tion by his kindness and devotion
There is also another strong reason
which tips the scales in Charlles s
favor. Dunning sees 1t and with his
usual bluntness tells her of 1t. And
you want to lead. You wouldn't be
led. That's why you let Trevan take
you out so often You can trundle
him this way and that, like child
trundles hoop You can trundle him
to the top Of Cosdon, though he hates
the place. Dartmoor's too plain
spoken for him. Does he satisfy you?
Because If he does, you're doomed
thing" To this analysis Elizabeth
replies. with seeming irrelevance,
you're a cleverer man than l
thought" She herself knows that
she prefers man who is not too self
sufficient, so that she may be able to
lift him up" and enlarge his ideas"
in marriage. She admits the truth of
Dunnings further diagnosis: so
you'll be likely 10 fix on a weakish
man, and he'll be lucky; but you
won't You'll lift such a man up, l
dare say; but think of the sort of
man who can lean on a woman. You'll
do a bit for him, l grant, but what
will he do for you? And what will be
the end of it? Why, you'll come to
despise him, and he'll get wind of
1t that you do, and then he'll grow
restive, and" In the working
out of this problem of three lives
Phillpotts shows his usual fatalistic
philosophy.
Robert Louis Stevenson, courageous.
debonair, even fiippant. in the face of
lifelong burden OF invalidism. had
fra pht NhI
with. regard to his obligations to
others, according to his new biogra-
pher, John A. Steuart. Henley for
some years acted as his unpaid
literary agent, and for these serv-
ices Stevenson was grateful, though
remarking curiously that gratitude is
a tedious sentiment" He seems to
have taken his fathers continual
financial support very much for
granted, and to have felt that he
owed nothing in return. He believed
that natural love is stronger from
parent to child than from child to
parent" and that lit is the side which
confers benefits, not which receives
them, that thinks most of a relation" I"
To the question, What do we owe our
parents?" he answered: mo man can
owe love, none can owe obedience
We owe, I think. chiefly pity, since
carry the burdens Of our sins, sor-
rows and physical infirmities." Yet
later when his father began to break
in health. Stevenson, though having
in his philosophy no place for re-
morse, often wondered whether long
worry and disappointment over him
self had not weakened his father, and
during the last years he showed an
increasing tenderness toward the
I,,t OIL 1nxyi iy,c &c
Stevenson.
The fat, we'll documented two
volume work, Security Against War"
by Frances Kellor, has two principal
purposes: First-to prove the futility
of the League of Nations and that all
efforts toward the abolition of war in
which the United States should en-
gage must avoid the league and the
World Court; and. second, to show
that the plan for the outlawry of war
sponsored by Senator William Z.
Borah is the one that promises most
hope for world peace. Those who long
for world peace-that is, all of US
cannot but be disheartened at the
continued sharp division between the
rival camps of the sincere advocates
Of peace who cannot agree on a work.
able method for making an end to
cruel, foolish and futile wars.
X x x x
realistic California setting and
very plain heroine are the chief
characteristics Of Ruth Comfort
Mitchens novel, "A White Stone"
The story is laid first in San Fran
cisco and then at Cypress Ranch, in
the hills back of Los Gatos. In San
Francisco is passed the cherries
childhood of Rejoice Evers, ironical
name for an unhappy child, who is
small and thin and has green eyes,