Evening star., 1925-06-27
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BookIoper.

In a graceful preface to her
novel, THE Mothers Recompense,"
Edith Wharton apologies ito the
decorous shade of Grace Aguilar,
loved of our grandmothers, for de-
liberately appropriating and apply :
ing to uses SO different the title OF
one of the most admired OF her
tales" Different, indeed, Is the very
modern mother Of Mrs; Wharton
novel from the pious. old fashioned
mother of Grace Aguilar's. and equally
different are their recompenses. Kate
Clephane, created by Mrs. Wharton.
is the sort of woman who Ia born
to revolt and misfortune. Her as
sured position in the conservative
circles OF New York society of the
90s she finds boresome and, finally,
unendurable. Voluntarily she be-
comes an outcast and begins a lie
Of wandering about European re-
sorts. When the story opens she Is
yawning in the morning sunlight on
the Riviera at a place where. after
many seasons, she has succeeded In
making for herself a small niche.
She has her dressmaker and milliner,
who appreciate her small trade and
try to please her; she has her old
lady friends. who take her to drive
in return for sympathetic ear lent
to their complaints about life; she
is continually invited for bridge. tea
and dinners by the cosmopolitan n
fioaters who pass Winters on the Ri
viera: she is welcome helper In
the cha ritabIe activities of the Amer
lean church, it's rectory and it's La
dies Guild. She is fairly contented
with her life, except when she thinks
of certain disturbing events In her
past. She becomes restless and un-
happy when she thinks of her daugh-
ter Anne, now q, whom she left as
baby of 3; of her former lover
Chris Fenno, much. younger than
herself. who left her because he was
tired of her.
Then, unexpectedly, Anne comes
back into her life; and a little later
shockingly, Chris comes back. She
is suddenly transplanted from her
monotonous, empty Riviera life back
to New York, but a postwar New
York which she does not know. She
is given to understand that every one
has forgotten her past, does not ir
fact wish to be reminded of 1t. She
may begin life over again, AS her
daughters mother, and she asks
nothing better than this. Fate seems
kind to her at last. She loves Anne
deeply and Anne Is becoming devoted
to her. Her old friend. Fred Land
ers, Anne's nominal guardian. re-
news his admiration and friendship OF
25 years ago. Both the older and the
new society accept her. Then Fate
plays her a mean trick by bringing
Chris Fenpo on the scene. A very
complicated situation arises. which
ho yH1Ac rxyitt n
subtlety.
The World War ito end war" will
not have that desirable promised re-
suit, according to John S. Ewart. X
c., who has written a book. The
Roots and Causes of the War" ir
which he predicts further war before
long. He classifies as roots" thu
predisposing causes, or as some o.
us learned to call them in colleg,
days, remote causes. The immediat,
causes he calls "precipitating
causes. The chief predisposins
causes, or roots. are represented b!
inherent antipathies Of race or reli
gion, long pursued policies of i'm.
perialism, hostile international activ-
tiles of long standing. such as tn,
Balkan wars. Mr.. Ewart examine.
the case OIL GdCn DeluSoT
ent, as regards its causes for enter
ing the war. He examines minutel,
all the old documentary evidence O.
the immediate period of the war ant
also much evidence dating back man,
years. He finds many pieces of evi-
dence contradictory and irreconcila
BILE, as many other historians have
found them. He uncovers sordid mo
tives on the part Of all the com.
batants, including the United States
which entered the war, he says, il
defense of American lives and prop
erty against the operations of Ger
man submarines, and not from al
truistic motives. Mr.. EwArt does no
fully discuss the peace settlement
but he does conclude that all sign!
point to more war as g. result Of tn,
last one. So many OF the countrie!
are not satisfied. including Germany
Austria, Hungary, Russia. Bulgaria
Turkey and Jugoslavia. that revol
and warfare are almost certain IL
the near future. He is not hopefu
that the golden rule will become tn,
rule of the world for a long time t.
come.
In the southwest of England, clos,
to Devonshire, is Thomas Hardy
County of Dorset, the Wessex Of hi
novels and tales. In THE Wessex o
Romance Wilkinson Sherren de
scribes this rich farming country
which still retains many of its old
time customs and superStitions, ant
Identifies the chief places with thos,
of Hardys stories. Dorchester
where Hardy now lives, at Max Cat,
on the Wareham road, is the Caster
bridge Of the novels. Dorchester,
says the author, is the Mecca of tn,
countryside, and thither generation.
Of rural pilgrims have fiocked for bust
ness and pleasure on market days
when South street is lined with car
riers" vans. and the complaints O
driven animals make the borough
sound like farmyard To {
certain extent Dorchester counts onl.
one day to Its week-market day
when the whole town is thrilled ans
energized in its efforts to supply tn,
necessities of the country folks. Blu
even the importance Of a market da,
pales before the tremendous import O.
Martinmas hiring fair, when the labor
ers go in search of masters for thu
ensuing year" 1t was at one Of thes,
fairs that Gabriel Oak sought engage
ment as a shepherd in Far from thu
Madding Crowd" Practically all tn,
scene of THE Mayor Of Casterbridge'
is laid here in Dorchester. Between
Dorchester and Wareham hes Egdor
Heath, of THE Return of the Native.
The peninsula of Portland. about II
miles from Dorchester. Is the scene OF
The Well Beloved" Wareham is the
Anglebury of THE Return Of the Ma
tive" and "The Hand Of Ethelberta-
Melbury st. Osborne and Sherborne
are the Little Hintock and Shertor
Abbas of THE Woodlanders." In al
this interesting country the real ant
the fictional continually rival each
other.
X X X X
Poems of scathing satire are those