Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-20

a weird colloguin's between the two on
the business tides, high and low. A
corner of the Northwest-tumbledo
hamlet and still going down, or so 1t
seemed, though later 1t was pumped into
life again by the arrival of new busi-
ness. That's not so important, save as
this recrudescence did in way marx
the rise of the hero Of the tale itself.
You'd hardly call him hero-that lad,
Matthew Gulick, son Of Anne Quick,
blackmailer and general ne'er-do-weil.
Luckily for all concerned, including
himself. the discouraged Anne died.
That leaves our hero alone with no
possessions except an odd, unsourced
affection for the tides and the dunes
and the falling hamlet of Argyll. That
and a worn account book Of Ame's,
an instrument to hold over an old
partner by way Of Matchmaking MIN.
oh, yes, one thing mora clear va
cancy inside Of the boy, Matthew,
where the moral sense is assumed to
lie. Not q vicious boy-just saw no
reason for not doing as his father mao
done with that crooked German: he
was going to stay right In Argyll ana
some day he was going to be the big
man of the place. And this Is the
story of Matthew-peculiar LAD wnom
nobody seemed to take to. Nothing pad
about him-a shade wistful and lonely
instead. He met girls. as boys do: NOT
many-since he had no social tecnnlc,
no technic of any sort In the common
contacts of simply being alive ana
the girls fieeced hinl-some prettlly,
sonoe cattily, but in either case the ef-
feet was the same. A bewildered ooy,
beautiful to look at, quiet and not At
home the most of the time. That Is
the boy born to this authors mind AND
she brings him up in strict fidelity to
his nature and the surroundings IN
which he Is set. Just these two pro-
vide the writer with the means OF
getting along with the life OF MattneW
loneliness. At any rate, Matthew
added to his program Of being the pig
man of Argyll that of havinG family
Of children. These were his Two
dreams for whose contemplation he
used to 90 out to Tide House" which
he loved, even though the dunes were
eating it up slowly. The story does
not end in high romance-how coulo
it! Naturally, we reading ana coming
would like a regular hurrah-boyS OF
love story. But the writer would not
have it that way-and she was right.
Right every minute, from the time
that she took to Matthew and followed
him for so long with such sharp IN
sight, such incisive treatment. sucn
complete knowledge Of the boy.
What fine work some Of the women
novelists are doingl Out West way.
Down south way. over across in
England. Themes big and purposes
distinct Conceptions fully adequate
and projections Of good artistry. Han
a dozen of them could step IN risns
here. The novel In hand IS case IN
point. A theme, deep and broad. with
workmanship as satisfying to the
reader as It must be. should be, TO the
author. A striking literary personality
is at work here. Better read this mover.
A* +
wHITEoAKs OF JALNA. BY Mao de
la Roche, author Of "Jalna," etc.
Boston: Little, Brown 81 Co.
A BETTER story, even than its prede-
"a cessor. the prize winner, h'Jalna."
Riper.f Or possibiy,'tt Is the reader VINO
is, reader for this romance by virtue Oh
having read the former one. never
mind. Here Is q novel OF such GOOD
substance and such competent build as
to satisfy those who are growing more
and more exacting in respect to the
fiction offered them.
Here against the setting that project
ed "Jalna' Is story OF the tribe, the
clan-the story Of the Whiteoaks, three
generations Of them. housed together.
under the assumption Of the clans un-
! breakable integrity and, indeed. OF the
clans superiority as well. From OLD
Misunderstanding woman stealing on
with the nnore-than-a-century credit to
her account-to young Wakefield OF the
elfin stripe, the three generations run
in A variety Of temDerament and char
acter that Is curtailed by only the eS-
sential family notion of the clan. quite
properly, this Is q romance OF loyalties
and fealties. That is what Is Is de-
signed to be. Yet, never does the story
value suffer for the sake OF such basic
intent. The life Of Jal1a, sort OF
haronial counterpart in Canada of the
old English home of the family. Is an
active life, an interesting one: too.
though it is almost wholly Self-con-
tanned. The people from old Adeline
down are distinct and separate. Each
is himself yet, all are in subtle bond
to the tie that so clearly binds. Inc
doings of the family do not spread wide
they couldn't. It isn't that kind OF
family. But they are intense doings
and one follows In clear absorption the
conceded leadership of Kenny, the
vagrant bad faith of Eden, the dream
ing Finch. the farmer like Piers. and
the Young one Behind these are the old
uncIes and an aunt and always Adeline,
a very lord of an old woman, Adel1ne:
Here is little world by itself; Ano
within it the author has worked In. an
art that is creative. creative in the sense
that the true artist recognizes and en-
ploys. A novel of such clear vision ana
competency that it confers upon one
reading a sense of distinction IN going
along with its human concerns In so
rare and fine development.
NJ "The Lonely Furrow" etc.
Boston: Houghton Mifnin Co.
TN the setting of India, so much her
own, Maud Diver has written TO.
nance common to all places and all
climates. The woman asserting her
independence. demanding the free lie,
going out to meet 1t buoyantly, as youth
should-and finding that life after all
is not contrived for the single adven-
ture of any human engaged upon 1t.
A familiar outline these DAYS, that OF
the Young woman bent to the business
of Giving my own life" Here. however,
it is the road to this end that gives TO
this particular story fresh scenes, par
ticular amours-the beauty OF India
and its charm summoned here to 60
along with the fortunes of the wild
bird" whose tanning Is not the work OF
that far region. but rather her own
fundamental nature end the pattern OF
modern existence. With this writer IT
is not the story, however, upon which
she depends alone, sturdy as this NAV
be- It is the sense of India that she is
able to carry across TO readers IN It's
blend of native wavs. with the face OF
the land itself and upon both OF these
-. - avaA nVNG