Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-18
THE LIBRARY TABLE


| After "Sorren and Son, OIu FypuS
and even "Doomsday," Warwick Deep
ine,s last novel, "Roper's Row." carries
its disappointments. Mr.. Deepines SEN
! timentality and his habit OF haranguing
grow apace. His mannerisms also be-
come more noticeable. more irritating,
Ruth. for example, looks poignant" on
every possible occasion. Christopher
also frequently feels poignant" We are
told over and over-rather namely, It
seenns-that Ruth was woman" The
meaning appears to be, not that she Is
of a primitive type, but that she is Mr..
Deepings ideal woman-that is, a
woman to whom Service" to "her man"
is the only aim Of existence. 1t is over
Ruth that Mr.. Deeping becomes in
ordinately sentimental. "She was al
WAYS there Cat home) like the serene
and watchful guardian OF the temple"
He has no liking for the woman who
has interests outside Of her husbands
work and domestic comfort. But he
to the point Of the ridiculous when he
approvingly shows Ruth as refusing to
dine out in company with her husband,
because she is Ill at ease in society, and
being thrilled with happiness because
Christopher comes to her to have his
evening tie properly tied. HE was
going to dine with Lady Sillocks. but
he came to her about his tie" The
ideal is epitomized: Some women darn
socks, and pray"
In "Roper's Row" Mr.. Deeping shows
a tendency to create unlovely char
acters, real enough in themselves. chiefly
for the purpose of denouncinE or
abusing them. There Is Mrs. Prosser,
the coarse farm woman, with numerous
offspring, who lives at Melfont, the
home Of Christophers mother, and
hates Mary Hazard because she knows
her to be superior to her surroundings,
because Mary Hazard has one superior
son, worth more than all the Prosser
louis and wenches. Mrs. Prosser Is de.
testable enough, and no one could deny
that there are women like her, but Mr..
Deeping, having made her what she is,
then stands apart and throws at her
abusive epithets. THAT sow-womar,
roofing amid muckl" and "You could
thwack Mrs. Prosser and she would
grunt and waddle on to the next inter:
esttng mess and resume her rootingg. I"
At the other extreme of the social scale
Is Lady Sanchia Sillocks, and Mr.. Deep
ing does not like her either. She Is
what the world calls o remarkable
woman" woman volubly interested In
too many causes and movements. She,
too, like Mrs. Prosser, has her prototype
in reality, but Mr.. Deeping almost seems
to have created her as a horrible ex-
leaving their place in the home"
1.-THE whole of her was sound and move
ment, like water eternally splaShing
against a wall" "She was the self~or-
dained woman of affairs, with @ mind
like blue book" "She was so intense
and well informed and self assured
that she could be quite incredibly dull.
and yet the world called her dizziness
inspired" In his treatment Of these
little less animosity. little more Gals
worthyian detachment
y X
Anna Curtis Chandler, well known
through her story hour for children at
the Metropolitan Museum, represents
the museum as a place rich In undis-
covered treasure waiting to be brought
to light. The materials for knowledge
are all there and Miss Chandler inter-
prets them, not by mere prosaic facts,
but by the most fascinating stories of
Greece and Rome, China and Japan,
England and France, Holland and Bel
GUM and Colonial America. Both New
/ 4OAA WLlO CAN 40 10 LllS
museum to hear the stories, and chill
dren at distance, who cannot 20, will
love this book. The chapter on "Olde
New Yorke" includes the story Of Capt.
Kidd, who had a New York residence
| Whatever his ethical upbringing, no
| child ever failed to respond enthusi-
astically to the adventures of Capt Kidd.
There Is also the chapter on the
Animal Fair" in which the animals
descend from their places on the walls,
in tapestries and paintings, and tell all
about themselves and their lives. Could
any method Of education be more
attractive and more effective than this?
"Ganpat" Is the pen name Of M. L. A.
Gompertz, who came out of the East
a tall, thin second lieutenant Of the
Indian infantry and made his name
as a novelist and writer of travel books.
"Ganpat" Is the Sepoy corruption of
his name. In his book, "a Mirror of
Dreams" Tarzi, an honest cut-throat;
Tor Beg, by descent a brigand; Krishna
Rack, q Hindoo gentleman, and
Dhynanand, who was certainly born to
be hanged, are q few of the engaging
characters. There are also Tom Car
ruthers, who stumbled upon the queerly
shaped mirror of dreams somewhere in
l
Obey, who laughs at visions, but has an
uncanny feeling that there is some
thing about the mirror which he cannot
understand. Strange things happen in
the castle shut behind q grim noun
tain range Of the Himalayas-
things that have the flavor Of Rider
Haggard tale.
Il 4 ~
Adventures of an OUTLAW - The
Memoirs of Ralph Rashleigh, q Penal
Exile in Australia. 1825-1s44," purports
to be the story of the son of London
shopkeeper who was transported to
Australia for the crimes of counterfeit
ing, burglary and smuggling. There he
became a laborer on the ranch of a
wealthy sheep rancher. Abuses on the
transport ship, including f1ogging, plac-
ing In irons, scarcity Of food and over
crowding, are described in detail The
government agricultural camp at Emu
Plains, where convictS were turned from
city laborerS into farm laborers, was not
conducted according to modern ideas.
Reform of prisoner could hardly have
taken place at that camp. Rashleigh
escaped and joined a gang of BUSH
rangers escaped convicts), among
whom he had many adventures. He
finally died In Australia. Whether this
account is altogether true, partly true
or entirely fiction is not certain. The
introduction says that the man who
wrote it cast his story in the form Of a
Victorian novel," The publishers say
that the manuscript came to them
through Charles H. BERTHE, well known
librarian of Sydney New South Wales
and Mr.. BERTHE said the manuscript
came to him. from "a man who had
inherited it from his wife'S father, in
| whose poSsession Il had remained for
30 years" This sounds something like
| the familiar stnrias r.hich related