Evening star., 1932-11-05
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH G. BOVERMAN.

The new novel Of Edith Wharton,
"The Gods Arrive" is o continuation
Of Hudson River Brscketed" We fol-.
low the lives Of Vance Weston, Halo
and Lewis Tarrant for the two or three
years after Halo has left her husband
to 60 to Vance. The title is explained,
after fashion. by the quotation on the
title page: THE gods approve the
depth and not the tumult Of the soul"
But after we have finished reading
we wonder whether the gods have
really arrived for Vance and Halo or
whether the twilight Of the gods will
not settle down upon them again.
Edith Wharton's art, demonstrated in
nearly all her earlier novels. Of opening
q story with q tense psychological sit
uation, is again employed here. As q
big Atlantic liner is about to leave
its dock, with Vance and Halo on
board, letter is brought to Halo by
steward. It is from her lawyer and
urgently advises her not to sail with
Vance Weston, Is her husband, who
has consented to her divorcing him, is
disposed to withdraw his consent If
she anticipates the divorce in this way.
There is time to reconsider, time to
dash to her cabin and collect her be-
longings, say good-by to Vance and
descend the gangplank, but she scorn-
would give up q year, perhaps two years,
of happiness, Of life-life at last!-
and sit in conventual solitude till the
divorce, conducted with old-fashioned
discretion and deliberation, permitted
him (her husband) to posture before
his little world as the husband who has
chivalrously allowed an unworthy but
unbalanced wife to gain her liberty? How
quaint and out-of-date 1t all sounded!
What did she care II she divorced
him or he divorced her-what, even, If
he chose to wreak his malice on her
by preventing any recourse to divorce?"
Later. and before many months have
passed, If she does not regret her
action, she at least comes to see that
the despised divorce would have been
convenience, would have made many
things easier.
With her usual subtlety, Edith Whar-
ton describes the life of Halo and
Vance in Spain, In Paris, on the
Riviera, and in doing so reveals the
characters of both. in all the self
effacement of the one and the self
devotion Of the other. Almost imme-
diately her ecstasy Of complete hap
ences the humiliation which is always
the lot Of the woman who loves more
than she is loved. who passes her life
so in fear of losing her lover that she
dares not indulge in the perfectly nat
ural little ebullitions of caprice, irri-
tablty and temper, which are common
enough with unrepressed wonderland
men Altogether too soon she needs
to tell herself: II must just adapt
myself; I must learn to keep step
with his artistic temperament. For
Vance is writer, novelist. who has
already had one popular success, in
which Halo has had her part, as ad-
wiser and sympathetic critic. After
all wasn't it what she had wanted to
marry him for? The absorbing inter-
est of seeing his gift unfold under her
care had been SO interviewer with her
love that she could not separate them"
But she adapts herself too eagerly. elm
mates herself too readily, when his
mood seems to demand it. spares him
all the annoying details of lie more
than it is good for any man to be
spared, and finally accuStoms him, only
too easily to yield to all has own i'm
pulses and to consider her only during
rare intervals of compunction.
OF course one Of Vance's requirements
for the development of his genius IS
another woman-one much more color
full and less self-sacrificing than Halo.
In the ashes of this affair he despises
himself and meditates upon the words
of his well loved grandmother just be-
fore her death: I'D almost say it's the
worries that make married folks sacred
to each other" and Maybe We haven't
made enough Of pain-been too afraid
of it. Don't be afraid of it." He
realizes that he has sacrificed char
acter to what he believes is genius and
appoints himself period of probation.
Then the child interferes with the pro-
baton. Why is 1t that a child so often
sets things right in fiction and SO often
fails to do so in real life? We feel
that the situation between Vance and
Halo is too complicated for child to
remedy. that even Vance's experiences.
so dfsillusioning, SO enlightening to him
about himself, will not make over his
temperament-artist of course, but
also unstable, selfish. A man of his
temperament would be likely to resent
the child as natures blackmail. But
We will try to be optimistic and will
hope that he and Halo and the child
will ''live happily ever after" and that
he will not again be moved to the
pursuit Of meteoric ladies. With all its
modern details, this novel Of Edith
Wharton seems q bit old fashioned. and
is none the less acceptable on that
account. The ultra a-moderns do not
recognize either character or regener-
alton.
'Peiping gossip" might be the sub
title of "Jades and Dragons" by Prin-
cess Der Ling, who was for several years
first lady-in-waiting to the Empress
Dowager. Since the downfall of the
Manchus and the rapidly changing
styles in revolutions, Peking has under
gone great changes. 1t has become
more conglomerate, less dignified and
mysterious. One Of the principal hotel
denizens and newsmongers of Peiping
is made to say: 1T Is remarkable how
stories fly here and how garbled they
get in the flying" Those perhaps best
informed about what is going on in
Peiping are the Chinese servants of
the foreigners of various nations. While
they are doing the marketing they ex-
change items of news about their en-
ployers, which those employers would
be surprised and chagrined to hear.
Through the pages Of the book move
many kinds Of people: diplomats, dis
Greet and indiscreet American sales
men and shopping agents: adventures
and adventureSSes: authors who know
all about China after a months stay;
tourists of all nations, swarming about
the shops and hotels; Chinese officials
puffed up with their own Importance;
Chinese Nationslists who believe in the
expulsion of all foreigners, yet take
refuge in the foreign concessions when
ever there are signs Of danger. Though
"Jades and Dragons" may seem light
and superficial to those who know
China we'll, it will probably not fail to
entertain them.
Great Yorkshiremen," by G. c.
Heseltine, brings together for bio
graphical treatment a widely different
number of men. all claiming Yorkshire
as their native soil. The author is him.
self . Yorkshireman, and finds in his
neighbors of that part Of England ri
ciditv of character flXed purpOSe in life