Evening star., 1933-04-23

century ana q nall ner fanny nA0
traded with the Lin family of Hopei and Can
ton. So she knew much about China even as
a child. but she first saw real Chinese people
(quite different from the ones i'll books, she
fOund) when she was q student in Swarthmore
College. A husband and wife of the Lin FAM
lily on world tour, came to Philadelphia and
hunted her up to make her acquaintance As
result of this meeting she went to Hopei and
became a guest and finally an adopted daughter
in the Lin household, the first foreigner to
enter the ITO and From the World Gate" into
the inner sanctum Of their home. Twelve years
she has spent in China, during almost
tinuous civil war Her knowledge is extensive
and her story is q personal one and most in
tercstingly told When the Atlantic Monthly
asked her to write this book she was first
obliged to secure permission from the Lin fam
lily. owners OF the House of Exile for SO gen.
erations. After solemn conclave. the verdict
was for permission though the book was con-
sidered to be of no Importance. 1T Is an
achievement for = talkative woman to have
written so many pages" was the Judgment Of
leading member of the family So the book
was written. from material authentic rs
material may be-
THE House of Exile" describes the life of .
Chinese family Of very different social status
from the Wang family in Pearl Bucks The
Good Earth" Life In the family OF wealthy
merchants has all the luxuries lacking in peas
ant families. and all the amenities lacking even
in peasant families which have grown rich< The
plan Of the Lin house the meals the recrea-
tions, especially the many feast days. the occu-
pations of the women. the business of the men,
the gardens the visits to town all de-
scribed and through the descriptions are re-
vealed numerous Chinese customs which differ
from those of western countries. Others. II
considered a moment. show much similarity.
A number Of marriages took place in the Lin
family and the ceremonies in connection with
them form the subject Of . long chapter. The
author herself married an English official sta
toned in China with the approval of the Chi
nese and Americans who were her friends. which
made everything much more pleasant" Nam
king became her home after marriage and she
saw something Of the political and military in
tTigues and dangers in China. From Canton
she and her child were hurried to Hongkong in
ambulance. while Ill with fever because
fighting between citizens and the Kuomintang
was making Canton dangerous All of her later
experiences have been dangerous but enthrall-
ing and she has consistently refused to yield
to her husbands urgency that she leave China.
The book ends with . peaceful scene. She Is
back at the House Of Exile for visit. 1T was
the season Of making pickles and preserves.
Tientsin is so near that in my five years of
residence here 1 have formed the annual habit
of going home to fill my jars in the House Of
Exile kitchens when the family jars filled.
Each morning picked and preserved in the
homestead kitchens with the other women"
Almost the last paragraph OF the book is the
recipe for honey ginger Of ss-year-o old Kuei-txu
OF the Lin family.
POND HALLS PROGRESS BY H. W. Freeman.
New York: Henry Holt & Co.
4 Ar. FREEMAN first won a good-sized and
w appreciative public by his chronicle Of
Suffolk farming folk, Joseph and His Breth-
ron apd hold IL nv hiS succeednp stories of
the same type. though not quite so impressive,