Evening star., 1933-01-21
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C. BOWERMAN.

Phyllis Bentley belongs to . York
shire family connected on both sides for
several generations with the textile In.
dustry. She remembers visiting her
fathers mill IN her childhood and being
told about the various processes of cloth
manufacture. Her intimate knowledge
OF the scene and the life which she de-
scrtbes gives her novel Inheritance
(Macmillan Coz great vigor and Is one
OF the factors In making It an out
standing piece Of recent fiction. Six
generations Of Oldroyds live and carry
on the manufacture Of cloth In the Ire
Valley Of the West Riding Of Yorkshire
The atmosphere, closely bound with the
story. Is exceptionally vivid. There are
the moors. the small factory towns and
the isolated country mills, with the
dirty streams which furnish water
power. the dull stone cottages Of the
workers, the antique inns, gathering
places of insurgent factory workers
then later the larger factory towns. with
tall chimneys, gateways, and court
yards. and the handsome country
halls" Of the owners, and always the
rolling hills, leading down to the val
leys Of the streams and up to the moors
A chapter OF social history Is unfolded
before US and we see the changing GUS
toms and conditions during the period
from 1912 to the present time-a period
which has been marked by the rise
and development Of the textile industry
in England and its apparent downfall
since the World War. Some Of the
dramatic scenes at the beginning Of the
story show the Introduction of simple
machines at Syke Mill. by William Old
royd, and the Luddite riots in which
the workers attempted to destroy the
machines. which they knew would
scenes recall Charlotte Brontes novel
Shirley" which represents the same
period, 18l1-18l8. Then, about 1888,
came the Chartist riots, Of the workers
to secure better wages and living con-
an Oldroyd employer meets disaster.
Later, the labor unions carry on the
figth against the employers II Miss
Bentley has a thesis, it is that only un-
derstanding and cooperation between
employers and workers can save the
fortunes Of both.
But Inheritance" is not merely a
between capital and labor. It Is q story
of intensely human people, all of whom
live for US. We come to know well all
OF the Oldroyds and the Bamfcrths and
have our definite opinions about them
sympathize with them or criticize them,
as II they were personal acquaintances.
In the second generation Of the Old
royds who appear In the story, two
lines Of heredity diverge, when Will
liam Oldroyd. jr., has an illegitimate
son by Mary Bamforth, Jonathan Bam-
forth, who becomes, perhaps, the most
striking character of the book, and
later a legitimate son, Brigg Oldroyd
who carries on the Oldroyd line. The
personal struggle between Oldroyds and
Bamforths is added to class struggle
The Oldroyds are also not without
quarrels among themselves. In the
characters of all of them are mingled
different strains Of inheritance. From
the original Oldroyd strain come stub
bornness. hot temper, pride, devotion to
the textile industry as to god. acquisl-
tiveneSs, perseverance, domineering
family and business traits, susceptibility
to physical charm, unyielding determi-
the Bamforth strain, through Mary
introduced gentleness, tdealism, the
urge toward reform, RIGHTEOUSNESS
against the social order, fanaticism
Bessy Brigg adds physical eXuberance
and high color. Charley Mellor con-
tributes more of the reform tendency
with fundamental instability of char
acter. Charlotte Stancliffe brings aloof-
ness, snobbery, conformity to good form
and "the code"
Inheritance" though in no way 9
sensational tale, Is not without tense
dramatic situations. The intrigues OF
william Oldroyd to outwit the Luddites
who are plotting to destroy the new
machines he has ordered from Enoch
Smiths foundry. his successful installa-
ton Of the machines and the swift re-
venge of the plotting workmen oper
the story. The trial for murder OF
George Mellor, Thorpe. Walker and Joe
Bamforth at York furnishes interest
sustained at 3 high pitch. Romance
pathos and enduring tragedy are COM
bined in the relation of William Old
royd, jr, and Mary Bamforth. The at.
tack Of the Chartists on Syke Mill and
williams desperate fight with them in
his boiler pit form one climax. The
whole life Of the melancholy Carmine
daughter of jamie Oldroyd and Charlie
Mellor, is one of concentrated drama
At the end the last Oldroyds, bank
rupt, leave Yorkshire to live In the
South of England. But just as the
train Is moving up the steep grade
which will take it out OF Yorkshire
David, 17-year- old boy Of the last gen
Grafton, leaps from the train and lands
in the grass near the ruin Of old Syke
Mill, the first mill Of the first Oldroyds
in the textile industry. He has decided
that he cannot desert Yorkshire and
the industry Of his ancestors, but Will
stand by them through whatever comes:
David is a born sweet reformer and
seems to symbolic Miss Bentleys ldea
that understanding and mutual edort
On the part of employers and employed
will at least help to solve the difficulties
Of the industry. But David Is only II
and he is living at the present time
What can he do? Miss Bentley Is toe
sensible and too much Of an artist to
attempt to tell US.
4 4 +
NAPOLEON was not the victim OF an
unkind fate, but paid the penalty for
his own faults and mistakes. Hilaire
Belloc makes this clear in his biography,
Napoleon" The megalomania OF the
man who for q time terrorNeo europe
caused him not to be satisfied with less
than complete domination. So he under
took, against all the dictates Of COM
mon sense and wisdom, the conquest OF
Spain and the disastrous Russian cam
paign. Mr.. Belloc's method in this bi.
ogrsphy is to cause the character OF
Napoleon to emerge from . series OF IN,
cidents, and Napoleon's was q life full
Of incidents as well as Of major events.
So strongly does the rather erratic bi-
ographer sympathize with his subject
that he almost seems to blame England
for defeating Napoleon. If there had
been no Wellington, there might have
been no Waterloo, and Napoleon might
have consolidated his victories and be-
come the overlord Of all Europe. If his
overlordship had endured there might
have been no World War and no sue
ceeding economic stress. But ifs" ap-
piled to history are merely interesting
mental exercises. Napoleon's end, If not
inevitable, was at least similar to the
ends of most world conquerors.
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