Evening star., 1934-04-11
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
Margaret Cermond.

THE PIONEERING THORN. BY Mar
gerry Sharp. New York; G. P. Put
mans Sons.
When Lesley Frewen turned her
back upon q round of gay afternoon
parties and went to have tea with q
Grabbed and disapprovins elderly aunt
she was moved by neither feeling Of
virtue nor a sense Of pleasure. Duty
demanded that every so often she de-
vote a few hours to the uninteresting
and onerous task of calling upon her
only female relative, and being pos
sessed of a nature which did not per-
nit her to neglect an obligation, she
arrived promptly on the appointed
day. remained through the required
number of minutes and went back to
London, secure in the comforting
knowledge that 1t was all over until
the next time.
On the afternoon which witnessed
the commendable, even though
feeble, budding into life of a sup
posedly useless thorn, the net result
of Miss Frewen's call was as much Of
a shock to herself as to her aunt, to
say nothing Of the effect 1t produced
upon her friends. She had adopted
baby!
| A young society woman Of modern
London, Lesley had for long time en-
joyed a position of prominence in a
group of men and women whose sole
occupation consisted of drinking, dane
/, ing, love making and entertainment.
All Of which her aunt disapproved. But
on this particular occasion she had a
problem Of her own, which she had
been discussing with neighbor when
Lesley arrived. The mother Of Patrick
Craigie had died and left her four
year old red-haired son both homeless
and friendless. The problem Of what
to do with him had been the burden
of the afternoons conversation, and
Lesley was bored. On a sudden i'm
pulse, however, she announced that
she would adopt him.
Selfish, uninterested in children and
disliking them heartily, she immedi-
ately regrets her rash act, but being
made of that stubborn material which
resists all efforts to prevent her from
sticking to the finish Of any task un-
dertaken, she abides by her bargain
and for four years buries herself in a
remote country neighborhood, where
people look askance and at the same
| time accord her the credit Of keeping
with her a child whom they believe to
be her own. She Is too much amused
by their attitude to relieve them Of
their erroneous suppositions.
After some weeks in the country
Lesley realizes that Pat must have
some companions Of his own age. She
does not love the boy. but something
within herself demands that she give
him the best upbringing that child
should have. A beautiful fellowship
! develops between them, and though it
cannot at any time be defined as
growing into a strong love, it is an
affection and respect of sorts in which
both of them reach an understanding
of each other. Pats response Is
straightforward and genuine. If he
misses the maternal love which is be-
slowed upon his acquaintances, he is
too manly to confess it. Lesley asks
that he be admitted to the compan-
ionship of the children of the vicar
age and Pat soon learns to play and
to enjoy a normal childhood.
During the four long years Of sacri-
fee and denial Lesley's fortitude has
been bolstered by the ambition to re-
turn to the gay life Of London. But
with each of the very infrequent vis-
its of her former friends she realizes
that the gap between them and herself
has grown wider, and though she still
| thinks that she hates her surround
ings and the job she has undertaken,
she knows that something within her
self is different. that the things which
mattered so much in earlier days no
longer attract her. As the third year
Of exile draws toward its close she
begins to find beauty in the little cot
tage and its grounds. From the make
shift abode of three years, the place
takes on the aspect of a home.
In one more year Pat will be ready
for school. In one more year Lesley
can pull stakes and join again in the
frivolity of London's social set. What
happens to Lesley during that last
year is the old, old story OF romance
and the response of human heart to
the call Of the earth. 1t Is indeed the
Towering of a thorn. The story is
sprinkled generously with humor, and
at the same time runs smoothly
through the channel Of serious treat
ment of a subject of broad human
interest and understanding.
THE SPIDER IN THE CUP. BY
Joseph Shearing. New York: Har-
rison Smith & Robert Haas.
This is the rather unlovely story
of the rise of girl from the filth and
sordidness of haphazard existence
to a position Of respect and honor
followed by a lapse into the same
sort of degeneracy which marked the
lives Of her mother and father.
Lavinia Pierrepoint spent the first
nine years of her life wandering from
one hopelessly squalid lodging place
to another in the company Of a
wastrel father and utterly irrespon-
sible mother When death removed
the one and a dose Of poison the
| other, Lavinia became the charge of
her aged, Intellectual grandfather,
who had never forgiven his son for
marrying the wrong woman. His in
come was meager and the burden OF
caring for Lavinia was not welcome.
Furthermore, he could not forget that
she was the child of his improvident
son and he rather nurtured the be-
lief that he hated her. She had come
to Maybridge when she was nine years
old and she was now eighteen.
Lavinia felt only disgust for the
parents who had left her nothing but
collection of memories of filth and
unhappiness. For her grandfather
she entertained q deep respect and
an undying gratitude for the care
and protection he had given her. But
she knew that she was burden, for
he had never allowed her to forget
that when she reached the proper
age she was to do something to main
tain herself. An advertisement for
a position as companion eventually
bears fruit, and on the day following
her engagement to q young officer of