Evening star., 1937-05-19
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
BY MARGARET GERMOND.
NE1GABOR TO THE SKY. BY Gladys
Hasty Carroll. New York: The Mac
milan Co

milan Co.
Strong and good as the soil from which
1t springs Is the story of Luke Gilman
and Margery Lee, whose experiences
during eight years of struggle for sue
cess In an alien atmosphere focus at
tention upon the EMBELLISHMENTS of
the trend Of youth away from the good
earth and toward the bright lights which
proclaim the victory Of only favored
few Of the vast army Of seekers after
fame and fortune in the great centers
Of population.
Luke never expected to be uprooted
from his native soil and transplanted
In unfamiliar surroundings. The Maine
farm, nurturing three generations of
stalwart, happy Gilmans, completely
satisfied his fine, sensitive nature. Fol-
lowing his fathers example and advice,
Luke had learned trade. mo man
with trade" Big Luke had said, has
to ask quarter Of anybody. He's got
security. He can go where he will over
the face Of the earth and stop wherever
he chooses. Always there will be work
for his hands and bread for his mouth"
Luke had chosen carpentry. Family,
friends and neighbors called him Car
penter in affection for his fine, uncom-
promising goodness and in esteem and
respect for his ability.
And then Jeff Gilman younger brother
of Luke, induced their mother to furnish
room and board to Margery Lee, new
teacher of the country school. Frail, in
tense and determined, Margery saw in
Luke Gilman an opportunity to fulfill
her own ambition Aside from the COM
fort OF warm, cozy room and an
abundance of good food, the Gilman
household represented nothing to the
young school teacher except the things
she wished to get away from. To her
own discredit, the healthy, wholesome
affection that marked the family life
passed over her head. She had come
from farm in Vermont for which she
held no tender feelings. In dirt, poverty
and sordid misery she had grown up.
With q heart full of bitterness she
hated everything relating to farms and
to small towns. She prepared herself for
teaching with the sole idea of progress
ing from country school to small town
school and eventually to an appoint
ment in New York, where there was no
limit to the fame she might reach. She
wanted to be somebody. She wanted
to be an actress and to see her name
flaming In electric lights on Broadway
And the Gilmans were only farmers, no
matter how likable and kindly they
were from "Grammum" down.
Margery's decision to win Luke's' az
fection and to marry him is reached
after careful deliberation and is carried
into effect with machinelike calculation
and precision. She is not in love with
him. but she knows that through his
love for her she can drive him to 4
position Of Importance in the professional
world. While she is forcing him onward
she plans to use his prestige and his
money to make her own way to success.
She marries him and they leave the farm,
Luke to become part-time teacher In q
technical high school in New Denham
and an undergraduate in nearby COL
lege, and Margery to keep house for
him and keep him fred with ambition
to occupy PROFESSIONAL chair. From
Massachusetts, they go to New York,
where Luke graduates from Teachers
College Of Columbia University and
eventually is appointed to the faculty of
Wisconsin university. Meanwhile
Margery has helped earn their living
whenever opportunity offers, never COM
planning, yet never ceasing to drive Luke
to the limit Of his endurance.
Along the road Of progress new ex-
periences and contacts with new people
are the breath Of life to the warped soul
and frail body Of Margery. Acquaintance
with the wives of teachers and with
the families of Lukes associates brings
her step by step nearer to the coveted
goal of security in the world of cultured
society Patiently, doggedly and nearly
always cheerfully, Luke dances to Mar
gery's tune, not because he wants to,
but because he loves her and earnestly
wants to help her realize her ambition.
Actually he is miserably unhappy In
surroundings he does not like and among
people whose pettiness, selflshness and
Earrowness he does not understand He
longs for the peace, the beauty and the
friendliness of the Maine farm, for the
sense of we'll being that accompanies
contact with the soil and communion
with nature.
AS the years roll by and the intensity
OF Margery's concentration in promoting
Luke's professional status increases, she
| gradually loses all of her earlier ambi-
ton to write her own name on the scroll
| Of fame. In Wisconsin she rides the
crest of society's ceaselessly rolling wave
for while and is happy. They buy an
imitation Cape Cod cottage-as out Of
| place in Wisconsin as a palm tree would
be in Newfoundland-whic Luke hates.
But Margery is tasting success in big
way. She furnishes the cottage with
antiques, wins the admiration and adula-
| ton of the faculty wives and entertains
somewhat lavishly. Like sheep, her
| neighbors follow her lead and the COM
munity goes Cape Cod Luke is popular
as member of the faculty. is promoted
to the rank of assistant professor. A tiny
new Luke arrives and all goes we'll until
the dean of the college of medicine brings
his bride into the university circle.
Jacquel Kessler's sophistication and
style introduce new fashion Of life in
the exclusive community. Her new house
and its furnishings, her clothes, her
reading, her opinions and her manners
| are in violent contrast with all Of White
Clouds previous overturns of custom.
| Inward revolt against the hideosities of
ultra modern idealism is accompanied by
outer tolerance for while, but soon the
sheep respond to the irresistible urge OF
the new herder and Margery, still be-
lieving In her power to hold her own
against the heaviest of odds, goes down
| to defeat.
It is then that Luke takes into his
own hands the shaping Of their lives.
Eight long years Of study and struggle