Evening star., 1937-06-30
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
BY MARGARET CERMOND.
A MIGHTY FORTRESS. BY LIE Grand
Cannon, jr. New York: Farrar G
Rinehart

Cannon, jr. New York: Farrar A
Rinehart.
zeke Peele, the hero of this latest
selection of THE DISCOVERIES, is born in
circumstances far happier than those
which surround many youngsters. Abel
ana Mlnna Peele are happy couple
owners OF small New Hampshire farm,
respectfully prosperous, devout church.
goers and after five years of welded life
rewarded with the JOY of parenthood.
With the birth Of little Ezekiel a new
interest In the farm is born in Abel.
Thus far his pride in his small estate
has been purely personal, but with a
son growing up to share the RESPONSE
bllity and eventually to succeed him,
pride In immediate achievement grows
into ambition to build for endurance,
TO leave for zeke and for the generations
to follow him something to cherish with
admiration and gratitude.
When he is twelve years old. Zeke,
VINO has grown into a flne wholesome
country lad, is put to work doing light
chores on the farm. 1t is not because
Abel is hard, selfish taskmaster that
he gives Zeke something to do at so
early an age, but because he believes
that healthy lad should begin when
as old as Zeke to experience RESPONSE
blllty. Under the Watchful care of Tom.
giant ex-slave farmland, Zeke begins
TO take his place on the farm. The
work Is hard and Zeke hates (which
is mistake. He loves Tom and with
SO much substantial background he
Should stay on the farm and grow into
happy and successful manhood
1t seems, however, that Zeke is born
TO make mistakes. His second error of
judgment and common sense grows out
OF MS admiration for the persuasive
oratorlcal powers of vagabond revival
lst named Waiting While conducting
services in the neighborhood. Waiting is
lodged at the Peele house and Sheba.
his most treasured possession, is given
the best OF care by Zeke in the Peele
stable. Zeke knows lot about preach.
ers. but never before has he heard any,
thlng like the golden phrases and en-
chanting voice of Mr.. Waiting. Before
the series OF meetings comes to an end
zeke has determined that he is going
to preach Not because the revivalist
has inspired him with the desire to
preach the gospel. The seriousness of
religion as profession does not enter
INTO Zeke's calculations He wants to
experience the thrill of feeling and
seeing masses of people respond to his
preaching as they respond to the ap-
peal OF Mr.. Waiting When the revival
lst leaves the neighborhood Zeke is per-
mltted to go with him as a helper in
meetings and to take care of Sheba. a
olack mare who shares honors with Mr..
Waiting, Abel and Minna as the most
| hkable character in the book.
When his apprenticeship with Waiting
| comes to an end. Zeke goes to Andoyer
| TO Mt himself for the ministry and is
appointed second assistant pastor of a
large Boston church. He works hard
out is not given many opportunities to
preach. He is not long in Boston when
ne grasps his third mistake He falls
under the influence of Deacon Mac
lntosh. who is using the church as a
cloak for his crimes and who sees in
Zeke an opportunity to guarantee Sc
curltv against knowledge that he is en-
gagged in nefarious trade. The Young
girl he introduces as his niece is ordered
TO induce Zeke to marry her. The mar
rage takes place, the pastor of the
church dies and by action of the church
membership, called out in full by false
information circulated through the in
huence of Macintosh, poor Zeke is
elected pastor
The church proves dull and his mar
rage Is all wrong but Zeke never takes
stock OF himself in the sense of wonder
ing II by chance it might be his own
1ault. A man less interested in his
power to stir audiences and more con-
cerned In men and women as human
beings would know how to avoid trouble.
But not Zeke. He literally gathers it bv
the Wavslde He is not interested in
politics and knows practically nothing
ABOUT abolition. In order further to
guarantee his own safety. Macintosh
decides to compel Zeke to preach an
aoolltlonist sermon. Zeke goes home for
visit and while there Tom is murdered
by fake sheriff acting on spurious
orders. Zeke is, of course. immediately
converted and thereby unwittingly be-
comes more heartily than ever the tool
of the deacon
Aoolltlon meetings are numerous and
Leke is a 1aVorlte speaker. The church
casts him out and he seeks another.
Lille grows more complex and reaches
climax when Mr.. Waiting appears at
the home of Zeke and Viola when Mac
lntosh is present and casually gives out
otAe AAAAoi HldllOll lldt IN MS LraVeunR
about he has learned that the deacon
is responsible for Toms death. Viola,
meanwhile, has grown to love her hus-
band and to hate the deacon and all
his crimes more than ever. The time
has come to confess the whole sorry his
tory of her life. Mr.. Waiting can help
her in this crisis to decide whether to
run the risk of losing Zeke by telling
him of her partnership with the deacon.
Mr.. Waiting. however, has discreetly left
the two of them alone
Overwhelmed by disappointment dis
illusionment and poverty, Zeke eventu-
ally begins to realize that he has de-
voted his life almost entirely to himself
and that selfshness has been the cause
OF many OF his mistakes. It might be
supposed that experience effects cure
OF his one-sided nature and prompts
him to pursue another course toward a
brighter hope But not Zeke. He keeps
right on preaching.