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Show I CONDENSED f CLASSICS f f THE AWAKENING OF ? 1 HELENA RICHIE & t MRS. MAROARET DB LAND Condensation by Mia Sara Wan Bauctt X '-:--x--::":-':-x J : Marsare-ttn Wade Campbell was born nt Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Keb. 2.T, 1N57. When only 16 Hhe lrrnt to New York to t u d y drawing and deMljrn and later tnuKht them. In IriSO nhe mar. rli'd Lorln Deland, fninous 19 aome-tlme aome-tlme football strategist aKTiiinst the rnrmlea of Harvard. In JSR8 appeared "The Old Garden." a collection of verse. It la a characteristic charac-teristic title; for many yenra Mrs. Lie-land Lie-land ban each winter grown In her own house in Boston Kreat nambera of Dutch bulba, which abe sella at an annual function to her friends and the public, for the benefit of her favorite chnrltles. As she does all the Inbor herself, it Is slnKularly personal form of Kood works. Only two years later eame "John Ward. Preacher." a hook which won the author wide recOKnItion. There have been many others between that and "The Awakening of Helena Klchle" In 11HM, including- "Old Chester Tales" In ISO, In which she made fnmons her childhood home. "The Iron Woman" appeared in TN 100G Margaret Deland. after having hav-ing written several other books, gave to the public the fruit of her maturer skill in "The Awakening of Helena Richie." The story is simple. Stripped of the charm of its setting, and the subtle delicacy of its treatment, treat-ment, we have a tale presenting few characters, and with no very extended scope fur action. The scene of the novel is the same small Pennsylvania town in which Mrs. Poland has placed two previous books: "Old Chester Tales" and "Doctor I.avendar." At the opening of the story Mrs. Richie has come to Old Chester and taken up residence in the "Stuffed Animal House," so called becnust its former owner was a taxidermist. She is little known to the villagers, liviug an isolated existence, and shunning any intimacy with the townsfolk; nevertheless nev-ertheless she is universally respected. There is, to be sure, au atmosphere of mystery enshrouding this beautiful stranger who is possessed of a culture and poise that place her a stratum above the simply bred inhabitants of the sleepy little settlement, but since she goes to church, is quiet and decorous, dec-orous, and gives herself no airs, she furnishes no cause for criticism. Her only visitor is Mr. Lloyd Prior, known to Ofd Chester as her brother. As the story proceeds, however, we are made aware that Trior is not her brother, but is a Philadelphia widower ivith one daughter whom he idolizes; and that he and Mrs. Richie have for thirteen years been living together awaiting the death of Frederic. Helena's Hel-ena's husband, whose demise will leave them free to marry. Frederic has been a dissipated man who, when not himself, has been responsible for the death of the Richie baby; and lie is now living a- dissolute life in Paris. The tragedy of the baby's death has been the culminating factor in turning his wife's hatred and contempt for him into revulsion, and determining her to desert him and go to Prior. To her lover she gives all the affection which the loss of her child and the destruction de-struction of her hopes have turned back intq her nature. Prior, on the other hand, has loved her in the past, but now, after thirteen thir-teen years of deferred happiness, his passion is burned out. He is tired of her. Alice, his daughter, is growing up, and he realizes the indiscretion of the entanglement; furthermore his business demands his time; it is less and less convenient to come to Old Chester; and be Is no longer young. Tie is a selfish, sensual being, with the typical masculine distaste for everything every-thing that renders him uncomfortable either in mind or body. While he is Hilling, in au indolent sort of way. to continue his relation with Mrs. Richie: Is even honorable enough to marry her if he must, it is obvious that he would gladly be rid of the whole affair. Eut to Helena Richie this incident is not an "affair." It is her life. She loves Prior with a devotion engendered engen-dered by her lonely, heart-starved existence, ex-istence, and she looks forward to the moment when Frederic's death shall release her from her present precarious precari-ous position, and allow her to confront the world with a clear name. That an ultimate marriage between them will wipe out the blot on their past she does not question. In the meantime she can only possess her soul of patience, pa-tience, and make the best of her enforced en-forced seclusion. No one knows her secret. No one can know it. Therefore There-fore she feels quite secure that is. as secure as is possible in the face of the ever-present danger of exposure. Into this fevered life of hers three important characters project themselves: them-selves: Doctor Lavendar. the minis-! minis-! ter of Old Chester; Dr. William King, j the village physician; and David, an orphan child whom the rector has t.e- I friended, and for whom he Is desiroas of finding a home. Of all Mrs. Deland's. creations none, perhaps, is more beloved be-loved than is Doctor I.avendar. Wise, benign, humorous; yet Just at all limes a man who is never to be turned aside from a principle by idle i sentimentality. Doctor King is not unlike un-like him in Ibis unflinching fealty to duty and to honor. These two persons put their heads together to decide that since Mrs. Richie leads such a solitary life and is abundantly able, she Is the one to take the homeless David. The conspirators proceed with extreme caution. The child Is brought to Doctor Lavondar's house, and Mrs. Richie is given the opportunity op-portunity to see him. He Is a quaint, winsome, appealing little fellow a decided personality, and one of the most delightful and consistent child portraits In modern fiction. His greatest attraction lies In the' fact that one can never be sure what he will say next. Once, when Doctor Lavendar Is telling him a story he keeps his eyes fixed so Intently on the man's face that the old gentleman is much flnttered. "Well. well, you are a great. boy for stories, aren't you?" remarks the delighted de-lighted minister. "You've talked seven minutes." said David thoughtfully, "and you haven't moved your upper jaw once;" As can be Imagined the child makes Instant conquest of Mrs. Richie, who insists on fitting him out with tiny garments, gar-ments, and brings him In triumph to the "Stuffed Animal House." Day by day the tie that binds her to David strengthens until we see this affection af-fection the dominant motif of her life. It even overshadows her love for Trior, although it is some time before she is conscious that it does so. In the meanwhile, quite by chance, the security of her miniature world Is shaken to its foundations. There lives in Old Chester a youth much Mrs. Richie's junior, Sam Wright, who has drifted into the habit of calling on her. and who falls in love with her. It is the blind worship of one who has never known passion, and in an attempt at-tempt to break up the boy's Infatuation Infatua-tion his doting grandfather comes to Mrs. Richie, and half in irritation accuses ac-cuses her of not being a good woman. The shot is a random one, but the instant in-stant the charge Is made the speaker realizes he has hit upon the truth Helena's ancer nt his gibes and sarcasm sar-casm is like the whirlwind. Rut the Lord was not in the wind. It is Sam Wright's suicide that first brings home to her the gravity of defying defy-ing social responsibility. What she has hitherto regarded as a scorn for convention con-vention she now sees to be a crime against humanity. All her being Is rocked with self-reproach. But the Lord was not In the earthquake. earth-quake. It is not until Doctor King forces her to confess her guilt, and tells her she must give up David, that we reach the climax of the drama. Then all the wild mother Instinct of the woman leaps into being. She Is a lioness fighting fight-ing for her young. She will give up Trior; in fact she does give him up. But she will not part with David. She begs, bribes, prays; but Willy King's conscience will not permit him to listen lis-ten to her entreaties. She must send the child back to Doctor Lavendar, or lie must acquaint the good minister with the entire story. In an effort to forestall this action Mrs. Richie herself goes to the rectory and before she leaves it she looks into the face of her own soul and pro nounces her doom. "The whirlwind of anger had died out ; the shock of responsibility had subsided ; the hiss of those flames of shame had ceased. She was in the centre of all the tumults, where lies the quiet mind of God." When Dr. Lavendar asks her If she thinks . herself worthy to keep the child she humbly whispers: "No." And after the fire, the still Small Voice. At last the woman's conscience Is aroused, her repentance Is sincere, and we have the true "Awakening of Helena Richie." How wisely Dr. Lavendar meets this crisis in the' shattered life, allowing her to taste to the full the dregs of remorse and suffering; and yet how mercifully and gently he leads her upward up-ward toward hope and a desire for restitution res-titution constitute the remainder of the story. The kind old man suggests that she make her future home In a distant city where her past will not follow her and where she may start anew, and he asks that on the morning of her departure she come to him for a package which he wishes her to take with her on her journey. The reader shares her shock of joyous surprise when David emerges from the corner of the stage-coach crying: "I'm the package !" "Dr. Lavendar took both her hands. . . . 'Helena.' he said, 'your Master came into the world as a little child. Receive htm in your heart by faith, with thanksgiving.'" So ends the novel. To tear the skeleton of the plot from its exquisite setting is almost a sacrilege. It is like dragging the perfume per-fume from a flower. One must read the book to gain a true sense of Its exceptional beauty and fineness. It has been successfully dramatized and the title role ably and artistically portrayed by Margaret Anglin; there is also an "Anglin Edition" of the story attractively illustrated by pictures pic-tures taken from the play. Copyright, 1919, by the Post Publishing Co. (The Boston Post). Printed by permission permis-sion of, and arrangement with. Harper I & Bros., authorized publishers. |