In
short, one of the most fascinating books that has come my way for a
long time.
I needn't pretend that _Bed and Black_ (METHUEN), by GRACE S.
RICHMOND, is what is known to the superior as a serious work of art or
that the men (particularly) of her creating are what would be called
likely. But there's a sincerity about the writing which one has to
respect. Of her two heroes, _Red_ is _Redfield Pepper Burns_, the rude
and rugged doctor, and _Black_ is the _Rev. Robert McPherson Black_,
the perfect paragon of a padre in an American provincial town. The
author's main thesis is that padres are made of the right stuff.
_Black_, who was all for getting into the War from the beginning,
rushes off to Europe as chaplain with the first American drafts, gets
wounded, decorated and married. The conversion of _Red Pepper_, the
doctor, and of _Jane Ray_, who became _Mrs. Black_, is a little too
easily contrived to be very convincing. But this is a simple work for
simple souls who like a wholesome tale with a distinct list to the
side of the angels. Such untoward conduct as here appears is not
put in for its own interesting sake, but merely to bring out the
white-souled nobility of the principals.
Pages:
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