RESPECTABILITY. By Bohun Lynch. (Cape. Is. 6d.) —Respectability, in the
sense in which it is used by Mr. Bohun Lynch, is a horrible word, suggesting smugness, self- . satisfaction and mock decency. All Esther Wade's relations were respectable snobs : they hustled her into a " good " marriage and mourned over her, when she left the drunkard of their choice for the man of her own. Then they proceeded • to rescue her from a life of sin. • When Esther died, in circum- stances which they naturally considered " very sad " and " not quite nice," they extended an ostentatious charity to her child, little Esther. The second part of the book describes the growth of baby Esther to a rather hard but extraordinarily sane young woman, who speedily penetrated the respectable veneer of her relations. Mr. Bohun Lynch is to be congratu- lated on his characterization.
Previous page
