THE PROMISED LAND. Ladislas Reymont.
(Knopf.. 2 vols. 15s.)—The little town of Lodz in Poland is being industrialized; cotton factories arc being built, amalgamations are taking' place, there' are trade rivalries of%Wage intensity.- And 'in thii- town there` seems to be no conception of business integrity everything is toe chaotic and ill-regulated--for honesty to have come into its own. V there is a period of trade depression, there are mysterious fires in a dozen factories, and a cunning man can make, more money in this way than by the closest attention to buSiness. With this outburst of industrialism there goes the wildest of contrasts between riches and squalcir. Human life is quite unregarded ; machines are left open, and from time to time workmen are caught up in them and killed. Their families will come pleading for compensation : they will be put off with .promises till they grow desperate ; then they will be beaten and thrown out to starve. All the while social life and, lovermalking are interfering in the maelstrom of trade ; there is as yet no clear separation between any of the aspects of life. This is a devil's brew of a subject for action. M. Reymont manages it with skill.' We feel-hi wastes time in his conversations ; they are often dull and empty, not advancing the story in the slightest. The trans- lation, too,. is artificial and creaking. But there is no doubt that a good dose of horror can be extracted from the tale,
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