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[Review of The House Behind the Cedars]

The House Behind the Cedars, by Charles W. Chestnutt. The first seven chapters of Charles W. Chestnutt's third book and first novel are disappointing. In the eighth chapter the problem is stated,–the ethnological impossibility of intermarriage between the whites and blacks. The action from this point on is engrossing. Some of the chapters are uncoordinated, but the English is gratifyingly smooth enough almost to hide this defect. Mr. Chestnutt begs the question at the end, but he presents it with a vividness which leaves a logical conclusion in the mind of the reader. (Houghton, Mifflin & Co., $1.50.)