GOSTA BERLING, yes'ta barging, The Story of, a novel by Selma Lagerlof, appeared about Christmas-time 1891. In the summer of 1890 a Swedish magazine, the Idun, had of fered a prize for the best novel of a certain length. Selma Lagerlof entered the contest with a few chapters from (Golista Berling,) a story which was then beginning to take shape in her mind, and won the prize. In 'The Story of Giista Berling> Selma Lagerlof is a romanticist and represents a reaction against the realism which prevailed at the time. As a child she had absorbed the folk-tales of her surroundings, and later on in life it occurred to her like a lightning flash that it was her par ticular mission to give these stories expression. 'The Story of Gosta Berling> has been called the '
As the pensioners finally get power in their own hands, they manage the property as they themselves see fit and their lives are filled with many wild adventures. Gosta Berling is the leading spirit, the poet, the charming per sonality among a band of revelers. But be fore the story ends, Gosta Berling is redeemed, and even the old mistress of Ekeby is per mitted to come to her old home to die. In 'The Story of Gosta Berling,' as in her other works, the authoress shows a marvelous sim plicity of style. Everything she touches quickens with new life and takes on a deeper meaning. Her imagination and her idealism lend a charm to the story which makes it a source of keen enjoyment.