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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1922)
THE S'UNDAT OREGtmA?, PORTLAND, OCTOBER 15, 1923 3 Mnmmen in Mnftl. by Philip Curtiss. The Century company. New York City. While the energetic autumn is scarcely the time for 'light reading and readers are impelled to .deeper stuff, it is a safe bet that "Mummers in Mufti" will go very well and will be talked about; not as the solution of any of the great problems of the age, but In an enterta'ning vein in . keeping- with the mood of the book. It is a most delightful story, easily rpad, thoroughly entertaining and full of a merry kind of humor that is implied but not written. Arnold Eelsmith is the heir and , sole survivor of an old family in Leicester and lives alone in the family mansion, new. surrounded by office buildings and a veritable landmark. He is afflicted with such utter boredom that nothing on earth interests him, until his nerve spe cialist tells him his cure is impos sible and he meets a young lady on the threshold of the doctor's office. The lady is Miss Tilly Marshall, Koubrette in a visiting musical comedy. The doctor provides seats, for the show and a letter of intro duct'on to Tully, and the conse quence is that Belsmith lands in a party one member of the troupe is giving. At the party Bellsmith takes as a joke a telephone message that his house is burning down and replies: "Let her burn." The report came from a newspaper office and Bell smith Is written up for all he is worth; the son of an old family is styled young Nero, and out of the turmoil Belsmith emerges the owner of a, musical comedy company and a play headed for the rocks. lie knows nothing about the busi ness and finds himself confronted with all kinds of situations, but somehow he pulls that show out of trouble and reaches Boston triumphant. Back of all his trials runs the story of Bellsmith and Tilly Marshall, and Tilly is a most interesting character; unusual even In these days when the unusual has become the usual. Philip Curtiss has a style all his own. He handles his simple plot, the hardest kind to handle, superbly, and his realism is so strong that one can smell the unforgettable odor of "back - stage," the talcum pow der of the chorus, and veritably &ee the reconstructed operetta on its triumphant night. A World Worth While, by W. A. Rogers Harper & Brothers, New York city. Something about a year ago James 1. Ford gave lovers of autobiogra phy a treat with his memoirs, "Forty Odd Years - in the Literary Shop," and, while W. A. Rogers' record of "Auld Acquaintance" may not re ceive the widespread attention Mr. Ford's book did. for merely "some reason or other," the comparison is very good, and those who like the former will likewise like this. v nau a. xii a ix uux xiik iiim xix. e Liiiity enjoys associations which include such figures as Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, Thomas B. Reed, George William Curtis, Alexander Graham Bell, Edwin A. Abbey and many others of equal prominence, he may well have something to write about; then, if he writes with any charm at all, the fascination of his book is assured. The Rogers cartoons are well re membered; the latest have not been so many years ago. One of his first assignments as a cartoonist was to the laboratory of William Graham Bell and, during the 60 years which have ensued, loosely speaking, W. A Rogers has sketched far publica tions satires or commendations ii picture many of the important his torical events, whether they took place in New York or at the Lead vitle strike or any place in be tween. Naturally, in such a career the rolling along of such a celebrity would gather a i ich moss of ac quaintanceship, and Rogers did. Now he writes about it; writing his tory illuminated by the personal touch and further enhanced by scenes in such place as Mouquln's and newspaper offices when politics j seemed the primary purpose of pub lication and even a more strenuous game than at present The whole book is rich in memo ries, full of choice tidbits that prob ably have never seen the light of a reading lamp before. It might have been named "tame. Backstage,' but "A World Worth Whlie" it is be cause in that span which encom passes Rogers actiities most of the old machinery has passed away and been supplanted by the modern stuff. Rita Coventry, by Julian Street. Double day, Pagre & Co.. Garden City, N. Y. An easy way to classify novels is to draw a dividing line between those which concern people and those which concern some particular phase or phases of life. The latter is, of course, preferable from the intellectual standpoint, while the Tanner is more lightly entertaining. Julian Street's new book, "Rita Cov entry," Just misses the first classifi cation, and for the sole reason that ha does, as usual, concern himself more with his characters than with their problem. All of which may or may not be in accordance with the accepted teachings. Rita Coventry is a prima donna, imported. Richard Parrish is a comfortable sort if idle gentleman, and Alice Meldrum is the girl he is In love with. When Parrish and Rita Coventry meet the very firm foundation on which he and Alice Meldrum stand is shaken badly. It is the eternal triangle on a little different basis and in a story far more vital than these triangle stories usually are. Some books are full of sympathy some of passion, some of other kinds of trouble; this is largely emotional. Julian Street is in the upper class of light fiction writers and very near to the top of that. "Rita Coventry" is a tremendously good book, one of Street's best. The story is frought vith climaxes and impor tant situations. The characters are very much alive. Terhaps it is bet tor that the story is written about three strong individuals than about the triangle they represent, for the individuals are dist tnct and novel: wl.He it would require an enormous ai iount of originality to write a new sto-y on the triangle, and even then it would be futre and probablj bore some. As it sta mis trte book pos- ses neither of these qualities. Spellbinder, by Margraret Cu kin Ban ning. The ii-orse H. Derail company, ,Nw YorK City. Now the time-honored question of how much a wo:ran gains and loses lifton her ent-y into politics is put nto novel form and discussed with some fluency and some wisdom, with the outcome a so!ut;on of sorts, but for all that a very narrow passage in the breakers for the sh'p of matri mony to sail out of the rough and stormy sea intc tht quiet waters be hind, the reef. Helen Flandon is one woman in the case. Her husband allows poli tics, but objects to her entry .into public office. She merely says that she has done nothing besides being A .f tvi s" " mm Philip Curtiss. vrlioae Vnmineri in Mufti" is one of the good lightly humorous books of the season. president and secretary to a few clubs, kept house and taken care of her babies and that she will not consider herself complete until she has taken an active part In the affairs of the nation. She is suc cessful, but it ruins her husband's business and his fortune. She has an able manager. Miss Margaret Duffield, to urge her on, and Miss Duffield's own love affairs drive a very fine man to suicide, be cause she will not marry him for the reason that her feminist admir ers will say that she Is just like the rest. There is a coterie of women, politicians in the Btory, of different types and various vigor, each having her own problem ac cording to her deserts, and each influencing the central characters. It is Freda Thorstad, the daughter of an utter feminist, who has the right- ideas. She believes in mak ing women stronger and - giving them a better place and is as much fn the political mind as any of the more radical spellbinders, but she declares that love and marriage must always remain an adventure, no matter how thoroughly they are analyzed and .subordinated. She ad-! vises patience and adjustment as the remedy, with mutual co-opera-ticn in the effort to keep the home and enjoy freedom at the same time. To prove it she adventures into marriage that is so purely romance that it seems wrong for such a gisl as Freda; the f limsfest sort of a marriage, but she wins in the end because of her clear vision and comprehension of the problem which most of the other characters make a failure of. There is a definite story running through the book, which is' never subordinated to the motive, and it holds the interest. Freda is the central figure and around her re volve all the others. While "Spell binders" cannot be said to surpass or. even equal other important novels of the season, it janks with them and, because of its theme, it will be widely read. The Captive Herd, by G. Murray AtRin The Thomas Y. Crowell company. New York city. There is no denying the clever ness, the directness- and the beauty of Miss Atkin's new book, but she cannot help, but give the impression of being a deep thinker of the silent kind, too profound for easy utter ance of her thoughts. There is a certain halting quality In both her sentences and her chapters, an abruptness which would indicate profundity of thought rather than facility of pen. . Her chapters stand out as indl vMtial things Hkft telephone poles In a line, connected by the wires, w hich are the foremost characters and twisted around little glass knobs, which play the part of cir cumstances. And the plot, the whole book, is as simple and direct as the telephone line. Its idea is strong and fundamental. Vacla Melfort is a youth consumed with one ambition, the accumulation of wealth; an ambition that is dis torted into a passion with which he tries to smother out all other pas sions and desires. While he is striving to amass wealth he even tries to shut out his growing love for Natalie, a love that budded nat urally at first sight of her. When fails the idea that wealth is all there Is to lie for, love fills the the vo'd r.nd makes the life of discontent complete. There is woven Into the substance of the book, unfortunately, a subtle hint of propaganda against the Jews and the Japanese. It strengthens the plot, but to the unprejudiced it may impart a bitter taste. Love and Frndhip. by Jane Austen. (An unpublished collection of manu scripts written At the ag of 37 years, with a preface by G. K. Chesterton.) The Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York city. It would be interesting but not essential to examine into the view point which Jane Austen possessed mt th tender aee of 17 years. Such an examination is not needed for enjoyment of the book or to make us love Jane more, anq air. tnesier ton has provided sufficient analysis in his splendid preface. Whether she wrote the fresh humor into her let ters unconscious of it in the natural naivete of a child oi 17 years, or whether from a remarkable, pre cocity, is something for psycholo gists to worry about. The latter case is probably correct, for no matter how naive and natural her observations for a child of 17 years, it would scarcely encompass such a perfect sense of burlesque, and hat Is-what at least the first part cf the book is. It is besides a novel told in a series of letters. In addi tion there are "Lesley Castle," an unifinished novel in letters; The History of England." from the reign of Henry the 4th to the death of Charles 1st, by a partial, prejudiced and ignorant historian; a collection -:.f letters and a number of delicious scraps. The necessary brevity oi mis re- vie at precludes the possibility of do ing the book justice, a new volume of Jane Austen's writ;na:s is an event in literary history, regardless .,t :ti? content, but this one would be famous written by any author. The review will be coniinea 10 remarKS on "Love and Friendship." since thai part is most representative of the whole and contains nearly every phase of observation and thought that the others do. J'oor comparisons are both Daisy Ashworth s book and George Chap T'ell's recent "Rollo in Society." but that is the kind of stuff "Love and Friendship" is made of; only imagine a child who would in the present day be in a high school, voicing re bellion and writing satire on the scheme of things as it was in 1790. Naive or precocious, when Jane Aus-1 ten was first getting the writing itch, she saw the fallacies in things as they were, and it may be that this collection was hidden away because she lacked the courage to show it. Had she known it, it probably would have been burned by some hard and fast conventionalist. For instance this scene, a straight burlesque on 18th century lovers; "Never did I see such an affecting fccene as was the meeting of Ed ward and Augustus. "My Life! my Soul!" (exclaimed ihe former) "My adorable angel!" plied the latter) as they flew into each other's arms. It was too pathetic for the feelings of Sophia and myself we fainted alternately cn a sofa," And a few pages further on, when two tender young wives are nursing Lheir wounded sensibilities in a grove: "?rom this Dilemma I was most fortunately relieved by an accident truly apropos; it was the lucky overturning of a Gentleman's Phae ton, on the road which ran mur muring behind us. It was a most foitunate accident as it diverted the attention of Sophia from melancholy reflections which she had been be fore indulging." Philosophizing to each other as they dashed to the rescue they saw "Two gentlemen most elegantly at tired but weltering in their blood. , . . We approached they were Edward and Augustus . Yes dear est Marianne they were our Hus bands. Sophia shrieked and fainted on the ground I screamed and in stantly ran mad . We remained thus mutually deprived of our senses, some minutes, and on re raining them were deprived of them again. For an hcur and a quarter did we continue in this unfortunate situation Sophia fainting every mo ment and I running mad as often. These skits are fairly illustrative of the whole delicious thing; perhaps Jane Austen was driving at one thing, a thing still prevalent today and common ever" since Jane Aus ten's time and even before, i. e., possession of the finest sensibilities declared by word and then imme diately denied by action. Stubble, by Georgo Looms. Doubleday, J-'affa & uo., uarden i;i i y, . J. It is as interesting to peruse the first book of a new author as it is to watch any kind of raw material made into finished product, and the first attempt is always carefully watched and scrupulously criticised. Ii. this book George Looms has not come off unscathed, but his colors are still flying and he is to be reck oned -with. Mr. Looms has a mind fijll of originality- and is. cle-r at two kinds of writing, character depic tion and description. However, hav ing made his characters and per fected them and put them in the right place, he doesn't know any too well just what to- do with them. The story is of the south Louis ville tov be -exact, and there are two persons of primary importance Joe Harper, a country boy, left un certain and up in the air after the war, and Mary Louise McCallum, who, without the war experience, is obsessed in the same way with the futility of things. Joe Harper doesn't see how his job gets him anywhere, and Mary Louise tries to dc useful and not an economic loss and gets about as far as Joe, to a place where she can see the light but not quite really there. Mr. Looms even leaves some doubt as to wheth er she- and Joe will actually make the grade, but this impression and the whole book is very impression istic, is largely because both have been living with such a lack -of .definite purpose. Stubble can be called a me diocre novel of the better sort, meaning that it discusses real things but solves no problems. On Tiptoe, by Stewart Edward White. The G-s-orge H. Boran Company, Xew York city. It might as well be said right at the start that most faithful read- of Stewart Edward White's books will be disappointed with "On Tiptoe." It is not up to his usual standards and. compared with "The tJray Dawn," it scarcely seems pos sible that both can be by the same author. Mr. White has evidently fallen prey to a common error of master plotters of light fiction. His proven ability to construct an en chanting story around a simple plot has caused him to adopt a plot so simple that it is not water-tight, and the story around it approaches close to the fantastical. The story concerns a very rteh man, his daughter and a couple of under dogs, who in a high-powered motor car attempt a trip into, the backwoods of California, where they are caught in a terrific storm be cause of a breakdown and are saved by the timely arrival of a young man in a homemade flivver. The flivver is an electrically driven contraption with a battery Invented by its owner that has run 1100 miles on one charging. The vry rich man attempts to get the invention and there is some strife in the attempt. Fortunately, the magic automobile is driven off a b.idge in an attempt to Becure it and completely disappears. The in-1 ver.tor and the rich man's daughter,; cf course, get married. Mr. White does know the country of which he writes, and his descrip tions are accurate and wonderful, v. hich saves the book to some ex tent. Altogether there is left an impression of "On Tiptoe' having i been written in a hurry. ! One "World at Time, by M.irgffrct Fuller. The Century Comi-nyv .w York City. This is the third of three books reviewed on . this page recently which have no relation to each other whatsoever, but which have much the same quality of gentle and whimsical beauty running through them. They are "Abbe Pierre. "A Vagrant Tune" and "One World at a Time." The three sources of this beauty are unique when compared. The first is the reflections of Abbe Pierre, a retired priest living In a Gascon village, the second concerns rather intimately a gpinster of 68 years, and in the one reviewed here a child ifurnishes the vision of the story. One would not dare suggest that the three thought along the same line, but certainly they pick out the beauty of things in some thing akin to similarity. Margaret Fuller's book has per haps a more poignant beauty with a closer approach to the realistic than the other two., but then a cfi.id's impressions are more poig nar.t and real tan those mellowed by years. It is a story of the south just after the civil war. when conjurers and medicine men provided - the chief brand of entertainment for small eea coast villages, when peo ple were very poor and interesting and society was just regaining some momentum-. It concerns nothing very definite, but just what an in telligent girl would see and com ment on, although she does see a love story of exquisite flavor. Twc sentences indicate its quality; "1 had never seen any sight so fairy like. Flowerbells for earrings hung from her ears. A weath of smllax I ,ar work; to the types of light fringed her face with shadow. ; houses; to the various styles of And she was gazing down on him ' lights, and also to elaborate sys with a frown so lovely, so feigned terns employed by the government tremulous in insecurity." ! in safeguarding ships along the 4S,- As to the characterization, and it 000 miles of coast which have to be nd the descriptions are gems, this is one example: "He must have been a trial to my aunt. too. She was birdlike she was so neat and pret ty, and she came and went like a bird into a birdhouse, bringing flow ers instead of straws." The uncle that was such a trial was so absent minded that he would keep running a pen through his hair until it was wet with ink and "knock over the ink bottle in his abstraction, and with absent-minded nicety sop up the ink with his handkerchief, thrust the handkerchief into his pocket, and, still talking to his friends, dry off his hands on his pantaloons." This description is an unfair quo tation, as the uncle was quite a wonderful man and wonderfully kind and understanding where his niece entered into it. The book will be widely read by th. discriminative, Viola Gwyn, by George Barr McCutcheon. uoaa. Mead A Co., New York city. After several - brilliant novels in the characteristic vein of George Barr McCutcheon, it is both a sur prise and a relief to find that this jatett one is different, at least in place and time, and that, 'although Air. McCutcheon has not deserted en tirely his accepted scheme of writ ing, he has woven something new into "Viola Gwyn. The story starts in the year 1S12 end, instead of a metropolitan ro mance, either domestic or foreign, the scene is laid first in Kentucky and then around the fast-growing town of Lafayette, Ind., and the author deserves a great deal of credit for the skill with which he has drawn a picture of life in that age and of the middlewest in its formulative era. So far as the characters are con cerned they are George Barr Mc Cutcheon characters pure and simple, especially the hero and the lady fair. The sheriff, "Jude" Billings, is rather unique in his enforcement of laws according to good, sound jus tice rather than according to stat ments, which he knows nothing about. The trial following the mur der of the horse thief's daughter is one of the . brightest spots of the book. The picture of the typical Mississippi valley gambler as he flourished in his day is very real, and some of the other persons which figure in this story of almost fron tier !ie are decidedly unique. While the plot is not especially strong ,or probable, the story is in teresting, as, all of George, Barr Mc Cutcheon's stories are, and he has drawn a very fine picture of the arly life in the middle west. Cretin Year Xame In Print, by H. S. Mc- Cauley. Funk & W agnails. New York City. A ray of hope that Mr. McCauley had filled an exact need in provid ing an 'explanation for the public as to how newspapers are run and why names. get into print and why they do not, was short-lK'ed. There is a great need for just such a book but this one will fill it only par tially. Mr. McCauley attempts and to some extent does outline the rules which govern the value "of news. He takes the angle of the publicity agent and goes carefully into de tails regarding the best methods of obtaining publicity. He outlines what newspapers want; writes good chapter on ethics of journal ism, a poor one on how to treat reporters and gives directions on avoiding misquotations. This last Is valuable information for any per son much, in public print But newspapers are more or less personal, in the sense that no two are ever alike and require .a dif ferent sort of approach by pub licity seekers in every case. While the technique Mr. McCauley recom mendsis geneal it will not always fit the case. The book, however, is valuable in an elementary way, and the biggest difficulty will be experienced in comprehending it and following its directions intelligent ly. Letters to a PJinn, by Grace Zaring Stone. The Ceatury Company, . New York city. There are several flavors that add to any book in this collection of intimate letters, and the great est of these is adventure. A young American girl, visiting in Australia sets forth for Singapore on a ven ture that is almost a foot's errand, to bring back to Australia a sick woman. Upon her arrival in Sing apore she finds the woman dead and herself at the mercy of rather a scamp of a husband. From there her adventures touch at Malaya, Ceylon, New Zealand and Tahiti, and the descriptions of Hie at each place are excellently done. Through the whole story, which is told in letter form, a vry decent little love story crops out and ends, of course, triumphantly. The recipient of the letters is a woman in New York, who is made a kind of djinn and appears magi cally before the writer whenever the latter is in any kind of trouble. The intimacy gained by the letter style of story is there in its fullest form, and Mrs. Stone writes with an exceedingly sprightly pen. There are some few flaws, such as certain effusiveness in spots, not quUe com patible with novel form, but which !o not stand out so plainly in let ters, and can be attributed to the effect gained In letters. The Second Flowering, by Samuel Gor don. The Macaulay company. New York: City. Although the Enoch Arden idea has been used a great deal in fic tion, it cannot be denied that Mr. Gorden has woven it into a book of much charm and considerable force. Of course, the idea is not the prime one in the story, but it does furnish the situation out which the second flowering comes. Briefly, the story concerns the discovery that Hillary Balcombe's wife has married him to spite an other man of none too fine char acter. He goes away, leaving his wife to Indulge her renewed passion for this man, and also his daughter to grow up as she pleases. The out come concerns mostly the daughter, although Balcombe finishes a real romance of his own with his wife's very worth-while sister. The characters are most ably de picted, especially Grandcourt. the man who causes all the trouble. He is a villain if there ever was one. The theme is handled to a nicety, and Mr. Gordon's style is fairly in teresting. For anyone who wants good, straight reading, with excite ment and suspense and sympathy and no particular motive for thought, the book can- be conscientiously recommended. Sentinels Along Oar Cot. by Francis A. CoillnsL The Century Company. New York city. Those who believe that the United States lighthouse service is pro saic and those who have never coir tidered it because it does not scund particularly interesting on the sur fact of things wilH surpr'sed j most mightily at the tnruiing ac count that Mr. Collins has provided. It is not a storr. but a very full review of this branch of govern ment work, which is the biggest of its kind in the world. The book is very complete. It de votes space to the adventures of "the keepers encountered in their regu- provided with signals, lights and tuoys. The volume is replete with pho tographic illustrations of all kinds and the account Is written in a very readable style. The Van Roon, by J. C. Snaith. By D Appleion & Co., New York City. Novels woven around lost paint ings by masters always make good reading, providing, of course, they are up to style in writing and put together with some degree of skilL J. C. Snaith has fulfilled these quali fications and the result, therefore, is an entertaining book with some better than av-rage characters. It all centers around the Van Roon pic ture which William, the clerk in the antique shop, happens to buy for five shillings. William and June play the heroic parts and hold the sympathy, while S. 7edge, antiques, who is William's -employer, June's uncle and a misei of unbelievable miserliness, Is the keynote of the counterpart, William buys the old picture in the faint belief that it.amounts to something. After it is cleaned and is discovered to be the lost Van Roon, for which search has been conducted for 25 years, the picture is stolen and re covered and is the object -of red hot pursuits and escapes extending all through the book. The last touches are particularly lively and prove that Smith can handle a plot and a fist full of details with re markable skilL It is not his best book, but it Is one which holds the attention and provides Its value in entertainment. the Mountain School Teacher, by Mel . viile Davisson Post, I. Apploton & Co., New York City. This is one of the most vivd and most beautiful books of the year. It cannot be compared with other books except in beauty, because its inspiration is so widely different. The mountain school teacher enters a Kentucky village, made up of va rious kinds of people, and he reacts upon them in different ways. By some of these he is respected and loved, and others despise and hate him. The publishers claim that he is a Christ -like figure, which is rather stretching a point, but he is un doubtedly a great and true disciple; and the book is almost an allegory, in its simplicity and appeal. Life in those Kentucky mountains is made very real, in keeping as U Is with the simple writing and di rectness. The school teacher in a shepherd in the truest sense and his disastrous end makes complete the story. He Is tried on faked charges, trumped up by his enemies and ex pelled from the village. The Whelps of the Wolf, by George Marsh. The Penn Publishing Company, Philadelphia, Pa. It fs evident that George Marsh has lived in and knows intimately the country In which his story takes place, the land of the Cree Indians along Hudson bay and nprth to the .farthest trading post 'to where the Esqulmox come south for their sup plies. He has wirtten a stirring tale, fnll of. keen adventure, hard ship and the spirit of the north, and with a plot that is firm and grip ping. The story concerns a trip, north to this farthest trading post with exciting experiences in the hands of Indians. Wolves are not the least of the troubles encountered and the far north is both friend and enemy. There is sufficient ro mance and a good love story wound up in the plot, which is well-handled. The whole book is very real istic, and classified as light fiction. Its merit cannot be questioned. NEW BOOKS RECEIVED. Non-Fiction. Lincoln's Last Day, by Jhn W. Stanr Jr. The Frederick A. Stokes Company. yw York city. Some very common stories are contradicted and a good bit of new detail ts presented. In form the book is a brief essay. Education In a Democracy, by Dallas Lore - Sharp. The Hougton Mifflin Contpany, Boston, Mass. Upholding the public schools as a national insti tution. The Development of the Federal Reserve Policy, by Harold L. Reed. The Hough ton Mifflin Company, Boston, MaF. An explanation, analysis and critfetsm, to gether with the history of the federal reserve system. The Up-to-Date Waitress, by Janet M. Hill. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, Mass. A complete Instruction book for domestic and commercial waitresses, with recipes, forms of service and . kitchen and pantry care. The Family Physician, edited by Albert Warren Ferris. A. M. , M. D., and by 19 TROUBLE WITH CALENDAR STARTED BY JULIUS CAESAR Effort Being Made for Adoption by All Nations of 13 Months Year With International Holiday Added. TTTASHIN'GTOX, D. C Oct. 14. I W Julius Caesfer, by his unsci entific Juggling of the calen dar, has caused unnecessary confu sion for centuries, say members of the International Fixed Calendar leugue. who advocate- ths adoption ot a 13-month yeaT with each montn containing 28 days and an Interna tional holiday added each year to make up the 365 days of the solar calendar. There Is really no reason why the calendar should be so broken up, league members say. In the days of the ancient Egyptians, who orig inated the calendar, working with the shadows of the pyramids and obelisks, the calendar was ar ranged with 13 month of equal ler.eth. with a five days' festival at the end of the year to square things up with the sun. The reason for the pyramids and obelisks was their use in astronomy and calendar making, it is saJd. Julius Caesar Makes Change. In 46 B. C. Julius Caesar, dissat isfied with tha moon-chasing calen dar of his day. adopted the Egyp tian system with modifications. Thi Romans were superstitious about odd numbers, so Julius start en to do with the calendar as he had done with the world, and when1 he was through the equal-length mr i:ths were all broken up. the five day festival was eliminated and the months were arranged ,alternately. with 30 and 31 days. So pleased was the Roman senate with Caesar's work it immediately named the seventh month in his cal endar in his honor, and the system is known as the Julian calendar. That worked for a while until one o Caesar's successors. Augustus by name, changed his forebears work in B. C. 28. and when his heavy hand was through the calendar re sulted in its present state: tne oaa and tven-numbered months chpned around and arbitrarily fixed, February was given a little n.ore liberty than the other months, and the baif years were set on un equal bases the first half getting onl; 181 days and the second 184. The Roman senate retaliated ' by changing the name of the- eighth mccth to honor Augustus, as that different physician oa different sttb- I Jects, Gorge Sully Sc Co.. New Tor , city. The treatment of alt illnesses od ' injuries; a series of 19 papers. Tbe Reign of Rubber, by William C. ! Geer. The Century Company. New York city. A history of rubber from th time of it discovery to the pres ent, with explanations of Its uea and the processes by which it is prepared. New Fiction. Tbe Last Mile, by Frnk A. McAllister. Doubleday, Page St Co.. Garden "iity. New York. Another novel on the re adjustments' and problems of the re turned soldier: better than tbe average and the author's first attempt. Assorted Chocolates, by Octavu Roy Cohen. Dodd. Mead A Co.. New York city. A compilation of Mr. Cohen's humorous mafasina stories about ne groes. The Green Goddess, by Louise Jordan Ml!n. The Frederick A. Stokes Com pany, New York city. An adventure story concerning three English trav elers amongst pagans In the Himalaya. Short Stories by Present Day Authors, edited by Raymond Woodbury pence. . The ilaeMfllan Company, New York city. A compilation for the purpose of pointing out tbe different types of short stories. The Amazing Inheritance, by Frances R. feterrett.. 3D. Apple ton & Co.. Ne York city. Tessie, a department store clerk. Is willed a South Sea kingdom by an uncle and baa a Jolly little time with it. Witch Doctor, by Charles Beadle. Tbe Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston Mass. A story of th superstitions. dark deeds and savagery of the Jungle. or. the adventure type. The Cat's Paw. by Natalie Sumner Lincoln. D. Appleton A Co., New York city. A mystery story. Tales of Chinatown, by Sax Rohmer, Doubleday, Page A Co.. Garden City, N. Y. Scarcely fiction since the stories are drawn from actual happenings, but with a master pen that puts them In the adventure class. Very good. A Knight Among Ladies, by J. E. Buck rose. The George H. Doran Company, New York city. Sir Francis Is an eli gible bachelor and la besieged in the new village he moves into. He finally auccumbs to a romance developed over a garden fence. P.lchard, by Margaret Bryant. Duffield Co., New York city. A splendid piece of charactorlxatlon In an ingenious story, the whole revolving about one particular incident in an Interesting manner. Hirondelle. by Henry C. Rowland. Harper & Brothers, New York city. A tale of picturesque America In the 1800'. as good and probably better than any of Mr. Rowland a several fine books. v In Jeopardy, by Van Tassel Sutphen. Harper & Brothers, New York city. good story concerning a sinister evil which lurks over a haunted and to herited bouse. Cryder of the Big Woods, by George Gr Shedd. Doubleday, Page at Co., Garden City, N. Y. A story of a great lumber corporation and its struggle rrtth mountaineers who refuse to sell their land for a song; the scene la in the northwest. . w Polly the Pagan, by Isabel L. Ander son. The Page Company, Boston, Mass. A vivacious series of letters be tween a rather frivolous American girl coin the capitals Of Europe and you-ig American man at home; a good and JWely picture of the gayer life io tne European centers. , Book for Juveniles. Rosemary,- by Josephine Lawrence. The Cupples & Leon Company, New York city. For older girls; a veritable "Little Women" modernised, -interest ing instory form and highly useful In the lessons it provides In sugar-coated plli laAmon. Nobady's Girl (En Famille). by Hector Ma lot, translated from the French by " Florence Crewe-Jones. The Cupples, A Leon Company, New York city. One of the best stories for children ever writ ten; about a little girl who shows her splendid ideals through many distress- Love Me, Love My Dog. by Carolyn Verhoeff. The Page Company, Boston, Mass. A story of the south for chil dren from 10 to 14 years of age Our Little Feudal Cousin of Long Ago, by Laura E. Richards.. The Page Com pany, Boston, Mass. Being the atory of the little master, Alan 6f Morven, a boy of Scotland in the time ef Robert the second. Little Glad Heart, by Linda Stevens Almond. The Page Company. Boston, Mass. A story showing the advantages of a iiunny disposition In children by comparison between on so disposed and one who has been spoiled by as sociations. , - Judy of York Hill, by Ethel Hume. The Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Mass. A story about boarding sebcol girls In their middle. teens. Peggy Raymond's) Way. by Harriet Lum mls Smith. The Page- Company, Bos ton, Mass. Another addition to the Peggy Raymond series. . The Mystery at Number Six. by Augusta Hulell Seaman. The Century Company, New Yosk city. A combination of ad venture and mystery taking place In the phosphate mining regions . o.' Florida. . The Pussycat Princess, by Edward An thony; illustrated by Harry Whittier Frees. A delightful fairy tale of a fascinating kitten on an a venturous lark; to be read to little children. Kid Kartoons, by Gene Carr. The Cen tury Company, New York city. One hundred of the Metropolitan movie pic tures by Gene Carr; will bring strife In the family because the old folks will probably want to see It first. was his birth month, as July was Julius'. "Constantine the Great." says s league publication, "conferred the ever-welcome Sabbath rest each seventh- day on Europeans, but the unequal lengths ot 28 and 31-day months imposed by Julius and Au gustus have since forced the Con stantine weeks yearly to slice months into different weeks, and at mrnth ends almost split weeks Into parts. Incessantly but ' needlessly confusing weeks and months." In 1582 another change was made, when Pope Gregory XIII found Ju lius had been wrong in his arith metic and made an error In com puting leap years, and that as a re sul ten extra days had ' piled up from somewhere in the meanwhile. Thr sun and the earth, according to that time table.' were not travel ing on the same schedule. So Gre gory did what many other people have often wished they could do he dug out ten days from one month October of that year and threw thtm into the discard. In order to readjust the 21st of March to the equinox and the rest of the calendar to the seasons. Since then we have been traveling ui.oer me uregorian calendar. In consequence, the league complains. Gregory moved the Christian year's end (which ever since the establish ment of the Christian era had-been celebrated at Christmas) from Christmas o January 1 one week farther away from "natures year's enrt. December 23". r?t..-ia ...a Greece alone did not comply with mar, edict, and continue as of old. International Conference Called. After several national and Inter national conferences during 1922 ot those interested In the new move ment, a final international confer ence was planned to be held some time during the coming year. It will be held here at the president's call. Many representatives of world nations will attend to discuss a pro gramme, which includes: Location of the "year day." re moval of "leap day" to be a midsum mer's holiday, the best arrangement to fit the present 52 yearly weeks into permanent months, a name for the proposed month "Sol," the best permanent date for Easter, the best date on which to begin the "yearal" or equal-month year (tentatively set I THE LITERARY PERISCOPE I BY JENXETTB KENNEDY. AOTiatant la th. Circulation Department Public Library. J VST th ronnei theate VST the name of John Drew In ection with book of the r appeals to the Imagina tion of the playgoers cf several generations and a book of his Ufa on the stage la fore-ordained to contain much rich material. From his ver satility in interpretation of stage roles, one also expects that he could not write a dull book. Therefore, when his autobiography. "My Years on the Stage," appears, his wide audience will look for a book of uncommon flavor from the man as sociated In his time with Kdwln Booth. Maude Adams, and Kanny T'avenport In leading parts, as well as being Daly's leading man for years. w The author of "Invincible Minnie and "Rosaleen Among the Artists" has produced a new novel. The Ln llt Lamp." which has absorbing qual ities if the advance notices are an indication, for Elizabeth Sanxay Holding's latest volume. . When Elsa Barker's "Letter From a Living Dead Man," appeared more tnan half a doxen years ago. both the title and content of the book aroused a sort of breathless Interest in readers attracted by l&tlons; how the aut by psychic rev- thor of that work is writing a novel "Fielding Stxrgent." which presents the gist cf psycho-analysis in story form. It has been estimated that the number of combinations rn a pack" of 52 cards is half a million million. This statement In the Saturday He view is made by a card expert who e.lso Is In sympathy with the whims or superstitions which many players hold about cards, namely, that they are subject to "tempers" like people, tus accounting for the freak hands sometimes encountered; that only certaa color combinations are very lucky (blue' and pink being con sidered the classic shades); others maintaining a prejudice for "win ning seats." "good card-holders. or ''bad card-holders, or "lucky part ners.' It Is interesting to learn that Hon- ore Willsie who writes so many novais of "the west, of the mines, deserts, mountains and forests, has lived in Intimate contact with the types and scenes she presents In such stories as "Heart of the De sert,", "Enchanted Canyon," "Lydia o; the Pines," "Still Jim" and others. Soon after her college days she n.arrted a consulting engineer whose work led him Into the desert region of Arlxona for a couple of years. Since then their time has been d. vided between New York and the c.:tlyihg districts of the great west. That Rostand's play "The Woman kf Samaria." has occupied the French stage every Holy Thursday for the past 20 years. Is noteworthy In view of the fact that the play has never bten translated Into English until Mrs. Norman's recent translation in poetic form. A 1 -year-old girl who wrote some amusing articles for the Manchester Guardian. on "How Parents and Chil dren Can Improve." gives some illuminating suggestions on be havior: "Be clean and decent at meals, say 'please' and thank you' often, and never stretch unless your father is absent-minded. Don't lean at 1S28), and to "draft recommenda tions concerning the above into legislative form for adoption by all nations, and remit that standard bill to their respective governments to Insert their national holidays there in, and together make it law for their respective nations.' Benefits la Cfcaage Outlines. Interested In the movement, ac cording to the league, are: Inter national chambers of commerce. In' ternatlonal conferences of European calendar advocates, the Intern tional Astronomio union, Interns tlinal Roman Catholic churches (through the Vatican). The govern ment of Canada, the Royal society of Canada and the International ci inference of United States snd Canadian calendar associations have all unanimously indorsed the "in- ttrnatlonai 'fixed-calendar plan" as tne Dest thus far devised to remedy the defects In existing calendars. Practically. It Is said, the revised calendar would aid In agriculture In preventing crop failures by plant- n at incorrect times becsuse the calendar calls for it. It wduld be of value to labor and capital alike. t is claimed, and would aid Industry generally- It would equalize dating systems throurhout the world, and. finally, the 2S-day month would free about per cent of monthly money now held for 0 and 11 days. SOME GOVERNORS GABBY Idaho Kxecutives Charged Wltb Living Too Much In Pullmans. Idaho Statesman. Governor Haines never learned to make a speech, so he kept on ths Job and gave Idaho ths best admin istration she ever had. Along came "Mom," stung by the gab bug. going hither and yon to orate. No place was too small, no place too far for him. If Its people would only listen to ons of his speeches. Ha was a- regular Wan dering Gov. Then cams our present governor. He found, something to his surprise, that he, too, could make a speech and away hs went; wherefore, Al exander ts now saying that the present administration has been conducted from a Pullman car. It. is wonderful how soon that man can forget! Now Governor Davis has been on the move a lot, though he has dons some things for Idaho that really did call him away from ths state house. But the transportation vouchers in the auditor's office at the stats house suggest that Alex ander as governor passed sbout 200 days in Pirllman cars. t No wonder the democratic platform denounces the practice. Charlejr Moore, the republican candidate, cannot , make a speech, and hs promises not to make any at tempt to learn, une luxury among ent afford Is a rahbv rovernor. Mary Roberts Rinehart THE BREAKING POlf.T "TjROM thousand of hearts and homes the cry X will go up: Thank God for Mary Roberta Rine hart!" declares the New Republic. "In this, her latest book, she is at her very best," says Hildef arde Hawthorne, in the New York Hera Id. Thm matt widelyrcotmwea Doom At AH Bookshops. out of windows la the train, some one might give you a shove .... 1 you want to make your parents In a goed temper buy them some sweets. If these do not succeed, ad mlrs tbe fine stitches oi your mots er's needlework, or exclaim on how excellently you- father manages his money accounts At meals away, eat as fast as you decently tun, for visitors alwavs get left be hind, which annoys their hostesses. If you have a cold while staring away, retire to bed at once, for it is trying for your host cue to have, to Introduce a person who sniffs a great deal Never sleep or live in a dirty room. Complain to the housemaid. If your mother la In competent," The combination of wordiy wisdom and childishness In the.e precepts suggems couslnshlp with Dal.y Ash- fcrd. The author. Catharine w. Aiem ander, approached the subject from a reasonable viewpoint, namely, as she herself states: "People who are r.oat likely to know how to bring up children are girls of about II to 1. They are Just old ensuch to see reason and understand why It la good to sometimes make children do what they do not wish to and are yet young enough to know what It Is to bs a child and to know which things a child likes and understand which things It doesn't.' e e In a recent production of Joha Maaefleld s "Esther" In the gardens of Wadham college. Mr. Masefield himself played the role of the ghost "in most uncanny fashion." It Is re ported. e e e An Australian Idyll "Kurd Creek." has been written by Havelock Ellis, well known as a paychologtat and scientist, but In this story bs Is In troduced for the first time ss a novelist. see "The Dead Do They UveT Is of the latest contributions to psychio science snd Is a translation from the French In the form of Interviews by the author. Professor Jlense. with such students of psychlo phenomena as M. Camilla Flammarton. fair Arthur Conan Doyle, Mms. Curte. Maurlos Maeterlinck. Professor Charles Rl chet and others. see Another South H.a stor-r In which ths whits man la Interpreted through native ys Is Ralph Stock's "Uouth of the Line." s e It la stated by ths English pus Ushers of "Kimono" that the Japa nese government has :onf!eoated all copies of ths boo!, which has reached Japan owing 10 its outer criticism on the statua of Japanese women. Later dlapatcbes (ailed to verify this statement, for Toklo bookstores still have ins dock on sale, and ths supposition Is offered that what was Interprsted as a sup pression of ths book may simply have been a shortage In the supply. e e e It Is reported that the composer. Richard Htrauss. Is working on a book about Mosart, for whom ho has long had a confessed admiration, e e e "To look st clouds Is a superb pastime." says Edmund Lester pear son, apropos of M. Luckelsh's new volume, "The Book of ths Hky." "To be among them." he goes on," Is something I envy nobody. They are too much like the laundry on Mon day morning, with a chill added." However, he concedes ths possi bility of 'interest In what la above them. Fuel No Item for LittU Hawaiian Community. A Irak o I Mass Frnaa Malaassa applies All DesaaaaW. MAMAKUAPOKO. Island of Maul, T. II.. Oct. It. Coal strikes, warnings that the forests of ths world may soon disappear If con serration Is- not practiced, predic tions that ths petroleum supply of ths world may soon bs exhausted and the high pries of gasolln havs no terrors for ths Inhabitant of this small community, for they rook, heat their houses and run their au tomobiles on alcohol which Is gen erated by a newly discovered proc erus from molassea. Tho process wss evolved by J. T. Foster, head chemist of ths Maul Agricultural company ruid has baea patented In all of tha sucar produc ing courrtrtea ot ths world, ha said. Heretofore, molasses always had been considered a waata product In sugar milling. Originally, ths alcohol produced by Foster waa uad orjy In ths com pany trucks and automobiles, but later, enough was manufactured to supply employes of ths plantation, who lived In Hamakuapoko. A simple apparatus composed of a few thin pipes and an open burner Is re quired to burn tha alcohol to supply heat for cooking, and these hava been placed In all ot ths homes her. Foster said that Maul can produr only enough alcohol In this fashion to supply ths needs of ths Island population and that no surplus would be available for uss on ths other Islands ef Hawaii A tret for fiction raiLdsri world ncnoN -fcdaYs Bast Sarins FVwn AO kfWnl New Martes Br IBAfrEZ. RAUL BOURGETi H. GRANVILLE BACKER JAMES BOYD NEWS ST AMDS fioQhs procured 's GILVS tn Ammrtem toaayi (ll, ,hji Net, $2.00