The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-08-16


to "reminiscences. Her first long story
"A Pasteboard Crown" is very poor
affair and If she wrote 1t with any idea
of making a good impression for stage
people and softening the generally re-
ceiyed idea of the Decentralization of a
stage career, she has signally failed.
The story concerns the Lawton family,
father, mother and two daughters, i'm
poverished gentle-folk who find 1T diff
ficu1t to make both ends meet. Lena,
the German maid of all work for the
Lawtons, must not be forgotten, as
sheis about the most interesting char
acter in the book and certainly the
best drawn. Sybil Lawton has a fond
ness for the stage and becomes so tired
of the family poverty that she decides
to essay a stage career If the oppor-
tunity arrives. 1t so happeS that Claire
Morrell, the great emotional actress,
lives within a stones throw of the
Lawtons at Yonkers, and to her Sybil
appeals. Claire Morrell, who Is with
out doubt intended as picture of
Clara Morris herself, finds that the
girl has talent, puts her in the way Of
meeting Stuart Thrall, the great actor
manager, and she begins to study I'M
der him. From then on to the end
the story is not pleasant, although it
is interesting and holds the attention
Thrall falls in love with Sybil and she
with him and she' does not discover
until too late that he is a married man.
Sybil leaves her home, takes rooms
in New York and surrounded with ev-
cry luxury provided by Thrall and
which her innocent FAMILY believe
comes from her success and the i'm
mense salary she is said to receive,
she becomes the greatest Juliet that
New York has ever seen. The story
ends dreadfully as Roberts, an old man
who was taken to drink and does for
Thrall the unpleasant jobs he could
not do himself, kills the great manager
because he realizes how he has ruined
SYPHILIS life and Roberts loves the girl
as though she was. his daughter. We
leave Sybil going abroad with her poor
old father who is utterly unaware that
his actress daughter is not the most
virtuous of women. There is q good
deal of maudlin sentiment on the last
few pages, about fidelity and love,
which serves. to cover up the real i'm
morality of the situation, or perhaps
we should say is Intended to do so but
fails of it's object.
Clara Morris has not given us pic
ture of the stage which changes in
the least the generally accepted ideas
of the loose morals of stage people;
she has rather confirmed them. There
are some excellent bits in the book but
the style smacks in spots of the Fire
side Weekly and in other places of
Mr.. Archibald Clavering Gunter and
his highly seasoned novels.
Map of The Vireinian.
The most unique advertisement re-
Gently seen is that of Owen Wtster's
The Virginian," gotten out by the
Macmillan company. 1t is large map
of the United States with all the i'm
portant cities-bar one-in their prop
er places and with each the verdict OF
that place in regard to Wister's book
For instance, Chicago, says it is often
exciting, always interesting. Seattle
thinks it too good to be untrue; San
Francisco says it's pictures are as vivid
as the best romances, and Louisville
places it's author beside Bret Harte
Going north we discover that Min
neapolis considers the book virile, in
tereSting and amusing. But look as
hard as we may we connot find ST.
Paul upon that map, and we say if not
why not? How does our sister city
work these things? 1t is very evident
that even without mayor or chief
of police or any aldermen left at large,
that Minneapolis is still doing busf-
ness at the old stand. Even Butte is
there with the dictum that 1.-THE Vir-
ginian' is well worth a mans time to
read However, we can understand
that Butte got on the map through
Mary MacLane, whom, it is suspected,
is in reality an employee of an enter
prising firm of real estate agents. Well,
st. Paul thinks that THE Virginian,'
should be taken daily in large doses
and is warranted to cure the worst
case of the blues" Now, good, kind
Mr.. Macmillan, can't you put us on
that map?
About George Bernard Shaw.
An American visiting in England
Shaw, the playwright. He says his
reputation is a peculiar one; they
speak of him over there as a promis-
ing young man, who may some day
amount to something if he ever gets
over the pernicious habit of joking
What was the establishment of the
visitor to find the young Shaw, a
man of over fifty; he told of himself
that he was born in Ireland and lived
there until he was twenty years old.
He says his mother was a musician
and being imbued with her ideas and
knowledge of music, he went up to
London and became a musical critic.
His first literary work, he said, was
TO write five novels, that nobody in
england or America would read. Hav-
ing run across Henry George, who
Iectured in London early in the
eighties, he became interested in his
ideas, studied socialism, and other
isms, read everything he could find
on those subjects and finally fell in
with the movement inaugurated by
Mrs. Annie BeSant. His novels which
have been mentioned were written for
socialist paper with which he be-
came associated and the time being
before the international copyright
law, he says to this day they are being
put out and in the wrong order, much
TO his annoyance.
The writer says that Mr.. Shaw now
lives in the quietest street in London
TO which no one goes except that he
has some errand there, and then he
goes away again at once for there is
absolutely nothing to keep him there
once he has seen Mr.. Shaw.
Mr.. Shaw Is now best known by his
dramas, although there is a division
OF opinion as to whether they are in
tenSely clever or intensely the other
thing. A few years ago one of these
plays Arms and the Man." was put
on in New York with but Indifferent
success, though the discerning saw
IN 1t the best thing portrayed in New
York for many day. 1t Is quite pos
slple, that before he dies, Mr.. Shaw
may DO something really important in
the dramatic way If he can strip HIM
SELF OF a bitter cynicism toward So
clety and reveal the best side of him
self. No one will 1eny that he is nos
sessed of great ability, and great wit.
New York Snare.
In the current issue of the New
York Times Saturday Review is a let
Ter that should be writ large where ev-
cry aspiring and would-be woman
journalist could see 1t. 1t s~by Mary
Cay Humphreys, herself a neWspan er
woman and 1t relates to the great de-