Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-02
LORDS AND LOVERS: and other Ora

mas BY Olive Tilford Dargan. New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Wash
ington: Woodward & Lothrop:
There can be no doubt that the publication
of Mrs bargains dramatic poems is a dis
tirct event in the literary world. Not for
many years has anything of equal dignity
and beauty been produced They are, in the
first place, inevitably dramatic: and, in the
second place, inevitably poetic. Mrs. Oar
gan appears to think in acts and to speak
in verse. 1t is a case of most rare adapta-
ton of medium to genius
In the present volume are three plays,
widely different in scope and spirit. The
first, from which the book takes its name,
Lords and Lovers is an English drama
of the early part of the reign of Henry III.
II is in two parts, each complete play in
itself. which Is. alone. an achievement. The
second, The Shepherd is a stirring and
touching treatment of present-day condi-
tons in Russia and revolves about the con-
fict between the Terrorist doctrines and
the Tolstois conception of militant peace.
The third, which is, possibly, the least sue
cessful from the standpoint of emotional
appeal. is. however, an intensely interesting
Interpretation of the opposing forces at
work in classic civliza ton. 1.-The Siege is
laid in the time of Dionysius the Younger
In Sicily.
On Lords and Lovers the reader will be
tempted longest to dwell. In her English
characters Mrs. Dargan is most at home
They are most concrete and marvelously
individualZed. From the simple. direct,
heroic force of Hubert de Burgh to the
Scotch femininity in the gossip Eldra, Mrs.
bargains portraiture is and unfailing
The action is based upon the attempts of
Henry's turbulent and selfish mobiles to pull
down Hubert de Burgh, made Earl of Kent
and the kings justciary, because of his
witt
achievements to the beleaguerng armies of
France. Related to this motive the
stories of the love of Hubert de Burgh and
Margaret, the high-spirited- Scottish prin-
cess. and the pathetic romance of Glaia.
de Burgh's beautiful ward. The protrait of
the young King Henry, a lOvable lad with
delicate and generous impulses. and with a
natural inclination toward what is good and
pure. but unstable. Swayed by the council
of the lord who last at his elbow, is
entirely true to the Henry III of history,
Mrs. Dargan has the art of breathing life
Into these effigies of the past until, for her
readers. the creatures of her Imagination
will become for all time the accepted per-
sonageS in the great drama she enacts.
OF even greater Importance possibly than
Mrs. bargains skill in portraiture is the
fact that she is a poet. 1t is rare indeed
that dramatic poet writing since the age
of Elizabeth has been able to impress upon
readers the conviction that verse is the
only possible medium through which to ex-
This conviction few that will read Mrs.
bargains dramas will fail to form. Her
poetry, whether in the terseness of rapid
fire colloquy or in the sustained flood of i'm
passioned thought is Inevitable. Her i'm
agery is the natural veSture of the thought;
her pathos is wrought by a tender appeal
to noble and primal emotions; her humor
Is the unstrained flavor of racy personal-
ties.
All things considered, the author of
Lords and Ladies" is artistic person
ality which no one who desires to be intel
Hgent concerning latter-day letters can af-
ford to miss Whatever the final verdict
may be as to her value she must become
real factor in the development both of
modern poetry and of the modern stage.
THE DIAMOND SHIP. BY Max Pember-
ton, author of Doctor Xavier" &c.
New York: d. Appleton & Co.
An almost unbelievable number of things
happen in the telling of the story of 1.-The
Diamond Ship" Max Pembertons latest
contribution to third-raIl literature. Ad-
venture treads close on the heels of ad-
venture. thrill succeeds thrill with bewil-
dering rapdity and low proved crime works
overtime from cover to cover If it weren't
for an inspired and immensely superior
Sherlock Holmes sort of a person dreadful
things would happen on every page DIR.
Fan Fabo5 Is the Holmes persons real
name. and he is assisted by young Jap
,,-hA ;c
proud as Jucifer as agi1e az a nonkev
and as wise as Solomon, and who, besides,
can shoe horse and mix cocktail with
equal ceIerlty. Between them they come
pretty near putting organized CRIME out OF
business certainly they DO this FOR the
DIAMOND snip, stout, hlgh-bulWarked,
ooller-plated. jewel-lttered craft, the head
quarters OF the pirates union and the clear
ing mouse Tor 1901. with the aid OF sec
ond slght ana fabulously speedy armed
yacht literary gentleman named Nc
Manus and the previously mentioned native
OF fearful and assorted peril than can read
lily be imagined. rights whole parcel Of
wrongs and rescues the gentle and perse-
cuted heroine, Joan Fordibras, from the
cIutcheS Oh scdhuaIouS maze parent ana
red-eved Hebraic viIIain-in-chief Iat no
one think The Diamond Ship is not an
interesting production. 1t Is. Folks with
weak hearts and propensity toward pas
ii,, 80 ~ IA me WIN e s,ie
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. friends within easv
call
A BOYS MARRIAGE. BY Hugh de Selin-
court New York: John Lane Com