Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-19

III
Royal while she
Vet walked on earth-the most widely
known woman of her day and country
Today she has been long forgotten. Nine
readers out OF ten seeing her name upon
ibis title page will ask Who was Anne
J;oyaN?'
Hall a century ago that question would
have been answered readily by practically
every member of the Capital community.
Anne Royal died in 1854, at the age OF
eighty-four years. having been during at
least six decades an undeniable factor in
Affairs. Most people for many years re-
-nembered her the only woman VINO
was ever convicted In this District OF
being a common scold. Others remem-
hered her as the brilliant. fearless editor
Of newspapers and writer of books.
Some regarded her with aversion. others
with sympathy. 1t has been Miss Porter
task to trace the records OF this e1cep-
tional won1an's active life. to show her
various enterprises in the making of
newspapers and books, to explain the con-
ditions IN which she wrought and the
causes for which she fought, and, as lar
as the facts Justify. to clear her memory
of the stigma resting upon IT.. This has
been a laboriouS work, involving deep
research. a painstaking study of many
volumes. including those produced by
ouantity-and careful weighing Of cir
cumstances to permit balanced Judg-
ment.
Mrs. Royall. as Miss Porter sets forth,
was attacked bitterly. Just as she In ner
turn was an aggressive crusader. She
has been called blackmaiier MISS Por-
ter defends her of this charge and pro-
claims her merely the Journalist unafra1d,
the vigorous advocate Of certain pr1nci-
pies and the enemy Of certain policies
1t matters however. but little to the
reader of this work who is interested In
2 more or less forgotten phase Of Ameri-
can history. whether Anne Royal was or
was not, as the court proclaimed her, a
common scold. or beggar or inhdel or
blackmailer or what not. Such reader
is certain to find in Miss Porter's work a
volume which throws light upon dark
page. Miss Porter writes surprisingly
well. She has the sense Of historical per-
snectivn and proportion and possesses an
appreciation Of the humorous sufficient
TO enable her to see in Mrs. Royalls
writings, as she says. great fun" There
fore she let's Mrs. Royal tell her own
story as far as possible using for this
purpose extracts from paul Pry." "The
Huntress" and the many works of travel
and description produced by her. One OF
Mrs. Royals specialties was series of
pen portraits Of notables. and Miss Porter
has rendered valuable service to stu
dents Of history and biography In prepar-
ing an appendix which catalogues the
names of the places and people described
nv Mrs. Royal IN her various publica-
tions. The redoubtable woman was per-
sonally acquainted with most Of the pub
lie men OF her day, and. indeed, had met
and talked with every man who became
President OF the United States. from
George Washington to Abraham Lincoln,
Inclusive.
However Mrs Royal may be viewed to-
day. Miss Porter's work must be accepted
ss Of value. 1t may not avail to remove
the cloud from Mrs. Royals name. for
the prejudices and opinions of mary
years are stubborn. but II will at all
pfo ia taf -
IN an entertaining. instructive manner the
record OF the pioneer woman journalist OF
America and OF a time when great issues
were under discussion and in the course
of formation.
HILARY on HER OWN. Bv Mabel
barnes Grumpy, author Of Hazel L., Of
Baker e Taylor Company. Washing
ton: VIM. Ballantyne & Sons.
To the average American reader the
title of this book needs an explanatory
word. Enlightenment comes. however,
with the first chapter, in which the
heroine announces to her surprised
family an intention to give up the
moDotony of home life in the country
for bushes career in London. Having
grasped the state Of affairs. the reader
average American-straightw adds
Yankee favor to the English phrase:
Hilary is going to make her living on
her own hook The doing of it fur
nishes abundant material for failures
and successes, with tears and laughter
between. and. as heroines Of her kind
ever have and ever WILL the proper ro-
mantle moment finds her on natures
universal turnpike: the road that leads
10 matrlmony. Starting out with de-
termination never to marry, she very
promptly accepts the first man who pro-
poses. This Inconsistency Is unavoid-
able. because Owen Westcott is so OBJ
viogsly the hero. lie Is an eminent
specialist: is old enough to have the
always fascinating frost of silver above
The temples. and has smile that comes
with difficulty and goes with pain
full suddenness. like light put out by
an extinguisher." Hilary is unfair about
that smile She deliberately creates for
Mr.. Owen Westcott the glamour of a
past with a woman in 1t. She. her
self, surmises at the first meeting that
he may have a wife who drinks. But
she Is mistaken. 1t Is a dear old
mother who is Ill. Which seems to leave
the smile unexplained. Hilary tells lcs'
own story with cheerful briskness
that recalls Rhoda Broughton. and. ex-
cept for occasional little realisms that
might Just as we'll have been left out,
the author must be credited with a
bright. wholesome romance which will
doubtless appeal to many readers.
THE WEB OF TIME. BY Robert E.
Knowles author of ''St. Cuthbert's,"
etc. New York: Fleming H. Revell
Company.
Into THE Web of Time" are woven
the souls OF two men. Through the
loom runs a dark thread of failure
shuttled In and out with the shining
gold of a woman's love. And the inter-
crossing of these threads makes. in the
end, a strong. beautiful fabric OF mans
fight for manhood, made still more en-
sfr II 1c~1x Of nd hon i%y,I fxy 1,o
hand OF the weaver. who is God.
Foreign critics are likening Mr.
Knowles to Maclaren and Barrie. be-
cause of his knowledge OF Scotch
character and his nimbleness with the
Scotch tongue. This Is, Of course. a
compliment worth having, but. to any
reader familiar with the conditions on
which this book is based, 1t seems I'M
necessary to put its author in the at
titude of shining in reflected light. He
is indeed. strong and sincere, as Mac
laren is strong and sincere, and he
bubbles with the humor that is Bar
rie's In this Web OF Time however. in
which man fights and fails. and fights
and wins. there is forceful individual
itv that is neither Maclaren nor Bar
rie but Knowles. The story gets its
! The =;