Evening star., 1909-05-01
BOOK REVIEWS

SALN ATOR. BY Perceval Gibbon. au-
thor of Souls in Bondage etc. New
York: Doubleday. Page q Co wash
ington: Woodward 4 Lothrop.
OWN in Mozambique man lies
in prison wounded. man with
bad record as to the govern
ment revolutionist. bent upon
cleaning up political pest
hole and esta blishing the rights OF man
on firm foundation He Is a dreamer
and Il man of action combined. radlcai
and yet a diplomat. an Austrian baron
with means enough to live in great com
fort in the lands of peace. but INSPIRED
to do the hazardous work of reform IN
cne of the foulest. meanest, most un-
promising parts of the world HIS
escape from prison is effected through the
connivance of an Englishman OF sfaid
conservative and highly lawful tendencies
Later these two meet in England love
the same woman. and part, the reformer
to inish his chosen work or die. the
other TO cultivate his fat acres and wait
for the woman's love TO turn to him.
Salvador is warned of the certainty OIL
failure. Portuguese diplomacy nnds
way to convey to him the infallibLlity
of it's plan TO put a period to his career
il he persists Little Senior De Sa of
the embassy in London is the medium
OF information, A truly delightful per
sonage all heart and with singular
frankness which dispels some of the pop
ular ideas of diplomatic methods. There
are other people who move briSkiy ana
talk entertainingly in this tale OF love
and revolution. all sharply outlined Inc
old Earl of Steynng. dying CT too much
self-indulgence in earlier years, conveys
the impression of a close-ranse STUDY
hy the author of decadent nobility. Lady
Betty is sweetly inconsistent and alto
-ether lovable. Charters. the man VINO
waits is distinctly human in his esotism
and a worthy man wthal. Mr.. Glbbon:
who has done some exceptionally sooo
South African tales. is at his best IN TINS
novel
MERELY PLAYERS: Stories of Stage
Life BY Virginia Tracy. New YORK:
The Century Company.
These twelve stories of Stage people
bespeak for the author. herself an actress
and the daughter of an actress, earnest
consideration as producer OF vital. IL
luminative fiction Tragedy. comedy,
farce pathos. all are present in the tales
Of the footlight life Some of them deal
with stage folks out of work-always
pathetic proposition, but common-and
waiting with the optimism characteristic
of the profession. for the engagement that
is sure to come. The opening story. Inc
Lotus Eaters strikes a OOTlIldIt Hctc
of hopefulness. a group of actors sitting
i'm a stuffy fat on hot summer day,
waiting for the alimony of one to come
to solve the insistent problem of rent
and dinner. "A Votary in Motley is
a character study at full length of one
of the old-time hacks of the stage, con-
WINGED of his own superlative talents
for the Interpretation of Shakespeare. at
last thrust by circumstances INTO lead
ing role to disclose his shocking in
80 afjfy Wit rushing
ly TO tragic climax. "A Danger OF
Delay grips the heart with its strong
situation. Some of the stories are lightly
linked together by the inclusion of the
acquainted with these warm-hearted
people impulsive and generous. some
times jealous. often spiteful. but in the
main animated by the higher precepts
of humanity.
THE CHIPPENDALEs. BY Robert
Grant New York: Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons. Washington: Brentano's.
Judge Grant is always conscientious in
giving his reader every possible chance to
understand not only who is who in his
stories. but who was who to the third
and fourth generation. 1t is possibly
this biogra aphical, not to say genealog-
ical tendency i'm his work that appeals
most strongly to his established circle
today are quite content to accept the
man or woman who is presented with
the briefest of identifications and the
barest of credentials. But Judge Grants
forte lies in forcing an interest in just
how il came about that Mr.. Smith Is
engaged in selling real estate for a living
and Mrs. Robertson is keeping bOarders.
After all. in a story of manners 1t is
perhaps well to pause over such details
as with more dramatic actions In The
Chippendalesi' is told the story of a
Young mans rise in the social world of
Boston. without shred of ancestry.
without means. with a flexible conscience
and with tremendous power of acquisi-
tion and a genius for sagacious spend
ing. The conflict between the old and
the new. between family and wealth.
between push and prestige. is vividly set
possible in the case Of story that is
never breathless in speed or otherwise
than calm i'm any emergency.
THE LADY OF THE DYNAMOS. BY
Adele Marie Shaw and Carmelita
Beckwith. New York: Henry Holt
& Co.
With somewhat uneven action. this
tale of engineering in Ceylon progresses
from the rejection of lover in New
York by a calculating beauty to her dis
comfiture in the jungle when her strata
gems have been foiled. II is not alto
sether a convincing performance pos
siby the result of the cola boration.
There are some vivid pictures of the
tropical wilds and occasional flashes Of
dranati action b,lf the whole IL Skefchy