The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-14

The great Velasco, violinist, was the 1 reigning sensation in St. Petersburg. He was 1t. Men, women and children fell down in front and around about him whenever he played the fiddle. Wshiing to conquer other worlds. like wise increase the amount in the war chest, Valosca was giving his tooth fare welP' concert in St Petersburg on the night when 'The Black Cross' opens
 Velasco of course had them all go- ing again; hats in the air, flowers ga lore, vivas for Yeasco and very much of that sort of thing. Velasco noticed while playing some of his great big black-line music a lovely golden haired girl in the stage box. She noticed Ve- lasco too, just as did everybody in the crowded house. A note brought to the great violinist read: Will you help me-life or death-tonight? signed "Kaya."
 Sure Velasco would. Particularly when he saw from a glance of the eye of the lovely lady in the stage box that 'Kaya" and the lovely girl were one and the same person.
 After the concert Velasco lost Kaya. and vice versa. Vesaco with his ar tistic temperament was worried over his failure to rescue the maiden in distress. Before retiring for the night Kaya comes to see Velasco, after she has in the so- ciety of the Black Cross drawn the ticket to kill the Russian Grpd Duke Stephan. She proposes to yeasco that he marry her in ceremony only and as sist her to escape from Russia after she has carried out her oath Nothing do- ing in the murder line, explained Ve- lasco. You see, Kaya, who in real life, so to speak, was a countess, had come to see Velasco In disguise; and he could not see her lovely hair on her much more important face. So soon as the wig and so on dropped off. as they always do { at the proper moments (n books and on the stage-but never in life) and Ve- lasco got a good look at Kaya's face we'll would he help the beautiful maid en to escape, kill a bunch of people? Certainly he would. All that being ar ranged Kaya goes to kill her grand duke. She was attending that evening a dance at the grand dukes home. He thinks she killed him in the library of the palace and made a get away to Ve- lasco. who married her by a Nihilist marriage. while on their way to the train to race for Germany.
 Stopped at the station, thrown in cells both these charming people; Velasco re- leased next morning when mistake was discovered; Kaya disowned by her father, and condemned to death.
 Kaya escapes from prison; gets to Ve- lasco again. they start out again with forged passports How they travelled together Kaya disguised as a boy; how Kaya realizes that she Is killing Velas- co.'s 'career' and deserts him; how Ve- lasco sore of heart for the one woman still plays the fiddle while Kaya until she becomes the great singer, recognized as an opera queen had an awful time of it-well there is much doing in The Black Cross" you can be sure
 The book is written in snappy, short sentence style. On the stop, look, listen order, which in some 420 pages gets to be, in time, if not at first, wee bit wearisome.
 But for excitement, hairbreadth es- capes, love, misunderstanding and such matters, "The Black -ross' will fill the bill.
 'Tales of Entertainment" by M. Y. T. H. Myth. Broadway Publishing Co.) This book Is a collection of fairy tales of the woods by an author who seems to love the woods, knows lots about them and of them writes very pleasingly. There are five divisions of these tales Wild Roses and A Happy Family; Elm bodiment of BraNance-Christmas story; Narrative of Adventure and Fairy Tale, Allotted for Each Other, or Modern Paradise; The Way to Wings, and Na- ture to the Rescue.
 These stories are really, most of them, very good.
 ''The Stroke Oar by Ralph D. Paine, (The Outing Publishing Co) There are two classes of men. partic- ularly, who will enjoy this book, to-wft: the boy just out of college and the man who has been away from his Alma Mater longer than he is willing to tell you exact ly. That covers quite lot of people, too, you see!
 Jim Stearns was the stroke-oar of his crew at Yale. Duncan Howe was the captain of the crew, but was not as good a man in any respect as Stearns. Unfortunately for the success of the crew that year, Howe and Stearns caught the pointed dart from the same woman, Miss Suzette Aitkin, at one and the same time. History is made up of just such situations at college or out of it.
 This rivalry in love does not add to the peace in the crew training and when later Stearns, in line of what he thought was his duty. gets Kidnapped in New York, the situation IS complicated. With the stroke-oar away, the race soon to hap pen between Yale and Harvard, things looks pretty bad, not only for Yale but for Stearns reputation.
 Stearns had been carried by force thousands of miles away. He tries to get back to New Haven and at last suc- ceeds just in time to take his place in the university eight to win the great race by four feet.
 The book hasn't any dull pages in it. It is a crackerjack college story It Is told in a spirited manner by man, MT. Paine. who is master, really in his line of work The description of the Yale Harvard race is great.
 And Suzette? Forget herl She threw down. as it were, both the rvals-and married the fellow with the money bags, of course.
 Another Lucia Griscom"? Well, hardly that-but pretty close to 1t.
 Mir Paine has caught in his book that college atmosphere which most writers who have dealt with the subject seem to never get their hands. pens or type writers on.
 .The Stroke Oar Is all right.
 "Jimbo, Fantasy" by Aldernon Black
 wood, (The Macmillan Co)
 Jimbos governess ought to have known better-but she didn't. If she had limbo would never have met with the adven- lures that subsequently, came to him. Thus In a roundabout sort of way the child ought to have been thankful to the governess; and perhaps in a round- about way, he was But that comes at the far end of the story, and is doubtful at best; and in the meanwhile the child had gone through his suffering and the governess had in some measure ex- plated her fault; so that at this stage it ia not neces .ary to note that the whole business began because the Empty House happened to be really an empty house not the one Jimbo's family lived in but another of which :"
 This is a remarkable study of child's mind and it's power of peopling the un-