The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-05


 MT. Sidney Porter, known every where now as o. Henry, that inimita- ble, successful short story writer, about the best in the business today that is, he is supposed to get more money for his productions than any other producer; In his new book, col lection of short stories entitled "Op- tions,' published by Harper & Brothers tsee review below), says a few things in the sketch called Best Seller" which are quoted as applicable to "Truxton King all the Graustark tommy-rot effusions and the ilk.
 Say said Pescud, stirring his dis carded book with the toe of his right shoe, did you ever read one of these best sellers? l mean the kind where the hero is an American swell-some- times even from Chicago-who falls in love with a royal princess from Europe, who is travelling under an alias, and follows her to her fathers kingdom or principality? l guess you have. They're all alike. Sometimes this going away masher is 8 Washington newspa- per. correspondent and sometimes he is Van Something from New York or Chicago wheat broker worth s50,000.- 900. But he is always ready to break into the king row of any foreign coun- try that sends over their queens and princes to try the new plush seats on the Big Four or the Baltimore and Ohio. Tn ere doesn't seem to be any other reason in the book for tn cir be- ing here. Well. this fellow chases the royal chairwarmer home, as l said, and finds out who she is. He meets her here on the croso or the strasse one evening and gives us ten pages of con versa tion. She reminds him of the diff ference in their stations and that gives him a chance to ring in three solid pages about Americas uncrowned sovereigns. If you'd take his remarks and set 'em to music and then take the music away from em they'd sound exactly like one of George Cohan's songs.
 "Well, you know how it runs on, if you've read any of them-he slaps the kings Swiss bodyguards around like everything whenever they get in his way. He Is a great fencer, too. Now, I've known of some Chicago men who were pretty notorious fences, but l never heard of any fencers coming from there. He stands on the first landing of the royal staircase in Castle Schutzenfestenstein with a gleaming apier in his hand, and makes a Bal timore broil of six platoons of traitors who come to massacre said king. And then he has to fight duels with a couple of chancellors and foii plot by four Austrian archdukes to seize the king dom for a gasoline station.
 But the great scene is when his rival for the princess hand, Count Feodor, attacks him between the porculis and the ruined chapel, armed with mitrail- leuse yataghan and a couple of Siber- ian bloodhounds. This scene is what runs the best seller into the twenty-ninth edi- ton before the publisher has had time to draw a check for the advance royal ties.
 The American hero shucks his coat and throws it over the heads of the bloodhounds. gives the mitrailleuse slap with his mitt says 'Yahl' to the kata- ghan and lands in Kid McCoy's best style on the counts left eye. Of course we have a neat little prize fight right then and there. The count-in order to make the go possible-seems to be an expert at the art of self defense himself, and here we have the Corbett-Sullivan fight done over into literature. The book ends with the broker and the princess doing John Cecil Clay cover under the linden trees on the Gorgonzola Walk. That winds up the love story plenty good enough. But I notice that the book dodges the final issuse. Even best seller has sense enough to shy at leaving | Lobsterpotsdam or bringing over a real princess to eat fish and potato salad in an Italian chalet on Michigan avenue.
 ." Listen at this,' said he. They elyan is chinning with the Princess AL wyna at the back end of the tulip garden. This is how 1t goes:
 :" Say not so, dearest and sweetest of earths fairest flowers. Would I aspire? You are star set high above me in royal heaven. l am only-myself. Yet, I am man and I have heart to do and dare. I have no title save that of an uncrowned sovereign but I have an arm and a sword that yet might free Schultz enfestenstein from the plots of trait ors'
 "Think of Chicago man packing sword and freeing anything that sounded as much like canned pork as that! He'd be much more likely to fight to have an import duty put on It. and so on.
 Given the above from o. Henry, a good geography, dictionary and lack of con- sideration for those who care for good books-the production of the "Truxton Kings Graustarks and the rest, unfor- tunately continue to be forthcoming. MT. O. Henry describes "Truxton King as above so much better than this scribe can-hence the quotation from his new book.
  .4The Holy Mountain" a satire on ten-
 dencies By Stephen Reynolds CThe
 John Lane Co.,
 Alec Trotman, the only son and heir of James Trotman, ''The Famous Grocer Try Our Famous Blend of Family Tea" living in the village of Trowbury, near London. was not physical or mental success in the eyes of his ambitious fath- er the mayor of Trowbury Alec had been tried Ion the dog in his fathers store, in the shops of his fathers friends and always failed to give that satisfac- ton demanded by the weekly payment of pounds, shillings and pence. So James Trotman had decided that he would carry Alec, his son, to London, and place him at work there. The story of '"The Holy Mountain opens on Sunday morning. Alec and his father are to go to Lon don on the following Thursday
 Alec Trotman doesn't wish to leave his home town, or his sweetheart. Miss Julia Jepp, a shop girl at Clinch's drapery store.
 On the Sunday night referred to above Alec takes Julia Jepp to church for the last evening, as he thinks, in a long while--they were to go on bicycle ride afterward. The minister of the gospel preached from the text. If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed ye shall say 10 this mountain. remove hence to yon- der place; and 1t shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."- St. Matthew.
 Alec and Julia were much impressed by this text and the sermon based on it.